Goodbye, Greg

It is be a big day for hockey fans, thanks to the Phoenix mess continuing to play out in court and Game 6 of the Stanley Cup final going tonight, and it's also a big day for Canadian basketball fans with Jason Kapono traded from the Raptors (Michael Grange, The Globe and Mail) for Reggie Evans, but there's some important soccer news as well. Toronto FC announced today (John F. Molinaro, CBC Sports) that they had released veteran goalkeeper Greg Sutton (pictured) and traded a 2010 third-round draft pick to the San Jose Earthquakes for American defender Nick Garcia and the MLS rights to Canadian striker Ali Gerba. Analysis on what it all means and some links after the jump.

This is a move that had to be made. Sutton is a talented goalkeeper, but he's been replaced in the TFC starting lineup by rookie Stefan Frei this season, who has been spectacular so far. Sutton may well be picked up by another MLS club and perhaps even have a chance to start, but he wasn't particularly needed in Toronto after Frei emerged as a star and his guaranteed contract of $165,000 was just too high for a backup goalkeeper in the strict salary cap world of MLS. His release opens a roster spot and adds cap room, plus it should give younger goalkeeper Brian Edwards more playing time to develop as Frei's backup. Gerba and Garcia are nice pickups as well, and Sutton's departure paved the way for their entrance.

Ideally, it would have been nice to get something for him in trade, but general manager Mo Johnston didn't have a lot of leverage. MLS has more depth at keeper than any other position; most teams have at least one solid netminder, and many of them are American, which helps with the roster limits on imports. The U.S. has actually been more successful at bringing up talented keepers than most countries, and certainly has done a better job of developing star goalkeepers than other players; Tim Howard and Brad Friedel are two of the best keepers in the English Premier League (for Everton and Aston Villa respectively) and there are plenty of other American standouts in MLS, including Seattle's Kasey Keller. Thus, no MLS team would be too desperate to trade for a 32-year-old Canadian with a history of concussion problems who was likely to be released anyway thanks to his contract; why pay for what you can get for free? If they are interested, he can be claimed quite easily now.

Toronto fans should thank Sutton for his service. He was one of the original members of the club and was their starting goalkeeper for their first two seasons. He played quite well during that time and turned in some solid performances with the Canadian national team as well. Unfortunately, he suffered a severe concussion at the 2007 Gold Cup, which kept him out for a significant amount of time and appeared to affect his play to a degree when he returned to the TFC lineup. He battled back from that, though, and seemed to be back in fine form lately, but he wasn't playing as well as Frei and was very expendable due to his contract. Despite that, he will be fondly remembered by many TFC fans, and he may be again cheered by national team fans in the future depending on where he winds up.

Where will Sutton wind up? It's hard to say. In MLS, D.C. United is most well-known as a side with goalkeeping problems, but many of those appear to be because of their inability to choose and stick with a number-one keeper. I'm not sure Sutton is the answer there. Another MLS side may take a flier on him, perhaps initially as a backup, but his Canadian passport and contract expectations may hurt those chances. He could also wind up overseas.

One intriguing possibility is another Canadian side. Matt Jordan of the Montreal Impact has looked rather shaky lately and was unimpressive in Sunday's match against the Whitecaps. Sutton's Canadian passport would be attractive to Montreal and his tenure with the national team would likely make him a popular player there. The lack of a salary cap in the USL and Montreal owner Joey Saputo's willingness to pay for quality players might also help. It's pure speculation at this point, but it would make a good bit of sense.

Some reaction from around the intertubes:

• Duane Rollins says it's unfortunate, but logical news about Sutton. He also likes the acquisition of Gerba and Garcia (The 24th Minute).
  
• Sam ponders what this might mean for Canada's Gold Cup team (The Canadian Stretford End).
  
• Ben Van Weelden is happy to see these moves after all the recent bad news for the club (TFC Connected)
• J thinks this move could work out for both Sutton and TFC. (Out of Touch)

Just a fan: Yeah, but it's fun to get a little crazy

I was in that crowd. In the days that have passed since that game in Columbus there has been lots of criticism of the boys in red that invaded Ohio. Some of it has been legitimate – throwing railings onto the pitch is stupid. Some has been overblown – there was next to no real violence after the game. Some of it suffers in cultural translation – smoke bombs aren’t accepted in North America but are pretty benign in soccer stadiums in other parts of the world. Stadiums where a good chunk of the crowd that was in Columbus grew up in. But there has been very little attention to the great unspoken.

Being in that crowd was fun. It was likely the most fun I’ve ever had at a sporting event, outside of the 2005 Vanier Cup. The truth is sports are nothing but games without passion. North American culture has attempted to sanitise sporting culture for years. It’s verboten for sportswriters to actually care about the results of the teams they are covering (as if the importance of the game requires their absolute objectivity). The average Joe that does care has been shut out by ticket prices and business practices that promote scalping to ensure ticket scarcity. JumboTron prompts have replaced spontaneity in the stands. Every second of a fan’s experience is scripted and controlled in the vast majority of sporting events in North America.

So when a situation comes about where actual passion is displayed it makes many people uncomfortable. The masses can’t be trusted to control themselves when they get all worked up, authorities think. We must stop them. It’s for their own good.

