World-record holder Denis Pankratov of Russia can rest easybecause U.S. star Tom Malchow couldn't in the hours before the finalof the men's 200-meter butterfly Wednesday at the Pan PacificSwimming Championships in Sydney, Australia.
After missing Pankratov's world record by .54 seconds in thesemifinals Tuesday, thinking about breaking it cut into Malchow'ssleep time that night.
On Wednesday, Malchow won the event in 1 minute, 55.41 seconds,.19 seconds off Pankratov's mark of 1:55.22 set in 1995. Afterward,he mourned the loss of a good night's sleep.
"After my semi swim, a few people came up to me and talked a bitabout the record," Malchow said after posting the second-fastest timein history. "I thought, `Wow, I could do this,' and tossed andturned a bit through the night.
"I don't know whether it made the difference. I supposed it couldhave. But I've done the best three swims of my life."
In the other highlight of the day, Australian teenager Ian Thorpeset his fourth world record in as many days when he led the men's800-meter relay team to victory. Thorpe, who also has broken twoworld records in the men's 200-meter freestyle and one in the men's400-meter freestyle, helped Australia beat its previous world mark bymore than three seconds. His leadoff leg of 1:46.28 was just outsidehis individual record of 1:46.
Thorpe, 16, was followed by Bill Kirby, Grant Hackett and MichaelKlim as the Aussies finished with a time of 7:08.79, bettering theirmark of 7:11.86 set last year. Lemieux's deal to buy Pens clearsfinal hurdle
Former Pittsburgh Penguins star Mario Lemieux cleared the lasthurdle in his purchase of the team by finalizing a lease at the CivicArena. The agreement with SMG was reached late Tuesday andapparently was the final piece of the puzzle in Lemieux's $95 milliontakeover of the team he led to Stanley Cup championships in 1991 and1992. Lemieux already has begun closing on the sale, a process thatrequires the numerous parties involved to sign more than 100documents. Nashville Predators forward Sergei Krivokrasov, whoplayed for the Blackhawks from 1992-93 to 1997-98, must undergocounseling as part of an agreement for dismissal of adomestic-violence charge brought by his wife. The charge stemmedfrom an argument Aug. 8 at their home in Michigan. Wolves, Islesstrike partial affiliation agreement
The Wolves announced a partial affiliation agreement with theNHL's New York Islanders.
The Wolves, who were an independent team in their first fiveseasons in the International Hockey League, will retain that statusdespite the announcement. They will continue to get players fromother NHL clubs, but the Islanders will provide five to sevenveterans.
"Our affiliation with the Wolves is great for both franchises,"Islanders general manager Mike Milbury said. "The Wolves will getsome great players from the Islanders." Len Ziehm Banned Michiganbooster causing trouble again
Former Michigan guard Louis Bullock accepted a loan from boosterEd Martin, who had been banned from having contact with the school'sbasketball program since an NCAA investigation in 1997, the DetroitFree Press reported. The paper quoted people familiar with a federalinvestigation as saying Bullock ignored a school directive to avoidMartin. Such contact is prohibited and might put the university introuble with the NCAA. San Antonio Spurs forward Sean Elliott wasreleased from the hospital, nine days after receiving a kidneytransplant from his brother Noel. Elliott waved to a few fans whohad gathered, then signed autographs for hospital workers. TheLittle League World Series semifinals will be played today inWilliamsport, Pa. Defending champion Toms River, N.J., will facePhenix City, Ala., in the U.S. bracket, and Puerto Rico will take onJapan in the international bracket.
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