Toronto FC still looking for goal number 1.

Toronto FC lost on Saturday 4-0 and are still looking for their first franchise goal. But i have to say, they’re certainly not looking for their franchise goalie.

Greg Sutton is good.

Which is why I’m surprised that someone visited this blog by googling “toronto fc goalie sutton terrible.”

This is a message for that person. Sutton isn’t terrible at all.
For a goal to be scored in soccer a whole lot of good things have to happen for the side who’s scoring, and a couple of things have to unravel for the team that’s getting scored upon.

For Toronto, these couple of bad things have been the incohesive play of the team – and not necessarily the bad play of its keeper, Greg Sutton.

The last two goals on Saturday against Sutton were a) penalty shot and b) a defensive breakdown.

The Toronto coached said something to the effect that it was the backline that was responsible.

I’m going one further and putting blame on the midfielders -  Welsh, Mulrooney, and Nagamura.
What about the first two goals? Those were both scored by Tyler Twellman of the Revolution – and it begs the question: why wasn’t he more closely man marked?

Going into the game the team knew that Twellman was a goalscoring threat, and yet he made his way on the scoresheet twice – and early.

That’s not a goaltending problem – that’s a defence problem.

Yes – the goalie is the last line of defence, but Sutton can’t take the blame for 9 others on the field (yes 9 – left-back Jim Brennan escapes blame here – he was the best player on the field for the FC Saturday night.)

When it comes to Sutton, so far so good.  Now let’s get the rest of the team in order.

Shorter you are – the longer the fuse.

Here’s some scientific proof the “Napoleon Complex” is bullshit.
A study by the University of Central Lancashire has determined that taller men were more likely than shorter men to lose their temper.

“The results were consistent with the view that Small Man Syndrome is a myth.” – Dr Mike Eslea. ““When people see a short man being aggressive, they are likely to think it is due to his size simply because that attribute is obvious and grabs their attention.”

In the BBC article, Dr Mike Eslea said the study suggested it made no more sense to say diminutive footballer Dennis Wise was aggressive on the pitch because he was small, than it was to say Robbie Savage was likewise because he was blond.

You can read the BBC article here.

 

Opening Day

The Jays won 9 or 10 to one tonight against the K.C. Royals. I left in the 8th inning.

 Here are some opening day stats.

 Number of times people successfully started the wave*: 4 times

*a success counts when the wave goes around once.

Record number of times the wave went around in a single wave session: 5. Though i could have gotten caught up in the emotion of the wave and lost count.

 Number of times the guy in front of us said “WOOOOOO” when he saw the solitary pigeon flying around Skydome: 3

Number of times the guy wearing the Islanders jersey got booooed by the 500 Level: 3

Number of times said booooing was shown on the jumbotron (or “JaysVision”: 1

 Number of times the Jumbotron showed the guys with the Reed Johnson goatees: 1

Number of times the Jumbotron showed Jays’ president Paul Godfrey: too often to count

Number of times Paul Godfrey was on the Jumbotron with a good message: when he spoke about conserving energy at home using those light saving energy bulbs that i can’t remember what they’re called right now.

Worst giveaway: Something random by Alarmforce

Best catch: My brother caught a “home run” ball in batting practice.

Worst catch: Royals catcher John Buck drops a gimme at home plate.

Number of times the opponent’s home run was thrown back on the field: 1

Number of fans screaming “throw it back” after the opponent’s home run: 53,679

Today’s Chili race was won by: The yellow chili who ran for the 500 level.

The opening day car giveaway was won by: the younger woman wh0 the Jays’ host said was from “T-dot” and not the older lady from “St. Catherines.”

The national anthems were sung by: The trews

Busking experiment

The Washington Post ran a social experiment and ran a story about busking.

They had a professional violinst named Joshua Bell play for Washington DC commuters to see if people would stop and pay attention.

What do you think happened? You can read it here.