So rather than treat idiots that cross the line on an individual level – boot ‘em out; take their tickets. Most of us understand how to ride the line without crossing it – as a society we are compelled to have serious conversations about What It Really Means. The charge is lead by our over j-schooled, self-promoted fun police sportswriters. How dare they care! Next thing you know they are going to start writing blogs telling me how I have it all wrong!

The truth is I can’t take any of it seriously any more. If I don’t care, and I’m not allowed to express how much I care, what’s the damn point of wasting my life following a bunch of men playing a child’s game?

It’s time to stop worrying about what might happen if the great unwashed get too excited at a sporting event. Instead, it’s time for us to embrace our inner sports fan id and start having fun at the games again.

After all, passion makes sports, and life, worthwhile.

This is the first of what will be a near daily post that I’ll be writing for OOLF. I’m calling the column (?) What Do I Know I’m Just a Fan, or Just a Fan for short. The focus will be on, well, the fan’s experience. Although today I did use TFC as a jumping off point I don’t think that I will be focusing on soccer much. I do that elsewhere.

International incidents of epic proportion, indeed

Our own Duane Rollins has a first-person account of the "gong show" (his term) that occurred after the Toronto FC-Columbus Crew match last Saturday.

Duane makes a pretty salient point when he saw a much smarter approach to crowd control when he was covering the Grand River land dispute in Caledonia, Ont., than he did last Saturday. Think about. There's centuries-old simmering tensions present in the first instance. Toronto and Columbus have only been opponents for barely two years and it got out of control (we'll thank you to not say it was due to the bumbling of the Officer Bartlebys working security at the stadium).

"The police were everywhere, they did not appear to be communicating with each other and 'hands on' was a matter of first response rather than last resort. About all they accomplished was to further enrage the group and to put those not involved at risk – at one point two police cars took chase after a fleeing Toronto fan. Driving about 60 km/h they weaved their way through a crowded parking lot."

A couple TFC fans who happened to be off the wrong skin colour, in the cops' eyes, were also targeted. That's brutal, but not shocking if you know about who can be licensed to carry a badge and a gun in the U.S. That story about NFL running back Ryan Moats having a cop draw a gun on him when he was trying to get inside a hospital to see a dying loved one is, well, not atypical.

This is not about doing the smug Canadian routine or being a cop-basher (two in my extended family, thanks). The mind does reel when you're presented with how the U.S., in some precincts, just has a different concept of law and order, compared to its backwards neighbours in countries which astonishingly manage to not have more than one in every 100 adults in prison. That mindset is probably best expressed by the twitbag who covers the Columbus team, but thankfully not the local courts:

"The highlight from my vantage point on the concourse had to be the perp running toward the railroad tracks who eventually ran out of gas and was taken down with a perfect form tackle by one of the city's finest."

That's hilarious.

Related:
Sober second thoughts: Send in the clowns (The 24th minute)
TFC fan Tasered, others arrested after U.S. game (Lance Hornby, Sun Media)
"Like We Were Dogs": The Story of Ryan Moats (Dave Zirin)

The small world of sport

Representin' on Tabyana Beach, Roatan Island - Honduras

Yes, I'm back from my holiday...I'm sorry to say that means I'm back to posting again!

Not being much of a beach guy -- really, no one wants their holiday ruined by the sight of my fat, pasty ass rumbling up the beach --it wasn't long after this shot was taken for me to make the 500m hike inland to a clichéd "authentic" Honduran restaurant that just happened to be licensed. I swear I wasn't looking for beer. It just found me. Barena. $2 U.S. a bottle. Poured by a pretty, friendly angel who didn't speak a lick of English but knew enough to have a cold one in front of me seconds before I finished the last sip of my previous indulgence.

Not long after sitting down at the bar I was joined by my driver. Although he was likely there to protect his fare -- you don't pay 'till they drop you off at the end of the day. How novel -- he wasn't obvious about it. Instead, he tried to make small talk.

Awkward, awkward small talk that looked like it was about to fade away until he saw the shirt.

At first looking puzzled, then intrigued, he pointed and said one simple word -- "soccer." Actually, it was more like "soccer?" such was his confusion that any tourist dropped off on his island could possibly be wearing a jersey of that kind of football.

It was one of those moments that Carlsberg commercials are made of. Beautiful game, cultures connecting, it's a small world stuff. Almost a bit too perfect, but a wonderful surprise none-the-less -- especially for an anti-tourist, tourist such as myself.

"Yes," I said. "I'm Canadian - from Toronto," as if that somehow explained things. "This is my team, Toronto FC."

Smiling the driver said nothing. So, I grabbed the crest and pulled it out towards him.

"Amado Guevara," I said hopefully.

"Yes, Guevara," he said, although it was not clear if he understood or was just back to humour the tourist mode.

Not wanting my truly authentic moment to end, I continued. "What's the team on the island?" I asked. "Arsenal," he said. "But, not the big one," he added laughing.

"Is that your team, or are you an Olimpia guy?"

That's all it took. The forced smile was genuine now. The excitement legitimate. "You know Olimpia!?"

Suddenly we were going back and forth. He's telling me about his favourite team and I'm talking about mine. Both of us are pretending to know more about the other guy's team than we actually do, but both of us understanding exactly what we were talking about – the spirit of it anyway.

