Today’s News, Wednesday , May.27

[denime]

Mornin'


Cummins happy with Guevara recognition
Player of the Week award 'well deserved' for midfielder
Toronto FC Head Coach Chris Cummins believes Amado Guevara's MLS Player of the Week award is well deserved recognition for the contribution the Honduran midfielder is making to the team. Guevara scooped the award after scoring two goals in Toronto's 3-1 win against New England at BMO Field on Saturday.
"All of the lads congratulated him this morning," said Cummins. "We are rewriting the record books because it was our first win against New England at the weekend and now we have our first MLS Player of the Week award."

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De Rosario in the zone for Toronto
Steve Davis
Sweeping up after the MLS weekend party, here are a few things I found lying around:

1. Word to MLS -- here comes De Ro: Once a season or so, Dwayne De Rosario finds the sweet spot.
And when De Ro finds his groove, everyone in the house needs to drop the soda or brat and pay attention every time he gets possession. When his confidence soars, exciting and special things happen.

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An athlete gets in trouble by using Twitter: The Rohan Ricketts edition
Eric Koreen
Once more, an athlete might be regretting signing up for a fully viewable Twitter account. This time around, the social networking Web site has created a bit of trouble for Toronto FC midfielder Rohan Ricketts.
Whether he was at the keyboard for some of the controversial posts or not — that point is up for debate — his account has fueled some talk that perhaps Ricketts' time in Toronto is coming to an end.

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Put me in coach, please
With playing time so competitive, TFC's Ricketts irked with benchwarmer role
LANCE HORNBY
Toronto FC's on-field success means players off the pitch must be getting antsy about watching.
It appears Rohan Ricketts is in that group after reports of a Twitter posting expressing his desire to get off the bench, lest he grow stale. His playing time has decreased since Chris Cummins became head coach last month.
"What's Twitter?," Cummins asked playfully yesterday. "Whatever was on there, I don't read it anyway. I had never heard of it until I came in this morning.

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Reds teammates to face off as Honduras, US meet
Guevera, Honduras visit Wynne, United States June 6 in Chicago
TORONTO -- Honduras' run to the final round of CONCACAF 2010 World Cup qualifying hasn't just put Amado Guevara closer to his lifelong ambition of playing on soccer's greatest stage. It has also given him the chance to square off against several of his Toronto FC teammates. Guevara faced Jim Brennan, Kevin Harmse and (then-FC Dallas member) Adrian Serioux when Honduras played Canada in the third qualifying round last fall. The two Honduras-Jamaica matches in the same round also gave Guevara the opportunity to play against former TFC center back Tyrone Marshall.

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Whitecaps control fate vs. Impact
THE CANADIAN PRESS
BURNABY, B.C. -- The Vancouver Whitecaps can gain control of their own destiny with a win over the Montreal Impact on Wednesday night in the Nutrilite Canadian Championship.
Securing the victory will be the Whitecaps' first priority, but goal differential and an upcoming rematch against Toronto FC will be in the back of the players' minds.
A win over Montreal (10:30 p.m. EST, Sportsnet), would give Vancouver six points in the six-game tournament, tying them with Toronto. That would set up a showdown when Toronto plays the Whitecaps at Swangard Stadium on Tuesday.

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SUNSHINE

[TorCanSoc]

Champion's League Final today.... and I'm just as interested in the Vancouver-Montreal outcome. That's nuts and awesome at the same time! Barca-ManU what a display that is going to be. I imagine businesses in Barcelona and Manchester will essentially shut down for this game.

[keem-o-sabi]

Good morning D, here is the Coed Girl for the day

I'm excited for both games tonight (my U10 Girls team and the Whitecaps/Impact game, hehe). Will be a full evening of footie.

Hope to meet a lot of you this weekend at the RPB spring tournament!

[Carter]

Mornin D.

[redcard]

Just a heads up the NCC match is on sportsnet tonight. 1030 i believe.

[Fort York Redcoat]

It would be nice if Montreal did us a favour but I won't be "rooting" for them tonight.

[flatpicker]

hahahaaa... "Twittergate" makes the Post!


Come on Montreal!!!!!! (well, tonight anyway)

[Mark in Ottawa]

Someone posted the TV audience numbers for TFC's last game on the weekend as well as the NHL playoffs who were pulling in 1.2 Million.


Would love to see how those numbers compare to the audience for the Champions League Game today

[Lucky Strike]

hahahaaa... "Twittergate" makes the Post!


Come on Montreal!!!!!! (well, tonight anyway)

Nice! I can actually I've coined a term now!

Well, I'm sure this sort of situation has happened before and I'm sure someone has thought of it somewhere in the world. But still, cool moment...

[Nuvinho]

Nice! I can actually I've coined a term now!

Well, I'm sure this sort of situation has happened before and I'm sure someone has thought of it somewhere in the world. But still, cool moment...

I am waiting til they use it on Special 1TV....then you know you are bigtime ........haha!!!

[sully]

Someone posted the TV audience numbers for TFC's last game on the weekend as well as the NHL playoffs who were pulling in 1.2 Million.


Would love to see how those numbers compare to the audience for the Champions League Game today

what was the TFC number?

[Carter]

Nice! I can actually I've coined a term now!

Well, I'm sure this sort of situation has happened before and I'm sure someone has thought of it somewhere in the world. But still, cool moment...

I heard you stole the term from GOTFC, the guy who "posted twttergate" before you posted in the Ricketts thread.

[Lucky Strike]

I heard you stole the term from GOTFC, the guy who "posted twittergate" before you posted in the Ricketts thread.

That right? Well there you go then, I figured someone, somewhere in the world must have thought of it before. Still though, it's funny to see that stuff from the forums make it to the press and be published!

