1990 MISL ALL-STAR GAME : East Roster Adds Muscle for Star Wars : All-Stars: To counter the West’s scoring prowess Coach Kenny Cooper has added the brute force of Cleveland’s Bernie James and Mike Sweeney.

Don’t be surprised if you go to the 11th MISL All-Star game tonight at the Sports Arena and a hockey game breaks out.

No, there won’t be any high sticking, but Eastern Division Coach Kenny Cooper, of the Baltimore Blast, seems to have used half of his four roster choices on players who have done more scuffling in their careers than scoring.

Certainly, that’s no crime in this league, but remember that the All-Star game is traditionally a showcase for offensive prowess, not brute power.

The two controversial picks are defender Bernie James and midfielder Mike Sweeney of the Cleveland Crunch.

Both are first time All-Stars despite long careers in the league (James has been playing since 1982, Sweeney since 1984).

There’s a reason for their prolonged absence.

As Sweeney explained it, “We’ve always been involved in a lot of scuffles and had a lot of penalty minutes. And that kind of player doesn’t get selected.”

Now their time has come. Apparently, Cooper is relying on some elbow grease from the twosome to keep the West’s forwards off the ball.

It’s not really the plan of a desperate man, but Cooper is 0-2 against the Sockers’ Ron Newman in All-Star games and 0-3 against him in championship series. And, well, something has to change.

So it might as well be strategy. Forget the offense, Cooper has got to keep the West from scoring. The best way to do that is to keep its players from shooting.

“Don’t get me wrong,” Cooper said. “I think we have some firepower. We have some guys who can put the ball in the back of the net, but before we do that we have to keep the ball from getting in the back of our net.”

For that reason James and Sweeney are making their All-Star debuts. Some argue that it is long overdue for James.

The Cleveland defender is the MISL’s all-time blocked-shots leader with 848. He has yet to gain the reputation of, say, a Kim Roentved, a nine-time All-Star, because of his physical style of play.

“He should have been here a long time ago,” Cooper said. “He’s the top defender in the league. He deserves to be here and he gets the job done and the same goes for Mike Sweeney.”

Sweeney, however, is not a defender. He’s a midfielder, although he has gained a reputation as a defensive midfielder.

Had Cooper wanted to match the West’s scoring ability, there were other midfielders available.

Most notable among the group: David Byrne. Byrne, now with Wichita, has scored 14 goals and assisted on 16 others for 30 points in 26 games this season. Sweeney, on the other hand, has accumulated 23 points in 33 games.

Cooper doesn’t admit to making his selections on the basis of players’ reputations as scrappers. But he doesn’t deny it.

“I think the indoor game is an intense game,” Cooper said. “It is a contact sport and we lose sight of that. As a coach, you look for guys who aren’t afraid to leave a piece of themselves on the carpet. You look for an honest effort and Bernie James and Mike Sweeney are two of the most honest players I’ve seen.”

What Cooper is most concerned with is a trio of Western players who are not only top goal scorers, but also three of the most creative passers in the league.

Dallas’ Tatu heads the list. In 33 games, Tatu has scored 41 goals and assisted on 33 others. Tacoma’s Preki has 18 goals and 26 assists in 28 games. San Diego’s Branko Segota not only has a first and last name, but also probably the league’s most powerful legs. Segota’s shots are considered among the league’s hardest, although this year, because of injuries, he has played in only 27 games, some at three-quarter-speed. In that time, he has scored 16 goals and assisted on 24 others.

Another offensive threat from the West is Kia, Preki’s teammate in Tacoma, who has scored 24 goals and assisted on nine others in 34 games.

Cooper knows that if his East team is to win, it’s going to have to out-work the West. In fact, it has been brought to his attention so often this week, he’s getting a little irritated.

“Everyone’s calling this a blue-collar team, a hard-working team,” he said. “But when we win the game (tonight) they won’t say that any more.”

The label may not even fit going into the game. In the midst of all the Western goal-scorers monopolizing the attention, few have bothered to look at the league’s scoring leaders and notice that nine of the top 12 are on Cooper’s roster.

They are: Kansas City’s Jan Goossens (No. 2 with 41 goals and 33 assists), Wichita’s Chico Borja (3-21, 30), Cleveland’s Michael King (4-32, 18), and Hector Marinaro (5-24, 20), Wichita’s Dale Irvine (7-31, 12), Kansas City’s Dale Mitchell (8-29, 12) and Baltimore’s Domenic Mobilio (10-27, 11), Tim Wittman (10-27, 11) and Carl Valentine (12--15, 21).

Cooper has noticed this. And he’s happy with what he sees as a perfect balance. While his forwards will be letting shots fly, his defenders will be letting their elbows and feet fly. “At the end of the day,” he said, “it’s a team game.”

