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Mutiny and L.A. meet

By RODNEY PAGE

© St. Petersburg Times, published September 8, 2000

The Mutiny plays Los Angeles in the first round of Major League Soccer's playoffs next week, but which team has home field in the best-of-three series is uncertain. Tampa Bay (16-12-3, 51 points) is guaranteed a fourth or fifth seed in the eight-team playoffs. Los Angeles (14-9-8, 50 points) also will be a fourth or fifth seed, depending on what happens in the next two days. The fourth seed hosts Game 1 and Game 3, if necessary.

The Galaxy plays tonight against Colorado in its regular-season finale. If Los Angeles wins, it will force Tampa Bay to win its Saturday night home match against Kansas City to earn home field. If L.A. ties or loses, the Mutiny earns the fourth seed.

"Los Angeles is not your average foe," Mutiny coach Tim Hankinson said. "This is a team that played in MLS Cup last year. They have some very dangerous players."

If Tampa Bay does play the first game at home, it will be at 8 p.m. Thursday. The game will be televised on ESPN2. No date has been set if Los Angeles hosts the first game.

Mutiny playoff tickets go on sale Monday at the Mutiny Pro Shop at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. They also can be purchased by calling the Mutiny ticket line at (813) 289-6811 or by calling Ticketmaster at (813) 287-8844. Prices range from $12 to $21.

Season tickets for the 20001 season also are available.

LATE WEDNESDAY MLS: Chicago wrapped up the Central Division title, with Hristo Stoitchkov scoring and adding two assists in a 3-1 victory over visiting Columbus. Chicago (16-9-6) has a three-point lead over second-place Tampa Bay and holds the tiebreaker over the Mutiny. ... Jorge Rodriguez scored as Dallas clinched a playoff spot, beating host Los Angeles 1-0.

NO FREE AGENCY: Players for European clubs won't be granted unchecked free agency under a new transfer system, European Union sports commissioner Viviane Reding said. EU officials chastisedFIFA and UEFA, the world and European governing bodies, for letting player movement get out of hand.

WORLD CUP: The 2002 final, June 30 at Yokohama, Japan, starts at 7 a.m. EDT (8 p.m. local). The opener, May 31, at Seoul, South Korea, starts at 7:30 a.m. EDT, according to the schedule released by FIFA. Most first-round and single-elimination games start at 2:30, 5 or 7:30 a.m.

-- Information from other news organizations was used in this report.

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