Mia Hamm & Jon

Bon Jovi meets U.S. team

Wednesday, September 24, 2003
ASSOCIATED PRESS



Mia Hamm walked through the lobby of a Philadelphia hotel without being noticed. Instead, fans - and several of her U.S. teammates - headed for Jon Bon Jovi.

The rock star was in town making appearances on behalf of the Philadelphia Soul, the new Arena Football League expansion franchise he owns. The Soul will play next season.

Among the players who met Bon Jovi and got T-shirts: Christie Pearce, Cindy Parlow, Kate Sobrero, Cat Reddick, Aly Wagner, Kylie Bivens and Tiffeny Milbrett.

No need to ask him about investing in the WUSA since it ceased operations last week due to lack of sponsors and finances.

"No," Parlow said with a laugh. Then she paused: "Maybe I should have."

Columbus sellout

Sunday's Group A doubleheader featuring the United States against North Korea and Nigeria vs. Sweden at Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, is the first sellout of the World Cup.

Fans from 42 states, three countries, two U.S. territories and the District of Columbia have purchased tickets. Crew Stadium has a capacity of 22,555.

Praise for Hamm

Pierluigi Collina, perhaps the most respected and recognizable soccer referee in the world, was so impressed when he first saw American star Mia Hamm in action he thought he was watching a man play soccer.

"Normally it's not a very elegant thing to compare a woman to a man," the Italian referee writes in his autobiography, "The Rules of the Game."

"But, if we speak of technical ability, I think it might be considered a compliment."

Collina said he was impressed most while officiating at the 1996 Olympics, which the American women won.

"On the way to the organizing committee's office where our identification cards and passes were being issued, we had to walk past a pitch where, at that moment, a team was training.

Some players were practicing long shots, and I remember that, from far off, I was particularly impressed by the power and precision of one of them," he writes.

"Then, as I got nearer, came the surprise: I discovered that the team in question was the United States women's lineup and the player was Mia Hamm.

"And today I still wonder how I ever managed to mistake her for a man."

Unretiring keeper

The key to Norway's bid for a second World Cup title might be goalkeeper Bente Nordby coming out of retirement.

Nordby was superb in a 2-0 opening victory against France. Norway plays Brazil, the other top contender in Group B, on today in Washington.

World Cup notes: Parlow is coming on strong for U.S. team
Associated Press

Published September 24, 2003 WCUP24

With superstar Mia Hamm and rising sensation Abby Wambach flanking her on the front line, Cindy Parlow gets little attention on this U.S. team. Then Parlow goes out and scores a big goal.

Parlow did it in the United States' opener of the World Cup, a 3-1 victory over Sweden. She lifted her 5-11 frame in the penalty area and, virtually uncontested, headed home the Americans' second goal.

It was her 63rd international score -- third in a World Cup -- and, she claimed, typical Parlow.

"Mia gave me a perfect corner kick and I just had to go up and put it in," Parlow said Tuesday, relaxing in a hotel library after practice was canceled. "I just kept saying, 'Don't put it over the net.'

"It's a lot about attitude and being fearless and just going up and doing it. The keeper might be punching you in the back of the head, but you have to do it. So much of it is timing.

"And it doesn't hurt when you are 5-11."

Wambach is the same height as Parlow, and that combination makes for some aggressive play up front by the United States. But while Wambach sometimes looks like a runaway train as she heads toward the net, Parlow is more controlled.

Indeed, Parlow, only 25 but in her ninth season with the national team, significantly has improved her overall game. While hardly a speedster, she has upgraded her moves with the ball and her playmaking. She's even gotten better as a defender after playing in midfield at times for the WUSA's Atlanta Beat.

Parlow is especially adept at shielding the ball from rivals while trying to get into scoring position.

"I think that's one of Cindy's biggest strengths now," Hamm said. "She's a versatile player and a great finisher."

"In 1999, I was young and naive to the international game," Parlow said. "Now I'm more comfortable and more complete."

Rockin' good time

Several U.S. players got to meet rock star Jon Bon Jovi in the lobby of a Philadelphia hotel.

There was no need to ask him about investing in the WUSA since it ceased operations last week because of lack of sponsors and finances.

"No," Parlow said with a laugh. Then she paused: "Maybe I should have."

Note — Select team members met rocker Bon Jovi at the team hotel yesterday morning. Defenders Sobrero, Kylie Bivens, Cat Reddick and Christie Pearce, who is a Point Pleasant, N.J., native, along with midfielder Aly Wagner and forwards Tiffeny Milbrett and Parlow met the New Jersey-born star. No word if team captain Julie Foudy approached him to be an investor in the defunct WUSA.

http://washingtontimes.com/sports/20...5406-7745r.htm

Whose Mia Hamm??

Some american soccer player.