Posts Tagged ‘Amy Keller’

The Preseason Magic 8-Ball

Posted by Staci on Tuesday, September 6th, 2011

Beau the Soccer Cat

Beau the Soccer Cat and I can't bear the end of summer.

I’m not coping well with summer ending. I find that as I get on in years, I have less and less tolerance for cold weather, and I’m not ready to give up my tan. But what I always find comfort in as autumn approaches (besides my awesome leather bomber) are futbol and football (pro, not college — I have no words for the new Maryland unis).

Which is why I was so pleased today when the Blast released their 2011-2012 schedule. The team opens the 24-game season at home November 12 against the Syracuse Silver Knights (dorky name, eh?). In addition to Syracuse, they’ll face six other teams from Chicago, Milwaukee, Missouri, Wichita, Norfolk and Rochester over the course of the regular season, which ends in March.

Of course, a new season means new questions, new stories, new intrigue — so I figured, expert that I am, you probably have some queries about this coming season that I can answer. I’ve listed a few of what I imagine to be your questions below. Disclaimer: Please keep in mind that I have approximately zero insider information, so this is all merely speculation. But as the season nears, fret not. I’ll be sure to get all investigative on your ass.

Q: Will Staci manage to tear herself away from “The Wire” on Netflix to attend games at the arena?
A: Unlikely. (Juuuuust kidding. I’ll be there, giving you your gameday dose of snark on the regular. Omar and McNulty (sexy man that he is) can wait.)

Q: Who will be team captain now that Robbie Aristodemo has retired and moved to Florida and all the other veterans have hung ‘em up as well?
A: My guess is Mike Lookingland. Man knows how to start a day right. Can’t go wrong with that.

Q: Will Danny Kelly show up with a new ‘do?
A: All signs point to no. And THANK GOODNESS!

Q: Will Blast fans be serenaded with the sweet (auto)tunes of Lil Wayne at 1st Mariner Arena?
A: Of course not, everyone would obviously much rather listen to the Spongebob theme song. (I’m looking at you, Pete Kerzel.) Maybe they’ll at least throw a little Europop fist-pumping…stuff in there for DJ B.

Q: Who will show up with the brightest kicks?
A: I predict Carlos Garcia will oust the latest to take that title and regain his rightful place on the neon throne.

Q: Where will the gameday after-parties take place?
A: One can only hope the answer is a real bar and not a crab house, one of the saddest places to be in the dead of winter.

Who has some real questions for me to answer? I’d really love to solidify my status in the Baltimore sports journalism world by speculating about that which is unknown (which I am more or less unqualified to do). Anyone? Don’t worry – I’ll correct your grammar and spelling. Just post it in the comments section. Or tweet me. Or Facebook me.

While we’re on that topic, why don’t you go and like K&G on Facebook here? And while you’re there, you should hop on over and follow me on the Twitter. I know I’ve been woefully deficient (read: lazy) about that whole thing, but now I have a Twitter crush (#teeheehee) so I’m doing my best to be a real Twitterer. Plus, I mean, it’s just so pathetic that only 42 people follow me. (Will you be lucky No. 43?)

***

In other news, I just want to issue a formal K&G mazel tov to these two awesome people. Amy Lewkovich nee Keller is the most awesome sauce director of public and media relations the world has ever known. And she has stellar taste in cupcakes too.

cupcakes

You best believe I ate two of those bad boys!

Congrats my friends!

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Posted in Baltimore Blast, MLS | 10 Comments »

Yuck.

Posted by Staci on Friday, March 25th, 2011

Mr. Yuck

This is me tonight. Hi.

I feel like this question always comes up in the postseason of any sport. Is a bye really a reward for dominating the regular season? Or a curse?

I mean, yeah, you get some much-needed rest and all that, but maybe it’s better to stay in a groove and keep the momentum going. Because when it came down to the one game that really mattered, the Blast looked….well…rusty. And Milwaukee looked crisp.

Which is how the Blast lost their first championship game in recent memory to the Wave, 16-7, before 10,274 fans at 1st Mariner Arena. (By the way, kudos to you guys for showing up. I checked, and the last championship game we hosted in Baltimore when the Blast beat the Rockford Rampage, 9,857 fans were in the house.)

