TORONTO -- Bradley Orr said that every kids dream growing up playing soccer in England was to hoist a cup. So he and his Toronto FC teammates say they will have no problem getting up for their Amway Canadian Championship final against rival Montreal Impact, even if the result doesnt count toward Major League Soccer standings. "No, not at all. I love cup games. Theres a prize at the end of it," the Toronto defender said after practice Tuesday. "Back in England it was the FA Cup, now that were here its the Canadian Cup, and its just as important for me as any league game, because theres pride at stake and theres a lot to play for. Its a big game, no doubt about it, and one were looking forward to." Toronto hosts Montreal for the first of two legs Wednesday at BMO Field. The second leg is June 4 at Saputo Stadium in Montreal. The team with the higher aggregate score after the two matches also represents Canada in the 2014-2015 CONCACAF Champions League. "Very very important," captain Steven Caldwell said. "We want to win the Cup. We obviously want to get a good lead if we can from the first leg, its going to be tough, were playing our rivals, a very good side, who are . . . far better than theyve been showing." Toronto is hoping to reclaim the title they relinquished to Montreal last season. TFC won the championship four straight years -- from 2009 through 2012 -- while the Impact won the inaugural competition in 2008 and again last year. "Its Canadian pride here," Toronto-born defender Ashtone Morgan said on the importance of the matches. "I think last year we had a sour taste in our mouth and were looking to bounce back this year, and looking to get the trophy." Dwayne De Rosario is tied for the tournament all-time lead in goals with four, and won back-to-back tournament MVP honours, in 2009 and 10. The 2009 victory was De Rosarios first playing with his hometown team in Toronto, after holding MLS jobs with the San Jose Earthquakes and Houston Dynamo. "For me it was a first championship coming back home, a championship for my city, a championship for TFC, and it was a special moment," De Rosario said. "And hopefully I can create another special moment tomorrow and win back that trophy for this club." Toronto is 7-1-2 all-time against the Impact in Canadian Championship action and are the favourites this season against a Montreal team that is struggling through a horrendous start to the season. TFC has four wins, four losses and one draw in MLS games, while Montreal is 1-6-4 and last in the league. Toronto coach Ryan Nelsen warned though that not only is Montreal a better team than this seasons results indicate, but standings and recent results dont mean much when a championship trophy is on the line. "Very dangerous team, very good team," Nelsen said of the Impact. "Theyre just having a little bit of a bad run at the moment. When you come to this competition, form doesnt really matter, it kind of goes out the window. Ive watched a lot of their games, and they have been unlucky in quite a few of them; theyve had opportunities to win the games, but it hasnt fallen their way. You know the quality they have, theyll get it right." Toronto defeated the Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1 at home and then 5-3 on penalty kicks in Vancouver to reach the final. The Impact battled back to beat second-division side FC Edmonton to earn their spot in the final. It was a confident TFC team that practised Wednesday morning at their training ground north of the city, after salvaging a 2-2 draw at Sporting Kansas City -- the defending league champions -- last Friday. Toronto managed a draw despite losing Caldwell to a red card in the 63rd minute. "Were very pleased with the result, not the performance particularly but at the end of the day were judged on points. . . Well take that in a very tough place to play," Caldwell said. "They were obviously a better team and we couldnt get anything going all night, and then with the sending off, and the penalty (awarded to Kansas City in the 84th minute for a Doneil Henry foul in the box). . . we felt even the 50-50 decisions were going against us. But well take the draw and move on. Excited for (Wednesday) night." Caldwells red card will keep him out of Saturdays MLS game against the visiting Columbus Crew, but hell be available Wednesday to a Toronto lineup that wont differ much from last Friday. Nelsen said midfielders Jonathan Osorio (hamstring) and Jackson Goncalves (concussion) wont play, while Luke Moore (groin) is questionable. Collen Warner, recently acquired in a trade with Montreal, is ineligible to play because hes cup-tied to the Impact. Nelsen was already in good spirits Wednesday but the coach brightened considerably when asked his thoughts on Queens Park Rangers promotion to the Premier League. "Brilliant. Absolutely fantastic," said Nelsen, who ended his playing career with QPR. The squad that Nelsen played two seasons for defeated Derby 1-0 last weekend to earn promotion. Bobby Zamora scored the decisive goal, pouncing on a defensive miscue by Derby in the 90th minute. "Football is a funny game . . . when youre down to 10 men, as long as you stay in the game, you generally get that one chance. It couldnt have been more obvious than that QPR game," Nelsen said. "Bobby took it brilliantly like he has for his whole career. I can imagine there were a few celebrations that night." Nelsen said he is still emotionally tied to QPR, as he is to every team hes played for, saying he still has good friends not only with that club but DC United, Blackburn, and Tottenham. "You get so emotionally involved because you go through so many highs and lows and people dont really understand how low the lows are and how high the highs are, that you become friends and you make friends," he said. "And when you do things for other people and they do things for you, that are unforgettable things that imprint on your life, and your memories, you obviously stay friends."
