“We expect a very defensive game on their part, and we’ll get ready for that,” Giovinco said through an interpreter as part of an MLS conference call previewing the conference final.

And, when the chips are down in a big-game situation, Toronto FC’s Sebastian Giovinco and Montreal’s Ignacio Piatti showed us why you would rather have them on your team than any of the three MVP candidates.

On April 7, 2007, Toronto FC played the first regular-season match in club history, a loss on the road to Chivas USA. Ken Tribbett was 14 years old when that happened.

Because Designated Players take up such a large chunk of a team’s salary-capped budget, conventional thinking is that an MLS club can either spread the wealth and have depth, or invest in star players but accept the consequences of having a thin roster. But, Toronto FC General Manager Tim Bezbatchenko is trying to prove that a team can have the best of both worlds

TFC and its supporters can look to three matches this season where the Reds were up by a man — or men — for long periods… and didn’t win.

In fact, the more your teams sucks early in the season,the better your chances of seeing silverware at the end of it. So, Toronto FC fans, don’t worry about a long road trip to start the season; early-season losses are harbingers of big-time success down the road! And, for fans in the respective cities watching the Montreal Impact-Vancouver Whitecaps match, cheer for the other guys! It's the RIGHT thing to do!

While most of our hockey culture doesn’t translate well to other North American leagues, the playoffs-or-bust mentality of the NHL is a lesson that Major League Soccer fans need to learn.

The new issue, out today, features a vintage shot from the World Cup qualifier which saw Canada qualify for the 1986 World Cup. And what can you find inside the issue?

Sebastian Giovinco is having a season for the ages; not just in Toronto FC terms, but in MLS terms. But, as his team looks set to back into the Eastern Conference playoffs, the question remains: Can the Atomic Ant’s astounding offensive contributions compensate for a defence that’s been astoundingly inept?

“What a performance by these guys tonight,” said FC Edmonton coach Colin Miller. “It speaks to the culture that we’re trying to build here. We gave up some very poor goals to the best team in NASL on Sunday. But we came into this game not looking to draw; we thought we could win the game. We knew that, playing against the best team in the MLS Western Conference, that we couldn’t have one single player out there fail tonight. And we didn’t have any failures.”