Tacoma Stars

TACOMA, Wash. -- As Kenny Cooper's voice echoed loudly through the hall outside the Baltimore Blast locker room at the Tacoma Dome late Saturday night, it didn't seem as though the coach was considering the bright side of his team's 5-4 overtime loss to the Tacoma Stars.But after the door opened, Cooper was calm, almost analytical about the game, emphasizing his team's comeback from a 4-1 deficit in the last 17 minutes, not Nikki Ristic's goal at 8 minutes, 29 seconds of overtime that dropped the Blast (4-5)

Trade talks have cooled around the Baltimore Blast these days and coach Kenny Cooper is prepared to play with the hand he dealt himself before the season."

The Baltimore Blast will trade a veteran player or two in the medium salary range early next week to make room for a highly regarded rookie draft choice and help the team meet the salary cap of $630,000, coach Kenny Cooper said yesterday.Cooper wouldn't say which players are being considered, but Freddie Thompson, Rusty Troy and Mike Reynolds could be primary candidates. All three are in the medium range of $30,000 a year.Cooper said the Blast probably would be receiving future considerations instead of another player in the deal because of roster limitations.

TACOMA, Wash. -- Baltimore Blast coach Kenny Cooper called last night's game against the Tacoma Stars the most important in franchise history, a declaration his battered club seemed to take to heart in the second half.Baltimore fell behind, 3-0, by halftime at the Tacoma Dome, but with five players out with injuries, salvaged a 5-4 overtime victory on a goal by Dale Mitchell to complete a hat trick at 1 minute, 43 seconds.The victory stretched the Blast's lead over the Wichita Stars to three games in their battle for the Major Soccer League Eastern Division's final playoff berth.

To say there is some pressure for the Baltimore Blast to win on the road this weekend would be an understatement.Baltimore has won only one game away from the Baltimore Arena (1-14) since Jan. 4. That includes its only road game of this season, an 8-6 loss to the Wichita Wings on Oct. 25.The rocky road leads the Blast (1-2) to Tacoma, Wash., tonight for a game against the Stars and to San Diego on Sunday for a game against the Sockers.Coach Kenny Cooper said the Blast showed signs of coming together in its home game, a 4-3 victory 12 days ago against Tacoma.

Baseball Boston Red Sox -- Added P Peter Hoy, P Paul Quantrill, OF Jeff McNeely and SS John Valentin to their major-league 40-man roster.Detroit Tigers -- 1B Dave Bergman filed for free agency.Florida Marlins -- Named Dean Jordan VP of communications.Pittsburgh Pirates -- Named Mark Driscoll executive director of broadcasting and advertising sales.St. Louis Cardinals -- Named Jack Krol manager of Class AAA Louisville; Scott Melvin manager of rookie league Johnson City; and Mauricio Nunez manager of rookie league Arizona club.

The Major Soccer League playoffs begin in San Diego a week from today. The date is set with only one detail yet to be settled. Who will play the Sockers in the opening round?Will it be the Blast, third-place Cleveland Crunch, fourth-place Wichita Wings or Tacoma Stars? All have a chance to finish in the fourth, and final, playoff spot.The race has boosted league attendance in the past nine games to an average of 9,800, but it has been hard on coaches."You're like an elastic band in a season like this," said Blast coach Kenny Cooper.

TACOMA, Wash. -- The worst news for the Blast last night was that forward Gary Heale was not going to play for the Tacoma Stars.That meant second-year forward Shawn Medved was going to get full shifts for Tacoma in its Major Soccer League game at the Tacoma Dome.Medved, who had two goals Friday to power the Stars to a 4-2 win over the San Diego Sockers, responded by scoring Tacoma's first three goals as the team battled to a 3-3 tie after three periods.And the Stars added fourth-quarter goals by Neil Megson and Carl Valentine to post a 5-4 victory over the Blast, playing with little-used Steve Powers in goal for the second straight game.

TACOMA, Wash. -- The worst news for the Blast last night was that forward Gary Heale was not going to play for the Tacoma Stars.That meant second-year forward Shawn Medved was going to get full shifts for Tacoma in its Major Soccer League game at the Tacoma Dome.Medved, who had two goals Friday to power the Stars to a 4-2 win over the San Diego Sockers, responded by scoring Tacoma's first three goals as the team battled to a 3-3 tie after three periods.And the Stars added fourth-quarter goals by Neil Megson and Carl Valentine to post a 5-4 victory over the Blast, playing with little-used Steve Powers in goal for the second straight game.

TACOMA, Wash. -- The Baltimore Blast, with a chance to grab a share of the Major Soccer League East lead, dropped a 5-4 overtime match to the Tacoma Stars last night.Tacoma, 12-6 and leading the West, has beaten Baltimore five times in a row here, dating to March 12, 1989 and all three times they've played this season.Tacoma won the see-saw game despite a hat trick by the Blast's Dale Mitchell, when, after a scoreless fourth quarter, Kia kicked in a rebound from point-blank range after Blast goalkeeper Scott Manning nicely saved a hard drive by Tacoma's Billy Crook at 2 minutes, 52 seconds of overtime.