Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • Page 133

tfufpffilfrml Monday, October 26, 1998 Section 3 Sn ri ri 6 Unbeaten Vikings catch fire in 2nd half. Page 8. Elam (right) boots 63-yarder in Bronco win. Page 9. Streamlined Big Ten basketball season on tap.

Page 11. 1-year wonders MLLS 8e wiiis crown Active ingredient Sodium fluoride By Steve Rosenbloom GoodMoming, JEFF FISHER So what if it's soccer: How often does this happen? fefl "nil D.C. dethroned after 2 titles By Bob Fottman Tribune Staff Writer PASADENA. the land where turning dreams into reality is a multibillion-dollar business, the Fire made its own dream a reality Sunday. fire 2 At this time United 0 last year DC-umwa United wag cele brating its second consecutive Major League Soccer championship, while the Fire existed only as a name and logo on paper.

Sunday, the Fire ended the two-year reign of United as league champion with a 2-0 victory in front of 51,350 at the Rose Bowl, thus completing arguably the most successful opening season for an expansion franchise in American sports history. "We felt as the year went on we had a unique group of players See Fire, Page 11 Ft I'i" AP photo MLS Cup and celebrates along with Klopas. More coverage, Back Page. TO T5 (DIM Ml' 1 Oh, so ou were the guy who went shopping at the Bears' special-teams yard sale last year. OiledUp The Tennessee Oilers turned over the ball four times, allowed 17 points off giveaways and pretty much did everything they could to give the game to the Bears.

And the Bears took it for a 23-20 win. They won their third game in the last four and second in a row, but it still took a last-minute field goal by Jeff Jaeger and some Tennessee boneheadedness at the end. Imagine: Almost losing to a team from Jed Clampett's home state. KickSall The Fire beat D.C. United 2-0 in the Rose Bowl to capture the MLS Cup and end D.C.

United's two-year reign as soccer champions. Now, of course, the Fire will get a kicker-tape parade. Stupid-O-Meter Albert Belle, as fan-friendly as Soldier Field bathrooms, saw the lack of attendance at Comisery Park, popped off about the need to acquire expensive front-line pitching, then filed for free agency, demanding more money and delaying the Sox's chances of making smart early moves in free agency. Just more of Belle's career-long selfishness, but this appears to be as close as the Sox will get to being like Cleveland. There'sACatch Jerry Rice set an NFL record for receptions in consecutive games, catching a pass against St.

Louis to break Art Monk's record of 183 in a row. It also is believed that Rice now holds the record for holding the most records. NiceGoing Some of the NBA players who are being locked out by owners showed up in Houston for a charity basketball game, the first of many expected fund-raisers to support players who need the cash. The game started 50 minutes late and Mark Bryant pulled up in a limo, then refused to sign autographs. Apparently, the owners locked out the players' brains too.

-fl. i V' i 1 mm Fire captain Peter Nowak lifts the Jesse Marsch (center) and Frank commits the fumble that led to the Skip I Bernie Lincicotne IN THE WAKE OF THE NEWS to read their shirts to know it was Chicago they had just honored. So I've got milk in my refrigerator older than the Fire, but ours is not a town so overrun with winners that we won't take one still waiting for its laundry to come back. Other than the Bulls, the last time anyone brought a major-league title back to Chicago, William Perry was a folk pet and See Lincicome, Page 11 Bumbling Oilers hand them a win By Melissa Isaacson Tribune Staff Writer NASHVILLE Sometimes it doesn't demand domination on defense. It doesn't require killer instinct on offense.