This wasn't two guys meeting on the streets of London to talk about the Champions League. We weren't discussing starting formations for a Chelsea - Man U match-up. Nope, we were in a remote part of Honduras and we were talking about a two year old MLS team and a club that plays in Central America. It was hardly the stuff of Setanta Sports, but that didn't make it any less a part of the wonderful kaleidoscope of the beautiful game, our game, truly the world's game.

It's all connected. From country to country, generation to generation, fan to fan. Every last bit of it. Whether we are at home in our living room, or on a remote beach in the Caribbean Sea, we're always wearing our colours.

And the world is a better place for it.

Cross-posted at The 24th Minuute

Type rest of the post here

Some soccer football talk

I had the opportunity today to appear on ThatChannel.com's It's Called Football live podcast today. The program is hosted by Metro Toronto's Ben Rycroft, Onward Soccer's Ben Knight and Chantelle Junker, a relative newcomer to the wacky online world of Canadian soccer.

The show is informative, irreverent and intelligent -- a nice combination. And, it fills a niche in the marketplace. Although TFC puts 20,000 people a game in the stadium, Reds talk is almost invisible on the Fan590 and AM640, at least during the daylight hours.

ICF covers the domestic game in Canada -- whether it's TFC (which is the focus, it's a Toronto station) the USL or the national team. International news is also up for discussion, but always from a Canuck perspective. In short, it's the program Canadian soccer fans have been waiting to see for years.

Today, I discussed the Dwayne DeRosario contract impasse and the future of sports blogging as it relates to TFC and soccer in Canada. The crew was also nice enough to let me stick around and referee a fun segment called penalties, where two people debate the topics of the day.

Below the jump is embedded video of the show. If you can handle looking at my pudgy self for a few minutes give it a chance (and yes, I am wearing the toque to cover up the fact I'm bald). The show runs just short of an hour. I'm on from about the 20 minute mark to the end.

Snark break ...

First things first: Our own Duane Rollins will be on ThatChannel.com's It's Called Football, today at noon Eastern. The rumour is that they might talk about soccer.

Mats Sundin has been likened to a "slow-moving mountain." The Vancouver Canucks wanted the Sundin the way he played in Toronto and got Eric Lindros, the way he played in Toronto.

Did Bill Romanowski really think he had a chance of coaching the Denver Broncos? He has to the dumbest NFL player who attended Boston College, but that's only because Mark Chmura knows assault has two S's.

Here's a prop bet: The Ottawa transit strike will be over before the Kingston Frontenacs get their next win.

(The Detroit News referred to the Plymouth Whalers "winning at Frontenac, 2-0." Apparently the team no longer merits being attached to Kingston.)

It honestly wasn't clear if this was from The Onion or the New York Post.

Strange as it sounds, it's disappointing that Corky Simpson recanted and said he was sorry for not voting for Rickey Henderson for the Baseball Hall of Fame. Damn him for having grace and backing down.

Gerry Dee on the inspiration for those bits he does on The Score, as told to Kurtenblog: "“We decided that my character would become the worst sports reporter in the world that actually thinks he’s the best. I wanted the character to be different and have lots of imperfections. It also irks me to see people like Steve Simmons who has probably never bounced a ball or skated around a rink have so much to say about sports."

Last and certainly least, that is Kingston's own Brett Angel running the goalie to start this minor-league hockey brawl (via Puck Daddy)



This post is worth nothing, but this is worth noting:

• TV Feeds My Family is asking readers to vote for the best show on TV. It is dirty pool to demand all you click through and vote for a certain drama that revolves around a high school football team in Dillon, Texas and returns to NBC next Friday?
  
  (Mad Men is also in the mix, but it has enough votes already.)
• The World of Junior Hockey sees the Kingston Frontenacs' Nathan Moon and Ethan Werek as possibilities for Team Canada at the 2010 World Juniors. Werek, maybe.
• No one asked, but for the NFL playoffs this weekend: Baltimore, Carolina, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.
• There is no cynicism about Steve Sullivan's comeback with the Nashville Predators. He's been out of the NHL since the Senators were last Stanley Cup contenders. That's how long it's been.

The year that was -- 11 things that made me smile in 2008

In honour of Listmas (what, that’s not what it’s called. With all the top 10 lists out there I could have sworn…), my own, personal, self-indulgent top 11 (cause we take things that extra step here at OOLF) sports moments of 2008.

You know, dear readers, we do have a comments section! Perhaps you could add a list of your own. Come on, it’s fun!

11 - Laval’s dominance
Sometimes it’s hard to appreciate the favourite. Cheering for an upset is always just a little more fun. But, if you can’t appreciate just how good the Laval Rouge et Or football program is, I’m not sure you are a fan of sport. No, the Rouge et Or didn’t provide fans with much drama in ’08 – they were too good – but standing on the field watching the players hold up yet another Vanier Cup, you knew you were surrounded by excellence. And, that’s what sports is about.

10 - Champions League final
And, this is coming from a Manchester City fan. I can’t think of a worse match-up than the all British Man U/Chelsea. But, the game made up for it -- a tale of two halves with United coming out strong and Chelsea storming back in the second. Chelsea was unlucky not to win it outright on the pitch, but United proved just resourceful enough to claim it on the penalties (with a little help from the pitch and a slip by John Terry). Often the big games fail to live up to the hype, but this was not a case of that.