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Hydro Flask 32 Oz Sale . And while taking highly-touted Simon Fraser offensive lineman Matthias Goossen second overall on Tuesday night will definitely help in an area of need for the club, it was a swap of draft picks that may prove to be his most shrewd move. "When Jesse Briggs started to fall a little bit, you could just see Kyle perk up in his chair.
Hydro Flask Wide Mouth Straw Lid Canada . Sizemore, who turned 29 on Jan. 4, has been limited to six games over the past two seasons because of an injured left knee that twice required surgery. He originally got hurt on Feb. 25, 2012, during a fielding drill in Oaklands first full-squad spring training workout and had surgery that March 21 to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament. ST. LOUIS -- After the Colorado Avalanche shut out the St. Louis Blues on the road, coach Patrick Roy was still throwing down. Roy called Blues captain David Backes "gutless" for wrestling young Nathan MacKinnon to the ice during one of several late dust-ups in a fracas and penalty-filled 4-0 victory on Saturday. Backes had been coming to the aid of defenceman Kevin Shattenkirk, whod been cut by a high stick. "It shows what kind of leader he is, if youre going to go after an 18-year-old," Roy said. "Gutless in my opinion. I mean, Shattenkirk hurt himself with his own stick. "His own stick hit him in the nose and he was bleeding and he made a pretty big act." The Blues didnt quite take the bait, preferring to forget about this one and get ready for a matinee Sunday at Chicago. "He always has something to say after every game," coach Ken Hitchcock said of Roy. "So you guys pick up what he wants. Im worried about my team and the way we played, OK?" Hitchcock did, however, suggest that forward Patrick Bordealeau left his feet on the check that hurt Shattenkirk when his stick was jammed into his face. Hitchcock also mused that he probably should have given rugged Ryan Reaves more ice time after the game had gotten out of hand and added that it was more important to get his team back on track rather than call Gabriel Landeskog "gutless or whatever." Hitchcock referred to the confrontations and likely aftermath as the "debris around the game." Backes said Roy was "entitled to his opinion." "There were some liberties, I feel like," Backes said. "I drop my glove and never throw a punch and end up with whatever many penalty minutes out of the ordeal. "Its frustration, everything boiling over for a lot of guys after they dont respond well." Semyon Varlamov tied the franchise single-season record for goalie wins held by Roy and Paul Stastny had another big game in his hometown in the penalty-filled game. The Avalanche avoided a season series sweep against St. Louis after losing the first three meetings. "Our power play was sharp, penalty kill was rock solid, goaltendding was phenomenal again," Roy said.dddddddddddd "I just felt like we dominated them." Stastny had a goal and two assists and Mackinnon had a goal and an assist for Colorado, which has won six in a row. Roy became the fifth coach in NHL history to win 50 games in his first season. "It was kind of a big game for us," Stastny said. "It got chippy at the end but we stood up to that and will deal with that." Varlamov made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and NHL-leading 40th win, matching Roys total in 2000-01. The Blues fell two points behind Boston, which beat the Flyers 5-2, for first place overall. Theyve been dependent on goalie Ryan Miller with Vladimir Tarasenko out since mid-March with a hand injury and Alexander Steen also sidelined, and scored two or fewer goals for the seventh time in 10 games. There were several scrums and frustration boiled over for the Blues late in the third. Ryan OReilly scored his 27th goal on a power play with a two-man advantage after Backes and Barret Jackman both received 10-minute misconducts. The Blues had 91 minutes in penalties in the third and finished the game with seven players on the bench. St. Louis has been shut out on home ice for the first two times all season in the past three games. Stastny, who grew up in St. Louis, has 30 points in 24 career games against the Blues. He has two goals and six assists in a seven-game point streak. The first five games in Colorados win streak were decided by one goal, two in overtime and two by shootouts. The first three goals against St. Louis came on rebounds. Stastny scored his 22nd goal on a power play at 1:14 of the second and MacKinnon had a wide open net at 6:20, a little more than a minute after Hitchcock called timeout. Nick Holden made it 3-0 at 10:25 after a lengthy review because he kicked the puck, but replays indicated the Blues Steve Otts stick touched the puck before it crossed the goal line. Notes: Roy is the first coach to win 50 games in his debut season since San Joses Todd McLellan won 53 games in 2008-09. ... Steen (lower body) did not dress for the second straight game and Hitchcock said hes also out Sunday.
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