European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 12, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday May 12 1994 sports the stars and stripes Page 33 its time for anyone holding out Hope for a soccer Boom to Stop asking when and Start asking if. Five weeks before the world gup arrives on these shores there is Little to suggest that the same game americans ranked behind log rolling in a Survey last year has a better foothold now than it did then. . Organizers note with Pride that every contest in the 52-game, nine City tournament that begins june 17 in Chicago and ends 31 Days later at the Rose bowl in Pasadena calif., will be televised either by Abc or esp. And that half of them Are already sellouts. But there is a nagging sense that a once in a lifetime Opportunity to grow the sport Ere has been squandered that things wont be any different once the circus packs up and leaves town. A soccer is definitely being talked about in circles where it was not being talked about before a Scott Letel Lier chief operating officer for world cup Usa 1994 inc., said tuesday. A what remains to be seen is whether those same people become fans of the sport. A a we re thinking of it this Way if someone goes to Paris even if they Haven to seen the Art museum in their own town a they visit the louvre and when they go Home they go to the museum they probably Assed by All those other times without stopping in. E think there is a sense of that already.�?�. We think otherwise unfortunately judging by. The circles we run in. And we dare anyone who thinks otherwise to take this Brief quiz who is the . Coach who arc his most accomplished players a who were the last four opponents the us. Nation Jim Litke commentary Al team played to prepare for the tournament answers a. A a a the coach is Bora Milutinovic a serb who dislikes interviews and not just because he Speaks English haltingly. T a a the two Best players Are striker Roy Wegerle a South african who became a . Citizen when he married a floridian and sweeper Thomas Dooley a German granted . Citizenship not Long after it was Learned that his father who abandoned the family shortly after his songs birth was an american go. The last four opponents the . Played were Estonia Iceland Chile which has already been banned from world cup play this time around and Moldova twice. Done to feel bad if you missed those tuneup. Yet another powerhouse Armenia is on tap this weekend. A Quot a a a. A / Quot Quot a its no wonder the worlds most popular sport is having a hard time catching on Here. There Are three things big time College or pro sports offer that regularly lures americans into stadiums or onto the Couch in front of to sets a team to lavish loyalty on recognizable stars and  to the world cup soccer in the United states offered none of them. After the world cup . Organizers Hope to use whatever Good will and profits they generate to Start up a pro soccer league of their own. A a a one of the things they re counting on to make the world cup and the league go is the huge number of kids playing a said Nye Lavalle head of the Dallas Basca sports marketing group. A what we Learned Long ago through research is you can to use participation data to predict Spectator  it was a nationwide Survey released by Lavalley a group last january that ranked soccer behind log Roll ing a As Well As sect shooting women a pro Bowling and a american  participants were asked to identify sports they a a love or a like a lot to watch. Only 6.4 percent of people age 12 and Over named a soccer. A a a  people play a sport for exercise or social interaction or emotion whatever. But they watch and attend sports for entertainment. People who play might watch but there a no guarantee. A if there were a proven correlation a Lavalle said a a we Dall be playing football on weekends and the tour de France would be the most popular event on tv.�?�. \ Vav a its bad enough the people in charge of the world cup assumed that dropping a finished product in americans Lap would instantly make soccer user Friendly. Worse is the Way they be used arrogance to try and cover up that ignorance. Overpriced tickets and parking pouting ballplayers and despots calling the shots for a sport Are nothing new. Americans accepted those As part of the bargain for going to see a cubs padres game Long ago. After All that a baseball. But the same people will take less kindly to those conditions when its Colombia is. Romania in soccer. Besides All of the above world cup organizers also have forced hoteliers to Block out More rooms than they will deliver patrons told the Media that interviews will be at the discretion of the teams involved and told fans to leave their umbrellas and camcorders outside the stadiums. Quot they be managed to alienate just about everybody in be talked to and we re still a month out from the event a Lavalle said. A a it a going to be very interesting to see what happens afterwards. In a. Afraid the big question then will be what can they Salvage a. The  pro Tamalone lifts jazz by nuggets pacers whip Hawks by the associated press Karl Malone scored 25 Points As Utah offset Denver a shot blocking diem by Mutombo with Sharp perimeter shooting and beat the nuggets 100-91 tuesday night in the opener of a Western conference semifinal playoff series at Salt Lake City. \. A a a. A a a. Malone who was deadly from 15-18 feet also had 10 rebounds and John Stockton added 17 Points and 11 assists for the jazz who will play Host to game 2 of the Best-of-7 series on thursday. In the other playoff game tuesday night Indiana won its 12th straight game including four in a Row in the playoffs by beating Atlanta 96-85 in the opener of an Eastern conference semifinal series. The other semifinals were to continue wednesday night with new York holding a 1-0 Lead Over Chicago and Phoenix a 10 Lead Over  Salt Lake City Mutombo had 20 Points and 10 rebounds to go along with four blocked shots but Utah had too much for him to overcome. During the nuggets first round Victory Over Seattle he set an Aba playoff record with 31 blocks in five games. Mahmoud Abdul Rauf added 16 Points and Laphonso Ellis had 11 Points and 11 rebounds for Denver which is making its first playoff appearance since 1990. Jeff Hornacek chipped in 15 Points and Jay Humphries had 12 for the jazz who won four of five games Over the nuggets during the regular season. Denver Cut Utah a Lead to 73-68 with 11 07 to play but Malone scored six Points during a 15-4 run As the jazz built an 88-72 Lead its biggest with 5 41 to play. Aba playoffs pacers 96, Hawks 85 at Atlanta Reserve Antonio Davis scored 12 of his 15 Points As Indiana took charge in the third Quarter. Dale Davis like Antonio Davis a Power Forward grabbed 15 rebounds and scored 14 Points for the pacers. Antonio Davis hit 7-of-9 shots and had six rebounds in 23 minutes. A i can to say enough about both Davies a Indiana coach Larry Brown said. A we had to have some people come in off the Bench and step up. These two kids have done it in every playoff game so  a a a a a a. A a a a v game 2 of the Best-of-7 series will be thursday night in Atlanta. The top seeded Hawks who advanced to the second round for the first time since 1988 by beating Miami in five games led 23-11 in the first period and 53-47 at halftime before Antonio Davis keyed a third Quarter surge by Indiana. The pacers with Antonio Davis hitting All six of his shots outscored Atlanta 3219 and led. 79-72 going into the fourth Quarter. ,. A i think we just got tired in the third Quarter a Atlanta Center Jon Koncak said. A but they were Tough inside especially the Davis Guys. A they were ,14-for-20 Between them. That broke our backs. Atlanta got to 85-83 on a follow shot by Danny Manning with 3 16 left but Reggie Miller who led five pacers in double figures with 18 Points made four free throws and a 3-Pointer to give Indiana a 94-85 Lead and Workman added two free throws for the biggest Lead and final margin with 1 06 left. Pacers Sam Mitchell right reacts to Contact on a drive by Hawks Danny Manning