9 - Carol Huynh wins gold for Canada
It was a looooong time coming with every half-wit humour columnist in the land cracking out the atlas to find Third World countries that had more medals than us Canucks. One of the great things about Olympics is there is always a where-did-that-one-come from medal. This was it for 2008 and it kicked of a second half of the Games that was as good for Canada as any other Olympics. When the lights went out, we had actually exceeded pre-game expectations and it was Huynh that got things going.

8- Belleville forcing game 7 in the OHL Final
Ultimately my Bulls – my hometown, childhood team, Bulls – came one game too short twice. But it was a nice little ride for this junior hockey fan. By storming back from 0-3 in the OHL final, Belleville briefly put itself in the national spotlight and, as anyone that cheers for small town teams will tell you, that doesn’t happen every day and you soak it all up when it does.

7 – The Pats lose!
If Laval taught me how to appreciate a favouritre, the Super Bowl reminded me of how good it feels to watch arrogance fall. It was a good game, but all history will remember is that the Pats got what was coming to them. And my inner, immature child loved every minute of it.

6 - The Men’s 8s do what is expected
Canada’s biggest favourite of the Beijing Games simply went out, pushed the pressure aside, and got the job done. And, in doing so cast off the personal demons from losing in 2004. There is something about the men’s 8s that is compelling. Maybe it’s the speed, or the power or maybe the tradition. But at the start of any Olympics this is one of the top three or four events I’d really like Canada to win.

5 – The Voyageurs Cup
But, mostly the way soccer fans in this country took to it. It had been 16-years since Canada had crowned a pro soccer champion in a legitimate competition. And, it had been far longer than that before anyone cared about who won. That changed in 2008, when the Voyageur’s Cup – paid for and donated to the CSA by the fans of the game – was awarded in front of 20,000 mostly disappointed fans in Toronto. Speaking personally, the day of the final game was the most intense I’ve ever experienced as a sports fan and the feeling at the final whistle was as awful as I can imagine. But, time gives me perspective and I still look back on the day and shake my head at just how far the game has come in such a short time.

4 – DeRo comes home
On the pitch 2008 was mostly a forgettable year for TFC fans, but an early Christmas present – the acquiring of Dwayne DeRosario—restored hope in the masses. DeRo (with apologizes to Jimmy Brennan) is the first Canadian star to come home to play and that matters a great deal to the supporters. Suddenly we feel even more connected to our little soccer club.

3 - Simon Whitfield’s silver
The man was out of this race about 10 times. He never looked comfortable. He often looked old and worn out. But, Simon Whitfield has a killer instinct that is sadly missing in most Canuck athletes. His final kick came up just short of gold, but his silver was, without a doubt, the Canadian performance of the Games.

2 - Usain Bolt goes really, really fast
It took 20-years, but I finally saw something more impressive than what Ben Johnson did in 1988. Officially he stopped the clock at 9.69 seconds, but he had more speed in him. It was scary and awe inspiring. And that was before he went 19.30 in the 200m.

1 - Barnsley!
I was sick the day that Barnsley played Liverpool in the FA Cup, which is how I improbably found myself in front of the tube in the middle of the day watching a soccer game that seemingly was a blowout waiting to happen. It was already 1-0 ‘Pool when I turned it on. But then Luke Steele started to make save after save. And then Stephen Foster got an out-of-the-blue equalizer. Suddenly I was sitting up, on the edge of the couch willing this little Championship team on. If only they could hold on to the draw and force a re-match in Barnsley, I thought. That would be something to see. But then Brian Howard scored in injury time causing me to literally start jumping up and down, giggling at the absurdity of it. Liverpool was out; Barnsley was through….

To play Chelsea. Surely they couldn’t pull another upset, could they?

Really, just watch this. If it doesn’t put a smile on your face you are likely dead and most certainly not a sports fan:


The next time a Big Four fan tries to tell you that no one cares about the FA Cup anymore, kindly tell them to stuff it.

TFC to make big splash Jan 5?

TFC play-by-play voice and host of The Fan590's Soccer Show ,Nigel Reed, wrapped up tonight's Soccer Show with this:

A little birdy tells me there will be an announcement (about a DP) in a couple weeks.

It's podcast is up now. The comment is in response to a caller at 38:20.

Combine that throwaway comment with Sportsnet's Gerry Dobson's subtle as a baseball bat to the head hint yesterday and, well...

It's becoming increasingly clear that something--and something big (not just MLS big, but front page of the Guardian big) is going down in TFC-land. Ultimately, of course, any fan knows that nothing is nothing until the player is holding the strip up at the presser.

Multiple sources have told me to look for that to happen Jan 5.

A final word on DeRo (for now)

It's still settling in. For the non-soccer folks out there allow me to draw an analogy.

This was Nash to the Raptors. Obviously the scale is a little smaller, but to soccer fans in this city it's a near perfect comparison.

I wrote yesterday about the emotion of the move -- and that's still where my head is on this -- but there is an on-the-pitch factor to look at too. I went down that road tonight over at The 24th Minute.

