Hot Winter Nights Return Tomorrow

Almost 11 years ago I went to my last professional indoor soccer game, it was Dino Delevski bobble head night and the Comets defeated the Milwaukee Wave that night (I don't remember the score, so please don't ask). Tomorrow I'll be going to another professional indoor game, as the Comets return and will again take on the Milwaukee Wave. This time the game will be at the Independence Event Center instead of Kemper Arena, and it's the Missouri Comets, not the Kansas City Comets.

The new Comets are looking to bring back the entertainment atmosphere of the original Comets that brought in over 10,000 people regularly to rock Kemper during their heyday in the 80's. The Midnight Express theme is coming back along with more. The question is how competitive this team will be. With the signings they've made, including today's of Jamar Beasley, it would appear that they're certainly going to try to. Tomorrow, though, they're going up against one of the few remaining elder statesmen of indoor soccer. The Wave has been in existence since 1984, the oldest continuously run soccer team indoor or outdoor in this country. The Wave lost in last season's championship. As an expansion side one would expect the Comets to struggle in their first game against a more established team. But either way it should be an interesting start to the season.

For those of you that need a little more information on the rules, here are some of the basic rules for you. So get out and enjoy the games some time this season.

BASIC RULES
• The game is played in four 15-minute quarters.
• Corner kicks - taken if the ball leaves the playing area between the two flags on the goal line
• Kick-ins- taken when the ball leaves the field of play
• Yellow Line violations- A ball pass crosses both yellow lines in the air without being touched by another player.

GOALS
• All goals scored are worth two points, except goals scored on shot attempts from on or beyond the 45-foot arc surrounding the goal, which will be worth three points.

INFRACTIONS AND RESULTING PENALTIES
• Fouls are penalized with a free kick to the offended team. A goal can be scored directly from all free kicks.
• Penalties are two (2) minutes in length. Misconducts (the referee will show a yellow card) are five (5) minutes in length.
• Man Advantages (power play) - a team will play one (or two) men short.