The Boston Globe from Boston, Massachusetts • 25

The Boston Globe WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 6, 2008 1 Ml li I 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 I II 1 1 1 II 1 1 1 1 1 III 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Fan's NEXT GAME TONIGHT, 8 Boston at Kansas City NESN, WEEI (850) TOMORROW, 7:30 P.M. Preseason: Baltimore at New England Ch.5,WBCN(104.1 FM) SATURDAY, 730 Chicago at New England Ch. 38, WEEI (850) D2 U-A A o-'Y (. -V ALSO ON THE AIR PRO BASEBALL TIME TV RADIO Houston at Chicago Cubs 2:10 p.m. WGN EL: Trenton at Connecticut 6:35 p.m.

1310 Globe Red Sox pregame show 7 p.m. NESN IL: Pawtucket at Scranton 7 p.m. 920 EL: New Hampshire at New Britain 7:05 p.m. 610 EL: Portland at Reading 7:05 p.m. 1490 Can-Am: Atlantic City at Worcester 7:05 p.m.

580 NY Yankees at Texas 8 p.m. ESPN LfTTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL NE regional: Cranston, R.I. vs. Manchester, N.H. 11 a.m.

NESN Mid Atlantic regional: Hagerstown, Md. vs. N.J. 2 p.m. NESN NE regional: Shelton, Conn.

vs. West Roxbury 5 p.m. NESN BOXING Junior welterweights: Fernandez vs. Oubaali 9 p.m. ESPN2 GOLF US Women's Amateur first round 4 p.m.

TGC OLYMPICS Women's soccer: US-Norway 7:30 a.m. MSNBC SOCCER Exhibition: FC Barcelona at New York 7 p.m. ESPN2 TALK SHOW Globe 10.0 5:30 p.m. NESN 4 iAJ i OTHER LOCAL EVENTS PRO BASEBALL NY-Penn: Brooklyn at Lowell 7:05 HIMIMMMIHIMMHIMIIIIIIIIIIIIMIIMIIIIHIIIIIIMIIMIMIMIIIIIIMIIIIIIIHIIHIMMHIMll Sports it. NBA Celtics open against James, Cavaliers The Celtics will open the defense of their 1 7th NBA championship with a game Oct.

28 against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers at TD Banknorth Garden. An NBA source also said the Celtics will visit the Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas Day in a nationally televised matchup. The NBA is expected to release the full 2008-09 MICHAtL DWYtRASSOCIAItD PRISS The Revolution's Shalrie Joseph permitted to hoisting a trophy. evolution A super finish ovuvuujv. (Asuajr in ton v-v.

ajiiL mi wjiuira aiguu a wiiv- year, $3.5 million deal to play with Virtus Bologna of the Italian league. The 32-year-old point guard will be the highest-paid player in Italy for the 2008-09 season. The 5-foot-5-inch Boykins has played for tpams in 1 0 NT? A spasnns COLLEGE FOOTBALL Kentucky boots QB Pulley off team Kentucky football coach Rich Brooks said quarterback Curtis Pulley has been kicked off the squad for violating team rules. Brooks made the announcement at the team's preseason media day. Pulley was arrested on traffic charges last month in Hardin County.

In June, They secure title on penalty kicks By Monique Walker GLOBE STAFF FOXBOR-OUGH The New England Revolution and Houston Dyna N.E. wins on penalty kicks, 6-5 mo can add another game to their reels of championship dramas. This time, the Revolution will enjoy the ending. Last night, the SuperLiga Tournament final needed two 15-minute extra time periods before the Revolution emerged with the 6-5 victory on penalty kicks after a 2-2 draw following 120 minutes of play. The Revolution became the first MLS team to win the SuperLiga title and defeated the Dynamo in a championship setting for the first time in three attempts.

The Dynamo defeated the Revolution in the last two MLS Cup finals. From the game's first minutes, the 9,242 fans in attendance at Gillette Stadium were treated to a fast-paced battle that saw the Revolution come from behind twice. "The whole game was intense," Revolution defender Jeff Laren-towicz said. "The pace was unbelievable. I mean, I've been watching MLS for probably 10 years and I think that was one of the best games I've ever seen.

Being in the proves that soccer players are back, I can say that I watched it because I wasn't in the thick of it. The pace was good and Houston is a great team and they kept coming at us." It took eight rounds of penalty kicks before Houston midfielder Corey Ashe's attempt hit the crossbar to seal the win for the Revolution, who received an outstanding performance from goalkeeper Matt Reis. Revolution defender Chris Albright made his attempt in the eighth round to give the Revolution the advantage before Ashe's kick. "You try to play it cool, but I knew the weight of it," said Albright, who was traded to the Revolution from the Los Angeles Galaxy in January. "I'm the new guy on the Revolution, so I wanted to make sure I hit the back of the net." These two MLS teams emerged as the best in the second-year tournament that brought together the top four Mexican clubs and top four MLS teams.

