Loose Galaxy Won't Get in the Doghouse

By PAUL GUTIERREZ

Sept. 24, 2000 12 AM PT

Cobi Jones brought his dog, a boxer named Boa, to a rain-soaked practice at Jackie Robinson Field in Pasadena on Friday. And while the Galaxy’s leading scorer and his teammates were having a tough yet entertaining time playing keep-away from Boa, Galaxy Coach Sigi Schmid is not worried about his team possibly losing focus with a week’s break between games in Major League Soccer’s playoffs.

In fact, Schmid welcomes the respite, even if Boa was able to pick Jones’ pocket and take off with the ball on occasion. Besides, it’s all in fun and keeps the guys loose, right?

“It’s been such a long season that looking at a week, maybe nine days between games, is OK with us right now,” Schmid said. “It’s giving us a chance to work on some things, like pressing, that we haven’t been able to work on a lot this season because we’ve had players coming in and out and we had such a tough schedule at the end of the year.

“So actually, I welcome it and the guys have trained really well, the spirit’s been good. It’s not a negative at all.”

With its two-match sweep of the higher-seeded Tampa Bay Mutiny, culminated by Wednesday night’s 5-2 victory at the Rose Bowl, the Galaxy has at least a week between games, depending upon what happens tonight in Kansas City between the top-seeded Wizards and the eighth-seeded Colorado Rapids.

If the Wizards beat the Rapids or manage a draw, the Galaxy travels for a semifinal-opening match at Arrowhead Stadium on Friday.

For the Galaxy to play host to the Rapids for Game 1 on Wednesday, however, the Rapids must first beat the Wizards in regulation and then win a sudden-death overtime period to advance. MLS decided this season that the first team to five points wins a series, with a team earning three points for a win and one for a tie. The Wizards lead the series, four points to one, after winning Game 1, 1-0, and playing to a scoreless draw in Game 2.

Schmid is not making predictions or hoping for one team to win out over the other. His concern is on keeping the Galaxy loose yet focused while trying to advance to the MLS Cup title match for the second consecutive year.

“They should be focused,” Schmid said of his team. “If they’re not focused now, then I don’t know what else I can do.”

Maybe suit up Boa?

AGAINST ALL ODDS

The poor Mutiny never had a chance, it turns out.

After the team lost a day of practice to Hurricane Gordon on Florida’s Gulf Coast, and then shared the flight from Tampa with a bevy of female adult movie stars, the Mutiny’s media relations director, Tracey Judd, discovered that soccer and baseball don’t mix as the visiting Mutiny practiced Tuesday at noon on Jackie Robinson Field’s outfield.

An out-of-season fall baseball scrimmage was apparently scheduled for 2:30 p.m., Judd would discover, when an irate and oncoming onlooker muttered about needing to speak with someone in charge. Judd asked if she could help.

“My name is Don Gallon,” he said. “I’m an attorney and the head baseball coach at Pasadena City College and I’d like to know what the hell you’re doing on my field.”

The Galaxy would treat the Mutiny with similar rudeness the next day in the Rose Bowl, what with its dominating 5-2 series-clinching win.

IDLE THREAT

File this under “Be careful of what you wish for.”

After New England’s heart-wrenching 2-1 loss to the Chicago Fire in Game 1 of their quarterfinal series, which included an own-goal, first-year Revolution Coach Fernando Clavijo told the Chicago Sun-Times, “We’ll be back in Chicago. You can bet your life on it.”

Sure enough, after upsetting the Fire in Foxboro, 2-1, in Game 2, the series returned to the Windy City. Unfortunately for the Revolution, the Fire inflicted more damage than Mrs. O’Leary’s cow, setting a league record for biggest playoff blowout with its 6-0 win at Soldier Field Friday night. The Galaxy had held the mark with the 6-1 thumping it administered to the Dallas Burn on Oct. 1, 1998.

WELCOME ABOARD

The Mexican national team’s Enrique Meza era got off to a rousing start Wednesday in San Diego as Mexico beat Ecuador, 2-0, in an exhibition match.

Jared Borgueti and Marco Antonio Ruiz each scored goals on assists by Victor Ruiz and former Galaxy goalkeeper Jorge Campos had two saves in front of the 20,507 spectators at Qualcomm Stadium who loudly cheered Meza during pregame introductions.

Meza, who bade a tearful farewell to his three-time club champion Toluca team that was again dominating the Mexican winter league, succeeded Manuel Lapuente. A personality clash with the Mexico Soccer Federation led to Lapuente’s resignation after Mexico’s 7-1 victory over Panama on Sept. 3.

And while Ecuador was missing two of its top players in Agustin Delgado and Alex Aguinaga, both of whom were with Necaxa of the Mexican league, that didn’t dampen Meza’s debut.

Mexico will face Peru Wednesday in another friendly in San Jose before resuming World Cup qualifying play on Oct. 8 against Trinidad and Tobago in Mexico City.

A FIGHTING CHANCE

San Jose Earthquake forward Abdul Thompson Conteh is known as “La Gacela” [the Gazelle] in Mexico for the time he spent in the Mexican leagues with Rayados of Monterrey and Toluca. But the Sierra Leone native doesn’t want to run away from what’s happening in his war-torn homeland.

He has joined with the Red Cross in a relief effort for those caught in the middle of the civil war there.

“I’m trying to play my own part,” he told the Associated Press. “And I’m asking the American people to give me a weapon--food, clothes, money--to help me fight for these people.”

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MLS Playoffs

QUARTERFINALS

Galaxy vs. Tampa Bay

Galaxy 1, Tampa Bay 0

Galaxy 5, Tampa Bay 2

Colorado vs. Kansas City

Kansas City 1, Colorado 0

Kansas City 0, Colorado 0

Today--At Kansas City

New England vs. Chicago

Chicago 2, New England 1