BRIEFLY : GABEL STREAKS ON, TURNER STUMBLES.

Andy Gabel knew what he had to do at the U.S. Olympic short track speedskating trials, and so he finished the job early in Lake Placid, N.Y.

Just as he did when the trials opened a week ago, Gabel won the time trial on Saturday to take an insurmountable lead in the competition and will get the chance to race in every event at the Winter Olympics, including his specialty, the 500 meters.

Gabel, 33, who led the 16-man field with 13 points entering the day, won the time trial in 38.387 seconds. That broke his own U.S. record of 39 seconds.

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Cathy Turner finished second in her time trial and seemed poised to atone for her dismal performance in the first two rounds. But in her first heat, Turner slipped again, as she had on Monday, slammed hard into the wall and her day was over. If she qualifies for the Winter Games she will race only in the relays. The U.S. will have a six-man team and a six-woman team, and only the top three skaters on each squad get to perform in every event.

Three-time Olympian Eric Flaim made some important strides in his bid to return to the Winter Games. The 30-year-old, who is the only person to win Olympic medals in both long and short track, beat Gabel in a heat and finished third in the men's final to into fourth place overall.

HOCKEY: Russia's top hockey administrator has accused the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes of preventing goalie Nikolai Khabibulin from joining Russia's Olympic team.

Alexander Steblin, president of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation, said general manager Bobby Smith persuaded Khabibulin to reject an invitation to play for Russia at the Olympics by promising a pay raise. Steblin says that violates an agreement signed by the NHL and the International Hockey Federation.

He said he and Russia's new Olympic coach, Vladimir Yursinov, tried to meet with Khabibulin when Phoenix was playing in Ottawa in November but were barred from the Coyotes' locker room after the game.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: The American Basketball League would like to take its budding rivalry with the Women's National Basketball Association to a new level.

ABL co-founder Gary Cavalli issued what he called a friendly invitation to WNBA officials to explore the idea of a game between all-stars of the two leagues. The ABL intends to approach the WNBA next week, proposing a game be played perhaps in the fall after the WNBA season ends and ABL teams are in training camp. Proceeds would benefit a charity with ties to women's athletics, such as the Women's Sports Foundation.

The ABL All-Star game is today in Florida.

FOOTBALL: Calvin Hill, who starred as a running back for the Dallas Cowboys after a brilliant career at Yale, will be honored as Man of the Year by the Walter Camp Foundation. A banquet will be held Feb. 14 at Yale.

- Daily News Wire Services