Bruce Savage

Player .. .. .. .. .. This yearJoe Barger . . . . . .Local businessRichard Chinapoo . . .DallasDominic Feltham . . . Ret. to EnglandChris Haywood . . . . IndefiniteHank Henry . . . . . .DallasScott Manning . . . . Asst., Loyola CollegeDale Mitchell . . . . TacomaAngelo Panzetta . . . Harrisburg, NPSLBruce Savage . . . . .U.S. National teamChris Simon . . . . . Local businessDavid Vaudreuil . . . Harrisburg, NPSLTim Wittman . . . . . San Diego

Et cetera Counce, Troy to join Blast Hall of Fame The Blast announced Tuesday that former players Dan Counce and Rusty Troy will be inducted into the team's Hall of Fame on Jan. 7. Counce and Troy will be honored in a ceremony during halftime of the Blast game against the Rochester Lancers that day. Counce, the first player ever signed to a Blast contract, played four seasons for the original Blast and also served as...

They say sports fans are fickle.But some might say Baltimore Blast fans are colorblind. More than 70 percent of the 4,000 Blast fans who responded to a survey last season said the team's bright red and yellow uniforms "were bland, needed more color and a change in design."So, owner Ed Hale decided to give the fans the new look they wanted.Out with the "bland" red and yellow that had survived the first 10 years of the franchise, and in with a dark blue and light gray uniform that public relations director Drew Forrester said reminds him of the Dallas Cowboys' uniforms.

Disappointment was on every face in the Blast locker room Saturday after its season-opening, 7-3 loss to Dallas at the Arena."The whole thing was embarrassing," said midfielder Billy Ronson. "No good lying about it. Losing 7-3 at home on opening night, well, in Baltimore, it just doesn't work that way."Blast coach Kenny Cooper told his team to relax yesterday, "and we'll have the inquest Monday [today]."Perhaps, the first subject of discussion will be the 10 minutes worth of penalties.It was a situation that prevented the Blast from showing its new defensive alignment.

VS. ST. LOUIS STORM* WHEN: Tonight, 8:35.* WHERE: St. Louis Arena.* RADIO: WCAO-AM (600).VS. CLEVELAND CRUNCH* WHEN: Tomorrow, 7:35.* WHERE: Baltimore Arena.* RADIO: WCAO-AM (600).* OUTLOOK: Bleak is the best way to describe the Blast's situation going into this pair of weekend games against the two hottest teams in the MSL.Despite Wichita's 8-4 loss to Dallas last night, there is no breathing room. Wichita (19-30) is still within two games of Baltimore with three to play. And with games against St. Louis, Cleveland (twice)

Hector Marinaro keeps going on and on, and because of that, the Major Soccer League championship series shows no signs of ending either.With Marinaro scoring in his 10th straight playoff game, the Cleveland Crunch defeated the San Diego Sockers, 7-5 last night, to square their best-of-seven series at two games apiece. Marinaro scored three goals and Cleveland had four goals in a span of 3:21 in the fourth quarter en route to the victory.The Crunch trailed 4-2 going into the final period before rallying behind Marinaro's two goals and Mike Sweeney's game-tying goal.

It used to be when a guy scored four goals in a Major Soccer League game, everyone made a big deal of it. But when Blast forward Dale Mitchell did that last night in a 10-6 victory over the Cleveland Crunch, no one seemed very surprised.There are two very good reasons for that.One is Mitchell and his reputation for scoring.The other is the MSL's major increase in scoring, which could make four-goal nights a common occurrence. Blast forward Domenic Mobilio had four goals Saturday. Cleveland's Hector Marinaro also had four goals last night.

At the beginning of the 1986-87 season, the Blast rolled up a league-best seven straight victories before losing. Although that Major Soccer League record still stands, the Kansas City Comets are soaring to new heights when it comes to opening acts.After a 1-1 start, Eastern Division-leading Kansas City has won eight straight. Following yesterday's 5-2 victory over Cleveland, the Comets are 9-1, and no other team has been that hot 10 games into the season."Kansas City has obviously learned from our history," said Blast coach Kenny Cooper, whose team spent nearly all of the last two regular seasons in first place in the Eastern Division.

What a downer training camp had been the past two weeks for Baltimore Blast defender Iain Fraser.Until yesterday, Fraser couldn't do much of anything but sit around and wait for his lower-abdominal strain to get better. There were even times when the Blast doctors thought he may have an hernia or some other kind of internal damage."I was scared I had an hernia," said Fraser, who returned to full-scale practice yesterday. "And I know nothing is as bad as a hernia for a soccer player. We use that area of the body for almost everything we do in the game."

Disappointment was on every face in the Blast locker room Saturday after its season-opening, 7-3 loss to Dallas at the Arena."The whole thing was embarrassing," said midfielder Billy Ronson. "No good lying about it. Losing 7-3 at home on opening night, well, in Baltimore, it just doesn't work that way."Blast coach Kenny Cooper told his team to relax yesterday, "and we'll have the inquest Monday [today]."Perhaps, the first subject of discussion will be the 10 minutes worth of penalties.It was a situation that prevented the Blast from showing its new defensive alignment.

