Milwaukee

The frustration, concern and good intentions that impelled Milwaukee educators to try a new kind of segregation for black schoolboys is understandable, but their final solution is not. Noting that many inner-city youth lack fathers at home and that some succumb to the lure of street gangs, Milwaukee's educators think the answer is to segregate the boys in "African American Immersion" schools keyed to a black male perspective. That seems like less of an answer than an exercise in isolation.

The Blast was held scoreless in an opening half for the first time all season in Saturday night's second game of the Major Indoor Soccer League semifinals against the Chicago Soul. The only goal the Blast allowed in that span was a close-range shot that deflected off defender Stephen DeRoux. Chicago's game plan was clearly to pack players around the penalty area, escape with a low-scoring victory and force a 15-minute mini-game to determine the series winner. The Blast, however, is a seasoned playoff team and began to break down the Soul defense with sharper passes around the goal.

The Chicago Soul broke an 8-8 tie late in the fourth quarter and upset the visiting Blast, 13-8, on Friday night. Carlos Farias scored a 3-point goal at 12:49 to put Chicago up, then Matt Stewart put the game away at 14:51. Pat Healey had tied the score at 8 at 7:28 of the quarter. The Blast's only lead came when Adauto Neto, playing in his 100th game for the team, put Baltimore up 2-0 in the second quarter. The Blast (12-3) will play today at 5 p.m. at Milwaukee (10-2) in a showdown for first place.

The Blast completed its 2012-13 regular season with a fundamentally sound stamp of approval Saturday night against the two-time defending Major Indoor Soccer League champion Milwaukee Wave. In a showdown for first place, the Blast defended more closely, scored the bigger goals and blanked the Wave in the fourth quarter to come away with a 10-6 win in front of an announced 6,386 at 1st Mariner Arena . The Blast finishes with a 21-5 record and moves one game in front of the Wave, which falls to 18-4 with four games still to play before the regular season concludes next Sunday.

Even though the Blast already clinched the Eastern Division regular season title, there was much at stake in Saturday night's game against Milwaukee, most notably an outside shot at home field advantage throughout the postseason and added confidence against a team that might be their biggest roadblock to winning the MISL championship. The Blast responded, as Machel Millwood got his second hat trick of the season, paving the way for a 17-13 victory before announced 9,644 at 1st Mariner Arena . With three games remaining in its regular season, the Blast (15-6)

MILWAUKEE -- When Sal Bando retired after the 1981 season, few people in baseball pictured him stepping into a gray suit complete with suspenders and sliding behind a front-office desk.Yet here he is, the rookie general manager on a team with a rookie manager, catcher and shortstop that suddenly has challenged the leaders in the American League East.The accepted blueprint after his playing days were over called for Bando to stay in uniform, moving from third base to the dugout as manager of the Milwaukee Brewers.

WASHINGTON - As Washington Wizards coach Doug Collins saw it, his team's task for last night was to keep the jump-shot happy Milwaukee Bucks from congregating around the arc and launching three-pointers all night. The Wizards mostly got that accomplished, allowing the Bucks to hit just three of 15 bonus shots, but Washington's porous interior defense let the Bucks score at practically every important moment, as Milwaukee grabbed an 85-82 victory at MCI Center. The Bucks, who got a combined 11 points from their starting power forward and center, nonetheless pounded Washington inside, outscoring the Wizards 36-20 in the paint.

It turns out learning on the go has Milwaukee Wave forward Matt Tirschman insistent on staying put. When the 25-year-old Baltimore native went to Milwaukee three years ago, Wave coach Keith Tozer - no ifs, ands, or buts - slotted him at the target forward position. So there is Tirschman, stationed in front with his back to the goal, fending off defenders to find his offense, and finding it all very well. "Most of the time, I'm going up against guys who are bigger than me, so it's probably one of the most physical areas to play.

MILWAUKEE -- The summer game is infringing on fall now. The temperature at County Stadium was a crisp 47 degrees when Milwaukee's Brian Givens delivered the first pitch last night.The players also had to deal with a stiff wind during batting practice, and before the game, they dug into the equipment trunk containing the team's winter parkas."It wasn't that bad this afternoon, during early batting practice," said manager Phil Regan, "when you worked up a sweat. But when the sun goes down -- whew."

There was an outstanding second-quarter burst of offense from the Blast, followed by an impressive third-quarter defensive front against the Milwaukee Wave. But probably the most special moment in last night's second game of the Major Indoor Soccer League's best-of-three final series was the very last, when a vocal crowd of 7,436 at 1st Mariner Arena stood and applauded as the Blast came away with a 15-12 win that sent the team back to Milwaukee's Bradley Center for a third and deciding game Friday at 8:05 p.m. First things first, and that was the Blast's effort to get there.