It doesn't even take a 33-yard field goal to stay its course in the Bears Oilers final minutes of the game. Sometimes, just when fate is 23 20 staring you down again, all it takes is for the other guys to look like complete buffoons. Playing that role beautifully Sunday were the Tennessee Oilers, topping a day marred by their costly penalties and turnovers with one of the more idiotic sequences you'll ever witness in a game not played by peewees or the Washington Redskins. "Finally," said Bears quarterback Erik Kramer, "we weren't the ones making all the mistakes." With two kickers, the wrong holder, 12 men on the field and ultimately no chance to convert a 49-yard field goal that ended up being blocked anyway, the Oilers failed to tie the game with 21 seconds remaining and sent Bears skipping off the field with a 23-20 victory. That's two victories in a row and three in their last four games for the 3-5 Bears heading into a week off, and if you don't think that's significant, simply recall just four weeks ago when they were O-for-September and fans were looking draftward.

Now brace yourself they're even talking playoffs, albeit cautiously at the season's midpoint, and not apologizing. "We have to at least count on hanging around, and that's what this win did for us," said Bears coach Dave Wannstedt. Sunday was not only the Bears' first road win in four tries this season, but also only their fourth victory in 20 away games since 1995. Like everything else, it did not come easily. The Bears never trailed, but they were tied 10-10 and 20-20 and never could shake a team that at times terrorized their offense and shredded their defense.

"I'm happy we won the game," said Kramer, "but they got us pretty good on offense." The Bears ran better as a group with rookie Curtis Enis still coming off the bench but getting the bulk of the work for 85 yards on 21 carries. And they came up with some big receptions. But 17 of their points and their only two touchdowns came PASADENA, Traveling at the speed of soccer, not the fastest form of transportation around, the news may not have reached Chicago that there is a new champion in town. Really. No kidding.

I was there. Happened in the Rose BowL About halftime of the Bears game. They got a real trophy and everything. I know it is a real trophy because it is too ugly to be a joke. I mean, bowlers would keep this thing out of sight.

But it proclaims the Fire as winner of the MLS Cup '98. That's what they call themselves, the Fire, cleverly exploiting one of Chicago's great disasters, other than Jerry Springer, of course. They hugged and wept and professed love for each other and for Chicago, and not all of them had Tribune photo by Wes Pope 23-20 victory in Nashville. AP photo (49) celebrates his third-quarter run Sunday with Robert Chancey. -Xv fiJ llir MTIMi'''lWil-liiriiimllllliii Uliy Oilers kickoff returner Chris Sanders It's Halloween as Oilers (horrors!) become Bears Bears' first touchdown in Sunday's Bayicss Ty Hallock touchdown XA 2 Scoreboard NFL BEARS 23 Packers 28 Oilers 20 Ravens 10 Vikings 34 Saints 9 Lions 13 Buccaneers 3 Broncos 37 49ers 28 Jaguars 24 Rams 10 Dolphins 12 Jets 28 Patriots 9 Falcons 3 Raiders 27 Bills 30 Bengals 10 Panthers 14 Seahawks 27 Cowrage, Chargers 20 Pages 8-10 Nr ASHVILLE At Vanderbilt Stadium, it ended with the Oilers turning into the Bears.

Or worse, into the Vanderbilt Commodores, those mon- sters of the midterm. Welcome to the Grand 01' Flopry. It ended hilariously when the most popular Oiler in Nashville, kicker Al Del Greco, turned into Al Del Uh-oh. Something that could only happen to Dave Wannstedt happened to Oilers coach Jeff Fisher. Don't look now, but good things are starting to happen to Wannstedt's Bears, who keep getting better.

Fisher yelled, "Field goal!" Del Uh-oh apparently heard, "Free gold!" and ran for the bench. Actually, Del Uh-oh said he thought a completed pass had been enough for a first down. It was fourth-and-3. No timeouts, time running out, Del Uh-oh running back to warm up some more. "Mass confusion," said holder and long-distance field-goal kicker Craig Hentrich.

Sound familiar? Hentrich: "I've never seen anything like it." Bears fans have. Onto the field ran backup holder Dave Krieg. Trailing him was Del Uh-oh, who then realized he was the illegal 12th man and tried to scramble off too late. See Bayless, Page 7 Skf. Bears, Pagf.

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