Sporting Madness

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 ...

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...

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 Vancouver Whitecaps begin their new season today at Swangard Stadium, and I'll be live-blogging the game from the press box for this site, The 24th Minute and Epic Footy . They'll be taking on the NSC Minnesota Stars [ Simon Fudge , WhitecapsFC.com ]. Game time is at 7 p.m. Eastern/4 p.m. Pacific, and live video can be found via the Whitecaps' home page. It should be an interesting clash; Vancouver finished with a mediocre 11-10-9 record last season, but got hot in the playoffs and went all the way to the USL championship before losing to Montreal. The Minnesota Stars are a new team, but they have nine players from the former Minnesota Thunder, who were 7-13-10 last year and missed the playoffs. They'll be eager to get off to a hot start. I've already written a season preview focused on the Whitecaps' league and personnel changes for Dave Clark over at Sounder At Heart , and I wrote one focused on their potential Voyageurs' Cup ambitions over at...

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!

Tonight should be an interesting one. The newly-signed Julian De Guzman makes his debut for Toronto FC against David Beckham and the L.A. Galaxy. It will be a match of two of the league's better teams; Toronto's currently fourth in the Eastern Conference with 34 points from a 9-9-7 record while L.A.'s second in the Western Conference with a 9-5-11 record and 38 points. The game kicks off at 10:30 p.m. Eastern (7:30 p.m. Pacific) and can be seen in Canada on Rogers Sportsnet (not sure of the U.S. TV coverage). Join me here then for the live blog! (If you're looking for the CFL live blog of the Lions - Argos game, it's one post above). L.A. Galaxy - Toronto FC

There are several key sporting events going on tonight, including the return of Buck Pierce in the B.C. Lions' match against the Toronto Argonauts and the clash of Julian De Guzman and David Beckham in the Toronto FC - L.A. Galaxy MLS contest. Which to follow? Well, it's time to make this blog live up to its name of Sporting Madness: I will be live-blogging both games simultaneously. We'll see how it works out, but hopefully, with enough caffeine, I'll be able to keep up with both of them. Both will be posted here in separate posts, so you can follow them both that way; the CFL blog will also be available through Out of Left Field and the MLS one will be available through The 24th Minute and Epic Footy . The CFL game kicks off at 10 p.m. Eastern (7 p.m. Pacific), and the MLS match starts at 10:30 p.m. Eastern (7:30 Pacific). Stop on by for one or both!

I'll be providing coverage of the Toronto FC - D.C. United match at 4 p.m. Eastern. It should be a good one, with plenty of playoff implications; D.C. are in fourth place in the East with 28 points from a 6-4-10 record, while Toronto are fifth with 27 points from a 7-7-6 record. Come join in the fun then! Toronto FC - D.C. United

It should be an action-packed evening in North American soccer. I'll be covering the Toronto FC - Columbus Crew game at 7:30 Eastern (4:30 Pacific) and the Vancouver Whitecaps - Puerto Rico Islanders game at 10:00 Eastern (7:00 Pacific), but there's also plenty of other MLS action, including New England at Houston at 8:30 ET, the L.A. Galaxy at Kansas City at 9:00, the New York Red Bulls at Colorado at 9:30 and D.C United at San Jose at 10:30; some of the other guys at Epic Footy will be reporting in on those games as well. Come join us for what should be a great evening of soccer! Soccer Saturday live blog

I'll be live-blogging tonight's Toronto FC - Real Salt Lake match tonight at 9:30 p.m. Eastern. It should be a good one; TFC are in second place in the Eastern Conference with a 6-5-4 record and 22 points, one behind D.C. United. Toronto also has a game in hand, and D.C. doesn't have another MLS game until July 4, so a TFC win tonight would vault them into first in the East for a while. Real Salt Lake have cooled down a bit from their strong start to the season. They sit fifth in the West with a 4-6-4 record and 16 points, so they'll be eager to get full points from this one as well. Come join the live blog at 9:30 tonight! Toronto FC - Real Salt Lake

Toronto FC takes on the New York Red Bulls tonight at 7:30 at BMO Field. It should be a good game, as TFC look to translate their recent Voyageurs Cup success into MLS play. I'll be live-blogging the match here and at The 24th Minute ; come stop by then! Also,if you're looking for a soccer fix in the meantime, I have some thoughts on the U.S. - Spain Confederations Cup match from earlier today over at The Phoenix Pub , Adam has a good piece for tonight's Last Call at Avoiding The Drop , Jason Davis of Match Fit USA has reversed his stance on Bob Bradley and Andy Hutchins , my colleague at The Rookies , has a nice take over at The Big Lead . Hope to see you for the live blog! Toronto FC - New York Red Bulls

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

It's a big night for Toronto FC as they take on the New York Red Bulls in the infamous date-altered match . TFC could really use some points to break out of the Eastern Conference logjam, while the Red Bulls sit at the bottom of the Eastern table and will be eager to try and gain ground on the sides in front of them. Newly-acquired defender [ Paul Attfield , The Globe and Mail ] Nick Garcia may make his TFC debut tonight as well. Join me in the live blog below for full coverage! Toronto FC - NY Red Bulls

It was a big day for Toronto FC, as general manager Mo Johnston released veteran goalkeeper Greg Sutton and traded a third-round draft pick to the San Jose Earthquakes for defender Nick Garcia and the rights to Canadian international striker Ali Gerba . I have some analysis on the move and a few links over at Out of Left Field .

After embarrassing 3-0 and 2-0 losses to the Houston Dynamo and Vancouver Whitecaps in the past week, Toronto F.C. will be looking to rebound at home today against the L.A. Galaxy. They should have a good shot at it; they're still third in the Eastern Conference with 16 points, while the Galaxy are fifth in the Western Conference with 12 points and are missing their biggest stars ( David Beckham and Landon Donovan ) thanks to international duty. One advantage of Canada's failure to make it this far in World Cup qualifying is that TFC should have a reasonably intact lineup, as many of their international players are Canadians. They will be missing two regulars, Amado Guevara and Marvell Wynne , but those players are less essential to the TFC lineup than their missing counterparts from the Galaxy. Moreover, L.A. haven't won an away game in 12 months, a favourable omen for the Reds. Join me in the live blog below to find out if that streak will continue! Toronto FC - L.A. Ga...

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

Tonight's going to be very important for both Toronto FC and the Vancouver Whitecaps. First, at 8:30, Toronto take on the Houston Dynamo at Robertson Park. Both teams will be eager to pick up full points, as they both sit in third place in their respective conferences. TFC have a 4-3-4 record and 16 points, five behind the Eastern Conference-leading Chicago Fire, while Houston are 4-2-3 and have 15 points, nine behind Western Conference leaders Chivas USA. The big story in this one is the return of former Dynamo players Dwayne De Rosario and Adrian Serioux . Both were key parts of Houston's 2006 MLS Cup title campaign. Serioux was selected by Toronto FC in the MLS expansion draft, but dealt to FC Dallas for Ronnie O'Brien , while De Rosario stayed in Houston until this season. They were expensive acquisitions for TFC, with Serioux traded for a first-round pick and allocation money and De Rosario picked up for Julius James and allocation money, but both have come through s...