aight pars to end one shot behind the leader after Kims final birdie on 16. I just have a lot o

After making a huge off-season splash, Toronto FC prepares to start their eighth MLS season still looking for a first ever playoff berth. Nike Air Max 90 China Wholesale . TSN soccer analyst Gareth Wheeler tells you everything you need to know about Toronto FC heading into 2014, while TSN soccer analyst Jason deVos tells you how they will succeed or fail during the new campaign. Gareth Wheeler: With great signings come great expectations. Toronto FC went from afterthought to main focus in an off-season of change. President and CEO of Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment Tim Leiweke promised big things; a swift turn around in fortunes upon his arrival. Momentum has shifted from a lifeless entity into a resurrected being with true hope and an ambitious future; no easy task for the most futile franchise in Major League Soccer history. Seven years outside of the playoffs has taken its toll. Amidst the newfound excitement is an element of prove it to me. Big promises have been made before. The shock of what has transpired with upwards of $100 million worth of transfer and payroll commitments hasnt sunk in with most. Tim-squared, as in Leiweke and General Manager Tim Bezbatchenko backed up their lofty words with decisive, calculated action. On paper, this looks to be the best Toronto FC side the city has ever seen. Now comes the hard part: sustained stability and on-field success. Neither are guaranteed, but the blueprint reads much clearer. The buzz is palpable across Toronto. The question most often asked from passionate or casual supporters alike, how good will this team be? Theres no straight-forward answer. Its easy to get swept up in the hoopla. Tickets have been sold and the team will be playing in front of a packed house at BMO Field once again. Theres a lot to be excited about and failing to make the playoffs for an eighth consecutive year would be seen as nothing short of a complete failure. Championship calibre talk however is premature. Striker Jermain Defoe and influential central midfielder Michael Bradley represent the two biggest moves of MLS off-season. With name comes substance, with Defoe and Bradley easily becoming the best two players in franchise history. They are that good and make TFCs roster comparable to top teams in MLS. Brazilian duo, goalkeeper Julio Cesar and promising striker Gilberto are a step lower on the wow scale, but entirely intriguing. Manager Ryan Nelsen has raved about Gilberto and believes the 24-year old can score more goals than prized acquisition Defoe. The return of Dwayne De Rosario represents a chance to rectify the wrong surrounding his previous hasty departure. The club at the time painted De Rosario as the bad guy disingenuously. Bezbatchenko has made clear this is a new TFC, set on doing business a different and better way. Extending the olive branch to the hometown boy made too much sense. Attempting to forecast how this team will do is fruitless. A MLS season is a marathon to begin with, never mind the added wrinkle of this summers World Cup. Notwithstanding injuries and/or factors out of the realm of control, here are three keys to success for Toronto FC in 2014. 1) Goal scoring: Bezbatchenko has said to anyone who will listen; his first job was to find TFC goal scorers. Sounds simplistic but only one team scored fewer goals than TFC last season. Toronto has been in the bottom five in goals scored in each of the last four years. The lack of a true finisher outside of the oft-injured Danny Koevermans was an indictment on team management. Without top goal scorers there is next to no chance of competing with the top sides and having regular success. It has been one of the many reasons for perennial failure to date. How many goals Defoe, Gilberto, and De Rosario will score will determine how far this team will go. Gilberto has already set a lofty, most likely unattainable goal of 25 tallies this season. Defoe should have little trouble adapting to MLS life, and 20 goals isnt out of the question. TFC lost back-up strike option Bright Dike through pre-season injury, Dike would have played a key role. Bezbatchenko would be prudent to bring in another goal scorer to compliment the bunch because you can never have enough goals in the team. 2) Back four: Cheap goals conceded have plagued TFC in recent seasons. The group last year was far too young, inexperienced and mistake prone. The group worked hard, but lacked cohesion and didnt do anything particular well. Justin Morrow and Bradley Orr were brought in to add experience to the back-line. The strength, or lack thereof, of this young group will make or break this team. Cesar as a leader at the back helps, as does Steven Caldwell as a steady, vocal force. Can Nelsen get this group playing as a unit? Does TFC have enough quality depth? And can young Canadians Doneil Henry and Ashton Morgan makes strides, finding consistency in their game? If the answer to these questions is yes, TFC will be in good stead. Age is no longer an excuse. 