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Throw-Ins Petke's new charity helps in more ways than one
Updated: Saturday January 06, 2001 6:16 PM
MetroStars defender Mike Petke certainly wasn't the first U.S. or American-based soccer player associated with a charity and hopefully he won't be the last. There's San Jose Earthquakes forward Abdul Thompson Conteh, who was the recipient of the first MLS New York Life Humanitarian of the Year Award for his work with the American Red Cross to raise funds awareness to alleviate the suffering in his war-torn native country. There's Mia Hamm, who set up the Mia Hamm Foundation to benefit bone marrow research after her brother passed away from leukemia. There's Earthquakes defender John Doyle, who has been a spokesman for MLS Kicks for Kids, a league-run program. Of course, many MLS teams and the league itself have worked with charitable organizations and hospitals since 1996. And now, Petke's Kick the Violence Foundation, for which a fund-raising dinner was held at the Park Avenue Country Club -- that's a restaurant and not a club -- in New York City on Wednesday. Petke decided to get involved when he was in preseason training with the MetroStars last year. "I was sitting in my bed in my hotel room when I saw a news program about violence in America, including the Columbine shootings and Oregon shootings," he said. "I don't want to say they were poking fun at us, but they were asking what was going on in America? "It kind of hit home. It's gone out of hand and needs some attention ... I'm only 24 years old. But 10 years ago when I went to school it wasn't going on. "I read a fact that more inner-city kids in America have more handguns than basketballs. That's a sad fact." Petke hasn't exactly determined how the money will be used, but he is considering several options, including literally getting in kids' faces or helping families who have lost children to violence. I'll try not to get preachy about how every soccer player should publicly support a charity when so many are struggling to get by on what some observers might consider to be meager salaries. Petke, for example, estimated his event raised almost $15,000 on Wednesday, which is reportedly about half his salary this past season (we'll get to his future status soon enough). I'll just say Petke's cause is a great idea and the more the merrier out there. Like it or not, the highlight of the evening was the silent auction of that notorious undershirt that Petke displayed after scoring a goal against the Colorado Rapids on Aug. 20. He was furious the league had not levied a fine or a suspension against Tampa Bay Mutiny forward Mamadou Diallo, who had ran into and essentially knocked goalkeeper Mike Ammann out of the season four days prior. So, during his post-goal celebration, Petke pulled up his MetroStars' jersey to reveal a shirt that said: "Crime of the Century. Revenge is Coming." Petke was fined $250 by the league.
Not surprisingly, the shirt -- now with Petke's autograph and a framed letter from MLS informing him of the fine -- was the most popular item on a table that included a Yankee calendar autographed by Bernie Williams among New York sports memorabilia. I threw in a bid of $125 early on, but it got a bit out of hand for yours truly. Final price? $525 -- and that was after a family, realizing how important the shirt was to the Empire Supporters Club, pulled back their final bid. The shirt could not have gone to a better custodian. The ESC, ironically, used the $250 they collected from members to pay the fine (MLS had said no, that Petke had to fork over the money) and money from several members at the dinner. The shirt and letter will be hung on the wall of Nathan's Hale pub in New York City, where the club watches MetroStars' road games. It will go on display for the first time on Jan. 27, when the club will kick off its 2001 membership drive. They will watch the U.S. national team take on China on television. "This is the biggest piece of memorabilia generated by the five-year-old MetroStars," club president Kevin McAlister said. "We're happy to have it for MetroStars fans everywhere. ...It was a great rallying piece [for the fans]. It really galvanized MetroStar fans." And oh yes, if you are interested in contributing, the address is: Petke's Kick the Violence Foundation, 506 Hudson Ave. #1, Weehawken, N.J. 07087. The charity event was just another highlight of Petke's very busy life this offseason. You may already know about his tryout with Bayern Munich that also spurred interest and offers from Kaiserslautern. Well, Petke also recently got engaged to the lovely Kim Faust and as I am writing this, he is heading to San Diego for the U.S. national team training camp until Jan. 18. The Kaiserslautern situation is in the past, while his agent, Ron Waxman, continues to put the final touches on a multi-year contract with the league. The word is that both parties are very close and the official announcement could happen any day now. Whew!
