re than once drawing contact along the way. When the Shock

ATHENS, Ga. -- Michael Phelps surged to the wall and quickly searched for the scoreboard. He liked what he saw. Phelps turned in perhaps the most impressive performance so far in his comeback, posting the third-fastest time in the world this year while easily beating rival Ryan Lochte in the 100-meter butterfly at the Bulldog Grand Slam on Friday night. Despite some problems with his turn, Phelps had the packed house roaring when he touched in 51.67 seconds, considerably faster than the 52.11 he posted at the Santa Clara Grand Prix three weeks ago. Lochte was a distant second in 53.08. "I wanted to get under 52," Phelps said, breaking into a big smile. "I was sick and tired of seeing 52.1." He had no trouble finishing ahead of Lochte, though it really wasnt a fair fight. Phelps longtime foe also competed in the 200 freestyle, winning the "B" final less than an hour before he returned to the water to face a rested Phelps. More important for Lochte -- his left knee seemed to hold up well. This is his first meet for the laid-back Floridian since he reinjured the surgically repaired knee at the Mesa Grand Prix in April. It was initially hurt late last year when he tried to catch an exuberant fan and fell into a curb, requiring surgery. "I hope I lose," said Lochte, who plans to swim a grueling six events in Athens. "It will just make me more hungry." Phelps is set to swim three events at the weekend meet on the University of Georgia campus, a hastily arranged event that gave some of the top swimmers on the East Coast a chance to swim one more time competitively before the next months national championships in Irvine, California. The results from nationals, as well as the Pan Pacific Championships being held in Australia later in August, will determine the U.S. team for the 2015 world championships. Phelps seems to be right on course, at least in his signature fly, finishing just 0.46 off the time that won the gold at the 2012 London Olympics. The only faster times this year were Thomas Dals 51.44 in the Belgian Open and Viacheslav Prudnikovs 51.60 at the Russian national championships. "I am very pleased with being able to go 51," Phelps said. "But in the grand scheme of things, I think its just a small steppingstone to go where we hope to be." He is still struggling with the consistency of his stroke. When things are going well, Phelps needs 16 strokes to cover the first 50 metres, 18 for the return lap. When hes just a little off, he winds up gliding into the wall too much, either when hes making his flip turn or coming to the finish. "I was kind of bummed that I still cant hit a wall correctly," Phelps said. Added his coach, Bob Bowman, "He looked crazy coming off the wall." All in all, though, no complaints. Phelps, who retired after the last Olympics and stayed away from the pool for more than a year, didnt come back to tarnish his legacy, which includes 18 golds and 22 medals overall -- far more than any other Olympic athlete. "I always set high expectations for myself, no matter what Im doing," he said. "Bob and I have a plan of what I want to do. He knows what its going to take to get there." In other events, French Olympic star Yannick Agnel took the mens 200 freestyle in 1 minute, 47.27 seconds, followed by U.S. Olympians Conor Dywer (1:47.44) and Connor Jaeger (1:47.94). Lochte, swimming in that consolation final, actually posted the fourth-fastest time of the evening at 1:48.69, some 4 seconds faster than he went in the morning preliminaries while wearing a non-racing suit. Allison Schmitt, coming back strong after a disappointing post-Olympic year, won the womens 200 freestyle in 1:58.16. Winner of five medals in London, she struggled a bit with fame and didnt even qualify for the 2013 worlds. Shes back on track with the Rio Games just two years away. "I have more goals that I want to accomplish, which is why Im back," Schmitt said. "Im looking forward to this summer." In the 400 individual medley, Olympic gold medallist Tyler Clary blew away the field in the mens race. His time of 4:21.66 was nearly 4 1/2 seconds ahead of runner-up Kevin Litherland. Melanie Margalis finished first on the womens side. Micah Lawrence touched first in the womens 100 breaststroke, while the mens breaststroke was captured by Nicolas Fink. Seventeen-year-old Kathleen Baker took the womens 100 fly in 59.69, the only swimmer to break the minute barrier. Of course, Phelps drew most of the attention. His main foe was impressed by what he saw. "He swam a fantastic race," Lochte said. "That was really fast." Cheap Vapormax For Sale . - Even with a new coach, the Denver Nuggets still love to push the basketball. Nike