Tobago

The rapid spread of swine flu continues to play havoc with the sports schedule around the world. Chile was asked to host two Mexican clubs' Copa Libertadores matches after health officials in Colombia rejected them yesterday because of concern about the swine flu outbreak. Chivas and San Luis qualified for the round of 16 in the Copa Libertadores - the Latin American club championship - but South American soccer officials do not want to play any of the matches in Mexico, where the swine flu outbreak has hit the hardest.

Heavy artillery fire broke out this morning near Trinidad and Tobago's Parliament and state television station where Moslem rebels are holding the prime minister and 30 people hostage in a coup attempt, witnesses said. The artillery fire came about an hour after 20 minutes of sustained automatic weapons fire near the buildings. There was no attempt to storm the Parliament building where rebels seized Prime Minister Arthur N.R. Robinson on Friday. The rebels claimed to have wired him with explosives and threatened to blow him up if a rescue attempt was mounted.

As champagne bottles were uncorking all around him, Paul Caligiuri, a midfielder for the U.S. soccer team, stood alone by his locker, a numbed, blank expression on his face. Caligiuri had not started for the United States in any previous World Cup qualifying matches, and by his own admission, did not play particularly well yesterday against Trinidad and Tobago. But he changed the course of the United States' modest soccer history when his 35-yard shot looped out of traffic, past the Trinidad and Tobago goalkeeper and into the far right side of the net to give the United States a 1-0 victory.

A former Olympic sprinter from the Caribbean confessed that he raped four women and a teenage girl during a 4-year period after stalking them in New York City's parks, authorities said yesterday. Alvin Henry, a member of the 400-meter relay team for Trinidad and Tobago at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, was arrested Sunday near Prospect Park in Brooklyn by police who matched him to a composite sketch of the rape suspect. The 30-year-old runner was arrested on charges of rape, sexual misconduct and sexual abuse, police said.

Results Jan. 20: U.S. 3, Denmark 1 Feb. 7: U.S. 2, Mexico 0 March 25: U.S. 3, Ecuador 1 March 28: U.S. 0, Guatemala 0 June 2: U.S. 4, China 1 Aug. 22: vs. Sweden at Goteborg, Sweden, 2:30 p.m. Oct. 14: vs. Catalonia at Barcelona, Spain, TBA Oct. 17: at Switzerland, 2:30 p.m. CONCACAF Gold Cup June 7: U.S. 1, Guatemala 0 June 9:...

Some teams have a player/coach. The women's U.S. national soccer team has a player/reporter. Heather Mitts, a defender for three seasons with the Charge of the Women's United Soccer Association, will play for the national team that will attempt to qualify for the Athens Olympic Games. She will also give on-site reports of the team's progress for NBC-10. Mitts, who has recovered from a broken right tibia suffered last June, was one of 20 players selected to the team on Tuesday.

If you're planning to book a hotel room in New York City in December, good luck. December is always busy for Big Apple lodgings, but this year that seems truer than ever, with many prime hotels reporting that they were sold out of rooms by mid-October for many December dates, particularly weekends. With demand exceeding supply, many of the best-known hotels are requiring minimum two-night bookings during the holiday period. New York's tourism officials are quick to say that the city never runs out of hotel rooms.

MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER Union (8-6-10, 34 points) at Real Salt Lake (11-7-6, 39 points) Saturday, 9 p.m. at Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy, Utah. TV: The Comcast Network. Last MLS game: The Union lost, 2-1, at Columbus on Aug. 20. Salt Lake beat Chivas USA, 1-0, on Aug. 27 in Carson, Calif. Outlook: The Union are 0-2-3 in their last five MLS games. . . . The Union are 3-5-4 on the road while Salt Lake is 8-2-3 at home. . . . In the current playoff standings entering the weekend, Real were No. 8 and the Union were No. 9. . . . Ten teams will qualify for the postseason.

THE UNION opened preseason in Orlando yesterday with a pair of expected arrivals - and early departures. Keon Daniel, the midfielder who failed to return after he left to play an international friendly in his native Trinidad and Tobago in August, rejoined the team. In 18 appearances last season, Daniel, 25, had a goal and a pair of assists. Also returning from a weeklong training stint with English Premier League side Aston Villa was forward Danny Mwanga. Mwanga, 20, the seventh player to venture overseas this offseason, took part in intensified training, presumably to prepare for his increased role given the loss of Union top scorer Sebastien Le Toux, now with Vancouver.