Those in attendance included Revolution investoroperator Robert Kraft, who said after the game he hoped it was one of many future championships for the team. Both teams put on a show, even though there was concern that the SuperLiga payout controversy between the MLS players union and the league would affect the level of play. The winning team receives $1 to be a little bit more aggressive, especially on set pieces," Joseph said. "I just want to be a difference-maker." Joseph said Ralston and Mauricio Castro have been able to set him up with quality opportunities in front of the goal. Scoring is not entirely new for Joseph, who in college at St.

John's played forward, midfield, and defense. "People always perceive me as a threat because of my height of 6-3," Joseph said. "I haven't done well enough to get on the ball at the end of those early on in the season and now it just comes my way and I get on target and it goes in. "I just change my mentality and try to be more aggressive and be a little more dominant." Revolution coach Steve Nicol said Joseph's recent scoring chances come with his knowledge. "It's experience," Nicol said.

"He's been there so many times and he's now starting to finish it. He's calming down and not getting use their hands when for iiiiHiHimiMiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiliHil Revolution win shootout atGMelte Stadium Houston. 0 New England. (Revolution won shootout. 6-5) Scoring: Nate Jaqua 18th minute: NE.

Steve Ralston 41st; H. Kei Kamara 91st: NE. Shalrie Joseph 102d minute. Shootout: H. Craig Waibel Chris Wondolow-ski Dwayne De Rosario NG, Brian Ching NG, Ricardo Clark Wade Barrett Kamara Corey Ashe NG; NE, Ralston Matt Reis NG.

Joseph Taylor Twellman G. Khano Smith NG, Jeff Larentowicz Chris Tierney Chris Albright G. Shots: Houston 25, New England 1 5. Corner kicks: Houston 8, New England 9. Saves: Pat Onstad 5: NE.

Reiss 12. Referee: Howard Webb. Attendance: 9,242. NEW ENGLAND Matt Reis. Chris Tierney.

Amaechi Igwe, Chris Albright, Sainey Nyassi, Steve Ralston, Shalrie Joseph, Jeff Larentowicz, Mauricio Castro (Khano Smith, 71st), Kenny Mansally (Taylor Twellman, 58th), Kheli Dube (Adam Cristman, 91st). HOUSTON Pat Onstad, Wade Barrett, Bobby Boswell, Craig Waibel, Ricardo Clark, Geoff Cameron, Brian Mullan (Corey Ashe, 79th), Brad Davis (Chris Wondolowski, 110th), Dwayne De Rosario. Nate Jaqua (Kei Kamara 72d), Brian Ching. million, but the players get 15 percent of that money, per the collective bargaining agreement. The debate likely will continue, but last night, neither team showed any signs of holding back.

In the 98th minute, Dynamo forward Brian Ching lofted a ball to Kei Kamara, who headed in the goal to give the Dynamo a 2-1 lead. But the Revolution answered when Steve Ralston floated a pass on a free kick to Shalrie Joseph who had the advantage on Dynamo defender Bobby Boswell. Joseph headed in the goal to the lower corner, his third of the tournament, to tie the score at 2. The Revolution played without defender Jay Heaps, who received game of excited too early. And he's just staying calm and making a good connection whether it's with his head or his foot." News on Noonan Forward Pat Noonan, who has been playing with Aalesund FK in Norway, is on his way back to the US, and an announcement is expected today about his future, according to league sources.

The MLS rights to Noonan belong to the Revolution, but there have been reports that the Columbus Crew are interested in acquiring him. Noonan left the Revolution in January as the team's second all-time leading scorer, with 46 goals in all competitions. His two cents on Nicol The Revolution and Dynamo have played their share of competitive matches, but it has not affected the respect between the teams. Houston coach Dominic Kinnear said he can see how Nicol has been so effective with his team in recent years. "I think his players like to a red card and a one-game suspension for abusive language after the Revolution-Atlante match Wednesday.

Defender Michael Parkhurst also left a void for the Revolution, joining the US Olympic team in Beijing. As a result, Chris Tierney and Amaechi Igwe started in the back with Larentowicz and Albright in the 4-4-2 set. Igwe said he has had chances to adjust from left back to center back in games with the reserves, but the 19-year-old's inexperience was exposed in the first half. A mistake by Igwe in the 18th minute left the Revolution fighting a 1-0 deficit. Igwe stopped the ball in the Revolution end but failed to clear it and Dynamo forward Nate Jaqua took advantage, booting an open shot into the bottom left of the goal.

"The goal was a mistake," Albright said. "Igwe would tell you that. He didn't hear us calling him off and he thought he had to clear the ball. That stuff is going to happen. He's a young guy who bounced back from that and played great." In the 41st minute, the Revolution got even when Mauricio Castro sent a cross to Ralston, who finished the play with a shot to the lower left corner of the net.

The goal was his team-high seventh of the season. Monique Walker can be reached at mwaUcerglobe.com chances play for him," Kinnear said. "You can tell by the way they play and the way they interact with him on and off the field. He understands the game; you can tell by his player selection in the draft, and on game day he knows what he's doing. I don't think he tries to overcomplicate things." Taking it year by year SuperLiga doesn't appear to be going anywhere soon.

