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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAS
SWIMMING
Phelps breaks 200-meter record
Mark Baker/ASSOCIATED PRESS
michael Phelps sets a world record during the men's 200m Butterfly semifinals at the World Swimming Championships in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday. Phelps finished the race in 1 minute, 43.86 seconds.
BY PAUL NEWBERRY ASSOCIATED PRESS
MELBOURNE, Australia — Michael Phelps stood on deck with 50 Cent blaring in one ear, a steely determination in both eyes. When his name was announced to the crowd at Rod Laver Arena, the young American did nothing more than stare down the strip of water at his feet.
Next door at the warmup pool, Phelps teammates stopped what they were doing — even those who had races of their own coming up at the world championships. They had to see this one for themselves, so they paused to watch it on a big screen.
"I had a thought in my head," Aaron Peirsol would say later, "that this was going to be one of those legendary races."
With four laps of the pool Thursday night. Michael Phelps wiped out Hoogle and took down the ghost of Thorpepd, leaving little doubt that we're all getting the privilege of watching the greatest swimmer ever to hit the pool.
"You just can't count him out of any race that he's in," said Mark Schubert, head coach of the U.S. team. "He's obviously on a mission. He's going to be real special here — and he's going to be real special a year from now."
Phelps already is special of course, his legacy cemented by performances such as his six-gold, two bronze medal haul at the 2004 Athens Olympics, or his five world records — two of them in different events on the same day — at the 2003 world championships in Barcelona.
But a magical swim Tuesday night in the 200-meter freestyle might have been the best yet, a swirling symphony of wind-milling arms, flapping feet, somersaulting turns and rocket-like bursts just beneath the water line of the temporary pool.
"I will say," Phelps allowed, "everything was pretty close to perfect in that race."
On a night when four world records fell, three of them to the powerful U.S. team, no one stood out more than the 21-year old who loves hip hop music, video games and a pet bulldog that he had to leave back home in Michigan.
The 200-meter freestyle record was one of swimming's hallowed marks, the time of 1 minute, 44.06 seconds set six years ago by
Australia's Ian Thorpe, the iconic "Thorpedo."
No other time on the books was within a half-second of Thorpe's landmark swim at the 2001 worlds in Fukuoka, Japan. In fact, the only other swimmer to break 1:45 was Pieter van den Hoogenband of the Netherlands.
Until Phelps came along.
Shaving more than a full second off his previous best and breezing right on through the 1:44 barrier, he touched the wall in a remarkable 1:43.86, leaving
Van den Hoogenband more than a full body-length behind.
"As soon as I took my first stride in the warmup pool, I don't know what it was, but I knew something was going to happen."
The now-retired Thorpe wasn't in the pool, but. Schubert said, "it was almost like Michael was racing him without him being in the race."
longed for a rematch against both men. But Van den Hoogband underwent back surgery in 2005 and needed time to recover Thorpe set on an extended break after Athens — never to return, as it turned out. He retired at age 24.
Ever since then, Phelps had
Phelps and Hoogie last had gone head-to-head in the "Race of the Century" — their 200 tree showdown at the last Olympics. The Flying Dutchman finished second and Phelps took the bronze in that one, both trailing Thorpe.
MICHAEL PHELPS
"I was sitting at my house, messing
around on the computer and watching TV. Phelps recalled. "A friend of mine sent me a text message. He said ... 'Thorpe just retired. I was like, 'Nah, you're kidding.' But it was true."
Phelps kept
pushing on, even without. Thorpe to chase in person. He knew he would at least get a chance for payback against Hoogie, who recuperated from the surgery and made it clear he intended to reclaim his place in the treestyle hierarchy.
So that's what was at stake when the two titans hit the water at the world championships.
Van den Hoogenband, who is more of a spinner, intended to get out front through the first half of the race and try to hold off Phelps at the end. Instead, the American had the lead at the first flip and never let it go.
"I was swimming OK," Van den Hoogenband said, "but after every turn he was pushing off and kick
ing through the water so extremely fast. I was like, "Let's see what he got left for the last 50." Well, he had a lot left."
