The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • Page 123

LOS ANGELES TIMES NA SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1998 B5 VIEWPOINT LETTERS MLS Dodgers Don't Care if They Don't Please All the People MLS NOTES D.C.'s Etcheverry Named MVP Washington D.C. United forward Marco "El Diablo" Etcheverry was named Major League Soccer's most valuable player for 1998, edging out Galaxy winger Cobi Jones and Chicago Fire playmaker Peter Nowak. Etcheverry, from Bolivia, scored 10 goals and had 19 assists in leadjng D.C. United to Sunday's MLS championship game against the Fire at the Rose Bowl. MLS has selected Foxboro Stadium in Massachusetts as the site of its 1999 championship game, which will be played Nov.

14, three weeks later than previous finals so that it won't conflict with baseball's World Series. Foxboro, home stadium of the New England Revolution, staged MLS Cup '96, when 34,643 saw D.C, United defeat the Galaxy in a severe rainstorm. The San Jose Clash is trying to sign veteran Japanese striker Kazuyoshi Miura, 31, who has played professionally for Santos in Brazil, Genoa in Italy and, most recently, Verdy Kawasaki in Japan. He has scored 54 goals in 86 national team games for Japan. GRAHAME L.

JONES Harvey Strikes Out With Attitude Having been a basketball official, I have been supportive of all athletic officials, including major league umpires. I am particularly appalled at the constant replays of close or missed calls, with everyone seeming to forget that the officials have only a split second to decide. However, Doug Harvey's article of Oct. 21, where he commented that the World Series was "3-0 in favor of the umpires," causes me to rethink my stand. This kind of smug arrogance is injuring a great game.

I hope other umpires disavow the comment, but I'm afraid the dirty little secret is out. Umpires are more important than the game? Incredible. DONALD A. LINDGREN, La Mesa Continued from Page 1 Perhaps it's the New Jersey in Bradley that makes him seem to always be trying to prove that he is as good or better than the rest Call it the Jersey syndrome. He was born in Montclair, N.J., 40 years ago.

Or perhaps it's the Ivy League in both of them that rubs more laid-back souls the wrong way. Arena went to Cornell, Bradley to Princeton. And now here they are, on the eve of MLS Cup '98, the league's third championship game, ready to square off against each other on Sunday at the Rose Bowl. Arena coaches Washington D.C. United, a team that under his guidance has won two league championships, one U.S.

Open Cup and, in a first for any American team, one CONCACAF Champions Cup. Bradley coaches the Chicago Fire, a franchise that didn't exist a year ago. In the team's first season, he has led it to the title game, sweeping the favored Galaxy out of the playoffs along the way. There will be nothing to hide between them; they are more than familiar with each other's strengths and weaknesses and have coached together for several years. Arena spent 18 years as coach of Virginia, winning five NCAA titles and compiling a 295-55-31 record.

His winning percentage of .807, D.C. United folk are quick to point out, is better than even John Wooden's .801 mark at UCLA. For two of those years, Bradley was Arena's assistant with the Cavaliers, then moved on to coach Princeton for 12 years, going 92-80-15. In 1993, Bradley was named NCAA coach of the year after taking the Tigers to the final four, where, inevitably, they lost to Arena's Virginia in the semifinals. College was not the only place where the two coaches' paths crossed.

When Arena was named U.S. Olympic coach for the 1996 Atlanta Games, he selected Bradley as his assistant. And when he was named coach of D.C. United, he again turned to Bradley as his second-in-command. So, having been on the Wasn-ington bench when D.C.

United won the MLS title in 1996 with a 3-2 overtime victory over the Galaxy and again in 1997 when it retained its title by defeating the Colorado Rapids, 2-1, in the final, Bradley, like Arena, has two league championships to his credit. Even in retirement, umpire Doug Harvey is as thin-skinned as ever. Apparently, his position, as expressed in Thursday's paper, is that (1) umpires never are wrong, 2 their judgment never should ever be questioned, and (3) close calls should not be subjected to slow-motion examination. It is precisely because of this arrogance, Doug, that umpires are disliked. It's not because of their calls.

I often have heard a player admit to making an error that cost his team I never have heard an umpire acknowledge that he made a mistake. TOM BARNIDGE, Redondo Beach If Doug Harvey had the courage to be an honest critic, his column could have had some value. Unfortunately, Harvey has been no less a shameless, partisan defender of Rich Garcia (Game 1 home umpire) than Alan "O.J. was innocent" Dershowitz has been of Bill Clinton. Commenting on the 3-2 pitch that was delivered just after the 2-2 clear strike was called a ball in Game Harvey says: "Why throw the ball belt-high down the middle of the plate to Tino Martinez?" Answer: Because Garcia just demonstrated that that was the strike zone.

