Matthew Rhodes Charleston, S.C. What kind of salary does MLS commissioner Doug Logan earn and what is the status of his tenure? Implicit in this question, of course, is how he is regarded by the league investors. Ridge Mahoney: Logan earns about $250,000 per year, and also has a bonus system tied to attendances and other revenue streams. His contract runs until December 1999, and I think most of the operator-investors are of mixed opinions about him. Also, where do you think Claudio Reyna will be headed to next? Apparently he has made it very clear that he is unhappy at Wolfsburg. I’m of the opinion that a move back to the U.S. would be very unlikely as well as detrimental to his development. RM: As you probably know by now, Claudio is staying. His outburst was simple frustration, but unlike most of us, when we say we’re fed up with our jobs, it doesn’t make the headlines. He and Wolfgang Wolf are cut from different cloths, and he’s reached an agreement with the club that he can leave at the end of the season. I agree a move back to the U.S. would be a bad idea — I’m hoping he’ll stay in the Bundesliga, although heading to one of the smaller, ambitious Spanish clubs could be a good move. Norm Pollock Long Island, N.Y. What is the connection, if any, between the United States Soccer Federation in Illinois, and the United States Soccer Foundation in Washington, D.C.? Paul Kennedy: Probably the most direct link between the two organizations is that the Foundation’s board is elected by U.S. Soccer’s National Council. (The Foundation will shortly add three board members it elects from outside the soccer family, so to speak.) Otherwise, they are independent organizations, though they share common goals — the promotion of soccer in this country. Indeed, this has been one of the conflicts within the Foundation staff. Rob Beck, its first executive director, left in part because of his desire to make the Foundation more independent than less independent. The new executive director is Dan Flynn, very much a Federation man. Anthony Tothe Chatham, N.J. I was wondering if you have (or know where I could find) any information regarding the New York Cosmos. I used to attend their games in the late 1970s. I know there was a video of their history that came out in the 1980s, but it is obviously hard to find. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Ridge Mahoney: Tony, you should check out our new Book & Video Source (www.socceramerica.com/source). You might ask either Soccer Learning Systems or Reedswain for a brochure, though, before ordering. There are some Cosmos highlights on other NASL videos also. The Cosmos are also mentioned in various books and magazines, but there’s no definitive resource on their history. Shep Messing’s book, The Education of an American Soccer Player, has some good anecdotes on his Cosmos days. It was co-authored by David Hirshey. Paul Gardner’s book, The Simplest Game, also has excellent material on the Cosmos. A trip to a good library that stocks back issues of Sports Illustrated, Time, Newsweek and The New York Times on microfiche would enable you to read plenty of Cosmos stories. I hope this helps. Good luck. Jeff Sawarynski Denver Can you tell me how teams qualify for the NCAA tournament? Pete Bailey: On the men’s side, 32 teams will make the NCAA tournament. Of those 32, 16 will be at-large teams chosen by the NCAA selection committee. The other 16 will earn automatic bids. Of the 16 automatic bids, 11 will go outright to the champions of the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, CAA, Conference-USA, Ivy League, Mid-American, Missouri Valley, MPSF, WAC and WCC. With the exception of the MPSF, WCC and Ivy League, which do not hold a conference tournament, the winner of the conference tournament receives the bid. The remaining five spots are settled by play-in matches between 10 other conference champions. The America East champ meets the MAAC champ, the Atlantic 10 winner meets the Patriot League winner, the Big South titlist meets the Southern Conference titlist, the MCC winner plays the Mid-Continent winner and the Northeast champ faces the TAAC champ. The five winners advance directly to the NCAA tournament. On the women’s side, the field has expanded this year to 48 teams. 