In an interview with the Globe last week, MLS commissioner Don Garber said the tournament is a year-to-year agreement with the Mexican federation. "The assumption is that it will continue to go forward," Garber said. This is the second year of the tournament, which pits the top four Mexican teams against the top four MLS teams, ftichuca FC won the tournament last year when it defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy in a shootout. Monique Walker can be reached at mwalkerglobe.com Tie also received a citation for marijuana possession Louisville. Pulley missed last season because of academic reasons.

Pulley had been competing with sophomore Mike Hartline to succeed Andre Woodson as the Wildcats' starting quarterback Versus will televise 23 games this season, up from 19 last season, including five Ivy League games. Harvard will be shown twice, against Cornell Oct. 1 1 and Yale Nov. 22. Other games to be televised are Dartmouth-Columbia Oct.

25, Brown-Penn Nov. 1, and Princeton-Yale Nov. 15. GOLF Ruschioni, Nunez take third Four-Ball Jim Ruschioni (Monoosnock CQ and Paul Nunez (Longmeadow CC) shot 5-under-par 67 to complete a four-stroke win at the Massachusetts Senior Four-Ball Championship at Crestview CC in Agawam. It was the third title for the pair, who won back-to-back crowns in 2003 and 2004.

Jon Fasick (New England CC) and his brother, Carter (Indian Meadows GC), shot 2-under 70 to finish second, one shot ahead of Peter Costello and Tony Messina of Cohasset GC and Frank Mullins and Dan Reagan of Thorny Lea GC. First-round co-leaders Robert Tribou (Pocasset GC) and his brother William (Poquoy Brook GC) were disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard Monday. Bob Tribou disqualified the team before the final round, explaining they signed for a birdie when it should have been a par on a hole in Round 1 Australia's Stephanie Na and Duke standout Amanda Blumen-herst shared medalist honors by shooting 4-under 140 after two days of stroke-play qualifying at the US Women's Amateur Championship at Eugene (Ore.) Country Club. Na and Blumenherst advanced as top seeds for match play, which begins today after a playoff between 10 golfers to determine the final six spots. Alison Walshe of Westford, followed a first-round 68 with a 75 to finish at 1-under 143, tied for She advances to match play The Royal Ancient and US Golf Association announced a rules change that will reduce the size and shape of grooves in most clubs in 2010, the first time equipment has been scaled back in nearly 80 years.

Research had shown that sharper, deeper grooves produced so much spin that players could hit into the rough and still control iron shots to the green. HORSE RACING Curlin returning to dirt for Woodward Curlin is heading back to dirt for his next race the Woodward Stakes at Saratoga but his majority owner says that doesn't necessarily mean the turf experiment is over. Jess Jackson announced that the reigning Horse of the Year next will run in the $500,000 Grade 1 Woodward Aug. 30. Curlin made his turf debut last month, finishing second in the Man o' War Handicap at Belmont Park.

Jackson said he considered sending Curlin out on another grass track for his next race but decided to keep the horse closer to home and on a more familiar surface at least for now Trainer Rick Dutrow confirmed that Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Big Brown will not run in the $1 million Travers Aug. 23. MISCELLANY Sabres to retain Dineen with Pirates Kevin Dineen isn't going anywhere after the Sabres elected to keep him as coach of the Portland Pirates, Buffalo's new American Hockey League affiliate. Sabres general manager Darcy Regier cited Dineen's record in his three previous seasons (135-76-13) with the Pirates, his ability to develop talent, and familiarity with the team. The Pirates had been the Anaheim Ducks' affiliate Lars Anderson hit a grand slam in the first inning off recently demoted big leaguer Adam Eaton, powering the Portland Sea Dogs' 13-3 rout of the host Reading Phillies in an Eastern League game Former No.

1 Marat Safin continued his slow climb back toward the top of the rankings with a 6-3, 6-4 win over John Isner in the first round of the Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles. Safin started the season with a five-match losing streak and dropped from No. 57 to No. 93 before reversing the trend, and entered No. 44 Croatia's Mario Ancic withdrew from the US Open with a recurrence of mononucleosis, the second straight year the 25 th-ranked player was forced to miss the tournament.

For Joseph, it's a Midfielder gets shots at scoring By Monique Walker GLOBE STAFF FOXBOROUGH Revolution midfielder Shalrie Joseph is discovering he can be an offensive threat this season. In SuperLiga play against Atlante last Wednesday, Joseph's header off Steve Ralston's corner kick was the difference in a 1-0 win. The two also teamed up against Chivas USA July 20 when Joseph scored his first goal of the season in a 1-1 tie, also in SuperLiga play. He added a goal last night against the Dynamo in the SuperLiga final. When it comes to set pieces, Joseph said, he is making more of an effort to use his 6-foot-3-inch, 180-pound frame to gain an advantage.

The last couple of games, the coaches have been telling me just REVOLUTION NOTEBOOK.