The Blast has the ideal primer for the upcoming Major Indoor Soccer League playoffs as the team closes out its regular season at 1st Mariner Arena on Saturday - a game against the two-time defending league champion Milwaukee Wave. The rivalry is far and away the best and most intense in the MISL, with all the other franchises too new to have developed any on the same level. And this game - set for 7:35 p.m. - has plenty on the line with the teams tied for first place in the league.

The Chicago Soul broke an 8-8 tie late in the fourth quarter and upset the visiting Blast, 13-8, on Friday night. Carlos Farias scored a 3-point goal at 12:49 to put Chicago up, then Matt Stewart put the game away at 14:51. Pat Healey had tied the score at 8 at 7:28 of the quarter. The Blast's only lead came when Adauto Neto, playing in his 100th game for the team, put Baltimore up 2-0 in the second quarter. The Blast (12-3) will play today at 5 p.m. at Milwaukee (10-2) in a showdown for first place.

The starting time for the Blast's road game against the Milwaukee Wave on Saturday, originally slated for 7 p.m., has been moved to 5 p.m. The Blast heads into Friday's game at the Chicago Soul in first place in the Major Indoor Soccer League with a 12-2 mark -- one game in front of Milwaukee (10-2). The games can be seen live on mislnation.com.

With a 9-0 mark going into Friday's game on the road against the Chicago Soul, the Blast will be looking for a piece of history with an opportunity to tie the franchise mark for best start to a season. Game time is set for 8:30 p.m. The 1993-94 Spirit opened its season at 10-0, the best in the 33 years of professional indoor soccer in Baltimore. The Blast, which is 3-0 on the road and 3 1/2 games in front of second-place Milwaukee (4-2) in the Major Indoor Soccer League, has two home wins against the last-place Soul.

The Blast impressed in winning its first three games of the Major Indoor Soccer League season, but the team knew Friday night's visit from the two-time defending league champion Milwaukee Wave would provide a greater assessment of where it stood in the early season. The answer was far more impressive. Sharing the ball on offense and getting a second straight sparkling performance from rookie goalkeeper William Vanzena, the Blast took charge early and never wavered in a 15-4 win before an announced 4,895 at 1st Mariner Arena . The Blast got goals from seven players, with the first five coming off assists.

Site: 1st Mariner Arena When: Friday, 7:35 p.m. Video: mislnation.com Outloook: Call it rivalry weekend for Baltimore. While the Ravens travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers, the feeling is similar when the Blast plays the Wave. In a rematch of the past two Major Indoor Soccer League championships - both won by Milwaukee - the Blast will try to stay on its early-season roll and get the first jab in against the Wave. In its fast start, the Blast has shown selfless play, with a balanced offense and surprisingly poised performances from rookie goalkeepers Troy Hernandez and William Vanzela.

MILWAUKEE - There may never have been a better opportunity for the Blast to catch the Major Indoor Soccer League-leading Milwaukee Wave on an off-day. Coming off a loss Saturday night in Kansas City, the Wave had a 4:30 a.m. wake-up call and flew back to Milwaukee yesterday morning, just in time for the 1:05 p.m. start. Meanwhile, the Blast came in well-rested having arrived in town a day in advance. But none of that mattered. Dewan Bader, Tarik Walker, Danny Kelly and P.J. Wakefield scored goals, and Sean Bowers had two assists, but the Blast missed numerous chances and lost, 13-8, before 6,206 at the Bradley Center.

MILWAUKEE - As if Tuesday night's loss to the Los Angeles Lakers didn't prove the point to the Washington Wizards, the Milwaukee Bucks reinforced the notion that the NBA game is one of runs. The Wizards, who were blistered by two Lakers runs in the first quarter Tuesday, got slammed by a long, first-half Bucks blitz and a shorter one in the fourth quarter that snuffed out a Washington comeback try. The result: a 105-90 Milwaukee win that placed the playoff hopes of the Wizards on life support.

Baltimore's political and business leaders praised the New York-based real estate investment firm purchasing Harborplace as a potential savior for the Inner Harbor mall that has struggled to find the right mix of tenants to appeal to both tourists and locals. When it was announced last month that Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp. was eyeing Harborplace, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake cited the company's high-profile properties - among them Faneuil Hall Marketplace in Boston, Union Station in Washington and Rivercenter in San Antonio - as evidence that Ashkenazy will do right by Harborplace.

It won't be long before racing fans in Baltimore and television viewers from around the world will once again enjoy IndyCar racing with your beautiful waterfront skyline as a backdrop. And as we experienced here last month with Milwaukee IndyFest, I'm confident Michael Andretti and the Andretti Sports Marketing team will get the job done and produce a first-class international event on Labor Day weekend. Milwaukee has a long and storied tradition in auto racing. The Milwaukee Mile is the oldest active racetrack in the world, having hosted races dating back to 1903.