Sports

Toronto FC needs two wins and likely help from elsewhere to make MLS playoffs

Published

1 hour ago

October 1, 2024

TORONTO – With just two regular-season games remaining, Toronto FC sits on the MLS playoff bubble with no room for error. Even two wins may not be enough to return to the post-season for the first time since 2020.

“It’s doable,” said English midfielder Matty Longstaff. “We definitely have a good chance. We’ve just got to concentrate on (Wednesday) and make sure we win.”

Toronto (11-17-4, 37 points) hosts the playoff-bound New York Red Bulls (10-7-14, 44 points) on Wednesday before entertaining league-leading Inter Miami on Saturday (19-4-8, 65 points).

TFC currently sits eighth in the Eastern Conference, which offers a door into the post-season.

The eighth- and ninth-place teams meet in a playoff wild-card game, with the winner moving on to face the first seed — likely Miami — in the best-of-three first round.

Toronto has teams nipping at its heels, however.

Tied on points with Philadelphia and CF Montreal (both 9-12-10), Toronto is ahead in the standings due to more wins (the first tiebreaker). Atlanta and D.C. United are a further three points behind.

All four chasing teams have a game in hand on Toronto.

Coach John Herdman prefers to see the TFC glass half-full while focusing on the controllables.

“Two great opportunities at home,” he said after training Tuesday. “That’s what we’ve been saying to the players. Put (out) everything here. Don’t leak any energy on anything else other than what you (can) influence.”

“Then it’s about the intensity and effort we’re willing to show up with,” he added. “I keep saying the teams we’re playing against, these matches mean more to us than it does them.”

Toronto’s last trip to the post-season was a short one, upset 1-0 by expansion Nashville at the first hurdle.

TFC’s regular-season record since is a dismal 30-73-31. But 11 of those wins have come this season under Herdman, who took over the team last October.

Whatever happens this week, it’s a step forward for a club that went 4-20-10 in finishing last in the East in 2023.

While Toronto can’t be eliminated from playoff contention Wednesday, it will be in a world of trouble if it loses. Even if it then beats Miami, it would have to hope that Philadelphia and Montreal lose two of their three remaining games.

Miami can claim the Supporters’ Shield, which goes to the team with the best regular-season record, by winning at Columbus on Wednesday. Toronto will no doubt be rooting for a mid-week Miami victory in the hope that coach Tata Martino, with first place already secured, might leave Lionel Messi and other stars behind for the trip to Toronto.

TFC will then have to watch the season play out from the sidelines. By luck of the draw, it is the lone side to have a bye Decision Day, the regular-season finale on Oct. 19.

A season that kicked off with great promise — TFC had a 3-1-1 start and did not concede until the fourth game of the season — has turned into a streaky, unpredictable campaign.

Unable to deliver consistently in recent weeks, Toronto has gone 4-4-1 in league play since emerging from a nine-game, seven-week winless run (0-7-2). TFC is winless in its last three league outings (0-2-1), outscored 5-1.

Offence has been a major issue, with Toronto averaging a meagre 1.22 goals a game. TFC ranks 23rd in goals, 25th in shots, 23rd in shots on target and 27th in corner kicks.

With eight goals apiece, Federico Bernardeschi and Prince Owusu are tied for the team lead. Lorenzo Insigne is next with four goals, a poor return for the league’s second-highest salary at US$15.4 million.

Bernardeschi missed a penalty in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Chicago and has not scored in his last 16 games in all competitions dating back to late June. The Italian had 13 goal contributions (eight goals, five assists) in his previous nine league appearances.

Insigne has three goals in his last 18 appearances dating back to mid-June and has been blanked in his last five outings. While he has suffered through a list of health issues — he is questionable Wednesday with a calf injury — the 33-year-old Italian has seemed out of sorts for much of the season.

On Saturday, after coming on in the 88th minute, he inexplicably passed on taking a close-range shot with only the Chicago goalkeeper to beat. Instead, he sent a pass into traffic that snuffed out the threat. Then, in stoppage time with the degree of difficulty ratcheted up, he hammered a spectacular long-distance free kick off the goalpost.

Another chapter in the conundrum that is Insigne. And with the former Napoli star misfiring, opponents have been able to shut down Bernardeschi.

Coming off a 5-1 loss to rival New York City FC, the Red Bulls are winless in six (0-3-3) and have just one win in their last 11 (1-3-7) since a 3-0 victory over Toronto on June 22. Despite the lopsided NYCFC defeat, other results meant the Red Bulls clinched a playoff berth, becoming the first club in league history to make the post-season in 15 straight seasons.

The New Yorkers are unbeaten in their last 10 meetings with Toronto (7-0-3) — not counting a July shootout loss in Leagues Cup play that followed a scoreless draw in regulation.

TFC has failed to score in the last five meetings and has not beaten the Red Bulls since July 2019, a 3-1 decision at BMO Field.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 1, 2024

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Sports

Canadiens winger Patrik Laine expected out 2-3 months with knee sprain

Published

23 mins ago

October 1, 2024

Anne Joseph

Montreal Canadiens forward Patrik Laine is expected to miss two to three months with a sprained left knee that won’t require surgery.

The Canadiens announced the injury update Tuesday after Laine exited early in Saturday’s 2-1 pre-season loss to Toronto following a knee-on-knee collision with Maple Leafs forward Cédric Paré.

While Laine avoided the worst, the Canadiens announced earlier Tuesday that rookie defenceman David Reinbacher is out five to six months after undergoing surgery on his left knee.

Laine crumpled to the ice moments after Reinbacher — the No. 5 pick at last year’s draft — fell awkwardly from a hit by Toronto’s Marshall Rifai.

