PC Games » inal games, and there are questions about general manage

The points that got away.To say Saturday was a frustrating night for Ryan Nelsen and Toronto FC would be an understatement. Toronto FC lose 2-1 to 10-man Sporting Kansas City on a night it was equally shocking more goals werent scored and more players werent sent off.The intensity of the match was superior to most across Major League Soccer and both teams proved worthy being considered among the best in the league. Unfortunately the referee, Ted Unkel, wasnt up for it and is nowhere the best MLS has to offer. It was Unkels eighth game as head referee and serves as clear indicator he isnt yet ready for a game as such. The match was played at a pace and intensity beyond his experience and ability. Missed calls are one thing; a lack of consistency in calls is another. It played out as an awful combination for onlookers in a match that should be talked about for all the right sporting reasons rather than officiating futility.Toronto FC heads on a four-game road trip as undeserved losers. Saturday was a measuring bar kind of match for Toronto, seeing where they stand against the 2013 MLS Cup Champions and top team in the Eastern Conference. Despite the loss, one has to feel good about the state of Toronto FC. They went shot for shot, blow for blow with Sporting Kansas City, no small feat for a team thats experienced an incredible amount of change within the squad over the last six months. Team progress is plain to see. There is a lot to like about this team and the performance. Just not the result.Here are my five thoughts after the 2-1 loss:1) Say Unkel – There is nothing worse in football than a result of a good game being determined by the shortcomings of a referee. Queue Unkel. Ted Unkel. The crowd at BMO left shaken and stirred. Sporting Kansas City head coach Peter Vermes suggestion Unkel did a good job is laughable. Its obvious who came away with the positive result. Unkel was awful. Absolutely terrible.The TSN Turning Point came in the 23rd minute. Michael Bradley played a wonderful through ball finding Gilberto behind the back-line. Gilberto took a touch before Aurelien Collin, the last man back, clumsily tackled him from behind, taking down the player. No card from Unkel, not even a free-kick. "An under-12 ref couldve got that one," said Toronto FC Head Coach Ryan Nelsen post-match of the non-call. And hes spot on. Gilberto was in alone. Collin didnt make contact with the ball. As plain a foul as there is to see. It should have been a foul and sending off. Collin and Sporting Kansas City remained in the game because of the refs cowardice to make the proper call. Chasing the game for upwards of 65 minutes would have put Kansas City in a negative context. The advantage was taken away from TFC because of the referees incompetence.After failing in that moment, Unkel lost control of the match. His consistency in decisions went out the window. Giving advantage one moment and taking it away the next, then brandishing two questionable yellows to Jackson and Justin Morrow sent the Toronto FC players, coaching staff, and home crowd into a state of complete frustration. The ref became tentative, and failed to get into proper positions to make subsequent calls. It became a mess.Skip to the 69th minute, this time Igor Juliao as last man is beaten by Dominic Oduro down the right flank on the counter. No Sporting Kansas City player could stick with Oduro all night. Again, Oduro past the backline and in all alone before Juliao reaches out, arm extended and pulls the TFC winger down by the jersey. Last man back and takes away a scoring opportunity – automatic red, right? Nope. A yellow issued to Juliao. Another missed sending off. The suggestion the pull-back/foul doesnt stop a clear scoring chance on the play is a faulty one. Oduro was a step behind the last man and multiple steps past the entire back-line. Yes, the ball was wide, but Oduro – the fastest player on the field – one-on-one versus a goalkeeper is as clear-cut a scoring chance as youll see in my books. If thats not a scoring chance, Im not sure what is. The goalkeeper was back on his line, and there was no way hed beat Oduro to the ball. And the suggestion the players recovery runs would have caught the speedy Oduro is a pipe dream. If Unkel wasnt in a position to see the back-line and how far Oduro was past it, the lineman, who was trying to keep up with the play, should have helped with the decision. Instead, no red was shown and Kansas City let off the hook. Not good enough from a referee at this level.The Sporting Kansas