“I think you can find pros and cons to the byes,” said head coach Danny Kelly. “We had some bumps and bruises and got some guys healthy. For us, it worked with the way the season ended. … I just think we got away from what got us to this point, and it’s obviously a disappointing result. You’ve got to give Milwaukee credit. They played well, they stuck to their game plan, and we were undisciplined.”

The Blast outshot the Wave, 32-12, but goalkeeper Marcel Feenstra stayed strong, and Milwaukee was precise with their shots. In fact, MISL Goalkeeper of the Year Sagu only recorded three saves on the evening.

“They played a good tactical game,” said Blast captain Robbie Aristodemo. “They sat in and countered, and when they countered, they scored. They didn’t have as many shots the entire game, but they made them count.”

The first quarter was a relatively quiet one for both teams; unfortunately for the Blast, it was completely silent.

Milwaukee got off to a quick start with a sharp, unassisted goal from former Baltimore defender Jonathan Greenfield. No one scored again until the final minute of the quarter when Wave midfielder Ian Bennett snuck up on Sagu off an assist from Marco Terminesi.

Midfielder Lucio Gonzaga turned it on for the Blast though, running up into the stands to give his visiting mother a kiss after he scored off a pass from Machel Millwood. Shortly after, defender Mike Lookingland notched one off an assist from leading scorer Pat Healey. The Wave regained the lead, however, with a 3-point goal that went off the foot of Blast defender Zach Wilkes and into the net.

Things got tense with more than three minutes left in the second quarter, when a fight broke out involving Millwood, Giuliano Celenza and Josh Rife and his awesome sweatband. Aristodemo had gotten tangled up with Milwaukee goalkeeper and game MVP Marcel Feenstra, when Rife and his sweatband got involved, and Millwood and Celenza jumped in on the action. Both teams remained relatively unscathed though, losing Rife, Millwood and Celenza each for five minutes on severe unsportsmanlike conduct charges.

After a morale-boosting halftime speech from former star and fan favorite Denison Cabral, the teams returned to the field. Milwaukee, however, was the first to get on the board in the second half, with an unassisted 3-point goal from Marcio Leite on a free kick. Milwaukee scored again to start the fourth quarter, this time from late-season rental Greg Howes off an assist from Greenfield.

The first power play didn’t take place until the fourth quarter when Oliviero was penalized two minutes for tripping. Tensions ran high when Millwood and Feenstra got tangled up in the goal, but Milwaukee was able to kill the power play and pad their margin with a 2-point goal from Travis MacKenzie off of a rebound on a shot from Howes.

MISL Defender of the Year Pat Morris snapped the dry spell for the Blast with a 3-point goal off an assist from Celenza with six minutes left in the game. But it wasn’t enough. Unfortunately, with Healey in as a sixth attacker and the goal untended, Milwaukee’s trash talker Evan McNeley was able to score a long 3-point shot on a pass from Rife, and Milwaukee became the 2010-2011 MISL Champions.

Sigh.

Some notes…

***

It isn’t lost on me that Troy Dusosky didn’t play, and wasn’t on the injured list either.

Hey, I don’t blame him, I’d be scared too.

***

Can we talk about the Wave mascot for a minute with the weird blue Elvis hair and the tropical-looking board shorts? He was in attendance. Is there actually a reason why Milwaukee’s team is the Wave? There’s absolutely nothing about Milwaukee that makes me want to go swimming, am I right?

At least the mascot is accurate in that he’s pasty and chubby, like someone else from Milwaukee that we know.

***

Amy Keller “baked” tonight, and I ate cake with a knife like a fat kid because there weren’t any forks. This isn’t newsworthy; it’s just awesome.

***

The Blast honored 13-year veteran and fan favorite Cabral tonight during halftime. Talk about all-badass. He’s like the all-time leader for the Blast in, well…every offensive category you can think of.

And yet, the field was conspicuously missing him this season.

Prior to the season, some tension arose when Kelly made it clear that Cabral would compete for a spot on the roster this season.

“It’s pretty simple,” Cabral said. “I went back to the office after the summer and I came down to talk about contracts and basically the head coach said the year before last year wasn’t good enough, and I had to prove to him that I was able to go back and play with the Blast and he offered me the opportunity to train with the team and earn my contract.

“I was invited to try out for a team that I played for for 13 years. I thought that was disrespectful, and I didn’t appreciate the way he did it, and I just decided as a man to respect myself, and I said no, I’m not doing it. At that point on, I just decided to stay away from everything because that was totally disrespectful.”

