seeded Russian Dmitry Tursunov 7-5, from zgr123's blog
TORONTO - As Toronto FC prepares for a challenging four-game road trip, manager Ryan Nelsen and his braintrust face some troubling questions. Chris Carter Brewers Jersey . Make no mistake, the big picture remains positive. Toronto (7-6-5) is headed for its best ever season and first trip to the playoffs. The roster and team culture have been smartly remade. But injuries and suspensions have made it difficult to find the right mix of pieces to complete the puzzle. And mentally, Toronto has yet to show that it can kill off a game on a regular basis when it has its foot on the other teams neck. The officiating stole many of the headlines in Saturdays 2-1 loss to Sporting Kansas City, but the inability to finish and some sloppy defending cost Toronto more than the decision-making of referee Ted Unkel. "Two very soft goals and we havent got our balance right yet in that midfield," said Nelsen. "Maybe (we were) missing a couple of key players, but our balance wasnt right on the two goals. We were spectators. In a time when we had to be urgent and our intensity had to be focused, we just hoped somebody would do their job and that was unfortunate." Sadly soft goals have been a common theme of late, with the backline losing its shape and getting punished. Toronto was missing star striker Jermain Defoe (suspension), captain/centre back Steven Caldwell and right back Mark Bloom (knee) against the MLS champions. Defoe will be back when Toronto kicks off its road trip against D.C. United (10-5-4) but Toronto will be without centre back Doneil Henry on Wednesday due to accumulation of yellow cards. Toronto then plays at Montreal, Columbus and Kansas City. Torontos defenders were all over the place on Kansas Citys goals (in the 48th minute by Graham Zusi and 80th by former TFC midfielder Jacob Peterson). Brazilian winger Jackson had opened the scoring for Toronto in the 16th minute. Kansas City players flooded into the penalty box on the first goal by the visitors, with the ball eventually ricocheting back to Zusi who curled it into the top of the goal with Joe Bendik stranded out of position. On the second, Toronto was unable to defend a deflected cross and Kansas City forward Dom Dwyer flicked the ball back to Peterson, who beat Bendik from close range. Nelsen complained some of his players had settled for spots that would have worked out well had their teammates won the ball back. But they did not. "They were some guys that were spectating and getting into nice comfortable position but werent influencing the game, they werent helping out their teammates," he said. "Thats a hardness that we lost, I think," he added, "(and) that we need to get back." Nelsen played a midfield of Jackson, Michael Bradley, Collen Warner and Dominic Oduro against Kansas City, Oduro terrorized the KC defence and Jackson, making a terrific run to take advantage of a marvellous Oduro pass that split the defence, scored one goal and could have had three on the night. But the Brazilian winger was one player who seemed to be lying in wait for a possible counter-attack on one of the Kansas City goals. And Oduros mind set is offence not defence. On a micro level, Nelsens frustration Saturday was that his team got it right for most of the game other than two lapses of concentration. On a larger level, he sees a good team unable yet to take the final step to becoming a very good one. "But this is why its such a great game," he said. "Nothing is given to you here, is it. Youve got to keep working, take little steps, little steps, little steps and eventually these results will go your way and youll learn from your mistakes. "Weve got some young guys, we had a couple of young players out in the backline. Weve still got some new players coming into the team. I feel bad for the guys, because we are very close." Nelsen saw plenty of positives, which perhaps made the loss more upsetting. "Our transition was just brilliant today. We absolutely destroyed them today on it." The pace of Oduro and Jackson, coupled with fine passing from Bradley and others did rip Kansas City apart repeatedly. "The bottom line is that on too many days were the team not coming away with points," said Bradley. "Over the course of a season, these games add up and mean that youre not in the position we should be. So weve to take a long hard look at ourselves at the moment and really find a way to translate at times good play and dominating games and turn that into points and wins." The league will no doubt review Saturdays officiating and the comments that followed. "Its by no means an excuse, it was the same for both teams, but the referee was absolutely awful," Bradley said after carefully choosing his words. "The people at the MLS (head) office in New York, when they talk about wanting to improve the league, the first thing that needs to be improved is the refereeing, bottom line. "That shouldnt come across as sour grapes because thats just the reality. And it was bad for both teams and Im sure theyre sitting in their locker-room saying the same thing to themselves but theyve got three points with them and that certainly makes it a little easier to swallow." Unkel issued eight yellow cards, including five to Toronto. Kansas City was reduced to 10 men in the 75th minute when captain/defender Matt Besler got a second yellow. Foremost on Torontos list of complaints was a no-call in the 23rd minute when Unkel waved play on after Kansas City defender Aurelien Collin, chasing Brazilian striker Gilberto after a deft through ball from Bradley, appeared to clip the Brazilians leg. Gilberto, who had a clear path on goal, went down and Bradley went after the referee imploring for a call, which should have garnered Collin a red card. The French defender went unpunished and Toronto got the first four yellows of the night. "Collin should have been sent off. I mean an under-12 ref can pick that one," Nelsen said with disgust. "Thats pretty basic." Kansas City coach Peter Vermes had a different view of the officiating. "I thought the