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gPORTgR ! o P i r e t Ir%u00bb PA # I U V m / l l U W A i t V b A A A A i n r ra a * 5F a i * P k a m n i A n c k i nA W A 'W A A M A A A | # A V A l V A %u00ab * | rBY ROB TAYLORThe extended weather forecast for this Sunday%u2019s regional soccer playoff between Long Island University and Hartwick College qalls for 45 degrees and dry conditions. For LIU Blackbird Coach, Arnold Ramirez, Jr., the news lessens some of the worries that hive kept him awake at night as histundefeated team enters the opening round of NCAA Division I Soccer Tournament, . 28;%u201cMud neutralizes the team,%u201d he says. %u201cThe team has a very fast game and the mud just makes it difficult to play well.%u201dFor LIU%u2019s top goal scorer, Roger Chavez, however, the temperature is not a good omen. %u201cA lot of players from South America are not used to the weather and like to play in wanner climates,%u201d he explains, while dutifully donning a pair of wool gloves to keep his hands warm during a practice session before the playoff.Chavez, a junior, is one of three players from Bolivia and five from South America who have been recruited to play with the Blackbirds. The 19-member team also includes two players from Spain and two from Africa, and make up what Ramirez describes as a team of %u201cvery technical soccer players.%u201d %u201cYou can find technical players in this country, but my favorites come from Brazil,%u201d he says. %u201cIt%u2019s a very beautiful game and if it%u2019s played like some of the other cultures it is amazing to watch.%u201dPRACTICING FOR HARTWICK For the past 12 days, the Blackbirds have been dribbling the soccer ball up and down the field, juggling the ball for technique and practicing their thigh-to-thigh tosses in preparation for the team %u2019s 15th meeting with Hartwick in Oneonta, NY. Ramirez says that the two weeks since the team%u2019s 6-3 defeat over Fordham University, Nov. 8, is enough time to %u201cacclimate%u201d his team to the cold weather.%u201cWe%u2019re just thinking Hartwick,%u201d he says. %u201cYou never know what%u2019s going to happen.%u201dIf LIU is able to take Sunday%u2019s game against Hartwick, it will be a psychological boost for the team because Hartwick has historically been a formidable opponent for the Blackbirds, despite the resounding 34) defeat LIU dealt an injury-plagued Hartwick earlier in the season.For the moment, LIU is the top seed in the New York Region and is ranked third in the nation. Hartwick is the second regional seed and 18th nationwide. Despite the ratings, Hartwick has won more than half of the previous meetings with the Blackbirds. Sunday%u2019s regional playoff will mark the second time LIU has met Hartwick in NCAA competition. In 1973, with a record of 11-0-3, LIU bowed to Hartwick, 3-2 in the team %u2019s first defeat of the season.With Hartwick hosting this year%u2019s playoff game, Ramirez is anxious about the outcome. %u201cIn soccer, you never know what will happen because sometimes the best team doesn%u2019t win,%u201d he says. %u201cIt%u2019s going to be very difficult for the other teams to beat us, but unfortunately we will be playing every game away from home.%u201d According to NCAA guidelines, LIU does not have adequate seating or parking for playoff games and loses any home-field advantage.GOOD ATMOSPHERE FOR SOCCER%u201cGoing to Hartwick doesn%u2019t bother me,%u201d Ramirez adds. %u201cThere%u2019s a great atmosphere there for soccer. Our players are used to playing before large, appreciative audiences. I hope our fans will come out in numbers, too, even though it may be very inconvenient for them.%u201dWith the Hartwick game in mind, Ramirez readies the team with talks about strategy during practice. %u201cIt%u2019s important that we not make any mistakes Sunday,%u201d he tells the soccer players. %u201cWe%u2019ve got to make sure that the other team does not score a goal and I know that we will have no problem scoring a goal of our own, whether it comes from Chavez or Antelo, or whoever.%u201dRight-winger Maicol Antelo trails only Chavez as top scorer for the Blackbirds. Together with goalee Ricardo Aguilera, the three Bolivian players, recruited by Ramirez three years ago, have proved to be the team%u2019sThe Long Island U niversity B lackbirdsm en%u2019s varsity soccer team (above) is preparing for the first round of the N CA AR egional Playoffs Nov. 23 when it m eetsH artw ick C ollege in O n eon ta, NY. Below,C oach Arnold R am irez, Jr. W ith a seasonrecord of 15-0-3 and ranked num ber threenationally, the booters are hoping to moveinto quarterfinal play a fte r Sunday%u2019s gam e.Read All About It: How The Metsgreatest assets. During his first year on the team, Chavez kicked in 13 goals and in his second season scored 20. During the regular season this year, Chavez has already scored 22 goals and is now tied for second place on the list of all-time LIU scorers with 59 career goals.Antelo has made 14 goals this season and Aguilera has posted four shutouts and given up 10 goals in 11 games for a 0 88 goaisagainst season average. Ramirez says the team%u2019s strength crosses all lines and is equally strong offensively as it Is defensively. %u201cThe strength is from the goalie all the way up to the left-wing,%u201d he says. %u201cAnd, in my opinion, we have the best forward line in the United States.