Sporting Madness

"We search for the truth/We could die upon the tooth/But the thrill of just the chase/Is worth the pain" - Ronnie James Dio , The Last In Line Tonight's Voyageurs' Cup game against the Montreal Impact may well be one of the most important matches of the Vancouver Whitecaps' season. Thanks to a pair of lacklustre draws at home, they must win on the road [ Marc Weber , The Province ] against their bitter rivals to maintain their hopes of claiming the Nutrilite Canadian Championship and its attendant berth in the CONCACAF Champions League. They have two points from two matches, while Toronto FC have seven from three. The teams play each other in the final clash of the competition next Wednesday, though, so the Whitecaps still have a shot at the title. In order to make that game relevant, though, they need to come away with three points tonight. As I wrote at Fighting For Canadian Supremacy before the season started , this competition may be the crucial one...

For the Vancouver Whitecaps, the scoreline remained the same Wednesday night at Swangard Stadium as their third consecutive match there finished in a 0-0 draw. This had much more to it than previous USSF Division II efforts against Crystal Palace Baltimore [ Simon Fudge , WhitecapsFC.com ] and the Montreal Impact, though; the Voyageurs’ Cup and its accompanying berth in the CONCACAF Champions League were potentially on the line against hated rivals Toronto FC. The Whitecaps responded to the occasion and played a superb game against a Major League Soccer side, controlling possession, shutting down TFC’s attackers and creating their own chances. At the end of the day, though, that superior effort merely translated into another 0-0 scoreline. Head coach Teitur Thordarson was pleased with his team's performance, though. "I thought we played exceptionally well in all departments of the game," he said. "I thought we did well and controlled the game. For me, the only ...

I'll be live-blogging tonight's crucial Voyageurs Cup game [ Marc Weber , The Province ] between the Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto FC here and at The 24th Minute . It could be the game of the season for Vancouver, or it could give Toronto FC another Nutrilite Canadian Championship. Kickoff is at 7:37 p.m. Pacific/10:37 p.m. Eastern, but we'll kick off the coverage around 7:30. Come join me then! Update: My game preview is posted over at Fighting For Canadian Supremacy . Check it out ! Toronto FC - Vancouver Whitecaps live blog

Saturday night’s 0-0 scoreless draw [ Simon Fudge , WhitecapsFC.com ] with the Montreal Impact saw the continuation of a disturbing trend for the Vancouver Whitecaps. They’ve now gone 259 minutes without scoring in league play since Nelson Akwari notched an 11th-minute goal against Portland on April 29. Following that, they went 79 minutes of the Portland game without scoring again, then held Crystal Palace Baltimore to a 0-0 draw [ Marc Weber , The Province ] last weekend before tonight's scoreless clash. Of course, Vancouver did get one goal during that span, but that came against Montreal in last week's Voyageurs' Cup game, though, not in USSF Division II competition. They're still doing reasonably well in the league and lead the NASL Conference with eight points, but that's unlikely to continue unless the goals start to come. Tonight's game was a little more promising on the offensive end, however, as head coach Teitur Thordarson commented post-mat...

( (L to R: Martin Nash , Teitur Thordarson , and Marcus Haber address the media after Wednesday's match). Wednesday's Voyageurs Cup game between the Vancouver Whitecaps and the Montreal Impact felt rather like an episode of 24, starting slowly and building to a chaotic and hard-to-believe 1-1 final. In between, there were a couple of goals, plenty of cards and much more entertainment than that other Vancouver team offered. The match offered little at first, with both teams electing to start defensive lineups; Montreal fielded a 4-5-1 with Peter Byers as the lone striker, while Vancouver opted for a 4-4-1-1 with Marcus Haber supported by attacking midfielder Jonny Steele . The Whitecaps controlled most of the early possession, but only created a few chances, and the score remained level until Byers slipped one by Jay Nolly in the 31st minute. Montreal then took over the game for the next fifty minutes until a bizarre sequence of events unfolded. With time dwindling, th...

