Archives for Sep,2010

You are browsing the site archives by date.

Sep25

My Cousin’s Kid Interviews the Beast From the East

The Beast from the East

The Beast from the East

Two-time runner-up Andy Yevish was first discovered on the boardwalk of the Jersey shore, where as a lanky teen he beat former World Champion Robert Hernandez in an air hockey exhibition. Andy already had a reputation as an aggressive offensive player, and this shocking unofficial victory brought him into the fold of competitive play, where he immediately began finishing in the top five, including a 2nd place finish to air hockey wunderkind Tim Weissman in 1993.

Andy organized a couple of east coast tournaments in the early 90s, and took over the promotion of the World Championships in Las Vegas in the early 00s. As a player and as a promoter, he has been no stranger to controversy… but it is difficult to deny his formidable offensive attack, which remains one of the best in the game. Even so, Andy has been unable to translate his brilliant and powerful offense into a World Championship. At the age of 42 he is much older than the oldest air hockey champion in history and the question lingers: “Will he ever win one?”

Incredibly, my cousin’s 11-year-son, Henry, is still maintaining his high level of interest in the sport of air hockey. He asked if he could do one final interview, so I let him fire away on the self-proclaimed Beast From the East, Andy Yevish.


HENRY: The movie says that you have one of the best offenses of all time. Is that true? But Eric says that you play “all offense and no defense.”

ANDY: Hi Henry,   Yes…  I would say that the consensus is that I have one of the best offenses ever in air hockey. I have more shots, more variety, and more styles of play than most players. I can play both fast and slow, and can be deliberate, or fancy… But Eric is wrong if he says I play all offense and no defense.  I think most players who play me will tell you I also have one of the best defenses. I vary my defense to the player’s strengths. I change my weaknesses.  However, what Eric may be referring to is that one of the ways I play defense is what I call a “scoring defense” where the defense becomes offensive. I use my opponent’s taking themselves out of position by taking their own shot as an opportunity to hit a quick transition shot.  It is a gambling strategy, as it is high risk, but high reward.  I do not play that strategy all the time though.

Andy tests former World Champ Robert Hernandez

Andy tests former World Champ Robert Hernandez

HENRY: What is your best craziest shot that other people don’t do? I want  to crush my friends at air hockey!

ANDY: Well interestingly, the crazy shots usually aren’t the best shots.  A well-aimed, well set-up shot is the best way to beat all your friends. Stop the puck every time you get possession, then set up your own well-aimed shot. Taking your time, and hitting from your power area will help you beat all your friends.

HENRY: In the future is air hockey going to die?

ANDY: Well, I don’t know the future, but I hope not.  There are plenty of people working hard to keep it alive. My best guess it that it should a least be able to maintain itself, but in order to get big, some major changes will need to be made. I think a television show designed to showcase ai hockey competition in a 30-minute format would be a good vehicle to get it noticed. From there, air hockey related equipment and clothing could be the thing that gives air-hockey eternal life.

Andy and the innocent East Coast Crew, before Andy lost his shirt contract with Everlast. Product placement wasn't so subtle back then, I see.

Andy and the innocent East Coast Crew, before Andy lost his shirt contract with Everlast. Product placement wasn’t so subtle back then, I see.

HENRY: The movie says you were a boxer. Is it fun to punch people in the face but not get in trouble?

ANDY: Heh-heh…  One might think of it as being fun… and boxing to me was fun, but I don’t think of it as hitting people in the face. I think of it as an art form. Much like I think of air-hockey as an art form.  When you are boxing, you often forget it’s a fight and think of it as a sport… Sometimes, you have to suck it up and dig down to primal instincts… usually late in a fight, or when you’re tired or hurt,  and that’s when you remember you’re in a fight, and you realize you’re hitting each other. At that point, no… it’s not fun.

HENRY: Do you train like Rocky the boxer before a big tournament? What  are the exercises to prepare the air hockey muscles?

Kara Klyn and the welterweight Beast From the East, back in the day.