The idea is good – but this article is a classic case of classical music snobbery. Check out this line where the author talks about how the violinist was ignored by people:  “(The violinist) is the one who is real. (The commuters) are the ghosts.”

Other than those sorts of things, it’s an interesting social experiment.

NYI tied with Devils… And it’s over

First I have to say it’s been a bit of a disappointing season for the Leafs.

Any time you don’t make the playoffs is a disappointing season.

Second, while it looks looked like the Islanders are were going to beat the Devils in a shootout!!!  and made it into the 8th and final place in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, i have to say – it’s crazy but the  Leafs still have a chance they’ve earned it.

Last night Don Cherry said that the Devils owed it to “fairness” to play Brodeur today.

I don’t agree with that. I’m a Leaf fan and I can clearly see that the Leafs’ chance to make the playoffs wasn’t last night against the Canadiens. It was last Thursday against the Islanders.

That’s the game that mattered. That’s the game that the Leafs could have taken control of their own destiny. The Leafs lost. That’s it.

The Islanders, on the other hand, won all of their remaining games to push themselves past Montreal and Toronto.

They earned it.

Sigh. 

I still wish we had Ryan Smyth.

Toronto FC: the good

Toronto FC lost their first official MLS match last night 2-0 against Chivas USA.

The team doesn’t look bad.

They started the game with an amazing energy. Passes were on target, they had a number of chances.

Captain Jim Brennan looked good in the left-back position. He sent a number of nice balls up to the forwards, Eskandarian and Buddle. It will be good once Mo Johnston is able to put him back in the midfield.

The Toronto defence looked shaky. Marco Reda left with an injury and was replaced by Adam Braz. Andrew Boyens (playing right-back) moved a couple of balls out of danger. Brennan was the best they had back there.

Toronto’s goaltending should be fine all season. Greg Sutton had a number of key saves, and controlled through balls as they came into his area.

Canizalez filled in for an injured Ronnie O’Brien and was effective in moving the ball.

Mulrooney and Welsh looked okay. Not outstanding by any stretch of the imagination.

The jury is still out for Nagamura. He’s not afraid to carry the ball – but we’ll see how he works out.

Conor Casey was ineffective. While Dobson lauded Casey’s ability to hold-up the ball, all he did was a back heel and a wall pass that both went and ended up on Chivas’ player’s feet. He’s a large forward so maybe he’ll be better once Toronto gets some second half corner kicks (which there weren’t too many of last night).

In all, it wasn’t the greatest debut for an expansion franchise – they didn’t win. Then again, Toronto FC didn’t look  like they’re going to have a terrible season either.

The best players on the pitch last night for the FC were Brennan and Sutton.

Players that look to have a great upside in coming games are Carl Robinson and Eskandarian. It was great to see (well it looked like) Robinson was really getting into the game and showing some emotion. 

It’s Leaf time.

The Leafs’ season has come down to three days and two games.

There’s not much to say other than win. And win again.

Go leafs go.

…Or Diehard

A blog called Brand Autopsy asks the question if Sears went out of business tomorrow, would any of us care?

Is it surprising that most people wouldn’t.

Some would miss the Craftsman (sic?) tools.

The favourite comment was “i WOULDMISS THE dIEHARD bATTERIES.”

That’s amazing. A battery.

Opening day.

The Jays kick off their 2007 season today in Detroit.

I love April baseball.

It’s not just about the possibility of a winning season. It’s about the end of winter. Winter is over. Done. Gone.

Yes, for some strange reason it could snow again, but winter is gone.

That makes me happy.

I also like mid-day april baseball. those weird 12:35 or 12:37 pm start times.

My favourite Jays game of all time was in April 1985 when my dad took me. I had a day off school, we sat really close, I got a ball during batting practice that, at the end of the game, Ernie Whitt autographed.

Good times.

I’m looking forward to next monday when Toronto’s home opener against the KC Royals. I’ve got my ticket.