If Mark Langston wanted to avoid walking Martinez, he had to deliver a whopper of a strike. DAVID F. HUBBARD, Riverside Doug Harvey says Rich Garcia called a great game in Game 1, except for one pitch Sure And the captain of the Titanic had a great crossing, except for one iceberg, JEFFREY R. THOMSON, Los Angeles But winning one on his own would mean much more. Already, he has followed Arena down too many paths.

The D.C. United coach has compiled regular -season records of 16-16, 21-11 and 24-8 and was named MLS coach of the year in 1997. The expansion Fire was 20-12 this season under Bradley, who on Tuesday was named MLS coach of the year for 1998. As Peter Wilt, Chicago's general manager, tells the story, Arena laughed at the idea of the Fire being a success in its first year. But then Wilt staged a coup by luring Bradley away from Washington.

"I wanted an American coach, or at least a coach who understood American players and the MLS style of acquiring players," Wilt said. One of the key things Bradley had learned from Arena was how to assemble a winning team. Arena and Kevin Payne, Washington's general manager, are acknowledged as the best front office in the league when it comes to putting the jigsaw puzzle pieces together. Wilt and Bradley followed suit this season. "It's tough to piece a team together when other teams have a two-year head start," former Galaxy and current Fire midfielder Chris Armas told the Chicago Sun-Times.

"Bob picked good players and good people. We have guys who came from every walk of life, with different mentalities and personalities, yet he developed a sense of family." That was evident in the bedlam of the Soldier Field locker room after the Fire had clinched a place in the final by beating the Galaxy. But as the players hugged and cheered and cavorted, Bradley remained focused. "I've said it many times," he said, "D.C. has set the standard for the first three years of this league.

Without taking anything away from the Galaxy, I still believe that when it comes to big games, Washington is the best team in this league. They have experience and they know how to win." Like Arena, Bradley becomes quite animated when the subject is victory or defeat. Neither one likes losing. "Their D.C. United's incentive is that they want to win," he said.

"That's what great players and great teams are all about. They'll be thinking that they've got two rings and they want a third. "On our end, all we can say is that it doesn't matter if you're a first-year team or not, you're lucky as a player when you're in a final. And at the end of your career you hope that you've had a chance to be in some finals and you hope that you've had a chance to win some championships. "I've said that a lot this year.

We didn't start talking about that on Day 1 because it didn't make sense, but as time went on we felt that we were a team that could compete for a championship. "We have a lot of different ideas about what this league is supposed to be, and I understand the different perspectives. But I still think if it's really going to be a league, it has to have teams and players who, more than anything else, want to win that championship." Hackett to motivate the team for its game with Oregon would create a furor among The Times' sports -writers. What will happen when he really says something nasty about UCLA? The reaction will probably rock the Richter scale. MORRIS ELKIND La Crescenta Sheffield won't stay because Bonilla might be traded.

Bonilla insists that he feels stronger because he has adhered to an intense off-season workout (hold on, I am calculating today is Friday, the World Series ended Wednesday, the regular season ended Sept. 27: 26 days of "intense off-season" workout). Bonilla doesn't like the way things are handled. Show them both the door. Then Dodger management might take a lesson from the World Series champion New York Yankees and fill the roster with solid, day-in, day-out players who don't have egos as big as their paychecks.

How about some no-names on the team like Wells, Brosius and Ledee? MICHELLE M.NIPP Los Angeles Gary Sheffield has shared he would be unhappy if Bobby Bonilla does not return to the Dodgers. Well, Mr. Sheffield, I have news for you. Davey Johnson, your new boss, is the type of manager who will tell you when you can and cannot be happy. WAYNE MURAMATSU Cerritos By stating that he and Bob Graziano would consult with them before making an offer to a managerial candidate, Kevin Malone confirmed this week what we have known all along.

Tweedledee and Tweedledum, Peter Chernin and Chase Carey, are running the Dodgers, right into the ground. Long gone are the days when employees and customers counted for something. It will be a long time before they ever see 3 million in attendance again too. DAVE SNYDER Grand Terrace As a former Dodger fan, I am impressed by the integrity of the managers who have turned down offers to manage the Dodgers. It is obvious they don't want to ruin their reputations by working for Rupert Murdoch, the man who has brought a great tradition of the Dodgers to the lowest level since the Black Sox scandal.

ZACHARY A. CHARLES Burbank Ross Newhan's commentary on the Dodgers Oct. 20 was right on target. In reality, it was an indictment. Fox has succeeded in destroying everything except Dodger Stadium, and if what I read is true, that is also in their plans.

I certainly do not live in the past, but with the Dodgers we have been given no choice. JOE GUELPE Culver City Padres Weren't Kidding With Garvey Bill Plaschke wonders why Steve Garvey isn't part of the San Diego World Series scene. It could be that shortly after Garvey ended his career in San Diego, women began crawling out of the woodwork whose children he had fathered out of wedlock. In conservative San Diego, this was frowned upon and Garvey quietly slinked out of town, never to be heard from again. BILLTAPP San Diego I agree with Bill Plaschke's piece on Steve Garvey.

