Sinclair, to no one’s surprise, was announced as Canada’s top player on Thursday. And she accepted the award with the grace of the average Canadian, by wanting to talk about her team more than she wanted to talk about herself.

But, why does MLS get off scot-free in this debate? Every year, the date of MLS Cup final is pushed back. MLS headquarters are in New York; the folks there must be aware that by mid-December, a lot of their markets are basically into their winter seasons? Right?

The fact that MLS Cup was able to beat hockey on a Saturday night – well, that's an impressive feat for a sport we're used to seeing getting pre-empted by late-running curling matches.

Stefan Frei, drafted by Toronto FC in 2009, may have dreamed back then about winning an MLS Cup at BMO Field. He probably didn’t imagine at the time that he’d do it as a member of the Seattle Sounders.

The Fury’s front office says that the eligibility of each Montreal player will be set out in their contracts. There is no blanket policy that covers all loanees. So, if Ottawa and Montreal were to meet in a meaningful game, the status of the Impact loanees would be determined on a case-by-case basis.

The message from FC Edmonton co-owner Tom Fath is the same as it was at this time last week — that he fully expects that there will be an NASL in 2017, and that Eddies will be playing in that league.

Lodeiro and the Sounders may feel like a Cinderella story; but, really, it would be absolutely incorrect to call them that. Really, they are yet another example of the kind of team that usually wins MLS Cup. They have all the ingredients of teams that have won previous titles; they were highly rated in preseason, struggled to start the season, tinkered and tinkered, finally found a rhythm, then scrambled just to make the post-season and then stayed hot once the playoffs started.

Even though he had one year remaining on his contract, FC Edmonton chose not wait to lock down head coach Colin Miller.

FC Edmonton co-owner Tom Fath says that the club is a go for the 2017 season.

Why was Canada’s women’s national team coach so angry? Because Christine Sinclair, who moved into the No. 2 spot on the all-time women’s international scoring list in 2016, wasn’t on the shortlist for The Best FIFA Women’s Player Award. (Herdman was also skipped over in the coach-of-the-year selections).