Hartford Courant from Hartford, Connecticut • Page 114

October 21, 1996 Head-of-the-Charles canceled In the news i Staff and wire reports For the first time in its 32-year history, the Head-of-the-Charles Regatta in Cambridge, was canceled Sunday because of torrential rains and heavy winds. More than 4,500 athletes and 1,500 boats from 16 countries were on hand for the world's largest one-day rowing race. The regatta on the Charles River had been shortened Saturday from a 3-mile race to 2.3 miles in anticipation of the storm. Eight races were called off early Sunday morning, but officials had hoped to hold championship races in the afternoon. The decision to cancel the regatta in its entirety came after organizers examined conditions on the river.

"We were worried most about inexperienced rowers, hypothermia was a big issue," regatta co-chairman K.C. King said. "But we also were concerned about our ability to rescue people." Organizer Fred Schocfi said the Si THE HARTFORD COURANT: Monday, United in their support Fans make final a watershed event By MARK PUKALO FittJCBORO, Mass. They came ifj rain gear of various colors, making Foxboro Stadium look like an autumn ride through New England's mountains. They came Sunday to make noise and to celebrate.

And they weren't about to leave early, no matter how much chilling rain fell. When the D.C. United players returned from the locker room, a large of fans waited to give them one last ovation after a 3-2, victory in overtime over the Los Angeles Galaxy in MLS Cup '96. don't know of any sport in the world with fans like this, with the staying power they exhibited," Major League Soccer commissioner Doug Logan said. "We're grateful to them.

When I woke up this morning, I was confident we could get 15,000 to 20,000 to show up in this weather. To double that was There were 42,368 tickets sold for the first MLS title game and 34,643 attended. Brian O'Donovan, the general manager of the host New England Revolution, said the game would have been sold out (53,000) if the weather had been dry. Ticket sales were running about 4,000 a day early last week and the total was at 42,000 by Friday. There was little walkup.

C2 Associated Press D.C. United' Mario Gon, left, closes on Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Cobi Jones in the first half Sunday. Hornets sign Smith; Sonics win in Spain Etcheverry sets up all three D.C. goals "I started out by being very disappointed in the press," O'Donovan said. "But the most important thing is to recognize these fans who came hungry.

They came from this area, from D.C. and all the MLS cities. What a tribute to the passion of the game. "If you look back at games in a historical context, this might stand up as the launch of something major." O'Donovan said 6,000 to 7,000 fans made the trek from Washington and brought along the loud, festive atmosphere that has been building at RFK Stadium. By midway through the second half, much of the crowd was behind D.C.

United. They stood the whole game, waved banners and sang. Several D.C. fans wore hats shaped like a devil's head, in honor of Marco "El Diablo" Etcheverry. Onalfo, a Ridgefield native, had been sent in by Galaxy coach Lothar Osiander with 12 minutes left as Los Angeles tried to reinforce a tiring defense.

The Galaxy's regular center back, Dan Calichman, was suspended for accumulating too many yellow cards in the playoffs. "It was like being tossed into a war zone," Onalfo said. "They were coming at us in waves and the footing was incredibly bad. All you could try to do was get the ball away from our half, but it was hard to do. It was a great game for U.S.

soccer, but it was too bad we had to be on this end of it." Osiander said his team "just ran out of gas" and badly missed Calichman, a Williams graduate considered the team's most solid back. Mark Semioli and Jorge Salcedo came in with injuries and wore down in the second half. All three United goals exploited Associated Press Free agent point guard Tony Smith, who played for Phoenix and Miami last season, signed a contract Sunday with the Charlotte Hornets. Smith (6 feet 4), a six-year veteran, averaged 5.1 points and 2.6 assists in 59 games last season. "Tony has a reputation of being a good defender in this league and the capabilities of playing either the point or two guard," coach Dave Cowens said.

Not a warm reception: A crowd of 9, 1 00 whistled and jeered at the lack of offense as the Seattle SuperSon-ics defeated the Indiana Pacers 82-72 in an exhibition game in Seville, Spain. The Sonics, who lost to the Pacers by three points Friday night in Berlin on the first stop of a two-city European tour, got 21 points from Detlef Schrempf, 17 from Sam Perkins and 15 from Gary Payton. Indiana was led by rookie Erick Dampier with 12. "The fans had a right to whistle tt 01 0 0 lui siesaiioiisi Bodywear We Accept Tjadb-ins "It really felt like we were the home team," said D.C. midfielder John Maessner, who played two seasons with the USISL Connecticut Wolves.

"It's phenomenal to go a couple hundred miles away and still have a lot of your fans there. "I don't know how many we actually had, but it seemed like it was about 80 percent for us. If they didn't come all the way from Washington, it was all their uncles and aunts, because it looked like the same faces." Maessner, a former Virginia player who won a starting role late in the season, saw crowds of less than 100 with the Wolves. He played in small stadiums in France (second division) and Germany (third division). Like soccer in the United States, Maessner has come a long way.

"It's a dream unfolding in front of your eyes," he said. an LA weakness and a D.C. strength. "Restarts have been a problem for us all year," Osiander said. Said Arena: "Marco is a brilliant player, especially on free kicks and corners.