Kara Klyn and the welterweight Beast From the East, back in the day.

ANDY: It used to be well known that I used to physically train before tournaments, and not drink, smoke, and abstained from women. That was before I got married, and older and I was only in good shape if you consider “round” a good shape.  Recently I have gotten in better shape than I have been in 10 years (not how I look in the movie). I never trained for air hockey in particular, but I had back problems, so I trained in order to have the endurance to play my best without pain.  My workout regimen now (which I do all year) is I bike 10 miles a day, do a 20 minute ab routine (which keeps the weight off and strengthens the muscles to keep my back from hurting), I do about 120 pushups a day (4 sets averaging 30 each set with vared arm placement… but more reps in the earlier sets). Then I hit weights 3 times a week (about every 2-3 days.. I do 4 sets of 15 reps with 25lb dumbbells of each of the following exercises-  bicep curl, tricep press, military press, and chest flys.  When I do get a chance to get to the gym, I do some other exercises, like bench pressing and butterflies but with my lifestyle it’s hard for me to get there.  I will soon be adding squats to the routine on off-days.

Andy menacing his puny opponents

Andy menacing his puny opponents

HENRY: Do you have a secret grip?

ANDY: I don’t have any grip that is a secret. I actually vary my grips on the mallet, depending on the action I want to get on the puck.  As a general rule, a tighter grip will get you more arm power, and a quicker release.  A looser grip will let the mallet do more of the work (especially when you hit it with follow-through) and get more action (like slice) on the puck.

HENRY: My dad wants me to ask is the Jersey shore really like on that TV show?

ANDY: Unfortunately… yes.

Thanks, Andy!


Andy Yevish is a portrait artist and entrepreneur who splits his time between Wildwood, New Jersey — where he owns two stores on the boardwalk (Fame and Superstars) — and Sherman, Connecticut, where he enjoys a more rustic existence with his air hockey averse wife, Anna.

Sep19

Danny Hynes ist achtfacher Weltmeister!

I’m pretty sure this means “Danny Hynes is an eight-time world champion,” if my remedial high school German serves correctly. The Germans do compound nouns as well as the Japanese do compound verbs — that is to say, brilliantly —  and WELTMEISTER sounds pretty freakin’ great for a title if you ask me.

Yes, fearsome 8-time champ Danny Hynes was featured recently in an Austrian sports glossy called, well, SPORT. Probably one of the most brilliant defenders of the modern era, Hynes also has a varied attack that combines brutal straights and unders with delicate off-speeds.

He also has superb Hand-augen-Koordination!!!!

Babelfish does a decent job decoding this article; any German-speakers out there to help with the subtle bits?

Click on the images below for a full-sized scan of each page!

This is Argentine futbol star Lionel Messi, not Danny Hynes. But the title by his elbow says "Hockey-Ladys Rock Stars" which sounds promising!

This is Argentine futbol star Lionel Messi, not Danny Hynes. But the title by his elbow says “Hockey-Ladys Rock Stars” which sounds promising!

Hynes licks his chops as he slaughters another victim...

Hynes licks his chops as he slaughters another victim…

Two images downloaded from Hynes' optic nerve (a bin of random mallets and a table being scrubbed of blood and sweat (well, sweat…)

Two images downloaded from Hynes’ optic nerve (a bin of random mallets and a table being scrubbed of blood and sweat (well, sweat…)

Sep13

Match.com Circa 1980

.

Thanks for this gem, Mark!

Sep03

My Most Memorable Air Hockey Moment: Kara (Klyn) Adema

Kara Adema (Klyn)

Kara Adema (Klyn)

Kara Adema (formerly Klyn) was the most dominant air hockey women’s champion in the 1990s. But she wears that crown with kind of a dubious pride, and for many years campaigned against the need for gender specific rankings. For her there was always only one true world ranking: the one that was obtained against all of the testosterone in the room.  Although she has been retired from air hockey for the past decade, she was a permanent fixture during the middle third of its history.

