Sam in Kenya..

Still not much going on.. I stumbled across this article on the Winston Salem Journal. It features our very own Sam Cronin! He spent 18 days in Kenya working at two orphanages.

Sam Cronin and his girlfriend, Samantha Holt, had an African experience they're unlikely to forget.

They spent 18 days in Kenya earlier this month, working at two orphanages through the Amani Children's Foundation. They said that the time was rewarding, even though some of their things were stolen near the end of their stay and they had stomach problems from some of the food.

"It was great to see how another culture lives and what those kids are up against," said Cronin, who played soccer at Mount Tabor High School and Wake Forest, and recently completed his rookie season with Toronto FC of Major League Soccer. "It gives you some perspective that you don't have because you take for granted how we were raised and how lucky we have it."

The two returned last week in time for Christmas, but they talk as if they already have received plenty of gifts.

MERRY X-MAS!!!

I don't have much today. After all it is Christmas Eve. This is kinda neat 2 you tube videos with blindfolded players playing keep up. Theo Walcott is awesome!!




This Next one is behind the scenes.


Also found this Castrol add with Cristiano.. LOL



and last but not least.. A Theo Add.. I could surf you tube all day looking for these things.. :)

Is there something wrong with the bladders of goalkeepers these days?

What is Auckland City stopper Paul Gothard doing here? Praying nope, planning nope... Pissing his pants in the middle of a match YES!! WTF? Like fellow goalkeeper Jens Lehmann only a few weeks ago Gothard went for a leak during the game! At least Jens had a little more class. I wouldn't have said that at the time but when you way the options pissing yourself or peeing behind a billboard... I think the billboard seems like a better plan. What are these jokers doing before games? come on. This Gothard kid has the creepiest peeing his pants grin on while he pulls his pud. eeek

A few more tweaks.

The TFC front office is starting to warm up for the holidays. Earlier in the week TFC named Leo Percovich the team's new assistant coach Monday. Percovich spent last season as goalkeeper coach with Chivas USA. Big deal SNORE!!!!

Exciting news from the office has Amado Guevara leaving the team According to several reports, Guevara has signed with Honduran club Motagua. Also on the way out are Pablo Vitti and Lesly Felinga.

Pablo Vitti really did not amount to much while he was here. I had high expectations of him but really I don't know if it was the lack of playing time. Maybe he is just shit. ya I think he is just shitty.

Lesly Fellinga, well I really think that this guy did not get a chance to play and it is unfortunate because the time he did play I found that he was very effective. He probably just was not in Preki's plans for the new season. I would imagine Fellinga will land a job somewhere soon.

Amado leaving is good.. I would rather that he left before the season started rather then waiting for the season to begin and find out that there is trouble in the dressing room. My take on it is straighten that shit out before you start the season. Get rid of the poison.

Amado did his job well when he was here. We didn't make the playoffs with him so no biggie getting rid of him and lets continue the building process. I want to watch a winner this season. Not a dirty bunch of losers! Buh Bye AMADO!!! See Ya Vitti.. (your shit) Felinga... I feel like we never really got to know you.. sniff... sniff..

Robo I think you next!

Paul Winsper is leaving TFC

Not surprised here. Paul Winsper leaves TFC. It is like a mass exodus over there, Carver, Cummins, Winsper. MLSE needs to find the right people to do the job and get it done. Freaking Seattle did better than us this year and they are in their first season. What the F! Find a trainer I don't care what his name is, frankly I think there was to much hype over Winsper in the first place. No offense to him but a team that can't make the playoffs can not possibly have the greatest trainer? right?

Anyways here is what i found.

Fitness guru Paul Winsper is leaving his job as strength and conditioning coach of Toronto FC for a new position with Nike, the Englishman confirmed to CBCSports.ca on Friday.

Winsper, who is under contract to the MLS club until Dec. 31, said he and his family will be moving in January to Oregon, where he will serve as sports performance director for Nike.

Nike's world headquarters are in Beaverton.

Winsper, 43, said Toronto FC offered him a two-year contract extension, but the job offer from Nike that they first made to him in the summer was just too good to pass up.

"It's an unbelievable job offer that I can't really turn down. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity for me," Winsper told CBCSports.ca.

You can READ MORE...

Montreal in the MLS?

Doesn't it feel like every few months they are announcing a new team to the MLS? I kinda have been ignoring the stories about Montreal being the next team in but I don't have a lot to post so here it goes..

Montreal Impact are poised to become Major League Soccer's 19th team.

MLS commissioner Don Garber held meetings with the club’s president Joey Saputo, Quebec Minister of Finance Raymond Bachand and Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay to discuss the Impact joining the league.

"We are very happy with the visit of the MLS executives in Montreal,” Saputo said in a statement.

He said the meetings on Wednesday with Minister Bachand and Mayor Tremblay were “very positive”. “It's clear for us, and now more than ever, that the arrival of MLS in Montreal is only a question of time. We are hoping to have news in the first quarter of 2010.”

thats from World football insider and can probably be found all over the place cause the story is all over the place including here. now.