The potential for offense in the TFC line-up for next year is staggering. The lack of depth at forward and the lack of a centreback, period, are frightening. I'll leave it at that, here.

From a TFC perspective, most of the reaction to the trade has been positive (and by most I mean all). Although many are suggesting that there is a certain amount of logic behind the move by Houston.

To their credit, Houston fans have largely stayed classy. DeRo will not get vincecartered when he goes back to H-Town.

Toronto fans are pretty much losing their mind with joy.

And, so they should.

Now about bringing that point guard north from Phoenix...

DeRo on Reds and Red and White

I interrupt the Sean Avery watch to bring you a pretty nice little interview with Dwayne De Rosario on last night's Soccer Show

Listen on demand here. It runs a little more than 10 minutes.

DeRo talks (briefly and without commitment) about the possibility of playing for Toronto one day and about the disaster that was World Cup qualifying. He stops short of throwing Dale Mitchell (how in hell is he still the coach?) under the bus, but it isn't hard to read between the lines.

The dominoes fall in TFC land

No more TFC today, I promise. But, this has a few things that will be of interest...

Soccer by Ives (a place you might just see some of my writing next spring) is reporting that Joe Kinnear is staying put in Newcastle (well, SBI isn't breaking that, it's just putting the MLS spin on it).

That spin is that it means that it's almost 100 per cent certain that John Carver will be back as the Reds head coach in 2009. He was under contract, but widely linked with Newcastle. You see, he's buddies with Alan Shearer (a man that should talk to DOUGIE! about the value of going to a lower league to learn how to coach before shooting for the big time) and Shearer told some British media types that he planned to hire Carver as an assist when he was anointed at Newcastle (which seems a bit like tampering, but maybe they do things differently over there).

At any rate, it looks like Shearer isn't going to need to hire any assistants now.

Carver will probably head back to England in the next year or two. It's pretty clear that he views this as a stepping stone, rather than a long-term move. And, he has stuff to learn. Toronto fans love his passion, but his tactics occasionally left a little to be desired (to say nothing of his squad selection). But, it would have been a loss if he had gone back. Three coaches in three years doesn't inspire confidence.

Notes: Also of interest in the Ives article is that Toronto has $1 million in allocation for 2009. That's the number that had been rumoured, but the article was the first I've seem that spells it out.

That's a whole lot by MLS standards, by the way. It's almost 1/3 of the whole cap.

TFC Notebook: The saying good-bye to the Kiwis edition

(Partially cross-posted you know where)

They both had a high work rate. Limited skills on the ball. Only one goal. And, really bad hair. Really bad.

The similarities between 2007 TFC whipping boy Andrea Lombardo and Jarrod Smith--aka Kiwi Lombardo--were pronounced. Now, they can add one more -- out the door after one season at BMO Field."

Smith was, bizarrely, drafted by Seattle in the expansion draft Wednesday. When the news broke many thought that Seattle was guilty of a typo. Johan Smith, a far better prospect, was also available and it had been widely speculated that it would be Jo. Smith that would be picked up be the expansion side.


Evidently Seattle saw more in the Kiwi than the 20,000 that pack BMO Field did. That's good news for Toronto, as it appears that they were going to wave him anyway. Basically, TFC escaped the expansion draft without losing a player that had a chance to contribute in 2009.

It's hard to understand what Seattle was thinking. It is possible that they picked Smith for salary considerations. He's a league minimum player. It's also possible that there was a wink-wink deal in place between Toronto and Seattle to ensure that he was the player selected. If a low draft pick somehow finds its way to Seattle in the next couple months, you'll know why.

Fans will likely never know (that's just how MLS rolls). But, TFC's great Kiwi experiment** (Smith was the second New Zealand player to suit up for Toronto. New Zealand doesn't really factor in the sport)is now over.

In other news, holding midfielder Carl Robinson has re-signed with Toronto for two more years. Some reports are suggesting that he did so with a "significant pay raise." It's hard to understand how, since he was already likely overpaid (about $330,000). In a cap league, it's not always about how good a player is-Robinson is a very good MLS player--but , rather, what value you bring--he doesn't really play a position that typically would get a lot of money in MLS.

The hidden factor here is allocation. MLS has a soft cap, where teams are allowed to use a certain amount of "allocation money" to pay down a player's cap hit. That money can be used when re-signing current players, or when originally signing players that aren't in the league. Fans never really know how much allocation is being used, so it's hard to know what kind of cap hit Robinson has (or even if any allocation was used). But, it is known that TFC has more than it is likely going to be able to use. So, in that light, re-signing Robbo for more money might make sense.

Like Bob McCown says "it's not your money." Fans shouldn't really care how much a player makes. Except when that fan's team plays in a cap system. So, pretty much every team in Toronto that doesn't play with bats then.
* Yes, it's true that Lombardo wasn't released until early in 2008, but he was really just a 2007 story. I'm choosing to ignore the five weeks in '08

** Maybe Mo thought TFC was supposed to be a rugby team?

A DP-erfect plan

I've flogged this one to death lately, but it is worth noting that the MLSE board of directors have approved money for TFC to use on a Designated Player in 2009.