We feel very lucky to have tracked down the legendary Kara Klyn for this article! We asked her to talk about her most memorable air hockey moment, and this is what she said:


All air hockey players remember the table that got them hooked. I was 19 and it was 1989 in a shaggy little arcade in Fremont, California called Galaxy. They had ten shiny-new Tornado foosball tables and one Dynamo brown top. I could never beat any of the guys in foosball. But on the air hockey table—that was a different story.

Kara and the puckish Paul Marshall

Kara and the puckish Paul Marshall

Somehow, a flyer for an air hockey tournament in Mountain View—about 20 miles away—made it to Galaxy. They guy behind the counter there was excited to show it to me. A few weeks later I found myself at the California State Championships with some of the best players in the world. I had no idea air hockey could be that competitive, or that amazing. That first moment seeing professional play I was so intimidated I wanted to fade into the background and just be one of the girls that just looks on. But the look on my face gave me away. I wanted to play like them. And they wanted me to learn. Even though I was thoroughly defeated in that tournament, I won friends there that I would play against, and travel, promote, and experience random adventures in life with for the next several years.

By the time the early 90s came around I was working with Mark Robbins and Tim Weissman and was fully entrenched in promoting the sport in California, and occasionally around the country. I was learning the art of organizing major tournaments and building up prizes. I loved traveling and meeting new players. I had won a couple of women’s championships at that point and while having that title was very cool, my overall ranking was for me, personally, disappointing. Even if it was considered “good” for a female player. But it so happened that my best air hockey moment happened that same year in Littleton at a Colorado state tournament.

 Mark Robbins, Kara, Tim Weissman, Don James, and the late Owen Giraldo. Anybody know who the guy in back is?


Mark Robbins, Kara, Tim Weissman, Don James, and the late Owen Giraldo. Anybody know who the guy in back is?

I was a hippy at heart then and I felt like I just fit right in with all the friendly people and the beautiful country. Being short on cash in those days I stayed with local players. I thought it was cool that the Colorado players that had been around the air hockey table a few times had a Brunswick table in their living room. Mark showed me “The Barn” filled with Brunswick tables. And by helping Mark with a few odd jobs around his place (and there are plenty of opportunities there;), one might luck out and score a Brunswick mallet, a devastating Berger puck, or some other interesting piece of air hockey history he has buried there.

But my best moment happened in a little sunken arcade within a giant indoor entertainment center. Spirits among the players was high that weekend. There was fresh snow (which was a treat for the Californians and Texans), great friends, a new laser tag gallery which we had passes to, and some truly great angles to video tape play from above the arcade pit.

Kara constructs the tiniest snowman in the universe.

Kara constructs the tiniest snowman in the universe.

While all tournaments are fun and intensely competitive, this one had a little extra undertone of fun infused in it. I went in the losers bracket my second or third match. Then something happened. I don’t know if I just stopped worrying about when I would lose and let my instincts take over, or if I found a new confidence from within. But I just kept on winning my matches. I rose above all but seven other players that weekend in the main bracket. I remember watching a video tape of that final match thinking…”Is that me playing?”

It’s been almost 20 years, since then and I think it was the highest finish ever by a woman. I didn’t even realize that at the moment. Does it still stand? I don’t know. I have won seven women’s titles against some very tough women (Andy Yevish and some others may say six titles, but that’s another story itself). But placing eighth in the main bracket was by far, my best air hockey moment.

Mark Robbins and Kara explore untapped air hockey publishing ventures.

Mark Robbins and Kara explore untapped air hockey publishing ventures.

Editor’s note: In a future installment Kara will break down her personal vendetta against the notion of holding women’s tournaments in air hockey. Looking forward to it, Kara!


Kara met her future husband Mike in 1991 and became one of the first functioning air hockey couples. They were married in 1999 and now have a beautiful daughter. Although Kara’s been out of air hockey for a while—in order to concentrate on school, career, and family—she and Mike still play each other on an old Brunswick, next to that Mustang (the other classic) in the garage.

Her portfolio and design work can be seen at: http://www.karaadema.com/