Player .. .. .. .. .. This yearJoe Barger . . . . . .Local businessRichard Chinapoo . . .DallasDominic Feltham . . . Ret. to EnglandChris Haywood . . . . IndefiniteHank Henry . . . . . .DallasScott Manning . . . . Asst., Loyola CollegeDale Mitchell . . . . TacomaAngelo Panzetta . . . Harrisburg, NPSLBruce Savage . . . . .U.S. National teamChris Simon . . . . . Local businessDavid Vaudreuil . . . Harrisburg, NPSLTim Wittman . . . . . San Diego

What a downer training camp had been the past two weeks for Baltimore Blast defender Iain Fraser.Until yesterday, Fraser couldn't do much of anything but sit around and wait for his lower-abdominal strain to get better. There were even times when the Blast doctors thought he may have an hernia or some other kind of internal damage."I was scared I had an hernia," said Fraser, who returned to full-scale practice yesterday. "And I know nothing is as bad as a hernia for a soccer player. We use that area of the body for almost everything we do in the game."

It was a meeting called in March simply to discuss how to right what would turn out to be the worst season in Baltimore Blast history, but in the end it may have cost midfielder Tim Wittman his job.A decision was made Thursday not to re-sign Wittman, voted last season to the Blast's All-Decade team and who played more seasons (10) than any player in team history."I did everything the way they wanted me to, but I spoke my piece, and that's why I'm not here anymore," Wittman said last night from his home.

Hector Marinaro keeps going on and on, and because of that, the Major Soccer League championship series shows no signs of ending either.With Marinaro scoring in his 10th straight playoff game, the Cleveland Crunch defeated the San Diego Sockers, 7-5 last night, to square their best-of-seven series at two games apiece. Marinaro scored three goals and Cleveland had four goals in a span of 3:21 in the fourth quarter en route to the victory.The Crunch trailed 4-2 going into the final period before rallying behind Marinaro's two goals and Mike Sweeney's game-tying goal.

VS. ST. LOUIS STORM* WHEN: Tonight, 8:35.* WHERE: St. Louis Arena.* RADIO: WCAO-AM (600).VS. CLEVELAND CRUNCH* WHEN: Tomorrow, 7:35.* WHERE: Baltimore Arena.* RADIO: WCAO-AM (600).* OUTLOOK: Bleak is the best way to describe the Blast's situation going into this pair of weekend games against the two hottest teams in the MSL.Despite Wichita's 8-4 loss to Dallas last night, there is no breathing room. Wichita (19-30) is still within two games of Baltimore with three to play. And with games against St. Louis, Cleveland (twice)

At the beginning of the 1986-87 season, the Blast rolled up a league-best seven straight victories before losing. Although that Major Soccer League record still stands, the Kansas City Comets are soaring to new heights when it comes to opening acts.After a 1-1 start, Eastern Division-leading Kansas City has won eight straight. Following yesterday's 5-2 victory over Cleveland, the Comets are 9-1, and no other team has been that hot 10 games into the season."Kansas City has obviously learned from our history," said Blast coach Kenny Cooper, whose team spent nearly all of the last two regular seasons in first place in the Eastern Division.

It was a meeting called in March simply to discuss how to right what would turn out to be the worst season in Baltimore Blast history, but in the end it may have cost midfielder Tim Wittman his job.A decision was made Thursday not to re-sign Wittman, voted last season to the Blast's All-Decade team and who played more seasons (10) than any player in team history."I did everything the way they wanted me to, but I spoke my piece, and that's why I'm not here anymore," Wittman said last night from his home.

Et cetera Counce, Troy to join Blast Hall of Fame The Blast announced Tuesday that former players Dan Counce and Rusty Troy will be inducted into the team's Hall of Fame on Jan. 7. Counce and Troy will be honored in a ceremony during halftime of the Blast game against the Rochester Lancers that day. Counce, the first player ever signed to a Blast contract, played four seasons for the original Blast and also served as...

It used to be when a guy scored four goals in a Major Soccer League game, everyone made a big deal of it. But when Blast forward Dale Mitchell did that last night in a 10-6 victory over the Cleveland Crunch, no one seemed very surprised.There are two very good reasons for that.One is Mitchell and his reputation for scoring.The other is the MSL's major increase in scoring, which could make four-goal nights a common occurrence. Blast forward Domenic Mobilio had four goals Saturday. Cleveland's Hector Marinaro also had four goals last night.

PORTLAND, Maine -- It was a rookie's dream and nightmare.Chris Simon, the Blast's fourth-round draft choice from James Madison, already had scored one goal. And now, with 3:21 left, he had a chance to put the game away.The bad news is, Simon didn't finish the play. The good news is it was just a preseason game against the St. Louis Storm in this New England city, colorfully dressed in autumn leaves.But Simon says he'll remember the goal he missed more than the one he scored."I learned a lot about the Major Soccer League, the indoor game and about myself today [yesterday]