CLEVELAND -- When Paul Hamm picked up the local paper at his hotel Wednesday morning, he couldn't help feeling a little left out.

The story previewing the U.S. Gymnastics Championships was all about Sean Townsend and Blaine Wilson. Sean vs. Blaine. Blaine vs. Sean. Defending champion vs. the five-time king.

"I felt kind of bad I wasn't mentioned,'' Hamm said, laughing.

He'll get plenty of ink now. Hamm won Wednesday night's preliminaries and takes a comfortable lead into Friday's all-around finals. He finished with 56.575 points, 0.900 ahead of Wilson.

"It feels really good,'' he said. "I'm starting with a lead, that helps a lot. It just gives me a lot of confidence to know I can beat Blaine.''

Don't count Wilson out yet, though. The five-time champion, who missed last year after tearing his rotator cuff in June 2001, is looking like his old, solid self again. He led for most of the night despite hurting his left knee during warmups.

But mistakes on his last two routines, the floor exercise and pommel horse, cost him.

"It feels good, but I'd rather be in first place,'' said Wilson, who is trying to become the first man to win six U.S. titles. "Nobody wants to finish second; that's not why you come to this meet.''

Townsend was third with 54.650, while Guard Young was fourth. Morgan Hamm, Paul's twin, was fifth with 54.050 -- not a bad showing for someone who hasn't competed in 16 months.

"It was awesome,'' said Morgan Hamm, who had a nerve injury in his shoulder. "It's hard to describe it. It feels like I'm back to my old self.''

Wilson has been the American to beat since the mid-1990s, winning five straight titles from 1996 to 2001. He hasn't lost a major meet in the United States since the 1996 Olympic trials.

But Paul Hamm has an impressive resume, too. He and Morgan were Olympians at 17, and Paul was part of the U.S. team that won a historic silver medal at the world championships last fall. It was the United States' best-ever showing at worlds.

"Everybody was talking about Sean and Blaine, but they forgot a person: Paul,'' Wilson said. "You knew he was going to be up there.''

But he had to make up some ground to get there. Though Wilson competed with a hyperextended left knee, he looked as if nothing was wrong once it started.

Beginning on the still rings, his strongest event, he put on a textbook performance. As he hung suspended in the air in an iron cross, his arms extended out, the rings and wires holding them didn't even move.

He moved slowly and smoothly, looking as if an invisible wire was pulling him from position to position. He was rewarded with a 9.850, the top score of the night on the event.

"I felt like I hadn't left,'' Wilson said. "It was the most relaxed I've ever been in my life.''

Paul Hamm, meanwhile, got off to a rough start, falling off the high bar, his second event. It's the same event that spoiled his chances for an all-around medal at the world championships last fall.

"I really don't think it's a mental thing,'' he said. "It's just a really difficult combination.''

He does four release moves in a row, flipping himself high above the bar, catching and going right back up again. But he missed the second catch, plopping to the ground.

He also took a small step forward on the landing, and his 8.575 was his lowest score of the night.

"I was pretty bummed,'' he said. "Because really and truly, I feel that's one of my strongest events.''

But he made up ground quickly, scoring a 9.9 on the floor and a 9.7 on pommel horse. And when Wilson tried to do too much on the floor, almost landing on his face with his last tumbling pass, the two were in a tie going into the final event.

Wilson was up first on the pommel horse, and he turned in a sloppy routine that earned him just an 8.7. Paul Hamm, meanwhile, stuck his vault. He took a small step back to steady himself on his landing, but he knew it was good enough to put him in first.

It was, earning him a 9.6, the highest score on the apparatus of the night. As he trotted off the podium, he grinned and exchanged an enthusiastic handslap with longtime coach Stacy Maloney.

One more night like this, and the national title is all his.

"I'm trying to imagine that happening and I want that to happen,'' he said. "But it's not going to be easy. Blaine's going to come back strong. If we both have our best days, it's going to be a really good competition.''