[Carts]

Someone posted the TV audience numbers for TFC's last game on the weekend as well as the NHL playoffs who were pulling in 1.2 Million.


Would love to see how those numbers compare to the audience for the Champions League Game today

I'll get the numbers for tonight's game tomorrow - and post them in the news section...

what was the TFC number?

TFC I beleive was around 76,000... There was some problems with the reporting of the numbers this weekend, and some challenges to them...

Carts...

[scooter]

mornin d

[Carter]

That right? Well there you go then, I figured someone, somewhere in the world must have thought of it before. Still though, it's funny to see that stuff from the forums make it to the press and be published!

Yeah, i don't believe the guy, i saw it here first not on GOTFC... but they think they are better than everyone else..

[Lucky Strike]

Yeah, i don't believe the guy, i saw it here first not on GOTFC... but they think they are better than everyone else..

Lol, it's still possible they used it first. I don't even go to this GOTFC site so at the very least, I can't be accused of plagiarism. In the end though, it's not a huge deal; I'm not a media whore or anything.

[Carter]

Lol, it's still possible they used it first. I don't even go to this GOTFC site so at the very least, I can't be accused of plagiarism. In the end though, it's not a huge deal; I'm not a media whore or anything.

Oh no not plagiarism on the internets

[Lucky Strike]

Oh no not plagiarism on the internets

HAHAHAHAHAHA!

[Technorgasm]

whitecaps impact isthe ONLY gme happeneing today.

yep. thats it.

COME ON DRAW!!!!!

[werewolf]

it was funny when mls rumours got their stories from here, but now newspapers are making it a habit...

[Oldtimer]

whitecaps impact isthe ONLY gme happeneing today.

yep. thats it.

COME ON DRAW!!!!!

ahem... there's a little matter of the European Champions League final on today.

[Sonny Cheeba]

SSG needs to thicken up....

[rocker]

SSG needs to thicken up....

she'll get there with age, and having children, as all women do... don't force it

[Darlofletch]

So if Wynne plays against Honduras, given Guevara's capacity for being clever and astutely drawing fouls/being a sneaky cheating bastard depending on how you see that sort of thing, and given what he knows about Marvell's wandering arms, what are the chances of him deliberately kicking the ball at Wynne's arms to try and win a penalty?

Wouldn't surprise me in the least if it happened.

[mr k]

blogger throws down the gauntlet for the part-time supporters of TFC by saying girls watching Canada match are truer footie fans:

I don’t think I can say the same for many of the tourists who clog up all areas of BMO Field on matchdays… the folks who roll into their seats in the 12th minute, head to the concourse at the 40th, come back at the 55th and leave in the 80th, regardless of the score. The traffic-beaters whose interest is merely to tell their pals around three-dollar bottles of Labatt 50 at some Now Magazine-endorsed gastropub that they spent the afternoon “watching the FC”. But these little girls? They were cheering and singing all the way to full time, despite the 4-0 scoreline. As soon as the final whistle blew, they streamed down to the front rows with all the urgency of Corinthians fans charging towards the pitch following a goal… all for the chance to wave and smile at their on-field heroes.

These girls are the future of Canadian soccer. Not the nimrods who drop $150 on TFC merchandise but then spend the entire game in the north-end beer garden, absent-mindedly chatting about the economy.
There is, however, a difference between these “family” crowds and the family crowds that many fans think should be banned from the stadium. These families weren’t there to jump on bouncy castles, or meet the team mascot, or to use soccer as just another generic way to kill the afternoon, with no thought given to the game itself. They were actually there to watch the game. Maybe they can’t necessarily discuss the sport with the same level of sophistication that those of us huddled in the south end. But they live the game. They get it. They care.

http://canadiansoccerblog.ca/2009/05...nadian-soccer/

[Fort York Redcoat]

^great blog. You V's kept it clean for the girls. That's sweet.

[Sonny Cheeba]

^HAHAHAHAH i was actually enjoying 3 dollar bottles of labatt 50 that night. but it was at the annex wrecroom... not the best place in the world.

i've liked 50 for a long time... not because it's "coming back" i lived in London, it's a staple there.

where else is there to drink 3 dollar bottles? anyone? i'd like to know.


i was at the game til the end though. too much hassle to leave early or at the whistle. gotta wait a bit. soak it up

[jloome]

Preposterous nonsense. Equating the passion of 10-year-old girls for kicking a ball around in a feminized version of the sport that is still decades behind the elite men's game to "the future of soccer" is liking saying Britney Spears is the future of music.

If you need a further indicator that it'll be many decades before support for the female game can be called "the future" of anything, check out the average attendances for the third attempt at a women's pro league in the last two decades. I like the women's game, I like the enthusiasm ... in the same way I appreciate Bantam hockey.

But it's like comparing shuffleboard at a vacation resort to the the world curling championships to suggest it'll ever drive the game here, beyond the stupidity of the CSA executive, that it -- who agree with this notion entirely.

[squizz]

Thanks for the link, Mr_k. When I saw incoming traffic to the site coming from the RPB board, I was praying to God that you guys realized you weren't the ones being attacked. Thankfully you did.

And to be perfectly clear, I have nothing against Labatt 50.

Edit: jloome, I responded to your comment on my blog, but a quick comment here... I see what you're saying. But I was clear to say these girls were soccer fans, not necessarily fans of the women's national team exclusively. Many of them knew the cadence and rhythm of "This is our house", "Come on you reds", etc., so surely they follow TFC as well.

And if these girls have a chance to be exposed to top-level soccer now (even though, you're right, the women's game and men's game are not the same thing), in 10 years' time, they could be the next generation of Red Patch.. uh.. Girls.

The more people in Toronto of all ages and genders who have a passion for the game, the better it is for TFC, and for Canadian soccer.