Olympic swimming

Daily double: Phelps, Hoff set records in 400 IM

OMAHA, Neb. -- Holding off one of his best friends, Michael Phelps started his second attempt to break Mark Spitz's Olympic record with another epic swim.

Less than an hour later, the teenager he compares to a little sister joined Phelps in the record book.

Phelps set a world record in his first event of the U.S. Olympic swimming trials, touching just ahead of Ryan Lochte to win the 400-meter individual medley in 4 minutes, 5.25 seconds Sunday night.

Katie Hoff matched her former North Baltimore teammate in the 400 IM, taking down the women's mark in 4:31.12.

What a start to the eight-day meet!

Wearing the high-tech Speedo LZR Racer, Phelps beat his own mark of 4:06.22, set at last year's world championships in Australia when he turned in one of the greatest performances in swimming history with seven gold medals.

After saying he had no fear of Phelps, Lochte proved it by also going under the previous record. But his time of 4:06.08 was only good enough for second with Phelps in the next lane over.

"That was probably one of the most painful races of my life," the winner said. "Everything was left in the pool. I definitely would not have been able to do it without Lochte beside me. He's a great friend and a great competitor. I love racing him."

The 19-year-old Hoff -- playfully described by Phelps as the little sister he never had -- showed no signs of the nervousness that ruined her first trip to the Olympics four years ago. The youngest member of the U.S. team, she was overcome by the moment and threw up on deck after failing to advance from her first event.

All grown up, Hoff dipped under record pace on the breaststroke leg and held on with her freestyle to beat Stephanie Rice's mark of 4:31.46, set in March at the Australian Olympic trials.

"Stephanie really raised the bar when she broke my old record," Hoff said. "I'm just excited for Beijing, and I think it's going to be a really tough challenging race with her."

Like Phelps, Hoff also was wearing the revolutionary Speedo suit, which has been worn for 40 of the 44 world marks set since it was unveiled in mid-February.

"It definitely gave me a few tenths," Phelps said. "At the end, when I was getting a little tired, the suit gave me a little extra edge."

Larsen Jensen, also wearing the LZR, set an American mark in the 400 freestyle in a three-way race to the wall with previous recordholder Peter Vanderkaay and Erik Vendt.

Jensen's time of 3:43.53 topped Vanderkaay's mark of 3:43.82, which was set last month in California. Vanderkaay also went lower, touching second in 3:43.73.

Brendan Hansen just missed another world record in the 100 breaststroke semifinals, advancing to Monday's final in 59.24. He holds the mark of 59.13, and nodded his head confidently when he looked toward the scoreboard.

WNBA

Phoenix ecplises Sun

UNCASVILLE, Conn. -- Diana Taurasi scored 25 points, leading the Phoenix Mercury past the Connecticut Sun 87-80 on Sunday for their fifth win in six games.

Tangela Smith added 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Mercury, who took advantage of 14 offensive rebounds -- 10 in the second half -- to sweep the season series from Connecticut.

Taurasi made her fifth 3-pointer of the game with 4:42 left to give the Mercury a 75-68 lead, after Phoenix kept the possession alive with a pair of offensive rebounds.

The Sun (12-5) got as close as 80-76 with 1:44 left following a pair of free throws from Lindsay Whalen. But Cappie Pondexter's basket with 1:21 left pushed the lead to six, and the Sun never got within five again.

Pondexter finished with 16 points. Asjha Jones scored 16 to lead Connecticut, while Whalen had 14 points, eight assists and eight rebounds.

Jamie Carey and Sandrine Gruda added 10 points apiece.

• Shock 100, Dream 92: At Auburn Hills, Mich., Kara Braxton scored a career-best 26 points and grabbed nine rebounds to help Detroit keep Atlanta winless.

Detroit (12-5) moved into a tie with Connecticut for the Eastern Conference lead, while the expansion Dream extended their WNBA-record losing streak to 15 games.

