And, in the fall? The Eddies are the only team in NASL to allow an average of less than a goal per game; FCE has conceded just eight times in nine matches. And the defensive turnaround has put the Eddies in second place in the fall table, and just two points out of fourth in the combined standings. That fourth spot would likely represent the final post-season spot.

Quietly, Atlanta Silverback Kyle Porter has taken over as the Canadian who has seen the most minutes in 2015, either in NASL or MLS.

Without the stellar play of the Carolina keeper, the RailHawks would have lost to FC Edmonton by a more lopsided scoreline than Sunday’s 3-0 result at Clarke Field. Make no mistake; a 3-0 loss was a scoreline that flattered the visitors, who have become all too used to hidings on the Clarke turf.

In the NASL combined standings, only six points separates the last-place San Antonio Scorpions and fourth-place Minnesota United.

How does that relate to what he said today? Well, much like his comments on the import rule, promotion-relegation isn’t something he can do on his own. In fact, on Monday the league office confirmed to me today that it’s not something that’s been discussed internally. Basically, what the commissioner was saying is that it would be nice to have discussion about promotion and relegation — which is a lot different than having promotion and relegation.

Currently, there are only eight Canadians who have got over 1,000 minutes of playing time each in either MLS or NASL this season. To put that in perspective, 1,000 minutes is just a little more than 11 full games.

No word if Tom Hanks will play FCE coach Colin Miller in the Edmonton version of The Terminal.

But it needs to be noted that the Eddies carved out more scoring chances on the day. And, even if those calls had evened out, the Eddies were still another goal to the good.

Cyle Larin tied the MLS record for rookie goals in a season. In just 1,046 minutes of game action, the Brampton, Ont. native has scored 11 times for Orlando City.

But what was striking about Sunday’s game is how much Fury coach Marc Dos Santos learned from this past spring’s Amway Canadian Championship loss to the Eddies, then used that knowledge to craft a game plan that neutralized one of the top offences in the league.