The Boston Globe from Boston, Massachusetts • 34

The MONDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2002 IIIIIMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMIIIIIIIIIIIIIMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIlllllllllllllllllllllllMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Speedy path to success Sports Lo C2 Auto racing roundup Perfect i fending in Japan NAMES Knicks' McDyess fractures kneecap Aim i idtl. hmMnimsmm Fizer was pulled over just after 2 a.m. yesterday for having illegal tinted windows on his sport utility vehicle. While preparing to tow his car, police searched it and found a gun. Fizer, who was released after posting a $5,000 bond, told prosecutors he needed the gun for protection New Breakers coach Pia Sund-hage will get a look at her team today when it meets the Philadelphia Charge in the Hall of Fame exhibition game at Oneonta, N.Y.

Kim Clijsters beat Daniela Hantuchova, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, to win the Porsche Grand Prix tournament at Filderstadt, Germany. Clijsters will move from No. 9 to No. 5 in next week's rankings Paul-Henri Mathieu beat three-time French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, to win the Lyon (France) Grand Prix Roger Federer beat Jiri Novak, 6-4, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4, to win the CA Trophy tournament in Vienna. IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMIIIIIHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII TRANSACTIONS us hungrier, because we did not succeed in anything, really.

It added fuel to the fire. For us to start the season poor and turn it around is really satisfying." Pierce has been a regular since joining the Revolution, replacing team captain Mike Burns at right back in 2000. "I loved that team," Pierce said of the 2000 Revolution. "That team had a chance to do something. There were a lot of similarities with this team, with guys like Mike Burns and Ivan McKinley, who give their life for the game.

But this team has a little more talent." The Revolution failed to qualify for the playoffs last year, but in the US Open Cup final, they held the lead over the Galaxy until the 77th minute before falling, 2-1, in overtime. "LA is a much improved team, a solid team," Pierce said. "Both teams are quite a bit better this year. I don't think they have any weaknesses, but we have always done well against them." Lately, the Revolution have been excellent at protecting leads. They scored in the third minute in Columbus Wednesday, and blanked the Crew despite a man disadvantage for 60 minutes.

"That game took a lot out of everyone," Pierce said. "We defended for a long time and it wasn't just casual defending. "Then, they threw everything at us Saturday and, even though they didn't create much, they created enough. But there was no way we were going to give up a third goal. I was on the bench by then but, as a team, we knew we were not going to give up No.

3. "I was every bit as nervous as the people in the stands. The whole stadium was thinking there was no way, this can't happen to a team that has come this far, to give away everything we've worked for in 10 minutes. It would not have ruined what we have done, but it would have ended the season on a sour note." Twellman (right knee' strain) is questionable for the final. Heaps is expected to return from a one-game suspension.

Revolution's run had little buildup By Frank Dell'Apa GLOBE STAFF Successful teams in any professional sport are usually constructed over a period of years. A style is established, perhaps a dition. Usually, there is a central figure, a star player or two, to build around. The Revolution, though, have advanced to meet the Los Angeles Galaxy in the MLS Cup, at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at Gillette Stadium, in an almost spontaneously generated form.

The Revolution's lineup for their 2-2 tie with the Columbus Crew Saturday included only three players who ar-rived before last year: Rusty Pierce was selected in the 2000 draft, Wolde Harris was acquired from Colorado in a trade later that day, and Joe Franchino arrived from Los Angeles in May. Everyone else, except for Leo Cul-len, who performed in four Revolution games last year, was acquired this season. This team was built mostly by former coach Fernando Clavijo, Who guided the Revolution to their first playoff game victory in 2000 and to a US Open Cup final defeat against the Galaxy last year. The Revolution, though, always seemed to be evolving as Clavijo sought to combine defenders in his image with dynamic attackers. After Clavijo was replaced by Steve Nicol in May, however, the Revolution began concentrating on one thing: defense.

Taylor Twellman continued to produce goals 25 in 33 games but the focus of the Revolution was on goalkeeper Adin Brown, central defenders Daouda Kante and Carlos Llamosa, plus outside backs Jay Heaps, Franchino, and Pierce. Nicol has simplified the Revolution's tasks and the result is the MLS's perennial losers have become formidable. But the Revolution's improvement has not been the result of smooth, long-term planning, but rather a series of non sequiturs that somehow have led to victories. In another damaging blow to the New York Knicks, Antonio McDyess has a fractured kneecap that may sideline him all season. McDyess, acquired from Denver in a five-player trade on draft night, went down clutching his left knee during Saturday's exhibition loss to the Phoenix Suns.

The injury initially was diagnosed as a hyperextension, but an MRI revealed the fracture. In three exhibition games, the 6-foot-9-inch forward averaged 17.7 points and 13.0 rebounds. The injury was to the same knee that was operated on last season, sidelining McDyess for all but 10 games. The Knicks already have lost small forward Latrell Sprewell until mid-November with a broken bone in his right hand Chicago Bulls for- ward Marcus Fizer was charged with having a loaded gun in his car and driving with a suspended license. Illinois State Police Sergeant Wayne Winterberg said MISCELLANY Eaves helps BC turn back UMass Freshman Patrick Eaves got his collegiate hockey career off to a roaring start, scoring two first-period goals as Boston College opened with a 6-0 victory over the University of Massachusetts at the Mullins Center in Amherst.