We always felt confident we could make something happen if we could get the ball into the box and have some second chances." mm 4T Magazines JU8CRAFI lOM I NEWS 349 Mam EivxHarpurd BM-2324 ACROSS fROW PRATT WHITNEY 1 rjlt IDflKBIBS 44 Enie New England's regatta could not be held another day, given the number of competitors and volunteers. "It's just impossible for them to reschedule their lives and start over the next day," he said. Fund for victims The U.S. Soccer Federation plans to set up a fund for the families of the Guatemala stadium tragedy. "The Guatemalans are our friends and Americans have always had a history of responding warmly in times of tragedy," USSF spokesman Jim Tracker said.

"Our soccer family wants to stand with the Guatemalans in their time of sorrow and will make a gesture on their behalf The amount of the donation and details of the fund are still to be determined. The USSF's board of directors announced its plans before the cham NBA because some of the effort wasn't there as it should have been," said Billy King, the Pacers' assistant who coached in the absence of Larry Brown, who had hernia and knee operations last week. "It's a long trip, a long way from home and guys are dragging," King said. "There just wasn't much intensity out there." Seattle's offense missed Shawn Kemp, who has been holding out. NBA rules prohibit him from renegotiating his contract before next season, and coach George Karl said he expected to see Kemp in camp today when the team returned home.

Hill leads Pistons: Grant Hill scored 27 points and Terry Mills scored 12 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter as Detroit held off the Utah Jazz 95-88 in Nashville, Term. Chris Morris points. led Utah with 11 MATUIULIST girl 'ksxt cocn rmtt iiue tuuu sau, rcvutxa: lUHJ ix 1-384 to (tKit 3 tttfn Si. M-S3113-8, Sun 12- 747-27S3 "MSnri Dl.it.aa Sal lLs8.iut 2 vs. iiuxsua MSg 4 t'll Sno) uilvJJJ PUCONN 1 I liiUa pionship game of Major League Soccer.

A moment of silence was observed before kickoff of the MLS Cup. Eighty-four people were killed and 193 injured before a World Cup qualifying game Wednesday in Guatemala City. Evans, Sutton win Paid Evans and Marian Sutton, both of Great Britain, each won got their first marathon victory in Chicago. They each also posted their personal best times at the Chicago Marathon Evans at 2 hours, 8 minutes, 51 seconds and Sutton at 2:30:41 to take home $40,000 each plus appearance fees. Americans finished second in both the men's and women's divisions.

Jerry Lawson of Jacksonville, finished in 2:10:03, while Kritty Johnston of Coos Bay, finished in 2:31:06. Compiled by Robert Campbell MMtedfe I WORLD SERIES 7:15 p.m.: Game 2, Braves at Yankees, OKB, WFAN (660), WABC (770), WWCO (1240) PRO FOOTBALL 9 p.m.: Raiders at Chargers, OCDCEOCD 569402, WFAN (660) (in progress) FIGURE SKATING 7:30 p.m.! World Junior, ESPN2 8847773 (tape) liow can wo heip you? We invite readers to write, call or visit to snare their opinions, ideas for news stories and letters to the editor. The sports department is located at 265 Broad Hartford, CT 06115. Telephone: JaffOttwtein Sports Editor 241-6435 or, toll-free, 1-800-524-4242, Ext 6435. Jeff Otterbein is sports editor.

He can be reached at 241-6434 or, toll-free, 1-800-524-4242, Ext 6434. All comments regarding the sports section may be addressed to him. Send letters to the sports editor Intended for publication to: Letters to the Sports Editor, 285 Broad SL, Hartford, CT 06115. I mwnMittaitMfnsitmuWf taKiim I JO iIiTiTilJTl be charged a service charge. tf Stadium in Starrs.

jim in iiiiiuii. J. i m-J 1 Sv pJ 4 1 1 KB2Y paBi! golf couise Wmw Largest Selection Continued from Page CI taring the tempo. On a deteriorating field that made passing almost impossible, a D.C. United comeback seemed unlikely, but coach Bruce Arena said he never lost hope.

"The key to the game was that LA adapted better in the first half than we did, but I was confident we could get a goal back," Arena said. "Whether we could get two, that's another matter, but I felt that we could make things happen if we were able to increase the pressure on them at the back." Arena made a key move with 30 minutes remaining, taking out defender Mario Gori and inserting a third forward, Tony Sanneh. Ten minutes later he gambled again, inserting another forward, Shawn Medved, for midfielder John Maessner. Both substitutes scored on Etche verry free kicks, Sanneh on a header in the 73rd minute and Medved in the 92nd, stabbing in his rebound after a diving stop by Jorge Campos in the mud. That sent the game to sudden death overtime.

Pope's winner arrived with sudden finality after one of the game's stars, Jaime Moreno, won a corner on the left endline. "Etcheverry bent the corner away from the line, where it is really hard to get to," Galaxy defender Curt Onalfo said. "It was a class cross by a great player and Pope was in the right spot." D.C. 3, LA 2 (OT) U( AngtlM D.C. 0 2 1 3 First half 1 Los Angeles, Hurtado (Cienfue-gos), 5th minute.

Second half 2, Los Angeles, Armas, 56th minute. 3, D.C, Sanneh (Etcheverry), 73rd minute. 4, D.C., Medved, 82nd minute. Overtime 5, D.C, Pope (Etcheverry), 94th minute. Goalie Los Angeles, Campos (7 shots-4 saves).

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