The Impact will play at the Big O until the Stade Saputo renovations are done during the 2012 campaign. But the team struck a deal with the Olympic park, which guarantees games will be played at the Big O in 2013, 2014 and 2015 as well.

Can Martin Rennie sell the charm of playing with the Vancouver RailHawks, er, Whitecaps? Will it be enough of a calling card for Etienne Barbara?

Of the Canadian teams, Montreal made the biggest splash Tuesday, selecting two Canadians out of the four picks it made.

“It’s disappointing to not have a contract but that’s the way the sport is and I still have to look on the positive side, “ Gatti said. “I do have a tryout with the team that I had my first tryout with back in the day.”

Book it. The semifinals of the Voyageurs’ Cup will see the Vancouver Whitecaps face FC Edmonton and Toronto FC play the Montreal Impact. The match-ups were confirmed by MLSSoccer.com on Monday, quoting Canadian Soccer Association officials.

For the second year in a row, Denis Hamlett will be an assistant with a team making the move from Div.-2 to Major League Soccer.

But here's a suggestion. The CSA currently has no roster rules on the Nutrilite Canadian Championship. The CSA regulates the Canadian Championship. Why not place a quota there?

The Montreal Impact has made it clear that striker Ali Gerba is free to go to another club. But, so far, there have been no takers.

« L’Impact de Montréal est fier d’annoncer aujourd’hui la signature du milieu de terrain québécois, le numéro huit, Patrice Bernier,» declared head coach Jesse Marsch in accented but grammatically correct French, unlike another recently named Montreal head coach.

On Thursday, the team announced that five players eligible under the Can-con rule — and who played with the team in its final NASL season — will go to camp in Guadalajara, Mexico with the club. Eddy Sebrango, Simon Gatti, Mircea Ilcu, Nevio Pizzolitto and Reda Agourram will all get the chance to make the MLS club.