With the MLS season moved up to its earliest start ever, forgive us if we don’t feel 100 per cent totally prepared for First Kick. Judging by the way many MLS teams finished preseason, with tentative matches and still looking at trialists with a week to go before the games count in the standings, a lot of coaches aren’t quite ready for the early start, either.

Despite picking up three points the Reds did suffer a big loss with Danny Koevermans injuring his left knee late in the first half and had to be stretchered off the field. The injury looked serious and it would be a huge blow to the Reds if the Dutch striker is out for any extended length of time. Koevermans has had a deadly strike rate in MLS having scored 17 goals in just 25 matches since joining Toronto midway through last season.

We tallied up our votes, and came up with our list of how the teams will finish, who will win MLS Cup and who will be the league’s MVP. No need to play the season, now. We have it all figured out.

Toronto FC has played some poor games in its four-year history. It has had (a few) bright moments, too. But, if you’ve already forgotten Wednesday’s 0-0 draw on the road to the New England Revolution, you’re forgiven. A game between a Toronto FC squad that struggles to score and a New England Revolution team that’s anonymous outside of midfield star Shalrie Joseph didn’t make for compelling viewing, especially when sports fans in the Boston area had something better to do — something about a hockey game and a Cup.

But Thordarson decided to use Saturday’s date in New England as a chance to test his squad players. Striker Long Tan, who any Whitecaps fans would be forgiven for not remembering still played for the club, got the start with attack partner Omar Salgado, the teenager chosen first overall in the 2011 Superdraft. The Revs won 1-0, as Shalrie Joseph converted a penalty kick after Whitecap Blake Wagner was adjudged to have stepped on the foot of Rev Benny Feilhaber just inside the box.

It’s become obligatory for every sports journalist to provide season previews for the league he or she covers. It’s automatic, and a great space killer! In that vein, The 11 presents its “waited until the last possible second before the regular season” season preview! Why the wait? Because it’s hard to figure out the East. The West? Wow, a lot of power and depth there. As for the East? Last season, New York and Columbus and six other mediocre to bad to awful clubs were in the conference. New York and Columbus left them all in the dust.

It was a fascinating exercise to go through a couple of hours worth of tweets after Arsenal’s stunning 2-1 win over Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie. The pundits are one thing, but when the tweets come from players or, in the case of Eskandarian, recently retired players, it’s amazing to see people who are (or recently were) paid to play the game become fans.