Haaskivi

BasketballGolden State Warriors -- Released C Steve Johnson (3.8 points in 24 games).SoccerCleveland Crunch -- Named Trevor Dawkins coach, replacing fired Kai Haaskivi.

Blast forward Domenic Mobilio and midfielder Mike Stankovic won't play in tomorrow's game in Cleveland and are questionable for weekend games against St. Louis and Kansas City. Mobilio sprained his left ankle yesterday during warm-ups, and Stankovic injured his right foot during Saturday's 6-5 victory against the Crunch.* PLAYERS OF THE MONTH: Cleveland's Kai Haaskivi, who was relieved of coaching duties Dec. 29, has been named the MSL's offensive player for January.The defensive player of the month is San Diego goalkeeper Victor Nogueira, who had the league's only shutout since the goals were expanded.

San Diego Sockers coach Ron Newman said last week that the rest of the world soon should realize that indoor soccer is truly an American sport."They don't understand that we've perfected this game," said Newman after the Major Soccer League's St. Louis Storm won a two-day Federation Internationale de Football Association-sponsored indoor tournament in Zurich, Switzerland. "This is our sport, and we should really do something big with it. I'm not putting down outdoor soccer, but indoor soccer is the American game."

Being a head coach in the Major Soccer League these days has to be one of the shakiest coaching positions in all of sports.Nearly half of the league's eight coaches -- Cleveland Crunch's Kai Haaskivi, Dallas Sidekicks' Billy Phillips and Wichita Wings' Terry Nicholl -- have been fired in the past six weeks.It all started Jan. 3, when Cleveland decided to remove Haaskivi as coach and put him on the floor as a full-time player.That decision produced instant results for what was then a 7-15 last-place team in the Eastern Division.

The Baltimore Blast will trade a veteran player or two in the medium salary range early next week to make room for a highly regarded rookie draft choice and help the team meet the salary cap of $630,000, coach Kenny Cooper said yesterday.Cooper wouldn't say which players are being considered, but Freddie Thompson, Rusty Troy and Mike Reynolds could be primary candidates. All three are in the medium range of $30,000 a year.Cooper said the Blast probably would be receiving future considerations instead of another player in the deal because of roster limitations.

RICHFIELD, Ohio -- No one could blame Baltimore Blast coach Kenny Cooper for not wanting to return to Cleveland in the near future. After all, his team has now been pounded by a combined 20-5 in two trips to the Richfield Coliseum this season.The latest setback came last night before a crowd of 3,868, as Cleveland set a Major Soccer League record with nine different players scoring during a 9-3 triumph. The loss ended the Blast's season-high three-game winning streak and knocked them from a first-place tie in the Eastern Division with the Kansas City Comets (17-13)

When Baltimore Blast leading scorer Billy Ronson spoke out )) 10 days ago about the small crowds at the Baltimore Arena, it again led to speculation over where all the fans have gone.Attendance this season is down to an average of 6,348 through the team's first nine home Major Soccer League games, compared with a final season average of 8,550 last year. In the 1983-84 season, when Baltimore won its only championship, the team averaged 11,188, which still stands as a record for the franchise.

RICHFIELD, Ohio -- Yes, the Baltimore Blast did lose again in Cleveland, as the Crunch recorded an 8-5 triumph before 3,517 at the Richfield Coliseum last night.But unlike the previous contests -- 11-2 and 9-3 thrashings -- coach Kenny Cooper's squad battled until the end and nearly overcame a 6-1 fourth-quarter deficit."We played really hard with a lot of young kids," said Cooper, whose team was without second-leading scorer Domenic Mobilio (sprained left ankle) and veteran defender Mike Stankovic (bruised right foot)

What goes around comes around, the saying goes, and Cleveland Crunch coach Trevor Dawkins soon may be among those who believe it.Dawkins, who took over as coach last season when Kai Haaskivi couldn't get the Crunch untracked in the early going, is now in the position of having to do what Haaskivi couldn't do then -- engineer a turnaround.He also is finding out about what the Blast went through a year ago, when it had 20 one-goal losses. Cleveland, which plays the Blast at the Arena tonight (8:05)

Baltimore Blast midfielder Mark Mettrick, off to the best start ,, of his three-year Major Soccer League career, will miss tonight's and tomorrow night's games against the Cleveland Crunch because of a strained groin.Mettrick will be replaced on the 15-man roster by rookie midfielder Chris Simon, who will make his Major Soccer League debut tonight when the Blast meets the Crunch at 8:05 at Richfield Coliseum.Mettrick (eight goals, five assists in 11 games) missed all four Blast practices this week, and coach Kenny Cooper decided yesterday to hold him out of the Crunch games.