But he returned to 1st Mariner Arena tonight, accompanied by 250 members of his Denison Cabral Futsal Academy, and he was welcomed with a standing ovation. General manager Kevin Healey spoke, recognizing him as a “superstar on the field and off.”

He kissed the logo on the field before leaving, dedicating the kiss to the fans. It was a nice touch and all but…ew. You couldn’t pay me to touch my mouth to that field.

For now, Cabral is focusing on DCFA, and he has signed an eight-month contract to play for a Brazilian futsal team.

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Posted in Baltimore Blast, MISL | 2 Comments »

Notebook: Local Celebrity

Posted by Staci on Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011

Pat Healey

Hometown hero Pat Healey ranks third in the MISL with 44 points. (Photo courtesy of the Baltimore Blast)

From the outside looking in, it may seem like we’re witnessing a young player on a hot streak. But the truth is that what we’re seeing is third-year player Pat Healey simply getting comfortable and hitting his stride.

“[Team captain] Robbie [Aristodemo] said one time during my first year that it took him like 100 games, or like two and a half years to really be comfortable,” Healey said. “I think that’s true. You get to learn how guys react and a little bit of timing. That’s big in indoor.”

It appears Healey has gotten quite comfy indeed. With 44 points on 16 goals and 11 assists this season, the Bel Air native ranks third in the league and first on the team. Healey’s margin is wide; veteran defender Pat Morris is second on the team with 35 points.

Also notable is the fact that Healey’s points come on only 34 shots this season, showing remarkable precision. Missouri’s Byron Alvarez and Milwaukee’s Marco Terminisi are first and second in the league, respectively.

Alvarez has 58 points on 75 shots while Terminisi has 57 on 98.

“Pat’s been playing really well,” said head coach Danny Kelly. “I think he’s surprised a lot of people, but he hasn’t surprised me. He’s got a very high soccer IQ. He plays both sides of the ball really well. He can do it all. He can score goals, he can set up goals, he can defend. He is organized and he communicates real well. He’s a natural leader on the field. And I think he’s getting his due this year with all his hard work paying off for him.”

Even so, it’s not the ranking Healey cares about, or even the recognition.

“It’s nice to be up there,” he said. “But I just want to win a championship. It’s nice to win. That’s the bottom line. You can be first in points, but lose in the championship, and it’s a bad year in my mind. So whatever it takes to get home field [advantage], and then get the championship, that’s all that matters.”

***

Admittedly, I’m lazy about my Twitter account. But! I check my Facebook page all the time. I have 49 fans. I want a 50th (and beyond)! Please go on Facebook, search “Just for Kicks & Giggles,” look for the sombrero, and “like” me. And if you already do, suggest me to your friends. Remember, every click on this blog is a donation to the Beau the Soccer Cat Likes Friskies Grillers Fund.

Shameless, I know.

***

So the talented Ms. Amy Keller invited me to play in this year’s Blast celebrity/media halftime game on March 13, the last regular season game. I’ve never played in it before, and as usual, I cannot make up my mind. (By the way, if you’re wondering, I fall into the “celebrity” category of the game’s title. *wink*)

My philosophy is as follows: Why put myself into a sure situation to make a fool out of myself when I already manage to do it inadvertently every day?

But then I guess the flipside of that is: If I already make a fool out of myself on the regular, what’s one more incident to the pile?

Thoughts?

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Posted in Baltimore Blast, MISL | 3 Comments »

I Don’t Break Promises

Posted by Staci on Monday, January 24th, 2011

Josh Rife

I TOLD you Milwaukee's Josh Rife has awesome sweatbands! (Photo courtesy of the Baltimore Blast)

First thing’s first!

<————AWESOME!

***

Next thing’s next. What are the chances Sagu is named MISL goalkeeper of the month every month this season? He already snagged the title for November and December, and today was named goalkeeper of the week for going 2-0 this weekend against the Milwaukee Wave and the Missouri Comets.

Returning from a groin injury that kept him on the sidelines for two games, Sagu stopped 33 or 42 shots over the course of the two games. He currently leads the MISL with a 4.17 goals against average and a .798 save percentage. Snaps for Sagu!

***

Thirdly: I promised you a guilt trip, and I do not disappoint.