Again, the question is whether it's a good idea to use it. For a team that does not struggle to sell tickets, it would appear that the answer is that it isn't.

To put this in a hockey context (and I know how much soccer fans love it when the sport gets compared) signing a DP for TFC would be the equivalent of the Leafs signing a 34-year-old future hall of famer in 2002. It will get the base all fired up, but it won't bring the team any closer to a championship (and might actually put them further from glory long-term).

Unless the league changes the rules to make the cap hit less restrictive for teams that employ a DP. Which it might. And, it should.

We need to know what the rules are going to be before we can assess for certain whether a DP makes sense. That won't happen until next month at the earliest.

Snark Break...

Oh Moses, smell the blue roses.

To anyone who has a problem with Lennox Lewis' induction into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame: You are violating the one face to a person rule. When did we start caring so much about an institution that has been educed to having "artifacts of this country's athletic heritage" sitting "in storage boxes, out of sight?" (Toronto Star, Oct. 29.) How many pre-1990s Canadian Olympic gold medallists have not been inducted? Lewis met the standard for what he did fighting as Canadian. (The 2008 class included one athlete who won two bronzes. Seriously.)

Lyle Overbay is reminiscent of that Seinfeld where Elaine dated the jazz musician who "doesn't do everything." The Blue Jays probably should trade him. (See The Tao for more.)

Different sport, sticking with the Thursday night on NBC analogies: The Italian soccer player Alessandro Del Piero -- is Toronto FC really serious about bringing him in? -- has been likened to "The Office ... wearing the same formula thin and some people even argue it should be canceled. Yet every once in a while, there’ll be a hilarious episode that reminds us of why we loved it in the first place."

The Grey Cup will air in the U.S. on Versus, which claims it has 73 million viewers.

Kingston is bidding for the Ontario ParaSport Games and Ontario Senior Games -- worthy events (I covered a senior games one time in a past life -- good times), but not exactly top-drawer in terms of spectator appeal.

Granted, Kingston's hands are tied when it comes to going after something half-decent such as the World U17 hockey tournament or the CIS University Cup. Frontenacs owner Doug Springer will not stand for people seeing good hockey up close.

The Scotsman's last chance

Cathal Kelly is not all that respected by the TFC faithful. Actually, words that rhyme with Billy Bean's least favourite offensive strategy are often used to describe the Star's soccer columnist.

However, he's been given a one day pass to Cooltown today (did I really just write that? It must be Monday), after his scathing review of Mo Johnston.

Although one could still pick flaws with it--the problem, for instance, isn't that MLS requires TFC to carry Canadians. It's TFC's director of soccer's inability to find any--but it is likely the harshest critique of Johnston yet seen in the MSM.

This has to been Johnston's last chance. Lots of promises were made around this time last year to fans. Johnston claimed that TFC would bea much different product on the pitch in 2008 than it was in '07. However, despite having a reduced Canadian requirement and whole bunch of money, MoJo managed to bring in, well, no one prior to the start of the season.

TFC started 2008 with less talent than it had at the end of '07. It's not fully fair to compare sports, but could you imagine what the uproar would be if the Leafs went an entire off-season without making a single move beyond drafting? More than 2,000 Reds fans made plans to get to Columbus to support the team when it kicked off the season, but the team's management couldn't be bothered to bring in any players (or wasn't able to. What's worse?).

So, here we are. If MoJo likes his job you would think that he would need to get it in gear quickly. Toronto fans are losing patience and, although the loud ones aren't going to go anywhere, it's only a matter of time before the expensive seats in the west stand start to sit empty on game day.

Cross posted at The 24th Minute

A win too late

In the end it didn't matter. Although TFC managed to send the fans home happy with a 3-2 win over Chicago Saturday, the Reds couldn't get the help they needed.

New York wins. Kansas City wins. TFC's out. The season was lost in the hot days of August when goals were hard to come by and wins even rarer. International call-ups hurt, but so did questionable tactics and, well, Mo Johnston knew that there would be international dates when he put the team together. The sad truth is that TFC didn't deserve the playoffs. Not yet, anyway.

The body isn't cold yet--actually it still has a game to play--but it's never too early to have a hard look at what needs to happen.

First, we can forget the fantasy that Mo Johnston is going to get a hankering for haggis and head back home, far away from BMO Field. It's hard not to think that might be the best thing that could happen, but it doesn't seem likely that MLSE is going to pull the plug.

Coach John Carver is another question. He showed some rookie mistakes this year. He failed to adjust to the goal scoring slump in the late summer and the team lost too many leads or draws late--four points were lost in injury time this year. The team is four points out of the playoffs. The coach has to take responsibility for that. On the whole, however, he deserves another shot. His passion is admirable--there were times when it seemed like Carver was the only person who actually cared.

There are rumours that he will head back to England, sick of Mo Johnston's failure to bring in players.

On the surface, TFC's greatest weakness is scoring. So, it would seem like an easy fix to bring in a top striker. It wouldn't hurt, but without better distribution--especially from the backline forward--it probably wouldn't help much either. For most of the season it was a patchwork affair at the back. The team was forced to bring in a loan player, Hunter Freeman, just to allow them to start four MLS quality fullbacks. He's gone now. Marvell Wynne might be sold. Jimmy Brennan should maybe be a midfielder. Tyrone Marshall is likely overpaid and, God love him, Marco Velez epitomized all that was wrong with this club. So, it all starts with the fullbacks.

