As we head into the final week of the MLS regular-season schedule and the last two weeks of the NASL regular-season slate, only four players remain mathematically alive to be the top Canadian in terms of minutes played in either division one or two.

“I have to say I am fairly disappointed in the Jamaican federation. Here is a player [Laing] who they take all the way to Korea for a friendly, but they know he’s suspended for the next four [World Cup qualifying] matches. And they know this will have a huge impact on his club. They have not shown any respect to the club at all. The Canadian association asked if Mallan would be available for the most recent camp [Tuesday friendly with Ghana] and they were very understanding when I said we needed him because it’s an important time for the club. Of course, that was before Mallan got injured. But it shows the difference in class between the two federations. I’m not saying Lance Laing is such a great player that we can’t play without him; no player is that good. But, the Jamaican federation needs to respect the spirit of the game.”

With NASL having a shorter schedule than MLS, this was basically a catch-up week for the second division, which gives us a better idea on how NASL teams rank against the MLS sides when it comes to giving first-team minutes to Canadian players. And, we see Toronto FC’s Jonathan Osorio fall out of top spot in the Canadian minutes-played ranks. Atlanta’s Kyle Porter retakes the lead.

The Eddies now trail the Tampa Bay Rowdies by one point for the fourth and final playoff spot in NASL. Both teams have three games left on their schedules. The Eddies are at Carolina Wednesday, then have a home-and-home with Jacksonville to end their season.

As we get into the final weeks of the MLS and NASL seasons, the minutes-played-by-Canadians numbers continue to trend downward.

Cyle Larin went into this weekend's action knowing he just needed one goal to set the MLS rookie-scoring record.

Toronto FC's Jonathan Osorio — thanks to starting two games this week — has taken back the lead in our ranking of minutes played by Canadians on either MLS or NASL teams.

With the Atlanta Silverbacks on a bye week, there was a chance that Kyle Porter, who has led the Canadian-minutes-played ranking over the last few weeks, would be overtaken.

Even though teams lost Canadians to international duty, the fact that so many other international players were also away opened up opportunities for our domestic players who usually ride the pine. The Impact started two Canadians in its 4-3 win over Chicago — and Wandrille Lefevre got a goal. The Eddies gave more than 300 minutes to Canadian players in their 1-1 draw with Minnesota United. Toronto FC gave starts to both Jonathan Osorio and Ashtone Morgan.

Tesho Akindele started for FC Dallas and scored on a penalty kick. Cyle Larin set the MLS rookie scoring record when the Orlando City striker notched his 12th goal of the season.