Senior goalie Tim Kelleher stopped 20 shots to earn his fifth career shutout Minnesota-Duluth's top-ranked women's hockey team skated to a 3-1 victory over host Providence, its second win over the No. 8 Friars in two days Nicole Uliasz and Kandra Antony scored power-play goals in the third period, lifting No. 6 Wisconsin to a 2-1 decision over No. 9 Northeastern in Madison, Wis OneWorld of Seattle finished the first round of the America's Cup challenger series unbeaten, defeating Oracle of San Francisco by 40 seconds in a makeup race at Auckland, New Zealand Nal-bert Bitencourt tallied 23 points as Brazil beat Russia, 3-2, in Buenos Aires to win its first men's world volleyball championship. I ASSOCIATED PRESS Michael Schumacher delivered a perfect ending to a near-perfect season yesterday in Su-lika, Japan.

Schumacher, who finished among the top three in every prmula One race this season, won his third consecutive Japanese Grand Prix for his 11th Victory this season. The Ferrari driver finished Second five times and third (jnce. His triumph comes just days after Formula One offi-aials recommended a plan to Handicap a car by adding extra weight if its team builds an early points lead next season. The five-time world champion led a 1-2 finish for Ferrari, with Rubens Barrichello second. Schumacher was assured the title three months ago with six races remaining.

His previous best season was nine wins, which he did three times. Schumacher started from the pole and covered 53 laps of the 3.6-mile Suzuka circuit in 1 hour 26 minutes 59.698 seconds. NASCAR Jamie McMurray, driving in only his second Winston Cup race, shocked the NASCAR world with a victory in the UAW-GM 500 at Concord, N.C. McMurray, scheduled to move up from the Busch Series next year, was pressed into service early by team owners Chip Ganassi and Felix Sabates when veteran Sterling Marlin, who led the points race much of the season, was knocked out for the final seven races of the season by a fractured vertebra. McMurray, 26, has never won a Busch race and drove to a 26th-place finish in his Winston Cup debut last week at Talladega, Ala.

He held off a late charge by runner-up Bobby Labonte. Tony Stewart finished third and padded his points lead. RUSTY PIERCE Satisfying season IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII MLS playoffs SEMIFINALS (best of three) COLUMBUS VS. NEW ENGLAND Sunday, Oct 6 Columbus 0 at NEW ENGLAND 0 Wednesday, Oct 9 NEW ENGLAND 1 at Columbus 0 Saturday, Oct 12 At NEW ENGLAND 2 Columbus 2 (Revolution win series, 1-0-2) COLORADO VS. LOS ANGELES Saturday, Oct 5 At Los Angeles 4 Colorado 0 Wednesday, Oct 9 Los Angeles 1 at Colorado 0 (Galaxy win series, 2-0) MLS CUP Sunday, Oct 20 at Gillette Stadium NEW ENGLAND vs.

LA 1:30 i 1 1 1 1 1 1 4 1 1 i 1 1 1 1 1 1 i i 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 "When we started off the year it looked like we were going to repeat the same line as before," Pierce said. "So it's a little sweeter for us because of the things we've gone through. We had taken a lot of criticism, fairly, because we weren't producing." The Revolution's fortunes began changing in the second half of a 2-1 win over Chicago Aug. 24 in Naperville, 111. Harris entered as a 59th-minute substitute and scored the tying goal six minutes later, then Kante headed in the decider in the 89th minute.

That marked the start of an 8-1-3 run, best in the team's history. "I said with six games left we needed to win five and we did that," Pierce said. "The last few months we have all come to fully realize the talent of this team. What happened last year made BASKETBALL New Orleans (NBA): Waived Thomas Hamilton. Washington (NBA): Waived Horacio Llamas.

COLLEGES MIT: Named Julie Sasner women's hockey coach. FOOTBALL Dallas (NFC): Signed Keith Davis; traded OL Kelvin Garmon to San Diego (AFC) for conditional seventh-round draft choice. HOCKEY Florida (NHL): Recalled Igor Ulanov from San Antonio (AHL); placed Branislav Mezei on injured reserve. iiiimiiiimiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii TODAY'S SCHEDULE College field hockey: Simmons at Framing-ham noon. Pro hockey: AHL Lowell vs.

Manitoba at Tsongas Arena, Lowell, 2 p.m. Road racing: Tufts Health Plan 10K for Women at Boston Common, noon. College soccer: MEN Merrimack at Bent-ley, 1 p.m.; Fitchburg St. at Salem 1 p.m.; Framingham St. at Mass.

Maritime, 3:30 p.m.; WOMEN Westfield St. at Bridgewater St, noon; Daniel Webster at Mt. Ida, 3:30 p.m.; Bentley at Merrimack; Elms at Framingham 4 p.m. ANY PASSENGER SNOW TIRE OR ALL SEASON AND AUTOf SERVICE 1 IN STOCK UW C2GAOV FOR WKOTHO OFF OFFER EXPIRES 102602. NO OTHER DISCOUNTS APPLY.

CODE 96073 SAVE 11 I if WITITFn MiniATon PI IKII mm mamm warn bmwm-m ws HWVI I c5zn XOFF OFFER EXPIF I I I 102602. NO EXPIRES OTHER SAVE UZS DISCOUNTS APPLYj CODE 96059 1 rW I EXCELLENT Vf cX2 'J TRACTION t'v I- i UNPARALLELED L)-' IxKI COMFORT rKfLvl I QUIET RIDE! tV fvsj I i fS I OFFER EXPIRES 102602. CAV? VJ NO OTHER DISCOUNTS JAW LJ APPLY. CODE 196063 LUDE-OIL-FILTER OFFER EXPIRES 102602. NO OTHER DISCOUNTS APPLY.

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