Still, the move will likely dampen the enthusiasm of TFC fans who hold the moral high ground over Montreal and Vancouver supporters; TFC fans could claim their team’s Canadian content was much higher than the Impact and Whitecaps. But, if the three Academy grads and Cann aren’t replaced by other Canadian prospects, that moral high ground won’t be as lofty in 2013 as it was in 2012.

But, for 60 minutes of Wednesday’s 2-1 loss in Columbus, TFC looked like a team that was going through the motions, even though coach Paul Mariner handed keeper Freddy Hall his MLS debut and centre back Dicoy Williams his first MLS start of the season.

But it all came undone as poor defending gave Houston the opportunity to steal a point at home on a hot, humid night in its brand new BBVA Compass Stadium.

Central defender Dicoy Williams will be back with Toronto FC in 2012, but likely won’t be ready for the start of the regular season.

Toronto FC's busiest stretch of the season came is finally over, but if the Reds had a choice, they'd want to take the pitch again tomorrow to get the bad taste of Saturday's result out of their mouths. TFC allowed a franchise-worst six goals in a 6-2 loss to the Philadelphia Union and, incredibly, the scoreline may have flattered the Reds given all their defensive breakdowns. "It was humiliating," said Toronto head coach Aron Winter.

Seattle defender Jeff Parke got the nod after a runoff vote was needed to break a tie between him and Philadelphia Union forward Carlos Ruiz after the the first round of ballots from the North American Soccer Reporters was counted.

If, next week, the players wearing the red of Toronto FC hoist the Voyageurs’ Cup over their heads, the Vancouver Whitecaps will rue a second half filled with missed opportunities in the opening leg of the Nutrilite Canadian Championships. The final scoreline on Wednesday read 1-1. But, make no mistake, Vancouver will feel it deserved not just to win the game, but win it handily.

So, Saturday’s road date in Seattle — one of the big boys in the West, and sure ro be inspired in its first game after losing midfielder Steve Zakuani thanks to a horror tackle from Colorado’s Brian Mullan — was arguably the first true exam of TFC’s credentials. And, it showed us the club has a long way to go. A long way. All of the pundits who have been placing TFC at the bottom of their MLS power rankings were proven right as the Reds stumbled to a 3-0 loss.

After 12 matches and still no wins against the Columbus Crew, Toronto FC's rivalry with it Trillium Cup foes is starting to resemble Wile E. Coyote's rivalry with the Roadrunner. Just when it seems the Reds might have a bit of an edge over the Crew, some unusual circumstance arises to cost TFC a victory. Case in point, the opening goal in Toronto's 1-1 draw with Columbus on Saturday. In the 41st minute, TFC midfielder Tony Tchani was the point man off a series of fine passes from Alan Gordon and Julian de Guzman, and Tchani made no mistake ,scoring his first goal of the season.

Both of the Canadian MLS franchises made moves Thursday to add to their defensive depth charts. The Vancouver Whitecaps announced the signing of French-Algerian central defender Mouloud Akloul. Akloul played one game for the Whitecaps in Div. 2 play back in 2010. He scored the match-winning goal and fractured his ankle in a 1-0 victory over AC St. Louis, and missed the rest of the season.