3) Team tactics: Nelsens first year as manager was a trying one. With very little talent, depth and a revolving door, six wins and the third worst points total in the league (29) was a predictable outcome. Evaluation of Nelsen as team manager is thus far incomplete. It surprised some Nelsen remained in the off-season of top-to-bottom change. And because of that, he remains the easy fall-guy in case all doesnt go according to plan. Another coaching change is the last thing this team needs - eight coaches in eight years speaks to the lack of vision or consistent direction. Players, no matter how good, cannot achieve in a current state of flux. It must be said the work-rate of the team under Nelsen was superior. Theres no question hes a natural leader and a well-liked figure. His man-management and tactical approach will be tested now he has better players and a year under his belt. The team generally lined up in a 4-4-2 last year. A level of formational flexibility will be required to get the most out of his assets, particularly finding the best spots to play De Rosario and Gilberto as dynamic attacking players. The hype is back at Toronto FC. Its been called A Bloody Big Deal. The only way that manifests is if the wins follow. For the first time ever at TFC, there is good reason to believe it actually will. TSN Soccer analyst Jason deVos weighs in on how Toronto FC will succeed or fail during the 2014 season. Jason deVos: Toronto FC will succeed if… …the stars align. TFC have made the single biggest offseason spending splurge in the history of Major League Soccer. Nearly $100m has been spent to acquire the likes of Jermain Defoe, Michael Bradley, Gilberto, Júlio César and Dwayne De Rosario, and the burning question is this: Will this make TFC a contender? On paper, the answer is yes. Toronto is significantly stronger now than it has ever been. They have the U.S. national teams best midfielder in Bradley, a top-class goal scorer in Defoe and Brazils number one goalkeeper in Júlio César. You wont find a stronger spine to a team in MLS. If those players live up to their reputations, Toronto FC will not only make the playoffs, they will be the team that everyone wants to avoid in the post-season. Toronto FC will fail if… ….they put the cart before the horse. Having better players is one thing; getting them to play together, as a team, is another. It will take time for TFCs crop of new players to gel, and until that happens, the microscope will be firmly focused on head coach, Ryan Nelsen. The jury is still out on Nelsens ability - as a second-year coach - to get the best out of the talented players he now has at his disposal. He tends to stick to his preferred formation (1-4-4-2), and has so far shown little interest in experimenting with various tactical approaches to the game. This can work if the players are all on board (Real Salt Lake is a good example), but only time will tell if this will be the case for Toronto FC. If the team struggles out of the gate, expect Nelsen to come under increasing pressure. 2013 finish: 6-17-11 (ninth in Eastern Conference). Did not qualify for MLS Cup playoffs. Whos In?: M Michael Bradley (transfer from AS Roma) , GK Júlio Cesar (loan from Queens Park Rangers), F Jermain Defoe (transfer from Tottenham), M Dwayne De Rosario (Re-Entry Draft), F Gilberto (transfer from SC Internacional), M Jackson (trade from FC Dallas), D Justin Morrow (trade from San Jose), D Bradley Orr (loan from Blackburn Rovers). Whos Out?: F Justin Braun (out of contract), M Bobby Convey (trade to New York), F Robert Earnshaw (option declined), D Richard Eckersley (trade to New York), D Jonas Elmer (contract terminated), GK Stefan Frei (trade to Seattle), F Danny Koevermans (out of contract), M Matias Laba (trade to Vancouver), M Darel Russell (option declined), M Michael Thomas (option declined), F Emery Welshman (waived). SuperDraft: D Nick