San Diego Sockers

Basketball:. Boston Celtics -- Signed G Ricky Calloway.CollegeGeorgia Tech -- Suspended S Eric Bellamy from the football team for the remainder of the season for violating team rules.FootballSan Diego Chargers -- Placed RB Rod Bernstine on injured reserve. Activated RB Chris Samuels from the practice squad.HockeyMinnesota North Stars -- Claimed LW Derrick Smith off waivers from the Philadelphia Flyers.SoccerBaltimore Blast -- Traded M Paul Wright to San Diego Sockers for $10,000 and a third-round draft pick in 1992.

Laughter filled 1st Mariner Arena yesterday as the Major Indoor Soccer League-champion Blast finished practice for tonight's home opener against the San Diego Sockers. On the field, Sagu, the team's new goalie, whistled as Denison Cabral beat him cleanly with a huge shot to the far post. "I love it here," said Sagu, who arrived via trade this fall, following the departure of the Dallas Sidekicks from league play. "Baltimore has the best forwards in the league and great defenders like [Danny]

Baseball Texas Rangers -- Activated P Brian Bohannon from the 60-day and optioned him to Class AAA Oklahoma City.BasketballAtlanta Hawks -- Traded G Spud Webb and a 1994 second-round draft pick to the Sacramento Kings for G Travis Mays. Did not tender a qualifying contract to C Moses Malone.Boston Celtics -- Tendered a qualifying contract to F Kevin Gamble. Did not tender qualifying contracts to F Dave Popson and G A.J. Wynder.Chicago Bulls -- Announced they will exercise the option on F Cliff Levingston.

Former Baltimore Blast and San Diego Sockers star Tim Wittman is coming home.The Spirit, the new National Professional Soccer League franchise in Baltimore, is expected to announce Wittman's signing today at a noon news conference.Wittman said last night that he is "99 percent sure" a contract will be made final this morning."It looks good, and I'm hoping," Wittman said. "There is one point yet to be worked out, but they've called a news conference, so I hope that means we'll reach agreement.

Anyone who was out of the country for the summer might not recognize the Major Soccer League when its 13th season begins tonight.The league -- formerly the Major Indoor Soccer League -- has a new name; the goals are 2 feet wider and 1 foot higher; glamour boy Preki is in St. Louis instead of Tacoma, Wash.; Dale Mitchell is wearing a Baltimore Blast uniform instead of a Kansas City Comets uniform; and former Blast captain Carl Valentine is in Kansas City, Mo.In other words, the eight-team league survived another midsummer crisis.

Baltimore finally beat San Diego in a national championship indoor soccer game. No, it wasn't the Blast knocking out the Sockers in the Major Soccer League finals.It was the Baltimore Hummers defeating the San Diego Stars, 7-2, last weekend in the National Indoor Soccer unlimited championship game in Atlanta.Chris Webbert, Doug Miller and Greg Barger each scored two goals in the title game. Paul Wojcik had one goal.The Hummers, coached by Kevin Healy, won the 32-team tournament with a 7-0 record.

Blast coach Kenny Cooper said it's once again time to turn up the heat on his players during daily practices.After a pair of weekend losses, the coach was in a particularly foul mood Saturday night.His team lost 9-6 in Cleveland on Friday and managed to squander a 3-1 lead to the San Diego Sockers at the Arena to lose 7-5 the following night before the season's largest crowd of 9,417."There are guys that know what it takes to win and guys who will do whatever it takes to win," Cooper said.

Laughter filled 1st Mariner Arena yesterday as the Major Indoor Soccer League-champion Blast finished practice for tonight's home opener against the San Diego Sockers. On the field, Sagu, the team's new goalie, whistled as Denison Cabral beat him cleanly with a huge shot to the far post. "I love it here," said Sagu, who arrived via trade this fall, following the departure of the Dallas Sidekicks from league play. "Baltimore has the best forwards in the league and great defenders like [Danny]

Baltimore Blast defender Iain Fraser isn't anything like former Blast defender Bruce Savage, and Savage was nothing like San Diego Sockers defender Kevin Crow.Yet all three share one thing in common: They have perfected the art of playing defense in the Major Soccer League.Add St. Louis Storm defender Fernando Clavijo, and the list of the all-time best defenders in the MSL probably is complete. Someone out there may balk at the idea of Fraser being included in that company. After all, Savage, before he retired to join the U.S. national team, and Crow and Clavijo have been perennial All-Stars.

LA JOLLA, Calif. -- The elderly woman in the elevator at 939 Coast Road looks closely at the young man and says, "You look like you lift weights. That's good. It's good for you and you look very nice."He thanks the woman for the compliment and then giggles once she departs.Life's a ball, and Tim Wittman knows it. The former Blast All-Star, now with the San Diego Sockers, lives in the tallest high-rise in downtown La Jolla, surrounded by the well-heeled retired and the Pacific Ocean. And he's loving every minute of it."