But he’s not waiting for the end of the day to prove his philosophy. He’s waiting for it in hopes his record against Newman will no longer begin with zero.

“Sooner or later,” Cooper says, “the law of averages is going to turn.”

A LOOK AT THE MISL ALL-STAR LINEUPS

WESTERN DIVISION

No.: 4 Name: Gary Heale Team: St. Louis Storm Position: Forward Comment: Scrappy. Gets most goals in penalty box. No.: 5 Name: Mike Powers Team: Dallas Sidekicks Position: Defender Comment: Second in league in blocks with 79. No.: 6 Name: George Fernandez Team: Sockers Position: Defender Comment: Swift, steady. Leads MISL with 112 consecutive games played. No.:7 Name: Brian Schmetzer Team: Tacoma Stars Position: Defender Comment: Sixth year in the league, first all star appearance. No.: 8 Name: Godfrey Ingram Team: St. Louis Storm Position: Forward Comment: Flashy moves. Played for six different MISL teams. No.: 9 Name: Tatu Team: Dallas Sidekicks Position: Forward Comment: Leads league in goals (41). Tied for lead in assists (33). No.: 11 Name: Preki Team: Tacoma Stars Position: Midfielder Comment: Best pure skills in the MISL. Great dribbler and passer. No.: 12 Name: Kevin Crow Team: Sockers Position: Defender Comment: Defender of the Year past two seasons. Well conditioned. Good leader. No.: 14 Name: Brian Quinn Team: Sockers Position: Midfielder Comment: Highly respected around league. Great passer, playmaker. No.: 17 Name: Kia Team: Tacoma Stars Position: Forward Comment: Good on rebound shots and breakaways. Pesky. No.: 20 Name: Branko Segota Team: Sockers Position: Midfielder Comment: Powerful shot. Tough to stop one on one. Winner. No.: 21 Name: Fernando Clavijo Team: St. Louis Storm Position: Defender Comment: Great speed. One of best defenders at playing offense. No.: 22 Name: Doc Lawson Team: Dallas Sidekicks Position: Defender Comment: Only player to play every MISL season. Fifth all star game. No.: 30 Name: Slobo Ilijevski Team: St. Louis Position: Goalie Comment: Oldest player (40) to play in MISL All-Star Game. No.: 31 Name: Krys Sobieski Team: Dallas Position: Goalie Comment: Only a year younger than Ilijevski. No.: 77 Name: Zoran Karic Team: Sockers Position: Forward Comment: Great ability to make quick fakes and score long-range goals.

EASTERN DIVISION No.: 6 Name: Chico Borja Team: Wichita Wings Position: Midfielder Comment: Third in MISL with 51 points (21 goals, 30 assists). No.: 7 Name: Bernie James Team: Cleveland Crunch Position: Defender Comment: Very physical. All-time MISL leader in blocks with 849. No.: 8 Name: Jan Goossens Team: Kansas City Comets Position: Forward Comment: Extremely consistent. Second in MISL in points with 59. No.: 10 Name: Kim Roentved Team: Kansas City Comets Position: Defender Comment: Ninth all-star game. Physical. Has scoring ability. No.: 11 Name: Dale Ervine Team: Wichita Wings Position: Forward Comment: Having career year. Has a powerful shot. Played for UCLA. No.: 12 Name: Mike Sweeney Team: Cleveland Crunch Position: Midfielder Comment: Hard-nosed, aggressive. Minnesota Strikers MVP in 1987-88. No.: 13 Name: Michael King Team: Cleveland Crunch Position: Forward Comment: Having career year. Fourth in MISL in scoring with 50 points. No.: 14 Name: Dale Mitchell Team: Kansas City Comets Position: Forward Comment: Eighth in scoring (41), fourth in goals (29). No.: 17 Name: Tim Wittman Team: Baltimore Blast Position: Defender Comment: Scrappy, hustler. Tied for fifth in goals (27). No.: 18 Name: Victor Moreland Team: Wichita Wings Position: Defender Comment: Physical and tough. Replaces injured Chico Moreira. No.: 20 Name: Domenic Mobilio Team: Baltimore Blast Position: Forward Comment: Great composure on the field. Future star. No.: 21 Name: Carl Valentine Team: Baltimore Blast Position: Midfielder Comment: Good skills, good quickness. Well respected around league. No.: 22 Name: Bruce Savage Team: Baltimore Blast Position: Defender Comment: Prototype defender. Stays close to goal. No.: 27 Name: Ron Fearon Team: Wichita Wings Position: Goalie Comment: First-year in league. Had hot start. No.: 28 Name: Kai Haaskivi Team: Cleveland Crunch Position: Midfielder Comment: MVP of 1987 game in LA. MISL’s only player/coach. No.: 31 Name: Scott Manning Team: Baltimore Blast Position: Goalie Comment: Acrobatic. Leads league in victories (15) and saves (310).