referee did a good job tonight, that is my personal opinion," he said. "I dont think it was an easy game to ref. "I really liked his management of the game, the things that you can control the ball going out of bounds and the guy trying to steal 15 yards. Those are the things that drive us nuts as coaches, the little calls you might miss or might get, but those things he did a good job of and kept the game going on both sides. Toronto hit the woodwork twice in the first half. Scooter Gennett Brewers Jersey . -- The Seattle Seahawks and wide receiver Sidney Rice have agreed to terms on a deal. Aaron Hill Jersey .FIFA said its appeals panel ruled the case not admissible.The former U.S. Attorney had objected to ethics judge Joachim Eckerts summary of the World Cup bid investigation, claiming numerous materially incomplete and erroneous representations of his work.Wimbledon, England (SportsNetwork.com) - World No. 1 Rafael Nadal and Swiss stars Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka were a trio of opening-round winners Tuesday at Wimbledon. The second-seeded Nadal had to come from behind to beat capable Slovak Martin Klizan 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 on the famed Centre Court and corral career match win No. 700. "That means that I had a very long and successful career, so Im happy for that," Nadal said. "But the most important thing for me today more than 700 victories is a victory here in the first round." The 14-time Grand Slam champion Nadal was a first-round loser here a year ago. The reigning French Open champ is now 37-7 lifetime at Wimbledon, where hes a two-time titlist and three-time runner-up. Nadals second-round opponent will be big-serving Czech Lukas Rosol, who shocked the mighty Spaniard in the second round here two years ago. "Hes a very dangerous player, very strong, very powerful shots from the baseline," Nadal said of Rosol. "I have to play very well if I want to have chances to win." The fourth-seeded former world No. 1 Federer improved to 68-8 lifetime at The Championships with a comprehensive 6-1, 6-1, 6-3 handling of Italian Paolo Lorenzi in 1 hour, 33 minutes on the No. 1 Court at the All England Club. Federer broke Lorenzi six times, while the Italian went 0-for-5 on his break chances. Federer and Lorenzi are both 32 years old, but thats where the similarities end. For Lorenzi, the loss extended his winless career Grand Slam record to 0-13. Only one player, Juan-Antonio Marin of Costa Rica, has a worse record, with zero wins and 17 losses. The 17-time Grand Slam king Federer, who titled on grass in Halle two weeks ago, is a seven-time Wimbledon champ and former runner-up. Federers second-round opponent will be Luxembourg left-hander Gilles Muller. The fifth-seeded Wawrinka, meanwhile, avoided another first-round exit at tennis most prestigious event, as the Swiss strongman defeated Portugals Joao Sousa 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 to reach the second round for the first time since 2011. Wawrinka fired 18 aces and dropped only seven points on his first serve in the 1-hour, 35-minute match. The reigning Australian Open champ was stunned by Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the first round of the French Open last month and suffered opening-round Wimbledon setbacks the previous two yeaars. Milwaukee Brewers Travis Shaw Jersey. Up next for Wawrinka will be Taiwans Yen-Hsun Lu. Tenth-seeded Japanese Kei Nishikori, 13th-seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet, 14th-seeded French star Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and 15th-seeded Pole Jerzy Janowicz also advanced. Nishikori committed only nine unforced errors in a 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), 7-5 victory over Frances Kenny De Schepper, while Gasquet outlasted game Brit James Duckworth 6-7 (3-7), 6-3, 3-6, 6-0, 6-1 and the two-time Wimbledon semifinalist Tsonga quickly closed out a five-set victory over Austrian Jurgen Melzer. Tsonga was up 5-4 in the deciding set when the match was suspended on Monday because of rain. He completed a 6-1, 3-6, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 win with a love service game on Day 2. A surprise semifinalist at the AEC last year, the 6-foot-8 Janowicz outlasted Indias Somdev Devvarman, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, on Tuesday. Grass-court-loving Spaniard Feliciano Lopez, seeded 19th, got past Japans Yuichi Sugita 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (9-7). The veteran left-hander Lopez, whos a three-time Wimbledon quarterfinalist, is now 10-1 on grass this year, including a title in Eastbourne last week and a runner-up finish at The Queens Club in London the week before. Also, 22nd-seeded German Philipp Kohlschreiber doused Dutchman Igor Sijsling 6-4, 6-4, 6-2; 24th-seeded Frenchman Gael Monfils got past Tunisian Malek Jaziri 7-6 (7-5), 7-5, 6-4; Serb Dusan Lajovic took out a 28th-seeded Garcia- Lopez 7-6 (7-5), 6-2, 3-6, 3-6, 6-3; 30th-seeded Spaniard Marcel Granollers snuck past Frenchman Nicolas Mahut 6-4, 7-6 (8-6), 6-7 (7-9), 6-4; and Uzbekistans Denis Istomin dismissed 32nd-seeded Russian Dmitry Tursunov 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. Former Wimbledon champ Lleyton Hewitt reached the round of 64 by holding off Pole Michal Przysiezny 6-2, 6-7 (14-16), 6-1, 6-4. The 33-year-old former world No. 1 Hewitt is a two-time Grand Slam winner, including a Wimbledon title in 2002. He should have his hands full with another Pole, the towering Janowicz, on Thursday. Several other men advanced, including Rosol, Muller, Lu, Polish 2013 Wimbledon quarterfinalist Lukasz Kubot, and Americans Denis Kudla, Jack Sock and Sam Querrey. Kudla beat Turkeys Marsel Ilhan 7-6 (7-3), 6-4, 4-6, 7-5, while Sock overcame Frances Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, and Querrey came back to best fellow American Bradley Klahn 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-1, 7-5. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '
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