Even while the San Diego Sockers were celebrating their fifth consecutive Major Soccer League championship last night, Blast owner Ed Hale was lamenting the playoff format that cost him money and voiced proposals for improvement.With last night's 8-2 victory over the Dallas Sidekicks in Game 6 of their best-of-seven series, the Sockers became the first team in pro sports history to twice win five straight championships.The New York Yankees won five World Series from 1949 through 1953. The Montreal Canadians won six Stanley Cups from 1955 through 1960.

Was there ever any doubt?The San Diego Sockers are only a game away from their fifth straight Major Soccer League championship after last night's 5-4 overtime victory over the Sidekicks in Dallas.San Diego, which got two goals from former Blast player and Baltimore native Tim Wittman, leads the series 3-0 with Game 4 Friday night in Dallas.Going into last night, the Sidekicks drew some hope from the fact they are the only team to ever come back from a 0-2 deficit, beating the Tacoma Stars in 1986-87 en route to the only league championship not won by San Diego in the Sockers' nine MSL seasons.

With only seven teams in the Major Soccer League, whose idea was it to divide them up for an East vs. West All-Star Game?No one is telling, but the best bet is that this way 32 players will get to participate, instead of just 16 All-Stars if one team was chosen.Still, it might be a more interesting game if a single group of MSL All-Stars lined up to play the MSL's four-time defending champion San Diego Sockers or an imported challenger from Europe -- where the MSL has been so willing to go of late for tournament competition.

Baltimore Blast defender Iain Fraser isn't anything like former Blast defender Bruce Savage, and Savage was nothing like San Diego Sockers defender Kevin Crow.Yet all three share one thing in common: They have perfected the art of playing defense in the Major Soccer League.Add St. Louis Storm defender Fernando Clavijo, and the list of the all-time best defenders in the MSL probably is complete. Someone out there may balk at the idea of Fraser being included in that company. After all, Savage, before he retired to join the U.S. national team, and Crow and Clavijo have been perennial All-Stars.

LA JOLLA, Calif. -- The elderly woman in the elevator at 939 Coast Road looks closely at the young man and says, "You look like you lift weights. That's good. It's good for you and you look very nice."He thanks the woman for the compliment and then giggles once she departs.Life's a ball, and Tim Wittman knows it. The former Blast All-Star, now with the San Diego Sockers, lives in the tallest high-rise in downtown La Jolla, surrounded by the well-heeled retired and the Pacific Ocean. And he's loving every minute of it."

Basketball:. Boston Celtics -- Signed G Ricky Calloway.CollegeGeorgia Tech -- Suspended S Eric Bellamy from the football team for the remainder of the season for violating team rules.FootballSan Diego Chargers -- Placed RB Rod Bernstine on injured reserve. Activated RB Chris Samuels from the practice squad.HockeyMinnesota North Stars -- Claimed LW Derrick Smith off waivers from the Philadelphia Flyers.SoccerBaltimore Blast -- Traded M Paul Wright to San Diego Sockers for $10,000 and a third-round draft pick in 1992.

Former Baltimore Blast and San Diego Sockers star Tim Wittman is coming home.The Spirit, the new National Professional Soccer League franchise in Baltimore, is expected to announce Wittman's signing today at a noon news conference.Wittman said last night that he is "99 percent sure" a contract will be made final this morning."It looks good, and I'm hoping," Wittman said. "There is one point yet to be worked out, but they've called a news conference, so I hope that means we'll reach agreement.

Even the eternal optimist, Baltimore Blast coach Kenny Cooper, said the Major Soccer League reached an all-time low on Aug. 7 when it came within five minutes of folding.It took a late decision by former owner Donald Carter to return as majority owner of the Dallas Sidekicks to save the MSL for a 14th season, which will begin tomorrow night when the Blast plays the Sidekicks at 7:35 at the Baltimore Arena.The Blast and Sidekicks will have the stage to themselves on opening night. The rest of the league won't begin play until next week.

Even the eternal optimist, Baltimore Blast coach Kenny Cooper, said the Major Soccer League reached an all-time low on Aug. 7 when it came within five minutes of folding.It took a late decision by former owner Donald Carter to return as majority owner of the Dallas Sidekicks to save the MSL for a 14th season, which will begin tomorrow night when the Blast plays the Sidekicks at 7:35 at the Baltimore Arena.The Blast and Sidekicks will have the stage to themselves on opening night. The rest of the league won't begin play until next week.

Baseball Texas Rangers -- Activated P Brian Bohannon from the 60-day and optioned him to Class AAA Oklahoma City.BasketballAtlanta Hawks -- Traded G Spud Webb and a 1994 second-round draft pick to the Sacramento Kings for G Travis Mays. Did not tender a qualifying contract to C Moses Malone.Boston Celtics -- Tendered a qualifying contract to F Kevin Gamble. Did not tender qualifying contracts to F Dave Popson and G A.J. Wynder.Chicago Bulls -- Announced they will exercise the option on F Cliff Levingston.