City sending off eventually came with Matt Besler falling victim of the dreaded make up call. Beslers second bookable offence coming in the 75th minute may have been a foul, but hardly a yellow. Oduro earned that card for Besler, as much as Collin and Juliao had earned prior sending offs to no avail. Instead of finding the winner a man up with 15 minutes to go, Toronto FC conceded. Salt in the wound. The wound was opened much earlier, and Unkels attempt to heal was futile. One has to wonder how the game would have played out with Toronto FC a man up for over an hour. Or what may have happened if Juliao was also sent off, as he should have been. Unkel took that away. A porous refereeing display.2) Jackson Three (misses) – The Brazilian may have scored in the 16th minute, a calm finish on a wonderful through-ball by Oduro, but a lack of composure and touch in front of goal in the second half was the co-culprit in the loss. Jackson missed three absolute sitters over the second 45. Gilberto twice played provider, putting it on the platter for the TFC winger. Gilberto found Jackson on the overlap, only for the Brazilian to put the ball on his right foot before passing it into the arms of a diving Andy Gruenebaum. The second service, a sublime ball by Gilberto to Jackson on the far post with the latter getting the finish all-wrong. The third miss was an Oduro ball played through the six-yard box. How it does not simply hit Jackson and go in is beyond me. Instead, a swing and scuff and the ball miraculously stays out of the net. Three missed chances by Jackson, to go along with TFC hitting the post twice in the first half, plus Doneil Henry swinging and almost missing while wide open on the penalty spot in the dying minutes stand out as missed opportunities. The chances were manufactured. The finish was simply not there this night. Hence even more frustration.3) Outstanding Oduro – The outside right midfielder was unquestionably Toronto FCs Man of the Match. Sporting Kansas City had no answer to Oduros speed down the right flank. Seth Sinovic looked like a pylon all night. The entire Kansas City back four were left in his dust, and it wasnt just his speed, but Oduros touch on the ball, service, and decision-making all of the highest quality. The attack-mindedness of TFCs wing players makes Toronto a constant threat on the counter. For what Oduro and Jackson give up defensively is more than made up in what they can do going forward. The preference to attack puts more pressure on TFCs fullbacks, as well as the centre-midfield players. Fortunately, these are positions of strength and the shape of Torontos back six remains strong with intensity and commitment to match.4) Fantastic Feilhaber – Kansas Citys Benny Feilhaber and his standout second half performance lead his team to victory. The number 10 was everywhere on the night and did well to adapt against a strong Toronto FC central midfield. Feilhaber dropped deeper as the night went on, finding gaps in and around Collen Warner. His vision and commitment to the move started and led to Kansas Citys first goal. His intelligence and freedom to roam in Peter Vermes system gives the team yet another standout player. Warner struggled to limit his creativity – an ultimate compliment to Feilhaber considering the outstanding form Warner has shown over the last three weeks.5) More than half way there – Toronto FCs MLS season is beyond the midway point and the team is only three points off their total for all of last season. 26 points through 18 games is a solid return considering a stop-and-start schedule, various player movements, and an unfamiliar squad in need of games to find consistency. If one is not overwhelming positive about the product put forth, one is simply being negative for the sake of it. The team has belief and difference-makers throughout the squad. General Manager Tim Bezbatchenko joined the pre-match show on TSN 1050 and said hes happy with his team and will continue to keep his options open to improve the squad before the transfer window closes August 6th. Bezbatchenko has already found drastic in-season improvements to the team that started the season. The team has depth and competition for spots for the first time in the clubs history. The team is playoff quality and third place in the standings provides further evidence to the quality on the field. A rematch between Toronto FC and Sporting Kansas City come playoff time would be something to see.Next up for Toronto FC is a trip to second place DC United (10-5-4) Wednesday night on TSN 1050 Radio. Nike Dunk Shoes For Sale . Whenever