Good Evening Katz Lovers!  Ben Katz Official Website (BKOW) here with the exclusive interview with the man himself, where he gives us a look inside the New York Empire training camp, living quarters, and some in depth analysis into their strategy for the upcoming season.  His responses have been slightly edited for clarity and hilarity:

BKOW: Ben, welcome to the blog, great to have you here in the good old blogosphere.  First of all- how’s it going?  How’s training?  How’s your lifting cycle going?

KATZ: Wow it is sure great to be here BKOW!  It’s pretty good.  Putting in the work with a new team is always good for bonding and building together.  Excited to get out there tomorrow though.

BKOW: What are some differences between playing in New York and playing in Canada? (Editors note: Last season Ben Katz became the all time franchise leader in scoring and assists for the Montreal Royal- and they actually shut down the team for good when he left).

Katz: Actually playing in New York and working out and practicing with the team is huge.  Everyone speaking English is pretty useful as well.  (Editors Note: Ben Katz is also fluent in Yiddish as well as English).  Not bringing a passport for home games is probably the best part.  Also I was getting sick from all of Montreal’s famed pastrami and smoked meat!

BKOW:  Care to comment on where you have been living?  Word in the ultimate community is that you have been living in Bacchanal with Beau and the other Empire Boys at the owners playboy mansion.

Katz: Hahaha not quite.  I think we should keep the location off the record.

BKOW: Any team drama that our readers would love to eat up?  I heard that there is some competition between you and Jake Price over who has the most spirit and is also the shortest/fastest cutter…

Katz: Stop trying to tear this team apart BKOW!

BKOW: Also any update on the style of play the Empire will adapt this season?  It should be interesting to see the influx of athletic players onto the team with you and that old guy Beau Kittredge:

KATZ: I’d expect it to be unstoppable.  I am coming for you MLU!!

BKOW:  How do you feel about playing on the Empire, your regional rivals as a born and bred New Englander?

Katz: Not sure there was much of a rivalry.  It is weird to have pinstripes on the jersey though.

BKOW: As Ultimate Athletes, you naturally feel a disconnect between the unspirited wild west of the AUDL, and the tranquil spirited pastures of the USAU club season.  Walk me through your decision to move to NYC, where there is not a team competing for nationals.  (Editors note: Ben Katz singlehandedly dragged Slow White and Ironside to a national championship and contention for a national championship in back to back seasons).  Is there any truth to the rumors that the Empire guys are planning to create a super team in NYC to compete for a national championship?  Will you be trying out for PONY, your past rival and whipping boy?

Katz: I plead the fifth. I have no idea what I’m going to do yet. I am just focused on Toronto.

BKOW:  Who would you say is your closest friend on the team?

Katz: Jeff Babbit

BKOW: Who has been the toughest player you have had to guard in your career so far?

Katz: Cricket

BKOW: Who has surprised you the most in practice?

Katz: Matt Stevens.  Didn’t know him at all before this.  Great timing, selfless cutter.

BKOW: Thanks for the interview Katz.  Good luck on Saturday!  

Katz: I love you BKOW, thanks for all the work you do to grow our sport.