Toronto FC president Kevin Payne spoke glowingly about Torsten Frings' leadership qualities during the German midfielder's retirement announcement on Tuesday, and there is no doubt that Payne will miss Frings as a person and as the Reds' captain.

The process, drawn out over the course of training camp, came to an end Friday when the team announced that Frings is no longer part of the squad.

Cesar, though, at 34, is just one year younger than his coach, Ryan Nelsen. The team already has Torsten Frings, who is 36. Striker Eric Hassli turns 32 this spring. Danny Koevermans is 34. Midfielder Terry Dunfield is 30. Central defender Danny Califf is 32.

By standing pat on its collection of DPs, Toronto FC’s front office has, in fact, decided to play craps.

Canadian Silviu Petrescu has been named MLS Referee of the Year.

With the Reds being just a single point from being officially eliminated from the MLS playoff race, the club announced Wednesday that Frings will need hip surgery and will miss the rest of the season. He joins Danny Koevermans, who is out with a torn knee.

"There's no way that was a 3-1 game," said TFC head coach Paul Mariner. "I thought we were a little tentative in the first half and in the second half we played much better… We matched them for 89 minutes."

"It was a bit of a nothing match, to be perfectly frank," said TFC head coach Paul Mariner.  "It was a bit of a stalemate and then suddenly they got the goal."

Nixing the deal was the right thing. Worrying about who made the call to kill the deal is like being watching kindergarten kids who each scream “he started it!” It’s beneath us, really, isn’t it?

Mariner praised how his players responded after he "gave them both barrels at halftime."