Is She the Messing Link for the Success of MLS?

While wondering if Marla Messing shouldn’t be the next commissioner of Major League Soccer, I was thinking:

I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. . . .

But if Doug Logan is out soon, as has been rumored, there would be no better choice to replace him than Messing, the president and chief executive of the Women’s World Cup organizing committee. . . .

Even before the U.S. women’s team became bigger than the Spice Girls, the organizers sold out Giants Stadium for the opener. . . .

More than midway through 1999, Messing is the leading contender for sportsperson of the year. . . .

If the Women’s World Cup indeed is the springboard to increased acceptance, visibility and financial opportunities for women athletes, Messing will have had a major impact on how we view sports in the next century even before it arrives. . . .

The close of the Women’s World Cup might seem like good timing for UCLA, which is seeking a women’s soccer coach. . . .

Joy Fawcett’s name has been mentioned, but, unfortunately for the Bruins, she will have no more time to coach them than she did when she left the program after the 1997 season. . . .

Fawcett, considered one of the world’s best defenders, and her U.S. teammates will be honored--win or lose Saturday at the Rose Bowl against China--during a ceremony Sunday at 2 p.m. at the L.A. Convention Center sponsored by the L.A. Sports & Entertainment Commission. . . .

In late September, they will regroup at their residency camp in Orlando, Fla., to begin preparing for the U.S. Cup in October. . . .

The nucleus of this team is expected to remain together for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. . . .

I hear you haven’t lived until you’ve heard China’s Sun Wen sing “Candle in the Wind.”

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If someone had told you in February that neither Kevin Brown nor Mo Vaughn would be selected for the All-Star game, you could have guessed that the Dodgers and Angels would be having this kind of season. . . .

Jeff Shaw is the lone Dodger having an all-star season. . . .

Houston’s Billy Wagner is the only National League closer with a better save percentage. . . .

Maybe Shaw was hurt by having so few save opportunities. Before he recorded his 19th save in 20 chances Thursday at Colorado, the last time he had pitched with the game on the line was June 26. . . .

If Bruce Bochy, the National League manager, had selected Shaw, he wouldn’t have had to select Gary Sheffield. . . .

Sheffield is having a good season, but the New York Mets’ Roger Cedeno is more deserving of an All-Star berth. . . .

He also would have appreciated it more. . . .

The rule that every team should have a representative in the All-Star game is as archaic as Fenway Park. . . .

Keep Fenway Park. Get rid of the rule. . . .

The Orel Hershiser who started for the Mets on Tuesday with one day’s rest is the same Bulldog who pitched for the Dodgers in 1988. . . .

In the retelling, Kirk Gibson gets most of the credit for that championship season. But Hershiser’s contribution should never be forgotten or underestimated. . . .

I once believed that Chick Hearn would retire before Vin Scully, who is 12 years younger. But, with Hearn, 82, signing a new two-year deal with the Lakers and the Dodgers closing in on their 11th consecutive season without a playoff victory, I’m not so sure.

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Sometimes suckers do get an even break. . . .

After the disappointing pay-per-view numbers for the most recent Mike Tyson comeback fight against Francois Botha, promoter Dan Goossen of America Presents is putting the next one on Showtime. . . .

That will be Oct. 2 in Las Vegas against an opponent yet to be selected. . . .

My guess is Zeljko Mavrovic, who went the distance against Lennox Lewis. . . .

Fortunately for Tyson, Axel Schulz is already booked. . . .

Rumors are that Tyson emerged from his most recent incarceration at 285 pounds. Who knew prison food was that good? . . .

“I don’t know exactly what he weighed,” Goossen said Thursday. “But I know he will be at his fighting weight by the time Oct. 2 comes around.” . . .

This is a great time for young golfers such as Tiger Woods, David Duval, Sergio Garcia, Se Ri Pak, Karrie Webb and Kelli Kuehne. . . .

But whatever happened to Justin Rose? . . .

Says track and field agent Brad Hunt of client Michael Johnson, “Stop putting the dirt on his grave.” . . .

OK, I’ll put away the shovel. . . .

Maybe some of his critics wrote off Johnson too soon in the 200 meters. He hadn’t run a time under 20 seconds since the 1996 Summer Olympics until Wednesday, when he won a race in Rome in 19.93. . . .

Morocco’s Hicham El Guerrouj would have beaten Roger Bannister in the mile by--what--130 yards? . . .

The U.S. Postal Service cyclists are showing their maturity by not chasing the yellow jersey every day in the Tour de France. . . .

They will need their strength in the mountains, where Lance Armstrong again appears strong enough to contend. . . .

Let’s not judge the UCLA football players who allegedly acquired handicapped parking passes too harshly. The ones who play defense need them.

Randy Harvey can be reached at his e-mail address: randy.harvey@latimes.com.