Vapormax Outlet .C. -- Only two Syracuse teams have won their first 20 games, and C. http://www.cheapvapormaxtrainers.com/cheap-vapormax-off-white.html . Cabrera is hitting .218 with three homers and 16 RBI in 80 games this season. The Padres recalled second baseman Brooks Conrad from Triple-A El Paso to replace Cabrera on the roster. Fake Vapormax For Sale .J. -- New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning is going to start the off-season training program with a surgically repaired left ankle. Nike Vapormax Plus China . Calgary finished atop the CFL standings with a 14-4 record and earned the right to host the West Division final at McMahon Stadium on Nov.WICHITA, Kan. -- Southern Illinois coach Barry Hinson couldnt hear himself amid the roar in Koch Arena, so he kept stomping on the floor in a fruitless attempt to get his teams attention. Hed say later that the crowd was the biggest factor in the game. The Salukis hung tough for all but about 3 minutes Tuesday tonight, finally falling 78-67 to fourth-ranked Wichita State. It put an end to Southern Illinois four-game winning streak, its best in more than four years, while leaving the Shockers still unbeaten. "Gosh, that crowd," Hinson said. "I hate them -- and I love them. Its an oxymoron." Make no mistake: Hinson loves the passion of Missouri Valley Conference fans. He just wishes he could have better communicated with his players down the stretch, when the game hung in the balance. Instead, the Salukis (10-16, 6-7) starting turning it over on offence, the Shockers (26-0, 13-0) started getting easy baskets at the other end, and Hinson was left standing on the sideline with his hands on his hips, watching mirthlessly as the final seconds ticked away. Anthony Beane scored 25 points to lead the Salukis. "Theres a reason theyre 26-0. Theyre damn good," Hinson said, "but they made shots and that crowd just went nuts, and we came down and said, Hey, its close to April 15! Well just give you the ball and well get a tax deduction!" Ron Baker scored 19 points and Cleanthony Early had 18 for the Shockers, who became the first team to start 26-0 since Memphis in 2008. Five games stand in the way of Wichita State becoming the first team since Saint Josephs in 2004 to have a perfect regular season. The Hawks didnt lose that year until the Atlantic 10 tournament. "Just survive," Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall said. "That was not our best effort, obviously. They get a lot of credit for that. They had a great game plan. They packed it in and we didnt make any shots from the arc. It was a good strategy. Finally we made some in the second half and pulled away slowly, but give them credit..ddddddddddddThey played well." The Shockers trailed at halftime for the ninth time during their unbeaten run, though the 33-32 deficit could have been a whole lot worse the way they were shooting the ball. Wichita State was just 2 of 14 from 3-point range in the first half, most of them missing just about everything. In fact, the only shots the Shockers seemed to make outside of 3 feet were a series of free throws that Early made to keep them within striking distance. It didnt help that the Shockers were in foul trouble, too. Baker, Early and Fred VanVleet -- their top three scorers -- were on the bench with two fouls apiece late in the half. Once they returned after the break, the Shockers started to pick up steam. Early converted a three-point play with 15:47 to put them ahead 44-43, the seventh lead change in the game. Baker added a silky-smooth jumper, then knocked down his first 3 moments later as Wichita State took control and Koch Arena suddenly got rocking. Beane refused to let the Salukis wilt under the pressure. The sophomore guard kept slicing through Wichita States man-to-man defence for baskets near the rim, more than once drawing contact along the way. When the Shockers finally clamped down on him, he deftly found the open teammate for wide-open looks. Jalen Pendletons three-point play pulled the Salukis to 69-64 with 2 1/2 minutes left, but Baker answered with his third 3-pointer. The Shockers turned up the pressure and forced Sean OBrien into a turnover that led to a run-out by Baker, who was fouled and made both free throws. Still with a chance to make it a game, Southern Illinois promptly turned it over again, and this time the Salukis allowed VanVleet to go for an uncontested layup that made it 76-64. Wichita State merely had to coax the final seconds off the clock to remain undefeated. "Its cool, you know?" Early said. "But we take it game by game, day by day. I dont think were looking at an undefeated season because you have to beat the team thats in front of you." ' ' '