U.S. faces a rumble in some sort of jungleTake your pick. Where would you rather play a World Cup qualifying match? The snakepit called the Monster's Cave in Saprissa Stadium in San Jose, Costa Rica, or literally in the middle of nowhere in the severe jungle heat and humidity of Mazatenango, Guatemala? On Saturday, the U.S. will learn where it will play its fifth and final opponent on the road Sept. 4-5 in the final round of CONCACAF qualifying as those two Central American rivals face-off in a special playoff match at the Orange Bowl in Miami. Tiebreakers could not snap the deadlock between the teams after Guatemala's 2-1 semifinal-round victory over Costa Rica last year on Nov. 15. So, a special playoff was set up at a neutral site. Their 54-game rivalry has been fierce, with Costa Rica prevailing 25 times with 15 losses and 14 ties. Costa Rica also has an edge in qualifying (6-5-3). The Costa Ricans, who struggle on the road, are led by Manchester City forward Paolo Wanchope and Hernan Medford, who connected against the U.S. for the controversial penalty kick three minutes into injury time in a 2-1 win in San Jose on July 23. New England Revolution forward William Sunsing made the current roster, but MetroStars midfielder Roy Myers did not. Guatemala also has some familiar names -- Miami Fusion midfielder Martin Machon and Carlos Ruiz, who connected for the equalizer in a 1-1 draw with the U.S. with two minutes remaining in Mazatenango on July 16 and the game-winner vs. Costa Rica. The U.S. will host the winner in Kansas City on April 25. Area fans interested in watching the 8 p.m. match can only view it in restaurants, bars or pubs. It is not available on home TV.
Lothar's cornerEvery time I want to retire this portion of the column, Lothar Matthäus gives me something else to write about. In fact, he was in the news for three distinct reasons last week. Not bad for a player without a club team who might be on the verge of retiring. He was named German player of the decade. You certainly can't argue with that, considering he was the captain of the German side that earned its third World Cup championship in 1990 and who performed a key role on Bayern Munich's continued path to glory. On Wednesday, he participated in an international friendly, starting for the World XI side against a combined team from Japan and South Korea in Yokohama, Japan. I realize it was only a friendly. But I wonder if he ever gave Kansas City Wizards goalkeeper Tony Meola, representing the U.S., some stick on a botched play. Of course, Meola would have given it right back to Lothar. Remember, Meola was in the nets the night a crowd of 27,322 came out to watch German superstar Lothar Matthäus unceremoniously throw his armband at a linesmen, which, incidentally, earned the German defender a Mikey Award. Meola, by the way, might have pulled off a first in the match, subbing for Paraguayan's outspoken and controversial keeper, Jose Luis Chilavert, who was replaced in the 56th minute. And Lothar's record of 150 international appearances is in jeopardy. Egyptian forward Hossam Hassan can equal and break the mark when his country plays the United Arab Emirates on Saturday and Zambia on Tuesday.
Sack of the weekSorry, no firings reported this week. But one coach left his French club, St. Etienne, in the lurch to join Real Sociedad in the Spanish first division for the third time. Former Welsh international John Toshack left St. Etienne after three months as the club now looks for its third coach of the season. Ironically, Toshack becomes Real's third coach as well. Joel Muller, who was dumped by Metz two days after Christmas, is a leading candidate to replace Toshack. The coaching carousel never ends.
Chip shots
Whalen, essentially the first or second player off the bench for former coach Tony DiCicco, watched her playing time drop considerably under coach April Heinrichs . In fact, Whalen did not see a minute of action in the Sydney Olympics after playing a vital role in the Women's World Cup championship effort. While Whalen wasn't a starter, it still was a significant move.
"It was too damn cold, man," Walsh said. "Usually at Christmas time in New Jersey it's usually warm. I don't know why. This year it was just too cold."
Of course, Steinbrecher was director of sports marketing at Quaker. Allen never worked in the sports division. But one part of her resume that goes well beyond sports boundaries stood out: she led the redesign of the Aunt Jemima trademark, which eliminated any negative issues African-American customers had with the logo. DiCicco, who had been acting commissioner, and Lee Berke, who had been acting president, will report to Allen in yet-to-be-defined roles. Unfortunately, for all you WUSA fans, you will have to wait until the middle of January for a schedule.
Seriously, I'm back to soccer predictions and I'll focus on another encounter in South Florida. I like Guatemala over Costa Rica in that special playoff. The teams will play a 1-1 before penalty kicks -- 3-1 in Guatemala's favor decides the whole thing. I like the Costa Ricans as a team -- they have some very talented individual players. But they just don't travel well. Michael Lewis covers soccer for the New York Daily News. He is the author of three books on soccer.
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