BRIEFLY : GILLIES PART OF EFFORT TO PURCHASE ISLANDERS.

A group of investors led by former Madison Square Garden president Bob Gutkowski could decide by next week whether to make a formal bid to buy the NHL's New York Islanders.

The group, which includes former Islanders left wing Clark Gillies, has expressed interest in buying the team since John Spano was forced by the NHL to give up his short-lived role as Islanders owner July 11.

Gutkowski, who is from Long Island, is the president of the Marquee Group, a sports consulting firm. He said he's asked Gillies and other Long Island investors to consider buying the franchise.

FOOTBALL: Kevin Greene's bid to get more money from the Carolina Panthers took a new twist when fellow linebacker Lamar Lathon said he would be willing to restructure his contract to help end the impasse. ``To get where we need to go, we need our quality people,'' said Lathon, who teamed with Greene, the former L.A. Rams star, to form the top sacks duo in the NFL last season.

Tailback Erric Pegram, a new member of the San Diego Chargers, underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee to remove loose cartilage that was detected during an MRI exam on the opening day of training camp. Pegram, due to battle fellow newcomer Gary Brown for the starting job, is expected to be out two to three weeks.

CYCLING: Jan Ullrich of Germany dominated a 34.2-mile Tour de France time trial and won the 12th stage by 3 minutes, 4 seconds over Richard Virenque at St. Etienne, France. Another four seconds back was defending champion Bjarne Riis of Denmark. Not since Miguel Indurain in 1992 has anyone won a time trial by three minutes.

TENNIS: Top-seeded Michael Chang breezed to a 6-2, 6-3 quarterfinal victory over seventh-seeded Scott Draper at the Legg Mason Classic in Washington, D.C. Second-seeded Petr Korda, despite feeling ill, advanced with a 6-7 (2-7), 6-4, 6-4 victory over his doubles partner, Thomas Haas.