Is this how the Padre organization chooses to acknowledge its former hero? One day, when Garvey secures his well-deserved place in Coop-erstown, it is obvious what cap he will be wearing. DAVID BRONOW Northridge They're Starting to Come Around to T.J.'s Thinking Well, not all of us have the all-knowing clairvoyance T.J. Simers seems to possess, but I wish I did. He must be the most educated man ever to cover the NFL. He makes all of the right calls, and never errs in his decisions.

Best of all, he never reports with a biased opinion. OK, that was sarcasm. CHARLES C. AHLERS Isla Vista Re: "Carolina Caper Has Another Villain," by T.J. Simers: This is the first time I have read anything by Simers that even resembles an understanding of football and people and sports.

I have to applaud him for taking another look at this merry-go-round of sports icons we have built and in fact now find myself rethinking my opinion of him. He is always so negative, but perhaps there is a method to his madness like pointing out that the emperor's new clothes were For the first time ever, get $1000 cash back on the truck that changed the rules. not designed by Donna Karan or Calvin Klein. I am starting to see him as a whistle blower on this sports universe that we have built up and worship like the golden calf. LARRY JAFFE Los Angeles Enough is enough, already, about T.J.

Simers. Simers is, without a doubt, the most refreshing writer on the pro football scene today. He writes the truth about an inferior product and is not intimidated by the powers that be. How many years did he say the Lions' Scott Mitchell was the most overrated QB around? Apparently, Bobby Ross finally got it and Mitchell is now third string. Keep it up, T.J.

Your columns on the NFL are a great deal more interesting than the games they play. RAY MARIN Los Angeles By L.A. Standards, This Game Was a Super Bowl Suppose you're the second-biggest city in America. Suppose, however, you don't have a pro football team, like Tampa Bay, Buffalo and Indianapolis. In such an unbelievable case, you send J.A.

Adande to write a column on the front page of the sports section about San Diego against Philadelphia. Adande wrote that the game was boring, but it was still better than the NFL game we had in L.A. last Sunday. DAVID KOHNHORST Sunland Tyson Has Never Been a Spartan Sort of Guy As a Michigan State graduate, I have been raised on the legend of Magic Johnson. I have heard of his leadership and teamwork, devotion and honor.

Well, Magic, you have lost my respect. Standing up for a man like Mike Tyson was a mistake. Magic, I know you have a difficult time staying out of the limelight, always trying something new to advance your image. Standing behind a monster, a criminal, a rapist, an animal, was the wrong choice. DAVE DIAMOND West Los Angeles Mike Tyson is a convicted rapist and the perpetrator of a public horror in front of the children of the world.

This man is now welcomed back to the sporting world with open arms. This action inspires rage in my heart. Just think for a moment: Pete Rose is banned from the Hall of Fame because he has a legitimate disease, a gambling disorder. I would not allow Tyson to sit in my home, and will never watch him fight again, even if it's free. SAMUEL GROOVER San Juan Capistrano Hackett Is Talking, but Toledo Makes Statement It is hard to understand that an innocuous remark made by Paul If, when Bob Toledo became head football coach, someone would have predicted that IV2 years later, a UCLA-Oregon game would attract to the Rose Bowl, I would have said that was about as likely as Terry Donahue calling a pass play on first down.

WESLEY WELLMAN Santa Monica Looking for Good News? Turn to the Wizard Congratulations to- J.A. Adande for his superlative article (Oct. 14) on John Wooden and his 88th birthday. It highlighted so much that is good about Coach Wooden, well beyond that which we already know from his successes in basketball. Our search for a hero could always end at Pauley Pavilion.

Today that search is all the more difficult because of the proliferation of greed, money, drugs and the like in the world of sports. But we still have Coach Wooden, and all that he has given to us both in and out of sports to be thankful for. Thanks, J.A., for bringing it to our attention in such an insightful way one more time. MARC VIENS Long Beach He Missed the Green With Shot at Firestone Peter Yoon criticized Roy Firestone for omitting Paul Azinger holing out from the sand to win the 1993 PGA Championship Hot Corner, Oct. 19.

Perhaps the reason is that Azinger did not hole out to win the 1993 PGA. Azinger did hole a sand shot to win the Memorial. Bob Tway holed out from the sand to win the PGA in 1986. LARRY DOUGHARTY Manhattan Beach The Question Regarding the arbitrator's decision that NBA owners do not have to pay guaranteed contracts during the lockout: Does this mean Elden Campbell will finally have to play to collect his paycheck? P.D. ROSS Beverly Hills Letters should be addressed to Sports Viewpoint, Sports Department, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, 90053.

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