22 conference champions will receive automatic bids (ACC, America East, Atlantic 10, Big East, Big South, Big Ten, Big 12, Big West, CAA, Conference-USA, Ivy League, MAAC, MCC, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Pac 10, Patriot League, SEC, Southern, TAAC, WAC and WCC). The Ivy League, Pac 10 and WCC are the three conferences that do not have a tournament, so their regular-season champion receives the automatic bid. The only conferences not receiving automatic bids are the Big Sky, Mid American, Ohio Valley and Southland, none of which has been in existence for the three years required to earn a bid. The other 26 teams will be at-large choices made by the NCAA selection committee. Sixteen seeded teams will have a first-round bye in the NCAA tournament. Peter Burgis New York City What’s the deal with the U.S. Open Cup in Chicago, giving the Fire a home field advantage? What are they thinking? First, this is a championship to determine the best team in the nation. Second, there’s significant money on the line ($100,000), making fairness that much more important. And third, the USSF is just down the street from the stadium in Chicago — there’s a conflict of interest there. This decision fundamentally undermines the meaningful efforts that have made the U.S. Open Cup a true competition worthy of its name. The progress has been substantial: Most MLS teams now participate, matchups are not heavily manipulated, enough prize money is awarded to give incentive to the pros to participate. In sum, the best teams are in the competition Is it any surprise that attendence has been up and news articles have increased — this thing means something! So why does the USSF undercut this by giving an arbitrary and unfair home-field advantage to one of the teams, the Chicago Fire. If the reason is revenues from attendence, then that would mean that the USSF must realize that the home-field advantage for the Fire would be significant due to the large crowd, making an impact on the outcome that much more likely. Is the job of this championship game to realize maximum revenues, or to determine the champion of the United States in a fair manner? It heartens me that the Columbus Crew president is taking the USSF to task by objecting to the USSF’s decision — and I hope, ultimately, that the Federation sees the harm it is doing to the U.S. Open Cup and secures a neutral site for the championship. Ridge Mahoney: Would you be just as heartened if you knew Crew GM Jamey Rootes had been lobbying for Dublin, Ohio as a “neutral site”? He didn’t mind the concept, just the fulfillment. I’m not saying I agree with the decision, but lobbying for a venue advantage was part and parcel of the Open Cup in the decades before MLS jumped in. Given the choice, would the N.Y. Greek-Americans want to play the Open Cup final in New York or in Busch SC’s hometown of St. Louis? Last year, cities like Stockton bid for the competition, and poor crowds forced a rethink. The Metros objected to playing a semi in Northern California, so their game was switched, and instead of watching a doubleheader, about 4,000 people watched D.C. knock off the pesky S.F. Seals. And, hey, how about that rutted baseball field used for the semifinals this year — wasn’t that a neutral site in New Orleans? In late October, many possible sites in the Northeast and Midwest are not suitable due to the chance of bad weather. Yes, two MLS Cups have been played in thunderstorms, but it was a hurricane in late August — at a neutral site — that caused the Open Cup final postponement in the first place. This is a move born of convenience for U.S. Soccer, and, yes, the Fire will enjoy a home-field advantage. So what. Teams clinch World Series on opponents’ fields often enough, and more than a few NFL teams won the league crown away from home in the decades before the Super Bowl. Besides, a nice big Soldier Field will suit the Crew just as much as it suits the Fire. And, the matchups are manipulated to some extent. A-League teams are exempt until the second round, MLS teams come in at the third phase, and originally, some MLS games were designated to double up as Open Cup qualifiers. Surely, you recall the Metros “lost” their “qualifier”, but re-entered when L.A. and D.C. pulled out to play in the Merconorte Cup, and we all know how that turned out. (Merconorte = “Never mind.”) And, sorry to point this out, but the championship to “determine the best team in the nation” will be played in Los Angeles. And if the Galaxy had earned the right to get there, it too would have had a home-field advantage. Would D.C. United or Columbus have boycotted the final if they had to play L.A. in L.A.? Did the Rapids moan and whine last year because they were forced to play for the championship at RFK? If I was Jamey Rootes, I’d have told my players, “We don’t care where the game is played, because we know we can beat the Fire anywhere.” In 1988, Liverpool played Wimbledon at Wembley in the FA Cup final. Wimbledon is a London team, so did Liverpool threaten to pull out unless the venue was changed? Maybe they should have, since Wimbledon won.