Laine joined the Canadiens via trade from the Columbus Blue Jackets on Aug. 19, generating excitement for a fan base deprived of playoff hockey the past three seasons.

Montreal traded defenceman Jordan Harris but also acquired a second-round draft pick in 2026 while taking on Laine’s US$8.7-million salary cap hit for two seasons.

The 26-year-old sharpshooter from Finland scored a career-high 44 goals as a sophomore with the Winnipeg Jets in 2017-18 and was excited for a fresh start in Montreal after a challenging year with the Blue Jackets.

Laine had six goals and three assists in 18 games before he broke his clavicle on Dec. 14. He also sought help from the NHL’s player assistance program in January for his mental health and was cleared in July.

Reinbacher was likely to start the season with the Laval Rocket, Montreal’s American Hockey League affiliate.

The 19-year-old from Austria spent the last two seasons with Switzerland’s Kloten HC.

He also registered two goals and three assists in 11 games with Laval late last season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 1, 2024.

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Sports

New-look Grand Slam of Curling series kicks off under new ownership

Published

7 hours ago

October 1, 2024

Anne Joseph

CHARLOTTETOWN – Canada’s Reid Carruthers opened the Grand Slam of Curling season with a 7-5 loss to Sweden’s Niklas Edin at the HearingLife Tour Challenge.

Carruthers, from Winnipeg, was the lone Canadian skip in action during the opening draw at Bell Aliant Centre. He missed an angle-raise in the eighth end for the win and was denied an extra end when a measure confirmed an Edin single.

It’s the first Grand Slam event since The Curling Group purchased the five-event series from Sportsnet last spring.

One noticeable change is the addition of live online streaming on all sheets in the Tier-1 competition. Organizers also plan to boost the in-venue experience this season.

Sportsnet remains the domestic rights holder with televised coverage slated to begin Thursday and continue through Sunday’s finals.

In other early action on a four-draw day, Bruce Mouat topped fellow Scot Cameron Bryce 6-2, Sweden’s Anna Hasselborg dropped an 8-5 decision to Japan’s Satsuki Fujisawa and Italy’s Joel Retornaz beat American Korey Dropkin 6-3.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 1, 2024.

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WNBA Toronto president Teresa Resch set to speak at Elevate tech conference

Published

7 hours ago

October 1, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Teresa Resch likes to put her time and energy into organizations that go beyond the surface level.

Resch was officially named the president of Toronto’s new WNBA expansion team in May and will be one of the keynote speakers this week at Elevate, a Canadian tech conference that emphasizes using innovation to better the world.

The parallels she saw between WNBA Toronto and Elevate are what led her to agreeing to speak at the conference on Thursday.

“Ultimately, this team, WNBA Toronto, yes, it’s a basketball team, but we are about way more than basketball, and I think in the same way that’s Elevate,” she said last week. “So yes, it’s a technology conference, but it’s about way more than that.

“You look at all the different speakers, it’s really a gathering of people who are passionate, who are innovative, who are really game changers. You want to surround yourself with people like that.”

Resch and Jayna Hefford, the senior vice president of hockey operations for the PWHL, will be speaking at Toronto’s Meridian Hall in a panel moderated by TSN’s Kayla Grey on Thursday afternoon.

They will be discussing the rapid rise of women’s professional sports over the past three years.

“More than anything, there’s so much excitement in this marketplace for basketball,” Resch said in a video call from her office. “I can’t wait to share that with some of these people that are maybe new to the game, who are just starting to pay attention and be able to share our story in a more robust way.

“I’m really looking forward to speaking to this audience.”

Resch is also looking forward to building her front office.

Whitney Bell was named WNBA Toronto’s chief marketing officer and Lisa Ferkul the team’s chief revenue officer last Wednesday. Resch said that she would begin her general manager search in earnest after the WNBA’s current post-season ends no later than Oct. 20.

“I think the biggest thing that we get to do is we get to name this team. We get to build a brand identity,” said Resch, noting that WNBA Toronto did a team name campaign over August. “That was incredible. We got all kinds of inspiration and submissions from across Canada and really the world.

“There’s 98 different countries that interacted with the site, which is pretty incredible (…) now we are going through the process of design.”

WNBA Toronto has a podcast called “Bringing Home the W,” which gives behind-the-scenes details on its name selection process.

Coca-Cola Coliseum, the arena that will be home to WNBA Toronto and the PWHL’s Toronto Sceptres, will also undergo back-of-house renovations to better support those teams before the basketball team has its inaugural season in 2026.

Resch was the Toronto Raptors’ vice president of basketball operations and player development before leaving the Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment property to become the first hire for the new WNBA franchise.

Because Elevate is usually at the same time as Raptors’ training camp, Resch often missed most of the tech conference. She was able to catch a couple of presentations over the years, however, including tennis superstar Venus Williams and former United States First Lady Michelle Obama.

“It was right when (Obama’s) book had come out,” said Resch, referring to “The Light We Carry.” “That was really great to hear her.

“I think I took a page of notes that I will sometimes reference back to.”

Raptors team president Masai Ujiri wished Resch luck at the NBA team’s media day on Monday and announced Tyla Flexman as her replacement.

“A tough loss with Teresa, but she’s gone on to do bigger and better, and Tyla has come on to do bigger and better with us,” said Ujiri. “I think Teresa did an incredible job, and Tyla will even take it to another level.

“I am so excited, so excited for my girl, Teresa, with her new job and where she is, I think she will do great, and it’s a blessing for us to have that team in Toronto.”

Flexman was formerly a member of Canada’s national women’s field hockey team.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 1, 2024.

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