RIO DE JANEIRO -- Swimmer Yusra Mardini, who survived a harrowing sea crossing a year ago and is now among 10 refugees competing under the Olympic flag in Rio, won her preliminary heat in the 100-meter butterfly Saturday. But the result wasnt enough to advance her to the semifinals.Mardinis time of 1:9.21 put her 41st overall in the preliminary round, and only the top 16 swimmers moved on to the late-night semifinals. Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden had the top qualifying time of 56.26 seconds.Mardini will compete is a second individual event Wednesday when she swims the womens 100-meter freestyle.Mardini was a competitive swimmer in Syria until she fled the war with her sister last August and survived a hazardous crossing on the Aegean Sea to reach Europe. The Mardini sisters had been among Syrias brightest swimming stars and their family had been moving around to avoid the fighting so they could continue swimming. But the war intensified and eventually the decision was made to leave altogether.The sisters joined a wave of Syrian refugees who left Damascus last summer. They made their way to Lebanon and then Turkey, where they paid smugglers to take them to Greece. Their first attempt was thwarted when Turkish coastguards drove their boat back so they tried again, boarding a small inflatable dinghy at dusk.All but three of the 20 people crowded on the dinghy couldnt swim. Within half an hour, the boat was taking on water.The passengers bags were thrown overboard in an effort to stay afloat as wind churned up the Aegean Sea. But it wasnt enough. As a last resort, the Mardini sisters and another strong swimmer jumped into the water to give the boat more buoyancy.For 3 1/2 hours they clung to the side of the small boat until it reached the Greek island of Lesbos. A weekslong overland trek followed through Macedonia, Serbia and Hungary. They had to hide from police in cornfields to reach Hungary.Eventually, the sisters made it to Austria and then Germany, where they have since been joined by the rest of their family in Berlin.---Learn more about the refugee Olympians competing in Rio: http://interactives.ap.org/2016/refugee-olympians/#syriaVans Sk8 Low Sale . Rinne played two periods in his first game since left hip surgery in early May. Gabriel Bourque scored 3:07 into the second period and Austin Watson tallied 5:15 later for Nashville. Vans Sale Store . Vettel was 0.168 seconds faster than Red Bull teammate Mark Webber around the Suzuka circuit. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was two tenths of a second off Vettel. "The car balance is decent, but I think we can still improve," Vettel said. http://www.vanssalestore.com/vans-old-skool-clearance.html . Tests earlier this week revealed a Grade 2 left hamstring strain for Sabathia, who was hurt in last Fridays start against San Francisco. Its an injury that will require about eight weeks to heal. He finished a disappointing campaign just 14-13 with a career-worst 4. Vans Old Skool Clearance Sale .1 million pounds ($61.2 million) on Saturday, giving the beleaguered English Premier League champions a major lift. Vans Old Skool Grey Sale .Y. - New Orleans forward Anthony Davis was chosen Friday to replace the injured Kobe Bryant in the NBA All-Star game that will be played in his home city. LOS ANGELES -- Despite being the NBAs hottest team, the Los Angeles Clippers believe there is room for improvement.At the end of the day, we like us, but as good as we are playing now, we could be playing a lot better, Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. I think that our guys believe that this is a different group, and it is. The bench is immensely different, and we have an amazing chemistry.The Clippers will shoot for their eighth consecutive win Wednesday night when they mix it up with the Memphis Grizzlies at Staples Center.Owners of the leagues best record, the Clippers (10-1) have dominated at home, winning five of six. Their home margin of victory is an average of 25.2 points per game. Overall, they have outscored the opposition by 183 points, the largest differential in the NBA.On Monday, the Clippers pounded the Brooklyn Nets 127-95 at Staples. Point guard Chris Paul led the way with 21 points, nine assists and five steals. The Clippers had 21 steals for the game.For us, its just about doing the right things consistently, said Clippers guard Jamal Crawford, who came off the bench to score 17 points against the Nets. No matter who we are playing, were all just working on us, so thats good for us.Defense has been the most consistent asset, as the Clippers lead the league in points allowed (92.2 per game) and points differential (plus-16.6). Los Angeles also is tops in opponents field-goal percentage at 40.9 percent.On offense, the Clippers are averaging 108.8 points per game, which is fourth best.Never known for its scoring prowess, Memphis has struggled on offense. The Grizzlies average 97.5 points per game, tied for 26th in the NBA. They are allowing 101.9 points (11th best).Thhe Grizzles (5-5) are in the midst of a four-game road trip.dddddddddddd After a 106-96 setback at Milwaukee to open the swing, they bounced back with a 102-96 decision Monday over the Jazz at Utah. It was the Grizzlies first win away from home after three defeats.I feel like this is the best four quarters weve put together, first-year Memphis coach David Fizdale said. They want to win. They really want this, and we worked really hard over the last couple of days to clean things up.Memphis center Pau Gasol added, The first half was really good as far as percentage goes. The second half we became a little more static but were able to find the open guy and execute a little bit, especially down the stretch.In addition to Gasol, Memphis is getting a lift from several of its veteran players, most notably 39-year-old forward Vince Carter, who is averaging 19 points on 60 percent shooting from the floor in the past three games.I just love the guy, Fizdale said, according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal. How can you not root for one of the great citizens of this league? Everyone respects him. The locker room will do anything for him.Memphis guard Tony Allen (right groin) sat out his third consecutive game Monday. Brandan Wright (left ankle) has yet to play this season. Neither is expected to be available against Los Angeles.Clippers forward Wesley Johnson (left heel contusion) missed the past two games. Johnson said he expects to return for the Memphis game.The Clippers defeated the Grizzlies 99-88 in the teams initial meeting this season on Nov. 4 at Memphis. ' ' '