Oh Lehmann... you funny guy

I don't know what the heck happened here but if you find an english version of this clip I would love to hear what the commentators have to say about this.

There is an article about it at goal.com

"Stuttgart goalkeeper Jens Lehmann has remained tight-lipped over the much-publicised moment in which he appeared to take a comfort break during his side’s midweek Champions League encounter against Unirea Urziceni." READ MORE...

Keane linked to Celtic!!

It would probably be better news if he was linked to Toronto but I was born a Celtic fan so this news is just as exciting. If it could actually happen. My guess is it is purely speculation and nasty gossip to get guys like me excited. :)

"Keane, who returned to White Hart Lane after a difficult spell at Liverpool has seen Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch move ahead of him in the striking pecking order at Tottenham and could be open to a move where he would be instantly taken to heart due to his Irish international credentials. "

Read More..

TFC what went wrong?

Not much going on yet today. Interesting article on goal.com if you have time to waste. Evidently I have a lot of time on my hands. eek.

Toronto, Canada-- A spectacular 5-0 capitulation at the hands of bottom club New York Red Bulls in a game that could have cemented a place in the playoffs for Toronto turned out to be the last act of departing coach Chris Cummins in an official capacity. Real Salt Lake took the last playoff spot instead, going on to win the MLS cup and underscoring the pain of what could have been for the TFC faithful. Despite the disappointment of providing Dwayne De Rosario his first season bereft of a playoff spot, Toronto FC managed to win their first silverware in the shape of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship by steamrolling the Montreal Impact 6-1 away. However, TFC failed to make the main draw for the CONCACAF Champions League as the Puerto Rico Islanders upended them in a tight qualifier.

Read on...

Toronto looking at adding another striker!

argh... This news is a little dis-heartening (is that even a word). We need guys in the back field!!
anyways I don't know how accurate this story is but it looks like TFC is looking at signing Kevin Kyle the captain of Kilmarnock. He is coming off a big season scoring 12 goals in 22 appearances. Big woop dee doo!!(now I know that is a word) I want to see the Reds look after the backfield and start making roster moves to remove the dead weight we already have.

Here is some of the story I got from News Of The World

The 28-year-old Scotland hitman is in the final six months of his contract and that has alerted Johnston who sees the giant striker as the perfect man to lead Toronto's front line.

Kyle is Killie's best paid player on £2,000 a week, but he could double that wage if the former Sunderland and Coventry hitman opts to move to Canada with Johnston able to offer him a £200,000-a- year deal.

Losing Kyle would be a massive blow to Kilmarnock boss Jim Jefferies, who pulled off a masterstroke by persuading him to sign an 18-month deal at Rugby Park last January. Jefferies received an instant pay-off as Kyle scored the goals to keep cash-strapped Killie in the SPL.

French winger Laurent Robert is hoping to secure a return to Newcastle United.

What the hell happened to this guy? Last I heard he had signed a two year deal with Greek side Larissa. Then all of a sudden I read an article on Sky Sports that says he is trying to work his way back to Newcastle. That is nuts!! He scored one goal for Toronto and 0 goals for Larissa. PSG wont even sign him if he plays for free! He tried to get a contract with PSG playing for FREE!!! and they said NO. Why would Newcastle want him?. NUTS

"He has now set his heart on a switch to Championship leaders Newcastle, and has persuaded Magpies new-boy Fabrice Pancrate to pass his details on to manager Chris Hughton."

Adidas unveiled its World Cup match ball!!

It is getting close to World cup time. Even though Ireland will not be in it due to Henry's big hands. I am excited about the tourney. Not sure who I will cheer for yet but I am pretty sure I will cheer for any team that is playing France. The unveiling of a new ball is always a little bit fun and interesting. How many different things can you really change in a ball? It seems every world cup there are new advancements with balls. Well here are some excerpts taken from the Toronto Sun and The New York Times about the ball.

The Jabulani (which means “to celebrate” in isiZulu) is the 11th World Cup ball Adidas has designed — and according to product line manager Chris Niall, the early feedback is positive.

“The players like it,” said Niall. “(It has been tested) in the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich, and some of the MLS teams have been given the ball in advance, and it is well approved by the players.”

Former Toronto FC star Danny Dichio said ball technology has come a long way since he first broke in with Queens Park Rangers in England in the early 1990s.

“When I first started, we were using medicine balls, it was that long ago,” said the 35-year-old Dichio, who retired in September. “But you can see significant changes in the ball even over the past few World Cups.

“Now you come in with a ball like this ... compared to when I first started playing, it’s night and day.”

Dichio realizes that some people might wonder why Adidas bothers to tinker with the ball so much. But he says world-class athletes deserve a world-class ball.

“Without (a good ball), the game is nothing,” said Dichio. “The puck never changes in hockey, but (in soccer) the ball is everything. I’ve been in games before where a referee changed the ball three times because people were complaining about it.

Strange Soccer Goal

Beauty... something to keep in mind. Never stop playing until the whistle blows. Or you will blow. the play... doh.