In the middle of the park there is some question about Carl Robinson. He's a valuable player that gets a bad rep for making more than $300,000 a year. The question is whether a holding midfielder is worth that kind of money on a MLS team. It says here it is, but Robinson's status for 2009 is still very much up in the air. Rohan Ricketts seems like he could be a big part of the team moving forward and Canadian Kevin Harmse showed some nice improvement as the year went on (and he may find himself as a fullback next year). Another player that seems ready for a breakthrough is Tyler Rosenlund, if he sticks it out at the pathetic MLS development contract.

Up front we may have seen the last of Danny Dichio. His aging body might not handle another full season in pro soccer. His loss would be unfortunate, as the Reds always seem to play better with him in the line-up. However, Chad Barrett showed that he is a solid MLS quality forward and the kid, Ibby Ibrahim, is only going to get better. With two first round picks in the top five of the draft it seems likely that University of Connecticut forward (and Toronto native) O'Brien White will end up at BMO next year. White was the NCAA's player of the year in 2007 and his Canuck status would be huge for TFC.

More evidence that I don't know what the hell I'm talking about

So much for Montreal embarrassing themselves in the CONCACAF Champions League. With tonight's 4-1 win over Trinidad's Joe Public they pretty much wrapped up a spot in the quarterfinals, which will take place in February.

Full credit to the USL side. They have been playing effective soccer throughout the tournament and the Canadian qualifying (I'll resist pointing out that the Impact didn't actually beat TFC for now. They went through on the strength of two wins against Vancouver and stealing a point against the Reds on the final match day. I guess I didn't resist, did I?).

Meanwhile it's been a tough go of it for MLS teams (although Toronto's Dwayne DeRosario scored the winner last night for Houston to keep them alive in the competition). Part of it is that the league still puts most of its focus on winning the MLS Cup and teams are putting their energy towards the league title--reserves have dressed for many of the CCL games. But, that's just part of it. What the results have shown is that although MLS teams are generally better than USL teams in those 1 to 11 spots, it gets pretty blurry after that. Middle of the road players can make more money and have a bigger role on in the USL, so they often just stay.

Before making the argument that Montreal and Vancouver might be better off staying in the USL, where they aren't restricted by MLS salary cap and roster size rules, keep in mind that this is a small sample size. Over the past 10 years MLS teams have gotten the better of their USL opponents in about 80 per cent of the games that they have played against each other.

But, none of that matters to Montreal now. Nor, should it. The Impact can fully focus on preparing for the home and home this winter (and do you not think there might be a bit of a home advantage for Montreal against an opponent that will almost certainly be from Central America). And its fans can enjoy the ride.

Edit - DeRo's goal is at 4:37 below. It's worth a watch:

TFC Fans agree: Grass would make the Reds easier to watch

"Long term we'd like to consider going to natural grass. That is what authentic soccer is all about."
Tom Anselmi on Prime Time Sports
Aug 12, 2008

"It's not something that's hot on the radar. It's something we've thought about only because we're asked the question."
Tom Anselmi in the Toronto Star
Sept 18, 2008

It can be difficult to defend MLSE sometimes. Especially when its COO is so adept at talking out of both sides of his mouth. When the concept is abstract it’s OK to wax poetic about the authentic nature of a grass pitch. The Mayor of Toronto makes one candid statement and suddenly its time back waaaaaaay off.

TFC fans are not reacting well to the idea that MLSE is “only” started to think about it because they were asked. It's’ difficult to stomach the idea that the owner of your favourite team could possibly be so clueless about the single biggest obstacle to getting better that the team faces. Of course, why would the owner of your team care when you lead the league in in-stadium spending per ticket holder at $15 a game.

The possibility exists, of course, that Anselmi is exercising the default reaction of a sports executive to being asked a question—lie. Maybe MLSE understands the issue and is prepared to deal with it. With season ticket holders facing a 40 per cent increase from the first season, MLSE had better understand that having them absorb the $2 million-ish they gained from Mo Edu’s sale won’t sit well with the increasingly grumpy fan base.

But it would be inaccurate to suggest that the fans are holding out much hope.

I'm not prepared to make another Impact pun here

Arguably for the first time in the competition, the Montreal Impact entered last night’s CONCACAF Champions League game as a clear favourite. And, they lived up to the billing. The Impact were easy 2-0 winners over minnow Joe Public of Trinidad and Tobago.

Montreal’s win was the second by an USL-1 team in two days. On Tuesday, Puerto Rico defeated Panama side Tauro FC 2-1. Meanwhile MLS sides are struggling. With D.C. United’s 2-0 loss to Costa Rician power Deportivo Saprissa on Tuesday, the league’s record fell to 0-4-1 in the competition (and that’s not counting Toronto’s 1-1-2 record in Canadian qualifying against entirely USL competition).

Joe Public had the most shocking result against MLS teams in the previous round, when is won 6-1 on aggregate against New England.

The results are causing many fans of the league to worry. What does it mean? What will the league need to do to improve moving forward? Does anyone really like us?