Katie Smith added 24 points and Deanna Nolan had 18 points and 11 assists for Detroit, which was missing starters Cheryl Ford (knee) and Elaine Powell (foot) and used just eight players.

Atlanta got a career-high 27 points from Tamera Young and 22 from Betty Lennox.

MLS

Resurgent United spoil Beckham's D.C. visit, 4-1

WASHINGTON -- The Los Angeles Galaxy wilted in the heat during David Beckham's annual visit to the nation's capital, hardly the best scenario against a D.C. United team that is scoring goals in bunches.

Luciano Emilio struck twice, Marcelo Gallardo had one goal, and Jaime Moreno converted a penalty kick Sunday as United won their fourth straight game, dominating the second half of a 4-1 victory over the Galaxy before a season-high 35,979 fans at steamy RFK Stadium.

"In the second half, you see players that really suffered from the heat," Galaxy coach Ruud Gullit said. "They were exhausted. It's extreme for a player to play in this heat -- and the humidity also."

After a 2-7 start that brought into serious question the franchise's major offseason moves, United have rebounded to go unbeaten in six games. They've scored 18 goals in that span, led by nine from reigning league MVP Emilio. He now has 10 goals on the season, only one behind league-leader Landon Donovan of the Galaxy.

"Two months ago, we were still sorting out a lot of issues," United coach Tom Soehn said. "We have a talented group, and whenever you underperform, it's frustrating on all ends. It's a matter of time that the chemistry's going to start setting, and it has. Guys are starting to understand each other more and more, and we're starting to look more like a team."

The game matched the two teams that lead the league in both goals scored and goals allowed, but only United maintained its offensive prowess for the full 90 minutes. The Galaxy's only goal came from Edson Buddle, who netted his 10th of the season.

Meanwhile, Donovan's highlight moment was a painful one -- a bloody whack in the nose from Gallardo's forearm in the first half. Gallardo was assessed a yellow card instead of a red-card ejection, and Donovan got his own yellow card for arguing the call. Gallardo eventually scored to give United a 3-1 lead in the second half, long after the Galaxy felt he should have sent to the showers.

"He scored the third goal. He's supposed to be off the pitch," Gullit said. "There was blood coming out of (Donovan's) nose. I blame also the fourth official because it's ridiculous -- it was right in front of him. If he has no authority, what is the point of having him there?"

The conditions were hardly ideal for the only regular season MLS game ABC plans to televise this year. The start time was noon -- or 9 a.m., according to the body clocks of the West Coast-based Galaxy -- on a typically uncomfortable summer day in Washington. The early start allowed the network to make the game the first half of a doubleheader, capped by the European Championship final.

"I'm disappointed with the way it went in the second half," said Beckham, whose appearance helped United draw roughly double its usual crowd. "We lost our way. We kept giving the ball away, and we didn't play well. It was hot out there, but it was more than that today."

The play was lively at both ends in the first half. The game had barely begun when Beckham made his biggest impact -- literally -- by drilling a ball that hit Gonzalo Martinez in the groin, leaving the United defender writhing in pain for a minute or so before he could resume play.

United scored the first goal in the fifth minute, after Ante Jazic needlessly shoved Santino Quaranta in the back at the top of the penalty box. Moreno made the spot kick for his sixth goal of the season. Quaranta later left the game with a strained hamstring.

Buddle tied the score in the 26th, but Emilio's falling-backward looping header inside the far post put United ahead to stay in the 37th. Gallardo followed with his goal in the 60th, scoring after Emilio settled Martinez's cross, and a nice breakaway sequence from Moreno to Fred to Emilio accounted for the final goal in the 68th.

An emotional moment occurred in the 75th minute, when United midfielder Ben Olsen returned from a severe ankle injury to make his first appearance of the year. Olsen, one of the most popular players in franchise history and a key locker room leader, entered the game to a standing ovation.