“We expect a very defensive game on their part, and we’ll get ready for that,” Giovinco said through an interpreter as part of an MLS conference call previewing the conference final.

And, when the chips are down in a big-game situation, Toronto FC’s Sebastian Giovinco and Montreal’s Ignacio Piatti showed us why you would rather have them on your team than any of the three MVP candidates.

The hopes for a 401-Derby Eastern Conference Final are still very much alive. The spirits of Macdonald and Cartier are strong.

On April 7, 2007, Toronto FC played the first regular-season match in club history, a loss on the road to Chivas USA. Ken Tribbett was 14 years old when that happened.

Despite solid attendance figures at Stade Saputo, BMO Field and BC Place, Major League Soccer’s TV numbers are trending downward. This year, they’re sliding further still. Why aren’t fans in the stands translating into large television numbers?

We notice more interest from our readers when we try to tackle a big topic over the course of several stories — and issue 10 of Plastic Pitch fits that bill. The MLS standings are always clogged, and 12 of 20 teams (60 per cent) make the playoffs. The No. 1 seed rarely goes on to win MLS Cup. Does …

Because Designated Players take up such a large chunk of a team’s salary-capped budget, conventional thinking is that an MLS club can either spread the wealth and have depth, or invest in star players but accept the consequences of having a thin roster. But, Toronto FC General Manager Tim Bezbatchenko is trying to prove that a team can have the best of both worlds

TFC and its supporters can look to three matches this season where the Reds were up by a man — or men — for long periods… and didn’t win.

There were some hints dropped Friday that suggest that the loan of Canadian keeper Nathan Ingham from FC Edmonton to TFCII could be the beginning of something greater.

Dixon is just part of a growing trend of Canadians who are deciding that home soil is the best place for them to be. Dixon, who got his first national-team call-up earlier this year, is the newest member of the “come back to Canada club.”