Where the hell have you been?

I mean, really. I don’t have the exact numbers in front of me, but it seems to me attendance has been weaker than usual this season. People. I know it’s cold, but come on, last year we had three feet of snow!

The first season I covered the Blast was the 2007-2008 championship season. I was still fresh out of journalism school and had never even been to an indoor soccer game before that season. I enjoyed the games immediately, but perhaps more importantly, I was excited to see the turnout of Charm City fans.

Amy Keller can correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure the Blast perennially lead the league in attendance. And that first season, I remember the attendance at 1st Mariner Arena rivaling that of Camden Yards on a Wednesday night against the Kansas City Royals in August (that was before Zack Greinke was any good, of course).

So is this my imagination or what? Attendance seems to be steadily hovering around 6,000 which is good, but not great. Where are you guys? What’s better than having a team in Baltimore that wins championships and is currently tied for first place in the league? I hate to break this to you, but if you’re not following indoor soccer, you’re in a Baltimore sports slump. Yeah. The Shi Pittsburgh Steelers are going to the Super Bowl, and pitchers and catchers don’t report for the Orioles for another month. And honestly, even after they do, we probably won’t have much to look forward to until Ravens training camp.

Which means you better get your sports fix now. Show your support for the home team. And if you’re one of my awesome homies who doesn’t follow soccer but reads this because you inexplicably think I’m funny, head to the Blast game Saturday. Try something new. I’ll be there. And what could be better than hanging out with me?

Heh.

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Posted in Baltimore Blast, MISL | 3 Comments »

Brazil v. Middle America

Posted by Staci on Saturday, December 18th, 2010

Lucio Gonzaga

Player of the game Lucio Gonzago sealed Blastimore's 12-4 victory with two goals for five points.

For the second week in a row, the Blast got off to a slow start in the first half, tallying only two goals in the first quarter. Luckily, the 2-3 Omaha Vipers got off to a slower start, with only one goal in the first quarter.

Still, the Blast came out with a 12-4 win to improve to 4-0, undoubtedly in celebration of Amy Keller’s engagement.

But Baltimore widened its lead to start the second half with a 3-point, unassisted goal from Lucio Gonzaga, who also scored the first goal of the game before 5,742 at 1st Mariner Arena.

“That’s a play from Brazil,” Gonzaga said. “We always look for that ball between the legs because they don’t expect it.”

Robbie Aristodemo followed each of Gonzaga’s goals with one of his own, and by the fourth quarter, the Blast were up 9-2.

[Sidenote: So I keep unintentionally typing “Blastimore.” What do we think of this? Can I get an Urban Dictionary entry up in here?]

The Vipers’ Johnny Torres got his second goal of the game almost nine minutes into the fourth quarter, and Omaha brought a sixth attacker into the game with about five minutes left, but to no avail. For four quarters, the Blast managed to step it up on defense and hold the Vipers to only two goals.

And with 11 seconds left in the game, the Blast’s Pat Morris rubbed salt in the wound, kicking a 3-pointer from three-quarters of the way down the field into the Vipers’ unattended net.

Ouch.

“It feels good to win,” said head coach Danny Kelly. “The first half we were a little bit out of sync. We need to do some things better, just sorting out our matchups, little things like that. So we were a little bit out of sync. Second half we made some adjustments and we played a whole lot better. We just started doing little things better. Better defense, better communication, better passing, and better finishing as well.”

The Blast’s next two games are on the road, first in Missouri and then in Omaha. Be sure to watch the webcasts!

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Posted in Baltimore Blast | No Comments »

Better Than A Championship Ring

Posted by Staci on Saturday, December 18th, 2010

Chris & Amy

"He went to Jared!" (Just kidding, I don't actually know where it's from, but it's pretty freaking fabulous. Well done, Lewkovision.)

Well, now that I have permission to do so, I want you all to be the first to know…

The wonderful, fabulous, beautiful and talented public relations director of your Baltimore Blast is…

ENGAGED!!!!

And I couldn’t be happier for the pair. Way to go, Lewkovision! Make sure to congratulate Chris and Amy if you see them around the arena tonight! Go Blast.

P.S. The Blast are winning 4-2 at halftime of tonight’s game versus the Omaha Vipers. More to come…

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Posted in Baltimore Blast | 12 Comments »