Perreault Leaves Toronto and Signs With Montreal

Yanic Perreault, a center who spent two seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs, signed a three-year, $8.4-million contract with the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday.

The Canadiens also re-signed defenseman Stephane Robidas to a two-year, $1.17-million deal.

Perreault, a former King and an unrestricted free agent, earned $1.1 million last season when he had 24 goals and 28 assists in 76 games for the Maple Leafs. He had two goals and three assists in 11 playoff games.

Perreault, 30, is an experienced two-way center who excels on faceoffs and probably will play on the Canadiens’ second line.

Officially, it was the first free-agent signing by Montreal. However, Joe Juneau was headed for free agency before signing a three-year deal two weeks ago after his rights were acquired in a trade with Phoenix.

Jiri Dopita, who starred for the champion Czech Republic at the 1998 Olympics, signed a two-year, $3.3-million contract with the Philadelphia Flyers. The 32-year-old center was acquired June 23 during the NHL draft in a trade with the Florida Panthers. . . . Toronto signed defenseman Anders Eriksson, who became an unrestricted free agent after the Florida Panthers didn’t make him a qualifying offer. . . . Tony Leswick, the feisty Detroit Red Wing forward who ended the 1954 Stanley Cup finals with a Game 7 overtime goal against Montreal, has died. He was 78.

Soccer

Two goals by ace youngster Javier Saviola helped Argentina overpower Paraguay, 5-0, at Buenos Aires and advance to the final of the under-20 FIFA World Youth Championship.

Argentina will play Ghana, a 2-0 winner against Egypt, in Sunday’s final.

Argentina, which has won the championship three times, scored its first goal in the 18th minute when Saviola fired home a shot from the edge of the penalty area. Saviola scored his second goal six minutes later on a cross from Maximiliano Rodriguez.

At Cordoba, Argentina, Ghana scored its first goal with seven minutes left when Abass Inusah headed in a cross from Abdul Ibrahim. Ghana’s second came on an own goal when Egypt’s Mohamed El Atrawy made an errant pass.

Defending champion Germany defeated Norway, 1-0, on a goal by Sandra Smisek at Ulm, Germany, and will play Sweden in the final of the women’s European Soccer Championship on Saturday.

Sweden defeated Denmark, 1-0, in the other semifinal.

Negotiations to sell Juventus’ French star Zinedine Zidane to Real Madrid have been postponed until next week, the Italian club announced on its Web site after a meeting of the teams’ managers.

Miscellany

Maurice Greene equaled his world-best time this season, winning the 100 meters in 9.90 seconds at the Athletissima Grand Prix at Lausanne, Switzerland, against a strong Olympic field.

Triple Olympic champion Marion Jones reaffirmed her status as the top female sprinter, winning the 100 in 11.04, ahead of Ukrainian rival Zhanna Pintusevich.

Greene beat Olympic silver medalist Ato Boldon of Trinidad, who was 0.09 back. Britain’s Dwain Chambers was third in 10.00.

American Angelo Taylor, the Olympic 400-meter hurdles champion, set a season’s world best, crossing in 47.95 seconds.

Linebacker Jeremiah Garrison was suspended from the South Carolina football team for an unspecified violation of team and athletic department policy. The university did not say how long the suspension would last.

Two former Rutgers basketball players and a team manager who said they were humiliated when forced to run naked during practice can sue their former coaches.

A state appellate court decision overturned a lower court ruling that dismissed the suit brought by the players, Earl Johnson Jr. and Josh Sankes, and manager Juan Carlos Pla in 1999.

Former heavyweight champion Greg Page will be released today from Frazier Rehab Institute in Louisville, Ky., where he has undergone treatment for a brain injury suffered in a fight. Page, 42, who will continue to receive therapy five days a week, was injured March 9 during a fight in Erlanger, Ky., against 24-year-old Dale Crowe.

The U.S. took a 23-13 lead after two rounds of the annual U.S.-Japan Collegiate Golf Championship at Numata, Japan. The U.S. was 6-1-1 in the men’s singles matches--including a victory by USC’s Hunter Mahan over Taichiro Kiyoto--and 2-2 in the women’s singles matches.

Former Tour de France champion Jan Ullrich is among 86 people being investigated for possible drug violations stemming from last month’s Giro d’Italia race, Italian media outlets reported.

The German rider has denied any wrongdoing.

Alex Glueck led a 1-2 finish by ski jumpers from Steamboat Springs, Colo., and bested a field of 30 to win the 90-meter 53rd Summer Ski Jump at Lake Placid, N.Y. Glueck recorded the two best efforts of the day with jumps of 97.5 and 101.5 meters. Tommy Schwall finished second.

The IOC’s drug agency plans to give money to laboratories to allow them to test for banned substances such as EPO. Currently, only three accredited IOC labs--in Lausanne, Switzerland; Paris and Sydney--have the facilities to test for EPO.

Labs in Oslo and Barcelona should be able to conduct such tests in the near future.

Bengal II, one of two Japanese entries in the 41st Transpacific Yacht Race, moved into second place overall in Division III in corrected handicap time by roll call Wednesday. Cantata, owned by Oceanside’s Brent Vaughan, is in first.

Pegasus sailed 304 miles and retained its lead over Bob McNulty of Corona del Mar aboard Chance in Division I.

Alana Beard of Duke scored 20 points to lead the United States to an 81-60 victory over Brazil in the USA Basketball Junior International Invitational at Fairfax, Va.

Japan beat China, 85-81, in the other game on the opening day of the tournament at George Mason University’s Patriot Center.