Hagglund (1-10), MF Daniel Lovitz (2-24). Cheap Adidas Shoes China .com) - The 12th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes continue a four-game homestand at Value City Arena on Wednesday night when they face off against the High Point Panthers in a non-conference matchup. Cheap Air Max 90 China . In a pregame tribute commemorating his final contest at Coors Field on Wednesday night, Helton caught the ceremonial first pitch from his daughter with his wife, younger daughter and good friend Peyton Manning watching from the field. http://www.brandshoescheaponline.com/jordan-wholesale-china.html . The Force had two men, including former Wallabies No. 8 Ben McCalman, in the sin-bin in the dying minutes of the match, but were able to resist a late Highlanders surge to post a four-try, bonus point win.Mexico City, Mexico (SportsNetwork.com) - Christina Kim fired a second-round, 3-under 69 on Friday and she was able to hang on and maintain her 1-shot lead heading into the weekend at the Lorena Ochoa Invitational. Kim, who entered the day one shot ahead of Azahara Munoz, finished 36 holes at 10-under-par 134 at Club de Golf Mexico. Kim has not won on tour since taking home the Tournament of Champions title back in 2005. Paula Creamer was the biggest threat to Kim on Friday as she held the lead by herself at one point. Creamer finished the day with a 7-under 65 and she is alone in second at 9-under 135. Suzann Pettersen also had a strong day, shooting a 6-under 66 and jumping into a tie for third place with Pornanong Phatlum (68), 17-year-old LPGA Rookie of the Year Lydia Ko (69) and Munoz (71). World No. 1 Inbee Park is alone in 10th at 4-under 140 after a 70 on Friday, while world No. 2 Stacy Lewis (70) is tied for 27th at 2-over 146. Defending champion Lexi Thompson (72) is eight shots back at minus-2 and she is tied for 14th with four others. After going bogey free on day one, Kim tripped to a couple bogeys on Friday, but she was able to hold on to her lead. Kim started her day on fire, however, as she drained three birdies on her first four holes on one, two and four. Following a pair of pars on five and six, Kim dropped two shots in three holes with bogeys on seven and nine, putting her at 8-under as she made the turn. Kim was able to put her game in cruise control on the back nine. Following a trio of pars from 10, Kim made her fourth gain on the par-4 13th. Another pair of pars on 14 and 15 preceded Kims fifth and final birdie of the day on 16, which broke a tie with Creamer atop the leaderboard. Kim finished up with two pars to remain in the lead after 36 holes. Yesterday I was lucky enough to hhave two eagles so that immediately made the score a lot better. Cheap Fake Air Max 90. . And I had no bogeys yesterday, Kim said. Today I had two bogeys. Its just difficult when youre in the lead and theres such a fantastic field and everyones coming after you. Its been a while since Ive been in this position. And just trying to get back into it. Just enjoying myself. Creamer finished day one with a 2-under 70, but she made up for it with a very strong day on Friday. Creamer also began her day well with three birdies in her first four holes on one, three and four, getting her well into red numbers early. Following three straight pars from five, Creamer rolled in her fourth gain on the par-4 eighth before closing out the front nine with a par on nine. It was more of the same on the back side for Creamer. After another par on 10, Creamer made three more birdies in four holes on 11, 13 and 14. The birdie on 14 gave Creamer a lead at 9-under before Kim later made a gain on 13 to tie. Creamer ended her round strong with four straight pars to end one shot behind the leader after Kims final birdie on 16. I just have a lot of confidence, Creamer said about her putting. Im really, my routine and what I do when Im over the ball is the same every time. Its more about speed instead of thinking about my stroke or thinking about this. I know that its solid and weve been working really hard on that. Its more of a confidence and seeing the ball go in the hole. NOTES: Creamer finished runner-up to Michelle Wie at this event back in 2009 ... Creamer has one win this season at the HSBC Womens Champions ... Wie (69) is eight shots behind the leader Kim at 2-under 142 through two rounds ... After making eagles on two and 17 Thursday, Kim played those two holes at 1- under with one birdie Friday. ' ' '

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