The Vancouver Whitecaps kick off their Voyageurs’ Cup schedule tonight against the Montreal Impact. The two clubs have always had a strong rivalry, but last year's events took it to a new level; first, Montreal's 6-1 loss to Toronto in the final game of last year's competition cost the Whitecaps the championship , and the Impact made things worse by beating Vancouver again in the USL-1 championship . There's going to be a lot on the line tonight, as Sam pointed out in his preview ; with Vancouver heading to MLS next season, this tournament may be even more important for them than the league. Tonight's game starts at 7:30 p.m. Pacific (10:30 p.m. Eastern) and can be seen on whitecapsfc.com. I'll be live-blogging it here and at The 24th Minute come join me then! Whitecaps - Impact

I was on Daniel Feuerstein 's excellent soccer show, Feuerstein's Fire , earlier today to discuss the Whitecaps, B.C. Place and the Nutrilite Canadian Championship (speaking of which, I'll be live-blogging the Whitecaps - Montreal Impact match here tomorrow evening at 7:30 p.m. Pacific) with Daniel and my 24th Minute colleague Duane Rollins . The entire show is well worth a listen, touching on Toronto FC, the Montreal Impact and Canadian soccer generally. My segment starts about 45 minutes in. You can check out the show here .

The start of the Vancouver Whitecaps' soccer season is almost upon us, as they kick things off on April 11 against the NSC Minnesota Stars. They're also preparing for the Voyageurs Cup, where they'll be facing domestic rivals Toronto and Montreal; their first match in that competition will be May 5 against Montreal. I'll have plenty of Whitecaps coverage here and at The 24th Minute all season, but I'm also covering the team for Fighting For Canadian Supremacy , a site started by Sam Gregory of The Canadian Stretford End that will look at the Voyageurs Cup through local perspectives from writers in each city. My team preview for that site, focusing on what that competition might mean to the Whitecaps this year, is up; check it out here!

The seemingly-impossible 6-1 victory Toronto FC pulled off against the Montreal Impact tonight gives them the Voyageurs Cup, the one fact everyone can agree on. Apart from that, there's no clear lesson or moral to draw from this one, though. It means drastically different things to fans of all the teams involved, and there's no one right answer. Read on for my thoughts on what this result means to fans in each city. Toronto: It's a great day to be a Toronto FC fan. Almost everyone wrote them off after the Vancouver game; sure, they've got a solid team, but a four-goal victory on the road is hard for any side. For a team that's suffered some significant setbacks recently, including a brutal home loss to the L.A. Galaxy , a series of fan protests and a recent roster makeover , this is a huge step forward. They finally have the CONCACAF Champions League berth they've coveted for so long, and they have some tangible silverware to show their fans. The load on Mo J...

Note: Post-game piece is here . It's the final game of the Voyageurs Cup tonight, with Toronto FC taking on the Montreal Impact. TFC have their backs against the wall and need to win by four to take the title; otherwise, the Vancouver Whitecaps will claim the championship. Montreal have nothing to play for but pride, but don't underestimate that motivation; they certainly won't roll over and play dead against their bitter archrivals from Ontario. It should be an interesting one with plenty of offence; Toronto will be going for it, and that might provide Montreal with some counterattack opportunities. Kickoff is at 8 p.m., and the game will be televised on all regions of Rogers Sportsnet. I'll be live-blogging the game here and at The 24th Minute as well, so come join in the fun then! Toronto FC - Montreal Impact live blog

That Vancouver Whitecaps - Toronto FC clash on Tuesday was quite the match . Both sides had plenty of chances and played some excellent soccer. With a few different bounces, it could have been a very different result; a draw was very possible, and even a TFC win could have happened. Still, Vancouver played a fantastic match and deserved the win in my books. It was a 2-0 final score in favour of the Whitecaps that could pave the way for a Voyageurs Cup title (if Toronto can't beat Montreal by four in the final match), but what it all means is still very much in dispute. Some see this as a dramatic shift in the USL/MLS balance of power, while others argue that it just demonstrates that the leagues were always closer than many thought. Others, like Duane , see it as more of an outlier. Personally, I don't think it's a good idea to draw absolute conclusions from one match, but looking at the games over the last couple of years can be more meaningful. Last year's matches wou...

It's almost time for what could be the crucial match of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship. Both Toronto FC and the Vancouver Whitecaps enter tonight's clash in Vancouver with six points, but Vancouver's played three matches and TFC only two. If Toronto wins or ties, they claim the Voyageurs Cup. For Vancouver to claim the trophy, they have to win tonight and then have Montreal either lose by a small margin or get a result against TFC in the final match. You can check out the full tie-breaking process in Duane's post here . This rivalry's been getting better all the time, so it should be a great match tonight! Join me in the live blog below for more coverage. Toronto FC - Vancouver Whitecaps live blog

It's time for the crucial fourth game of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship, featuring the Vancouver Whitecaps against the Montreal Impact. If Vancouver wins, they're in good position to challenge Toronto FC; any other result and TFC looks good to go through. Join in the live blog below! Vancouver Whitecaps - Montreal Impact