%u201d Last summer, Ramirez took the forward line to the Immigrant Games in Spain.A victory over Hartwick, Sunday, will allow the Blackbirds to move on to the quarterfinals where they will face the winner of the New England Championships, Boston University or Harvard, in a game to be played Nov. 30. The championship game is scheduled for the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma. WA on Dec. 13.This is the fourth time Ramirez and his soccer team have advanced to the NCAA championships. With his star players having one more year left as Blackbird Booters, he says that if they do not make it this year he is not worried. %u201cIf we%u2019re really a little lucky, we%u2019ll be able to go two years in a row,%u201d he says.For tickets to the game In Oneonta, NY,call (607) 432-4200. ICoveredBY GEORGE FIALAYes, I know that it is almost Thanksgiving, but there are those of you out there like me who will scour every page of the Sports section of every newspaper for some off-season baseball tidbit, and others who will spend at least some winter weekends replaying pieces of the glory that was the Mets World Series Year on the VCR. So, with those people especially in mind, here is yet another October analysis of the Series, this time presenting a fan%u2019s-eye view of the daily newspaper reportage on the events.Let me start by noting that, although both George Steinbrenner and Ron Darling are undoubtedly fine fellows, I have always preferred reading sports coverage, and for that matter, listening to sports coverage by people who make that their profession.I have also developed a prejudiced attitude against the packaging of the Daily News and the Post with their lousy graphic and photo presentation, and for the New York Times and New York Newsday, who seem to have spent a lot of time and money creating newspapers with an appealing and attractive look, and in Newsday%u2019s case, producing a product worthy of the status of art %u2014 certainly collectors%u2019 memorabilia for any Mets fan.It got to the point that I would run to the newsstand each morning to see what the~ V- i _ %u2022 ------------- * T 1 1 1g ia p m c g c u u u c o at n c w o u d ) n o u e u i li e u pwith for the day. Their headline writers were no slouches either, producing gems like %u201cWelcome back, Carter!%u201d, %u201cLast Stand at Shea%u201d, %u201cSHEADOWN%u201d, and %u201cWhat, Me Worry?%u201d, over an Alfred E. Neuman-ishDave AndersonSports of The Times%u2018,o%u00abr ?;i *I Rof'W'O Efl Z'O '' SMimuk' D%u00ab%u00bb%u00bb74 B*HO< Oor fvrs Omgn /vt W J %u2019 440 Mr 'evr D#v%u00ab mRED SOX 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 S1.3' ScNiM* On*i\4%u00ab Sumer Bob 6 6W SUwa n Senvoy 4S S AS R h' %u00bb%u00bb*%u00ab'TotalsMETS ,40 'W .f, J 3 IS OpO%u00bb BoD l(S4/ OOK, jM M lt %u2014 ------------------------%u25a0'\%u201c \1 2 3i {4BOSTON T T TNEW YORK ]! IA Vote for MetsAnd Red SoxWf hen Ihe Houston Astros were brief slump several weeks ago. day by day their lead in the National I vague West was shrinking But their eminent baseball philosopher, Yogi Berra was not disturbed\saidClemens hasn't pitched since a line drive ricocheted off his right elbow last Wednesday night but if the Red Sox right-hander is in his 24-4 form, the Red Sox will win If not, the Angels willThe only question mark hovering over the Mets is %u2014 can they win a National League championship series thru ihr n.'nr mmmmmlmd im mlm& %u2014NEW YORK ROST. TUESDAY. OCTOflEB 28, 191W o SiD CHAMPiONSJust following the scripFOR DOUBLEDAY. Wllpon, Caahen, Johnson, et a!., a little BrowningGod's in kia heavenAll's right with the worldIt w&s vintage A m azin%u2019a, this (Inal gam e of the 83d World Serlea!It w as alm ost like they couldn%u2019t find a new acrlpt. The Boaox Jumping out early in the second for a 3-0 lead on two dingera (E vans and Gedm an) and an RBI single by Boggs The \mound, tantalising the locals %u201cup and down, all around%u201d -- through the first five Shea like a m orgue D arling exits In the fourth Fernandez on. The key m ove of the gam e bya g u tty Johnson.F ernandez checks \Eiosox beautifully and you sense the \grinding to a atop once again.nGEORGEs t e iiA rennerBy the tim e H urst got to the.