Mark Chung

NEW YORK (Monday, November 8, 1999) - As the four MLS Eastern and Western Conference Finalists - the Columbus Crew, D.C. United, Dallas Burn and Los Angeles Galaxy - prepare for this week's Game Three to determine who advances to MLS Cup '99, Major League Soccer unveiled today the three finalists for the Snickers Fair Play, Referee of the Year and the Executive Awards.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, MLS will announce the candidates for the Honda Most Valuable Player, BIC Defender of the Year, Pepsi Goalkeeper of the Year, All Sport Coach of the Year and MLS Rookie of the Year, while voting continues at www.MLSnet.com for the MasterCard Goal of the Year. Dallas forward Jason Kreis captured the Budweiser Scoring Championship with 18 goals and 15 assists for 51 points during the regular season.

Awarded for the third year, the Snickers Fair Play award consists of two honors, one for the individual player regarded as the league's best sportsman, and another for the team which accrues a league-low in yellow-card penalty points during the regular season. MLS coaching staffs, general managers and U.S. Soccer referees vote on the award, based on their assessments of an individual player's level of sportsmanship, achievement, athleticism, respect and teamwork.

The MetroStars' Mark Chung, who won the award in 1997 and was a candidate last year again tops the list of finalists, while Steve Ralston (Tampa Bay Mutiny) and Stern John (Columbus Crew) join Chung as candidates to win the individual Snickers Fair Play award. The Columbus Crew captured the team facet of the Snickers Fair Play, as Head Coach Tom Fitzgerald's team became the first in league history to complete the 32-game MLS season without registering a single red card and accumulating a league-low 158 caution points. The Colorado Rapids and Dallas Burn finished as runners-up to the Crew in terms of yellow card points.

The year's top referee will be honored with the MLS Referee of the Year award, which recognizes the U.S. Soccer official whose performance throughout the season is judged the best overall by MLS coaching staffs and general managers. Perennial candidates Noel Kenny and Brian Hall are joined in the running by Paul Tamberino, who captured the award in 1998.

In addition to the on-field awards, MLS also recognizes its top performers in the front office. The winners of the 1999 MLS Executive Awards will be announced on Friday, November 19, in Boston, Mass., at the league's annual MLS Cup Media Luncheon. The following employees of the 12 MLS teams have been named finalists for their respective year-end award:

Executive of the Year Dan Counce - Colorado Rapids Kevin Payne - D.C. United Nick Sakiewicz - Tampa Bay Mutiny Marketing Executive of the Year Randy Bobbitt - Colorado Rapids Jamey Rootes - Columbus Crew Stephen Zack - D.C. United Operations Executive of the Year R. Dennis Lee - D.C. United Paul Mott - Dallas Burn Eddie Rockwell - Columbus Crew

Public Relations Executive of the Year Ben Grossman - Colorado Rapids Rick Lawes - D.C. United Adam Low - Chicago Fire Ticketing Sales Team Award Columbus Crew D.C. United Tampa Bay Mutiny