A friend of mine played for a German Third Division club that had once beaten a First Division foe in the DFB Cup. The keeper, he told me, had played tremendously. After the game, the media mobbed the giddy goalie, who on national TV said, "I plan to play on a First Division team." At the season's end, the club, long since eliminated from the cup and back to bush league life, cut the keeper. The shocked keeper asked why. Well, the general manager had heard the interview, and successfully shopped for a new keeper. I think of that story …

The move was inevitable: The MetroStars and Bora Milutinovic have mutually agreed to part ways. Assistant coach Fernando Clavijo has been named interim head coach and will also be considered for the vacant coaching position. "After numerous and lengthy discussions, Bora and I have concluded that this decision is in everyone's best interest," said GM Charlie Stillitano. "We are sad to see Bora leave, but wish him the very best in his future endeavors and thank him for his efforts this past season." "My only regret is that we were unable to meet the objectives that both the team and …

Kevin Jameson Braintree, Mass. Are there any plans in the works for the MLS teams to start their own youth programs? Ultimately, I feel that this is the long-term answer to developing players. What do you think? Ridge Mahoney: Kevin, it's the best way to develop players, but until more MLS teams can generate significant revenues, or unless some big sponsor comes in to underwrite such a program, the league have to rely on the current system. (Project-40, which is a combination U.S. Soccer Federation-MLS program that so far has signed 36 young players over 3 1/2 years. They are …

D.C. United rookie midfielder Chris Albright is out for the rest of the season after suffering a torn medial collateral ligament in his left knee during training on Oct. 26. Albright, 20, suffered the injury after going in on a tackle during the morning session at United Park in Herndon, Va. He was examined by United team doctor, Dr. William Hazel, who discovered a third-degree tear of the ligament. No surgery is planned, and though his leg is fully immobilized, he will begin therapy immediately. Albright is expected to return to playing duty in 8-12 weeks. Albright is expected to …

Columbus Crew general manager Jamey Rootes is preparing for life without star striker Stern John, but his focus is the MLS playoffs. SOCCER AMERICA: There has been much speculation as to the future of Stern John. What is his status? JAMEY ROOTES: Our focus with Stern has to be the playoffs and fielding the most competitive team we can. For sure, nothing will happen with Stern prior to the end of the Major League Soccer season, through the MLS Cup. SA: If Stern does leave, do you believe you will be fairly compensated by the league? …

Here's a look at MLS games on television this week: Date Matchup Kickoff (ET) Television Oct. 31 Columbus at D.C. United 1:00 Univision Oct. 31 Dallas at Los Angeles 5:30 p.m. ESPN2

U.S. men's under-17 national team coach John Ellinger named his 18-player roster for the 1999 FIFA U-17 World Championship in New Zealand Nov. 10-27. Ellinger also named five alternates: goalkeeper Martin Hutton (Spring, Texas), midfielders Ryan Daley (Modesto, Calif.), Justin Detter (White Lake, Mich.) and Danny Bolin (Knoxville, Tenn.), and forward Peter Withers (Portland, Ore.). The official roster will not be submitted until the FIFA deadline of Oct. 31. Here is the U.S. U-17 World Championship Roster: No. Name Pos. Ht. Birthdate Hometown Last Club/School 1 Countess, Delvin GK 6'1" 1/09/82 Sacramento, Calif. San Juan/Bella Vista …

Peter Fisher Chicago, Ill. There has been discussion on the Fire strand between Fire and Burn supporters about the nature and consequences of the physical play and intimidation, as evidenced in the Oct. 23 playoff game. The level and nature of the hacking, elbowing and gouging seems to be worse than ever, and worse than evidenced by what we see on television from other leagues around the world. What is your thinking about the continuing issue of "professional fouls" in the future of MLS? Ridge Mahoney: Peter, I disagree. One rough game in a playoff series does not mean MLS …

MENÆS NCAA DIVISION I Far West Region 1 UCLA 13-1-0 DH UC Irvine 1-0, DH San Diego State 2-0 2 CS Fullerton 13-3-0 DH San Diego State 5-0, DH UC Irvine 2-0 3 Santa Clara 11-2-1 TA St. MaryÆs 1-1 4 Washington 9-4-2 DA Denver 4-3, DH California 2-1, DH Stanford 1-0 5 California 11-3-2 LA Washington 1-2, DA Oregon State 1-0 6 Portland 10-3-2 TH Loyola-Marymount 2-2, DH San Diego 2-1 7 San Diego 11-3-0 LA Gonzaga 2-4, LA Portland 1-2 8 Stanford 9-3-2 DA Oregon State 3-1, LA Washington 0-1 9 Gonzaga 8-6-1 DH San Diego 4-2, DH …

