Today , from the MLS site...

REGULAR SEASON - WEEK 1 (FIRST KICK)

Thursday, March 19, 2009
New York Red Bulls at Seattle Sounders FC, 9 p.m. (ESPN2/Deportes)
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Columbus Crew at Houston Dynamo, 8 p.m. (Fox Soccer Channel/Fox Sports en Espanol)
Chicago Fire at FC Dallas, 8:30 p. Click to continue reading...

According to SBI the Seattle choices for the expansion draft goes like this ...

Nate Jaqua (Houston) striker
Brad Evans (Columbus) midfield
Stephen King (Chicago) midfield
Jeff Parke (New York) defender
James Riley (San Jose) defender/midfielder
Khano Smith (New England) striker/winger
Jarrod Smith (Toronto FC) forward/midfielder
Nathan Sturgis (Real Salt Lake) defender/midfielder
Peter Vagenas (Los Angeles) midfielder
Tyson Wahl (Kansas City) defender

Most TFC fans would rather say farewell to Jarrod Smith over Johann Smith (and here's hoping that this is not
a typo between the Smith's). Click to continue reading...

Expansion Draft lists were released today. The draft is on Wednesday.
TFC protected the following .....
Chad Barrett
Jim Brennan
Danny Dichio
Todd Dunivant
Brian Edwards
Amado Guevara
Kevin Harmse
Julius James
Tyrone Marshall
Carl Robinson
Marvell Wynne

Which means the following are available (remember Seattle are allowed only one player per team, so there is a chance Toronto will not be chosen from). Click to continue reading...

It was a funny season. I can remember like it was yesterday driving down to Columbus, Ohio for the season-opener in March and talking about the Crew as the measuring stick for TFC. The Crew had missed the 07 playoffs, so they were the logical team to match or exceed if Toronto was going to be a playoff team and a cup contender. Click to continue reading...

Reports are coming out that Montreal has bowed out of the MLS expansion process.





Speculation on the reasons behind this include the fall of the Canadian dollar and the ongoing story of George Gillett's financial entanglement with Liverpool FC.

I guess it makes some sense. Click to continue reading...

by the arrival on my television of The Office and 30 Rock.
I was watching The Fire vs Revolution first leg of their playoff on streaming video last night. Yes, I have a beef with MLS, although I pay for their online video service, they do not deliver the games that are on ESPN2. Hey MLS, Canadians do not get to watch ESPN2. Click to continue reading...

So the season ended with a whimper and a sloppy effort in San Jose. It was as if the adrenaline that has been fueling TFC since the disaster in Kansas City expired at the same time for the entire team. I would pair the SJ and KC games as required viewing when making decisions about next year's team and beyond. Click to continue reading...

Guess it was a roller coaster game to cap off a roller coaster year. I went down to BMO Field today determined not to feel that it was the end. As long as a playoff game was possible I was going to avoid contributing to a negative vibe. It was a beautiful October day, the sun was bright and the temperature was in the single Celsius digits. Click to continue reading...

It was in their grasp. TFC was winning 2-1 in Dallas with only minutes left in the game. John Carver made a smart tactical substitution and puts in an extra defender. Julius James. It was hard to be sure from the broadcast, but it looked like James' grip on Serioux's shirt is what prompted the penalty kick. Click to continue reading...

TFC sparkled tonight and defeated New York RedBulls in New York by a resounding 3-1. This goal scoring frenzy was unexpected. Boy, was it unexpected. The blah bitterness of the last road game in Kansas City was still preying on the minds of the battered TFC fan. It was a sense of duty, the thought that soon enough the wind will blow and the snow will pile and we will yearn for a contest to cheer for, that convincd me to watch the game. Click to continue reading...

A game as dull as the sky today, Toronto struggled to squeek out another tie at home and those playoff chances continue to slide further beyond reach. Hands up everyone who still thinks that TFC deserves to be playing for the MLS Cup ? I thought so.

I had to go back to the records to double check this. Click to continue reading...

Well, I almost wish still kicking had not invited me to write the blog while he is enjoying his weekend, because, at the end of it all there were very few positives to write about. Really, there was nothing in this game that hasn't been in a number of other road games. Poor defending, rash challenges, ineffective passing, inadequate attacking were all features of this 2-0 loss to Kansas City. Click to continue reading...

Those slim TFC playoff hopes still mathematically exist, but emotionally I watched them start drifting off into the fog today. Calling this the blog of hope and fog is meant to describe my own mental state (most of the time), but the team is playing in my style of thinking. This is not a good thing.
TFC now have 6 remaining games, two at home (Houston and Chicago) and four on the road (KC, NY, Dallas and San Jose). Click to continue reading...

Why did I think that Toronto had a chance to win today ? Why did I choose to attend this match knowing that the cupboard was bare ? Why was Holger Osciek, former coach of Canada and now out of a job, at the game in the MLSE box ?

Toronto came into this game with 9 players missing on international duty (Brennan, Sutton, Wynne, Guevara, Ruiz, Marshall, James, Robinson and Jarrod Smith). Click to continue reading...

Even before TFC sold Edu to Rangers, the size of their squad has been of concern all season long. The salary cap is the final factor, but the Senior roster numbers eighteen and the reserve squad has room for 10. So the international call-ups that will take 9 away from Toronto's roster may be a concern, but it should have been anticipated long ago. Click to continue reading...