United loses, its crisis. When other top teams slip up, its the quirky nature of the Premier League. The predictable reaction speaks to the sky-high expectations for a team proven perennial contender and 13 times Premier League champion. Nike Dunk Cheap China . Johnny Manziel, college footballs most entertaining player with the reputation for pulling off magical plays, was selected with the No. http://www.nikedunkcheap.com/. Her return engagement begins tonight as TSN presents Day 1 coverage of the 2015 event from Melbourne. Watch Eugenie Bouchards opening round match at the Australian Open live tonight on TSN5 at 3am et/Midnight pt. Nike Dunk Cheap Wholesale . Compared to what hes gone through in recent weeks, that seemed like a breeze. Speaking to The Associated Press on Friday at an NBA Cares event, Silver said hes thrilled that the leagues attention can be on the championship series between the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs -- and not, as it was for so much of the post-season, on the off-the-court matters involving the banishment of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling and now the looming sale of that franchise. Nike Dunks For Sale Online . Andrews, Scotland - Oliver Wilson fired a final- round, 2-under 70 on Sunday and he held on to win the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship by one shot.LAKE FOREST, Ill. - Multiple reports say the Chicago Bears are benching quarterback Jay Cutler and going with Jimmy Clausen.ESPN first reported Wednesday that the Bears were switching quarterbacks, with Clausen getting the nod over Cutler for Sundays game against the Detroit Lions. The Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times, citing sources, also reported the switch.The Bears would not confirm the move.Coach Marc Trestman said earlier Wednesday he was not getting the most out of Cutler, but he did not mention benching the quarterback. He did not reveal the switch when asked about Monday Night Football analyst Jon Gruden calling for Clausen to relieve Cutler during Chicagos loss to New Orleans.Jon certainly has a right to his opinion, said Trestman, who for weeks defended Cutlers spot as the starter. And each and every week we go through our evaluations all the way around and as I said, Jons got a right to his opinion.Cutler is coming off what might have been his worst game of the season on Monday, completing 17 of 31 passes for 194 yards. He threw three interceptions and was sacked a season-high seven times in the 31-15 loss.He leads the NFL with 18 interceptions and 24 turnovers, certainly not what the Bears envisioned when they signed him to a seven-year contract after last season — or when they hired Trestman two years ago.The frustration has been mounting. Last week, offensive co-ordinator Aaron Kromer admitted he was a source behind a recent NFL Network report criticizing Cutler.Trestman arrived in Chicago with a reputation for getting the most out of quarterbacks. But it hasnt happened with Cutlerr this season.ddddddddddddI think thats evident I havent, up to this point, said Trestman, when asked if hes gotten the most of Cutler. Am I working at it? Yes. But weve seen moments, but we havent done it on a consistent basis. I cant hide from that. I havent been able and we havent been able to do the thing that we want to get done. Were working toward that. But the answer to that is obvious.Its not just Cutler who has struggled. There is a long list of reasons why the Bears are 5-9 and will miss the playoffs for the seventh time in eight years.Big changes could be coming after the season.Trestman might be coaching his final games, and there are questions about general manager Phil Emery. After all, he hired Trestman over Bruce Arians two years ago and put together a team that took a big step back after going 8-8 last season.Kromer and defensive co-ordinator Mel Tucker also could be gone.The defence has ranked among the leagues worst the past two seasons, but the biggest issue is the regression of the offence. The Bears have gone from second to 19th in scoring and have failed to hit the 30-point mark this year.But its not all about Jay. Its about our entire offence, working together to get it done, Trestman said.Clausen, the former Notre Dame star, has appeared in three games this season and attempted nine passes. He was 1-9 in 10 starts as a rookie with Carolina in 2010 and threw for 1,558 yards that year. Carolina then drafted Cam Newton.The Bears signed Clausen in June, and he beat out Jordan Palmer for the backup job.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '