Robertson Stadium

As far as professional debuts go, Robbie Findley's will take some beating -- at least in Major League Soccer. For one thing, even before the Galaxy rookie had stepped on the field in Texas on Sunday, he shook hands with former President George Bush, who was at Robertson Stadium in Houston for the MLS season opener. For a 21-year-old, that was memorable. Next, Findley found himself on the bench waiting for his chance to come on against the defending league champion Dynamo.

Ron Washington was hired as manager of the Texas Rangers after 11 seasons as an Oakland Athletics coach, inheriting a team that last made the playoffs in 1999. When Buck Showalter was fired after an 80-82 season with three years left on his contract, General Manager Jon Daniels said the Rangers needed a different perspective. "I'm going to be a players' manager.

Something unexpected occurred at Chivas USA's training session Saturday morning -- midfielder Jesse Marsch, who had been knocked silly in the team's regular-season finale Oct. 15, participated. If that's an omen for Chivas' Major League Soccer playoff game this afternoon against the Houston Dynamo, it's a good one. Marsch was an integral part of the Chicago Fire's 1998 championship team and has been just as important to Chivas this season.

When UCLA arrives at Houston's Robertson Stadium on Saturday it will be packing more than its football equipment. The Bruins collectively will be carrying a bit of a grudge. The attitude stems from their view of what happened last year during the opening kickoff when these same teams met at the Rose Bowl: UCLA's Jeff Locke teed the ball up and drove it deep into Houston's side of the field, but what is considered routine ended there. Instead of falling back into position to set up a return, the front line of Cougars sprinted forward, zeroing in on Bruins players who were looking up, following the flight of the ball.

The United States all but mathematically secured its place in the semifinals of the CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup by shutting out Trinidad and Tobago, 3-0, at Cal State Fullerton's Titan Stadium on Tuesday night. In the second game of the doubleheader, Mexico got back into the hunt for a place in the final four with a 5-1 victory over Panama.

Just another wondrous fall afternoon in the Southwest. Creaky stadium. Checkered end zones. Dill pickles. Frito pie. A player writhing in pain on the 40-yard-line. Just another football game poured from a coffee-table book. Dusty kids chase balls kicked through the end zone. Their perspiring parents flap paper fans while drinking Ozarka water. A team gathers in solemn prayer as a buddy is wheeled away with a broken left leg and fractured future.

The artificial track at Robertson Stadium, home of the University of Houston, was installed in 1979, shortly before the arrival of Carl Lewis. Eleven years and six Olympic gold medals later, Lewis, who still trains at his alma mater, is donating a new track and other improvements to the facility as well as endowing an athletic scholarship in his name. Said Tom Tellez, Houston coach: "The track wore out before Carl did.

How bold of these UCLA Bruins, announcing their invasion plans well in advance to the entire world. The when. The where. Today. Here. UCLA comes to Robertson Stadium to conquer, of that there is no secret since the schedule has been out for years. To trample the 27 1/2-point underdog Houston Cougars and then inflict the ultimate pain on the football-loving people of Texas: taking their young men.

One step forward, one step sideways, one step back. And so on and so forth. It's a slow waltz, this business of growing Major League Soccer into a sport that will be embraced in the U.S. rather than simply being tolerated. At times, in fact, it almost seems as if MLS is intent on standing still. The one step forward in recent seasons has been the building of stadiums. No one can fault the league on that front.

If you're going to get knocked out of the playoffs, at least go down swinging. That might not have been Coach Bob Bradley's instruction Sunday night to Chivas USA, but it most certainly was the way his team ended its second Major League Soccer campaign. In an explosive match that at one point threatened to get out of control, the Houston Dynamo scored two second-half goals to defeat Chivas, 2-0, and clinch the two-game, total-goal series, 3-2, in front of 17,440 at Robertson Stadium in Houston.