It isn’t causing the same concerns with the teams themselves, who barely seem interested. With a packed fixture list and restrictive roster rules that don’t allow MLS sides to carry any type of true depth, teams are required to make choices. Some competitions get thrown to the side so that the full focus can be put on other ones. In the MLS, teams are almost always going to focus on the MLS Cup.

It’s possible that Houston might save the day for the league. Certainly the two-time MLS champions are best placed to do so, especially after the Mexican team in their group, UNAM Pumas, dropped points yesterday. Having won back-to-back titles, it’s possible that Houston might view this competition as a more appropriate challenge.

There is no such debate going on in Montreal, where the CCL is clearly the focus. It’s going to get much tougher moving forward, with Mexican side Atlante up next and a solid Honduran team Olimpia. If Atlante takes it seriously, the Impact are unlikely to have a chance. However, if they play a near perfect game there is a chance against the Hondurans. MLS teams have defeated Olimpia in the past, after all.

Canada’s other two pro teams are still playing, of course, albeit in less sexy competition. TFC can’t be mathematically eliminated this weekend, but if the Reds lose to Kansas City they will likely fall more than six points back of the final playoff sport. If that happens, with just five more games left, it’s pretty much over (if they win, however…)

Vancouver, with a 14-7-8 record, has clinched a playoff spot in the USL and can earn the top seed with a win (at Seattle) and if Puerto Rico loses its final two matches. They can finish no lower than second.

The Impact are also in the thick of the playoff battle in the USL. With a 12-11-5 record they have clinched a playoff spot and currently are in third place. They can secure the third place spot with a win at either Minnesota or at home against Puerto Rico. They can finish no lower than sixth.

The top seven teams make the playoffs in the USL, with the top seed receiving a bye through the first round. The other six teams play a home and home (2 v 7, 3 v 6 and 4 v 5) with the winners joing the top team in the semis.

The championship final is Oct 11.

All we are saying is give us some grass

Yesterday’s posted clip of David Miller talking about his desire to see grass installed at BMO Field has been picked up by a couple different so-called MSM sites, including the National Post’s Posted Sports and the Globe and Mail’s On Soccer blogs. Whereas I appreciate the links and, in the Globe’s case, direct mention, full credit deserves to go to the Red Patch Boys videographer (Mike ?—“Parkdale” I believe. Correct me in the comments if you wish). He showed the instincts to grab on to Miller’s statements and force him to give a clear answer. That’s some good journamalism there. So, hats off.

Predictably the mayor's office was quick to qualify the statement yesterday.

Posting on the Red Patch message board, Mayor’s office flack Stuart Green—the “other guy in the video”--made sure it was understood that Miller wasn’t marching down Dufferin with sod in his hand today. In case we didn’t understand, there were other parties involved.

He wrote:

“Hold up, y'all....this grass thing is on the wish list for next season. You all are savvy enough about the ways of the stadium to know it's not our call. We'd all love to see grass next season...but it's just not as simple as all that. (The) Mayor was expressing a similar desire to all of us on here but the terms of the stadium construction and the Letter of Intent specify turf so keep that in mind...”

For those new to this discussion, what Green is referencing is the requirement for “year round community use” that was attached to the building of the stadium. Since it’s difficult to grow grass in Toronto in February, that pretty much means FieldTurf is required.

If MLSE wants grass in the stadium—and it seems like they do. Tom Anselmi said just that on Prime Time Sports on Aug 12—it’s going to have to pony up some coin to make it happen. Paying for the renovations are obvious, but what some may not realize is that they would also have to built a facility that could be used by the community in the winter months.

Thanks to Mo Edu, they have some money to burn. The arcane MLS transfer rules prohibit MLSE from spending all the money they received for Edu's sale to Rangers on replacement players. Only $500,000 of the about $2.5 million they got in the deal can be used for that purpose. The rest has to be used on "soccer infrastructure"

So, there is about $2 million sitting around to build the Mo Edu Memorial Plastic Training Pitch in the parking lot between BMO and Ricoh.

But, to do that the company will need to have all the political people in line. It’s here that Miller’s statements are making soccer people excited. There is no greater stakeholder in the community use of BMO issue than the City of Toronto. That the Mayor seems OK with putting down some sod in the stadium is a good thing to those that are sick of the FieldTurf.

However, those that understand municipal politics realize that Miller is just one voice (or, more importantly, one vote). Getting grass into BMO will require the support of the entire council, and gaining consensus at City Hall in T.O. is slightly more difficult than herding cats.

Still, it’s better to have the mayor on your side than as an enemy.

As for what any of this matters at all…the reason MLSE and TFC season ticket holder David Miller are so desperate to get the plastic out of the stadium is simple. No one wants to play on it. TFC can’t attract players because of the FieldTurf. There is a reason Toronto, despite being the second most profitable team in the league (only LA makes more), hasn’t utilized the so-called Beckham rule. And it’s not because MLSE is cheap (bring in a marquee guy would make the team more money, not less. Even if they still lose).

Another, less articulated, reason for grass instead of plastic is that it would likely spell the end of the Argos to BMO talk. If the two teams shared the facility there is no way that a grass pitch would be feasible.

Although Miller’s “next year” claim seems like a stretch, this story is only going to get bigger in the next couple months.