This week, the NASL enters our weekly ranking of who is getting minutes in the top two divisions in North America.

But, the Eddies were down by three goals at halftime — one for every week spent in Florida. The Eddies were like deer caught in the headlights off the opening kickoff, as the expansion Armada — playing its first-ever league game — set a new NASL record for the fastest goal from the opening kickoff.

Smits — who won the NASL Golden Glove last year for posting the best goals-against average in the league — will leave for Costa Rica after the Jacksonville match. His loan only extends to April 8, so he will be back in Edmonton for the April 12 home opener vs. Carolina.

After the NASL spring season launches, Commissioner Bill Peterson, along with the owners of FC Edmonton and the Ottawa Fury, look to form a task force to help attract more potential investors to the league.

And while no coach will confirm or deny what the starting XI will be ahead of time, there’s a feeling that Tuesday’s preseason curtain-closer against Jacksonville United might give Eddies fans a closer idea of what the lineup will look like when Colin Miller and his troops begin the NASL season April 4 in the first-ever home opener for the expansion Jacksonville Armada.

FC Edmonton and Ottawa Fury supporters will be able to access the majority of their teams away-game broadcasts this year via TSN GO.

But, with the Flyover Cup — a supporter-driven initiative which sees the winner of the FCE/Loons season series get the award — it should be Minnesota who is our closest rival. But, in a weird way, the Loons are kind of like the Eddies’ best frenemy. We’re the cold-weather cities in a league filled with tropical teams; we’re united in our sense of isolation from the rest of the NASL.

Even though the deal was announced on Tuesday, it was signed well before the Eddies left for their three-week Florida-based portion of their training camp. (The Eddies’ last day in Edmonton was last Friday). But, paperwork in the soccer world can move so darn slow, so the deal couldn’t be made official till after the team had left for the United States.

Johann Smith, the American speedster, will outlast his initial three-week trial. He will travel to Florida with the Eddies. Though no contract has been announced as of yet, the fact that the former Toronto FC player will go to Florida and go into his fourth week with the Eddies is a sign that the coaching staff likes what they see in Smith.

Lowball contract offers. Teams that don’t want to “waste” precious international roster spots on a Canadians. A player being told that he’ll get a chance to make a team once he gets a U.S. green card. These are the realities of Canadians trying to play in North America. In NASL and MLS, Americans are allowed to be treated as domestic players on Canadian teams. But, on the American teams, Canadians are treated as internationals. Here’s a look at the domino effect of roster inequality in North America...