It's the third game of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship, with the Montreal Impact hosting the Vancouver Whitecaps. Kickoff is at 8 p.m. Both sides really need to go for the win here, as they each lost their first match against Toronto FC. English audio can be found here , and there's a French video webcast here . For match previews, check out this one from Duane and this one from Simon Fudge of whitecapsfc.com . Come join me in the live blog below! Vancouver Whitecaps - Montreal Impact live blog

I'll be live-blogging tonight's match between Toronto FC and the Montreal Impact here and at The 24th Minute . It's the second clash of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship; Toronto pulled off a 1-0 home win against the Vancouver Whitecaps in the first match, so they'll be in very good shape if they win this one. Montreal enters the tournament as defending champions, but they're probably underdogs heading into this one given their USL struggles so far this year and the intimidating atmosphere of BMO Field won't make it any easier. You can check out Duane's preview here , and for any of the Impact fans looking for bulletin board material, you can't do much better than this piece he reposted from February. The game isn't on television thanks to Rogers Sportsnet deciding to place a baseball game on all four of their channels, but it will be streamed live at Toronto FC's website . Come join me at 8 for the live blog! Toronto FC v. Montreal Impact

I'll be live-blogging tonight's match between the Vancouver Whitecaps and the Puerto Rico Islanders here and at The 24th Minute . Kickoff is at 10 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Pacific, and the game will be webcast on USL Live . It should be a good one; these are two of the top USL teams, and they met in the USL final last year, so there's a great rivalry there. The Islanders took the last meeting 2-1 at home, so Vancouver will also be out for revenge. Both of these teams are coming off busy and somewhat disappointing weeks as well; Vancouver lost 1-0 to Toronto FC in the first match of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship on the road Wednesday, while the Islanders tied the Austin Aztex 1-1 in Texas on Friday. Neither side's had the start to the year they envisioned, either; Vancouver's 2-1-2 through five games and in fifth place, while Puerto Rico's 2-0-2 in four games and in fourth. There's lots of time left in the USL season, but tonight's match could mark a ...

A quick note that I'll be live-blogging today's Toronto FC - Columbus Crew match (4:00 p.m. Eastern/1:00 p.m. Pacific) and tonight's Vancouver Whitecaps - Minnesota Thunder match (8:05 p.m. Eastern/5:05 p.m. Pacific) here and at The 24th Minute . Toronto and Vancouver will face each other on Wednesday in the first match of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship (which I'll also live-blog), so this weekend's matches should provide a good preview of that game. Stop on by for one or both games!

Photo: The Vancouver Whitecaps take on Toronto FC at Burnaby's Swangard Stadium. [Andrew Bucholtz photo]. A bit late getting to this one due to the other work I've had to do, but I was at the Vancouver Whitecaps - Toronto FC match on Wednesday, so I figured I'd better write about it briefly here. This was of course the Whitecaps' final match of the Nutrilite Canadian Championships, and came on the heels of their stunning Canada Day victory [myself, Out of Left Field ] over TFC at BMO Field [myself, this blog]. Unfortunately, the pair of eggs they laid against Montreal meant that they needed to win by a landslide to have any hope, and there wasn't much of a chance of that happening. There was plenty of pride on the line, though, and the Whitecaps played their hearts out, earning a draw in the end [Matthew Sekeres, The Globe and Mail ]. Here's the breakdown, in classic GBU style : Final score: Whitecaps 2, TFC 2 How I saw it: In person The Good: Eduardo Sebra...

Today sees another clash in the Nutrilite Canadian Championships, the home-and-home series between all three USL-1 and MLS Canadian clubs to see who gets the CONCACAF Champions League qualifying berth. So far, Montreal's beaten Vancouver twice and Toronto knocked off Montreal once. Today, in a perfect Canada Day tilt, Vancouver and Toronto face off at BMO Field. I'll be live-blogging the action from my home in Surrey, and Eric Koreen of the National Post has a good blog from the stadium. Here's the lineups: Toronto FC : Keeper : Greg Sutton Defenders : Marvell Wynne, Marco Velez, Tyrone Marshall and Jim Brennan Midfielders : Rohan Ricketts, Carl Robinson, Maurice Edu and Laurent Robert Strikers : Amado Guevara and Danny Dichio Vancouver Whitecaps : Keeper : Jay Nolly Defenders : Steve Kindel, Omar Jarun and Lyle Martin Midfielders : Jeff Clarke, Martin Nash, Alfredo Valente, Takashi Hirano and Justin Moose Strikers : Nicholas Addlery and Eduardo Sebrango 1st Half : 5: A...