BY RIDGE MAHONEY What is it about the Dallas Burn that makes the Chicago Fire blow leads? That disturbing notion is uppermost in the mind of Fire coach Bob Bradley as he prepares his team for a playoff series fraught with subplots. Game 1 is tonight (Sept. 20) in Chicago. Mike Jeffries left his job as Bradley’s assistant to take over for Dave Dir as head coach of the Burn. Accompanying him in Dallas is former Fire defender Lubos Kubik. The playoff series figures to be as fierce as has been each encounter this season. Every game has gone to overtime. The regular-season series ended 1-1-1 with a fourth game canceled, which left the Brimstone Cup — a head-to-head competition started by their respective fan clubs — all square. Maybe it should be called the Comeback Cup. Leads, be they of one goal or two, tend to dissolve. In the first meeting on April 21, the Burn equalized in stoppage time on a Jason Kreis free kick after a flop by Ariel Graziani earned a free kick just outside the penalty area, then won the game, 3-2, in OT. But Bradley was a lot more agitated about the Burn’s first goal, which came less than a minute after Chicago had taken a 2-0 lead. “To me, that [free kick] goal wasn’t the issue,” said Bradley, “and that’s what I told our guys. What bothered me is after we scored our second goal, when they kicked off half of our guys weren’t playing. “They come down and score and they’re right back in it.” The Fire won at home, 2-1, on July 21 with an overtime strike by Eric Wynalda but the Burn again rallied from two goals down to earn a 2-2 tie at Soldier Field Sept. 8 in what turned out to be the final game of the regular season. That last meeting had everything. Diego Gutierrez scored from near the touchline with a left-footed missile that looked more like a cross and Peter Nowak sailed through the Burn defense to crack a shot off the underside of the crossbar. Fire rookie defender Jim Curtin came on as a sub in the 84th minute to help protect the lead but couldn’t prevent a cross from reaching Bobby Rhine, who scored to cut the lead to 2-1. In stoppage time, David Vaudreuil fluffed his attempt to clear a rebound and Graziani poked the ball over the line to tie it up. Ante Razov suffered a concussion trying to score the winner in overtime when he smacked his head on the goalpost dueling with defender Eric Dade. DaMarcus Beasley had already been knocked out of the game after a midfield collision with Kubik. Burn comebacks against the Fire are not new. In the classic 1999 playoff meeting between the teams, Dallas knocked out the defending champs in Game 3 by rallying from a 2-0 deficit to win, 3-2. “There’s something about them when they play us,” said Fire defender Carlos Bocanegra. “They go crazy and they don’t quit.” Last year, two of their meetings were of epic proportions. In Hristo Stoitchov’s first MLS game he scored two goals but the Burn rallied from a 2-1 deficit to win 4-2. Chicago pulled off one of the most dramatic rallies in league history to beat the Burn 4-3 after trailing 3-1 and losing defender/midfielder Evan Whitfield to a red card. There are tactical and personnel issues aplenty for both teams. Nowak will duel with Oscar Pareja and Joselito Vaca to control the midfield. Can the Burn contain DaMarcus Beasley? Graziani and Kreis are the stars, but Bobby Rhine has two goals and two assists in three games against Chicago. The Fire is teeming with attackers but many of them are hurting. Razov is woozy and Stoitchkov’s bad hamstring will probably keep him out of the series. Nowak has also been bothered by injuries. A calf strain has troubled Wynalda and Jamar Beasley has a sprained foot. Jeffries used a four-man back line for much of the season after starting out the season in the 3-5-2, as is normally used by Chicago. The outcome may depend not on which team can take the lead but rather if either team can keep it. Prediction: Chicago wins a bruising series in three games.