By Ridge Mahoney, Senior Editor

FINALLY! Chicago's victory — which broke a four-game losing streak — not only clinched a playoff spot, it moved Coach Bob Bradley into a tie with Dave Dir atop the all-time coaching list with 82 wins.

It also enabled Bradley to tie Dir's record of making the playoffs five times without a miss.

He may not get Coach of the Year, but Bradley and the Fire have to receive some credit for survival, if nothing else.

Chris Armas played only four games, Josh Wolff and Peter Nowak missed half of the regular season, and there was that issue of playing on SafePlay turf that didn't turn out to be all that safe.

WHAT CURSE? A week after the Galaxy ended the league-wide dearth of three-game winning streaks, the Revs chalked up their third in a row to win the Eastern Conference.

Wolde Harris doubled his goal output for 2002 by scoring twice and Taylor Twellman notched his 23rd of the season as the Revs scored thrice in the first 35 minutes to roll past the Metros, 3-0.

The Galaxy duly won a fourth in a row and its third straight 1-0 decision over the Quakes when Carlos Ruiz cheekily chipped a penalty past keeper Joe Cannon in stoppage time.

Ruiz won the goalscoring title with 24. Yet with only one assist for 49 points, Twellman captured the scoring crown with 23 goals and six assists for 52 points.

SHIELD-BEARER: The dispersal of Fusion and Mutiny talent throughout the league was cited as a primary benefit of contraction.

Only one player from 2001 Supporters' Shield (regular-season champ) winner Miami repeated that feat in 2002: Tyrone Marshall.

He played 24 games for the Galaxy, which had the league's best defense with 33 goals allowed, a far cry from the free-wheeling Fusion.

''The teams are totally different,'' said Marshall after L.A. had beaten San Jose, 1-0, to break the Quakes' unbeaten record at home this season in the final game. ''But they both have good players and good systems.

''We were under some pressure but we knew if we kept it at zero long enough we would score a goal sooner or later.''

HOMEFIELD: Colorado could have secured homefield advantage by beating Kansas City Friday, but the 1-1 tie instead gives Dallas the upper hand in the matchup of the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds.

Dallas won both regular-season meetings at home and also came away with a 2-2 tie and a 3-2 loss in Denver.

METRO FOLDO: Of their last five matches the Metros won only once and that was a 3-1 win in the Cotton Bowl against a Burn team playing its third game in five days.

The Metros were shut in three of their last five games, culminating in that 3-0 loss to New England.