BRIEFLY : OLAJUWON MAY NEED SURGERY.

Hakeem Olajuwon has an injured left knee that could require arthroscopic surgery, team doctors said Sunday after examining the Houston Rockets center.

The Rockets already are without forward Charles Barkley, who has been sidelined since Nov. 16 with a groin injury and isn't expected to return until after Thanksgiving.

Team physician Walter Lowe said Olajuwon, who has been bothered by the knee since training camp, could have damage because of long-term wear and tear. He is in his 14th NBA season.

Team spokesman Tim Frank said doctors would determine by today whether to treat the knee with rest and rehabilitation or perform arthroscopic surgery. It was not clear how long Olajuwon might be sidelined. He was bothered by the knee following Saturday night's game against the Golden State Warriors.

SOCCER: Notre Dame defeated Nebraska 6-0 and will face UCLA, a 3-2 winner over Southern Methodist on Saturday, in the quarterfinals of the NCAA women's soccer championships this weekend. The day and time will be announced.

WINTER SPORTS: Zali Steggall, her nerves as strong as her legs, powered down a steep, icy slalom course to give Australia its first-ever World Cup victory by a woman, in Park City, Utah.

Steggall, whose start number of 23 matched her age, posted the two fastest runs of the day in winning by .78 seconds over Sweden's Ylva Nowen, with New Zealand's Claudia Riegler denying American Kristina Koznick a spot on the podium by .40 seconds.

Steggall had a lead of .21 seconds after the first run down Park City's Clementine slalom course and bested the field by .57 in the afternoon.

Joe Pack, the 1996 world junior aerials ski champion, injured ligaments in his left knee when he crashed during training at Utah Winter Sports Park.

With competition looming large in its corporate rear-view mirror, the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. decided to pull out of Formula One racing - the world's most popular car-racing sport - after the 1998 season. The decision, which ends Goodyear's 33-year history with the sport, surprised the racing world.