In swimming terms, this was a runaway Phelps touched, spun around for a look at the scoreboard, thrust his left index finger into the air and grabbed the lane rope with his right arm — all before the Dutchman completed his last stroke, nearly 2 1/2 seconds behind at 1:46.28.
"I thought the 200 freestyle record by Ian would last for 10, maybe 20 years" marveled Van den Ooandenbair, a three-time Olympic gold medalist.
Phelps had no intention of waiting that long. Even though he publicly pooh-poohed the idea of breaking Thorpe's record at these championships, deep down he knew it was possible.
Not long after Phelps jumped in the water Tuesday, he felt even more confident.
"As soon as I took my first stride in the warmup pool, I don't know what it was, but I knew something was going to happen." Phelps said. "My freestyle never fell that smooth. It occurred to me that something special was going to happen."
Phelps now seems virtually assured of winning at least seven gold medals in Melbourne, which would set him up for another shot at Mark Spitz's Holy Grail of Olympic records, those seven gold medals in 1972 at Munich.
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DIRECTV
Kerry asks MLB to wait on TV deal
BY FREDERIC J. FROMMER
ASSOCIATED PRESS
At Tuesday's hearing, Rob
WASHINGTON — Sen. John Kerry urged Major League Baseball on Tuesday to hold off on a deal to put the sport's "Extra Innings" package of out-of-market games exclusively on DirecTV Group Inc. A top baseball official declined to agree, with opening day less than a week away,
Kerry (D-Mass.) made the push at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on behalf of subscribers to cable TV and EchoStar Communications Corp's Dish Network who had received the package previously.
The dispute concerns which homes will receive baseball's new television network in 2009. DirectTV, a satellite service, has agreed to carry that package as part of its deal. The company would also receive an equity stake in the channel.
Jacobson, president and CEO of IN Demand, owned by affiliates of the companies that own Time Warner Telecom Inc., Comcast Corp. and Cox Communications Inc., offered to carry the package on the same terms that DirectTV is, while putting off the issue of The Baseball Channel until it is launched.
"This would ensure that for the next two years at least, all baseball fans would have access to the 'Extra Innings' package," he said. "If we're unable to reach an agreement when the channel launches, wed give baseball the right to cancel the 'Extra Innings' deal. We think this is a fair compromise."
》 PGA
Kerry, often playing the role of mediator, got behind the effort.
"We believe that DirectTV has the right to begin to help us build the channel." DuPuy answered, adding that the cable industry had nine months to negotiate a deal.
"What's the matter with that?" he asked Bob DqPuy, baseball's chief operating officer.
Golfer becomes 50th to finish 2nd to Woods
Brett Wetterich was the latest.
BY DOUG FERGUSON ASSOCIATED PRESS
Wetterich became the 50th player to be runner-up to Woods on the PGA Tour.
He was in a playoff against Tiger Woods when he failed to save par from a bunker and lost the 1996 Las Vegas Invitational.
He was faced with a four-shot deficit against the world's No. 1 player in the CA Championship at Doral. He held his own, kept it interesting as long as he could, but wound up in second place and in the record books as a footnote.
MIAMI — Davis Love III was the first.
At least he's in good company.
"Gues I had to become some kind of statistic," he said.
The 50 victims include 21 major champions and 18 of the top 30 players in the world ranking, a list that goes from A (Stuart Appleby) to Z (Paul Azinger) when allowing for nicknames (Zinger).
The milestone even caught
Woods by surprise, based on the fact he said nothing for a few seconds and even then had little to offer except for, "Where do you come up with that?"
Woods' victory at Doral was No. 56 in his PGA Tour career, and while 13 players have been runner up multiple times, there have been 12 tournaments where at least two players tied for second. In two tournaments, there was a four way tie for second.
Matt Gogel (Pebble Beach) is now retired. Frank Nobilo (Western Open) works for The Golf Channel. The list includes four Ryder Cup captains — Tom Kite, Hal Sutton, Tom Lehmman and Ainger.
That puts Brian Gay on the list, "Who?" Woods said. "When did I beat him?"
"I wouldn't have guessed that," Woods said. "I would have thought some guys had been there more often than others."
That would be the 2002 Buck Open, the only time on tour Woods' best ouddy from Isleworth finished second to him.
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