WOMENÆS NCAA DIVISION I Central Region 1 Nebraska 16-1-1 DA Oklahoma 3-1, DA Oklahoma State 10-0 2 Texas A&M 14-4-0 DA Missouri 5-2, DA Kansas 4-1 3 SMU 12-5-0 DA TCU 1-0, DH Hawaii 2-0 4 Missouri 11-5-1 LH Texas A&M 5-2, TH Texas 0-0 5 Baylor 12-5-1 DA Denver 3-2, TA Colorado 1-1 6 Saint Louis 13-2-3 DH Southern Florida 2-0, DH UNC Charlotte 1-0 7 Colorado 11-7-1 TH Baylor 1-1, DH Texas Tech 1-0 8 Iowa State 11-6-0 DA Oklahoma State 1-0, LA Oklahoma 0-1 9 North Texas 12-4-1 DA Centenary 4-0, DA Utah State 3-2 10 Houston …

MENÆS NCAA DIVISION III Great Lakes Region 1 Otterbein 15-1-0 DA Marietta 5-1, DH Baldwin-Wallace 6-1 2 Earlham 15-1-0 DH Wabash 2-0, DH Rose-Hulman 2-1 2 Heidelberg 15-1-0 DA Capital 1-0, DH Mount Union 3-1 4 Ohio Wesleyan 13-2-1 DA Denison 3-0, DH Wittenberg 4-0, DH Allegheny 3-1 5 Wilmington 13-4-0 DH Kenyon 4-1, DH Bethany 1-0 6 DePauw 12-3-1 DA Millsaps 2-1, DH Denison 2-1, DA Anderson 3-2 7 Allegheny 11-3-2 DA Wooster 1-0, DH Pitt-Greensburg 3-2, LA Ohio Wesleyan 1-3 8 Calvin 13-3-0 DH Defiance 11-2, DH Albion 7-2 9 Kalamazoo 11-3-0 DH Olivet 1-0, DA Adrian 1-0 …

William A. VanBuskirk Pottstown, Pa. What criteria are used for assigning assists on goals? Mike Woitalla: The practice of awarding assists in score summaries and using them as a statistic for judging individual players can be traced to American soccer, but it is catching on around the world. For example, Italian publications use the English word and the German press uses the word Vorarbeit, which literally translates to "pre-work." As far as how a scorekeeper defines an assist, the definition does vary somewhat between different leagues. Let me repeat the answer I gave seven weeks ago ... Here is the …

MENÆS NCAA DIVISION II Central Region 1 IUP-Fort Wayne 13-2-2 DH Northern Kentucky 1-0, DA Bellarmine 4-1 2 Lewis 12-3-2 LA SIU-E 1-2, DA Southern Indiana 2-0 2 Truman State 11-3-1 LA MO-Rolla 2-3, DA Columbia 2-1 4 SIU-Edwardsville 10-61 DH Lewis 2-1, DH WI-Parkside 1-0 5 WI-Parkside 11-4-1 DA Southern Indiana 2-0, LA SIU-E 0-1 5 Rockhurst 10-4-2 TH Baker 2-2, DH Benedictine 3-0 Far West Region 1 Seattle Pacific 14-2-1 DH Montana 9-2, DH Colorado Christian 4-0, DH Barry 1-0 2 UC Davis 14-1-2 DA San Francisco State 2-4, DA CS Stanislaus 3-0 3 Grand Canyon 13-3-0 …

TAMPA BAY 0 COLUMBUS 2 Oct. 22 Att.: 14,392. Goals Columbus: West (Cunningham, DeBrito) 23, Cunningham 88. SA Report Card Tampa Bay: Garlick 5, Houser 6, Kotschau 5, McCarty 5, Kinnear 6, Valderrama 7, Keller 6, Ralston 6, Quill 5 (Shannon, 65th, 5), Diaz Arce 4, Lagos 6 (Marino, 82nd, 5). Columbus: Dougherty 5, Yeagley 6, Lapper 6, Clark 6, Cunningham 7, West 6 (Farrell, 62nd, 5), Maisonneuve 5 (Smith, 83rd, 5), DeBrito 7, Warzycha 6, McBride 6, John 7 (Dooley, 84th, 5). Yellow cards Tampa Bay: Valderrama 73, Houser 78. Columbus: Clark 43. Referee: Tim Weyland. Assistants: Roger Sill, …

WOMENÆS NCAA DIVISION I SCHOOL RECORD PTS. 1 Santa Clara 17-0-0 299 2 Florida 16-1-0 283 3 North Carolina 14-2-0 273 4 Nebraska 16-1-1 270 5 Penn State 14-2-1 254 6 Notre Dame 13-3-0 240 7 Stanford 13-3-0 221 7 Connecticut 12-5-0 221 9 Clemson 12-4-1 187 10 USC 12-4-0 186 11 Texas A&M 14-4-0 171 12 Virginia 11-6-0 167 13 Wake Forest 11-4-0 151 14 Kentucky 14-2-1 134 15 Harvard 11-1-1 123 16 William & Mary 13-0-0 116 17 San Diego 13-2-0 109 17 SMU 12-5-0 99 19 Michigan 12-4-1 88 20 UCLA 12-3-1 …