IN BRIEF

COLLEGES

UNLV men's golf stands second in Arizona event

The 15th-ranked UNLV men's golf team was tied for second Sunday after the first round of the National Invitational Tournament in Tucson, Ariz.

UNLV and New Mexico each shot 2-under-par 286, topped only by Texas Christian's solid round of 13-under 275. Kent State was fourth at 287 and Arizona State fifth at 2-over 290.

Rebels sophomore Eddie Olson was in a four-way tie for first individually after shooting 4-under 68, matched by TCU's Robby Ormand and Jordan Woolf and New Mexico's Steve Saunders.

C.J. Gatto and Brett Kanda shot 72 for UNLV to tie for 17th, and freshman Ji Moon rounded out the team score with a 74.

The three-round event continues today and Tuesday.

WINTER SPORTS

Penguins star Crosby might return tonight

Sidney Crosby plans to accompany the Pittsburgh Penguins on their brief trip that starts today, and he could play for the first time since March 9.

The Penguins meet the New York Islanders tonight and the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday before returning home to face the Islanders again Thursday.

Crosby took part in the Penguins' pregame skate Saturday but did not play during their 7-1 victory over New Jersey that moved them into the Atlantic Division lead.

Crosby was the NHL's leading scorer when he badly sprained his right ankle while sliding hard into the boards Jan. 18 against Tampa Bay. He missed 21 games before coming back against the Lightning on March 4, playing three games until pain returned in his ankle. He sat out Pittsburgh's last five games.

Also: Battling gusting, swirling winds, Stacey Cook and Kevin Francis claimed the super giant slalom titles at the U.S. Alpine Skiing Championships in Carrabassett Valley, Maine.

Cook collected her second national title when she edged Leanne Smith by five one-hundredths of a second. Cook also won the super G crown on the same hill in 2006.

Katie Hitchcock was third, and World Cup overall champ Lindsey Vonn finished fourth.

MISCELLANEOUS

French swimmer sets another world record

Alain Bernard set a world record in the 50-meter freestyle, after twice lowering the 100 freestyle mark in the previous two days at the European swimming championships in Eindhoven, Netherlands.

The muscular Frenchman finished in 21.50 seconds to beat the time of 21.56 set last month by Eamon Sullivan of Australia.

Also: Sophie Edington lowered a day-old world record in the women's 50-meter backstroke at the Australian swimming championships in Sydney, Australia.

Edington finished in 27.67 seconds to break the mark of 27.95 set by Australian teammate Emily Seebohn in the semifinals.

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen won the Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang, Malaysia.

Raikkonen moved ahead of pole-sitting teammate Felipe Massa after the first set of pit stops at Sepang and cruised to victory, 20 seconds ahead of BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica, with McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen another 19 seconds back in third.

Costume led from gate to wire but had to hold off a crowd at the finish in the $150,000 Santa Ana Handicap at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif.

Ridden by Garrett Gomez, the 4-year-old filly finished a head in front of Immortelle, as just three heads separated the first four finishers in the 1 1/8-mile race.