The 2017 NASL schedule was released on Monday; and some Friday and Saturday night games have been added to the mix of FCE home games.

The NASL has concluded its investigation into Puerto Rico FC midfielder Chris Nurse's claim that FC Edmonton's Nico Di Biase uttered a racial slur in Spanish during an Aug. 28 game at Clarke Field.

From the league: "The NASL has opened an investigation with respect to an allegation that racially abusive comments were made by one player to another player during the FC Edmonton vs. Puerto Rico FC game on August 28, 2016. Per League policy, no further comment will be made while the investigation is ongoing."

How negative was the road side? Even when PRFC was up a man, the players opted for a clock-killing strategy. Late in the game, up a player, the visitors chose to take the ball into the corner and kill time rather than try to create scoring chances.

So, unless we see a major capitulation by either the Eddies or the Cosmos — remember that Indy is guaranteed a spot in the four-team post-season as the Eleven is the spring-season title holder — we’re going to watch the rest of the teams battle for the fourth and final playoff spot.

Once again, Matt VanOekel will be an NASL play-of-the-week candidate. He could be the league’s player of the week, week after week after week. You get the feeling that the brass at NASL is just being nice, letting other players have the awards.

It’s the longest road trip in a North American pro sports league. At just a little more than 5,600 km, it’s about the same distance as a flight between Toronto and London, England, or a jaunt between Ottawa and Oslo, Norway.