Allgemeines » has no concerns about the health of shortstop

TORONTO -- Almost three weeks after its last league outing, Toronto FC returns to action Friday night against the New York Red Bulls as the MLS season resumes with a vengeance following a World Cup break. USA Soccer Jerseys 2020 . After just two league games in June, Toronto (6-4-1) will go on to play seven in July plus a friendly against Tottenham. Five of those contests are against Eastern Conference opposition, meaning valuable points in the playoff race are on the line. Manager Ryan Nelsen gave his players eight days off following the 1-0 win over visiting San Jose on June 7. They have been training ever since, albeit with sessions pushed forward a little bit to allow players to watch the World Cup in the afternoon. There are different allegiances, although the team is rooting for both Brazil and the U.S. given the presence of TFC goalie Julio Cesar and midfielder Michael Bradley at the tournament. Canadian international Jonathan Osorio is pulling for Colombia, where his parents came from. The U.S.-Ghana game pitted the 12 Americans on the Toronto roster against Ghana-born forward Dominic Oduro. Massage therapist and acupuncturist Marcelo Casal is cheering for Uruguay. The public relations department is still mourning the exit of Italy. While his players enjoyed time off, albeit with a prescribed gym regimen, Nelsen and his coaches were at work planning training sessions. "We might have worked around a nice glass of red," said Nelsen, whose business holdings include a winery back home in New Zealand. Nelsen is expecting a hard contest Friday against the Red Bulls (4-5-6) who are one point behind fourth-place Toronto in the East despite having played four more games. Toronto defeated New York 2-0 when they met in May at BMO Field, with Jermain Defoe scoring early and Luke Moore scoring late. "I think that game was a big game for us," said Nelsen. "We had a few guys out (injured) and wed just come back from the West Coast after 120 minutes (in an Amway Canadian Championship game in Vancouver) and it was a really, really good performance. "New York will have a lot of motivation, in all honesty, to put one back on us. Its at their home field. Ive got a real sense that everybodys desperate to play a game after the break. "Its nice to have a break but everybody wants to get back on the field. I can sense this games going to be a really good one, a good tough one. Im looking forward to it." The host Red Bulls will also be well rested. Star striker Thierry Henry, fresh from a stint as a BBC World Cup analyst, and Colombian defender Jamison Olave have not played since May 27 at Sporting Kansas City, skipping artificial turf games June 8 in New England and June 14 against the New York Cosmos (in U.S. Open Cup play). The Red Bulls Australian star Tim Cahill is slated to be back from the World Cup and could make an appearance Friday night. Cahill did not see action in the Socceroos 3-0 loss to Spain on Monday but scored two goals earlier at the tournament including a highlight-reel volley against the Dutch. "Were expecting them to play," Nelsen said of Cahill and Henry. While hes a Kiwi, Nelsen was raving about Cahills strike against the Dutch while saying it had not got the publicity it deserved. "For me, if a Brazilian did that, or an Argentinian, or a big-country-type player did that, theyd be raving about that for years to come. ... It was of such quality that I didnt think they gave him the credit he really deserved for an over-the-shoulder left-foot volley." "But thats Timmy," he added. "Timmys been scoring those type of goals his whole career. Thats why New York is so lucky to have him." Toronto has two injury concerns in winger Daniel Lovitz (concussion) and Brazilian striker Gilberto (hip flexor). Fake USA Soccer Jerseys . -- Wichita State is all alone in the record book. USA Soccer Pro Shop . Paul George and Darren Collison each scored 17 points and Roy Hibbert added 11 points and nine rebounds for the Pacers (9-3), who won their third straight. https://www.cheapusasoccer.com/ . -- New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has no concerns about the health of shortstop Derek Jeter, who was limited to 17 games last season due to leg injuries. SEATTLE -- A couple thousand Seahawks fans were crowded in front of the television stage when Russell Wilson walked out of the locker room still in full uniform. Instantly, the chant started. "MVP! MVP!" Hard to argue against Wilson after a performance like Monday night. Wilson threw for 310 yards and three touchdowns, and the Seahawks became the first team to clinch a spot in the NFC playoffs with a 34-7 victory over the New Orleans Saints. More important than just wrapping up a spot in the post-season, the Seahawks (11-1) moved two games ahead on the rest of the NFC in the race for home-field advantage and hold the tiebreakers over New Orleans (9-3) and Carolina (9-3), the two closest pursuers. The rest of the top teams better get ready to visit the Pacific Northwest in January. After this rout, the road through the NFC playoffs is almost certain to go through Seattle. "For us to come out in that fashion and to win that game the way that we did was awesome," Wilson said. Wilson was outstanding, picking apart the Saints defence. He threw touchdown passes of 2 yards to Zach Miller and 4 yards to Doug Baldwin in the first half as Seattle built a 27-7 lead. Wilson added a pinball 8-yard TD pass to Derrick Coleman in the third quarter. Wilson completed 22 of 30 passes and finished with a quarterback rating of 139.6. He has 22 regular-season wins in his first two seasons, tied for the most ever by a second-year QB and is 14-0 at home. Michael Bennett had a 22-yard fumble return for a touchdown in the first quarter to give Seattle a 10-0 lead and the Saints never threatened. It was a dominating performance by the Seahawks, making up for a lacklustre effort the last time they were given a national television spotlight and were taken to the final yard and final play by St. Louis. Not this time. The most anticipated game in the NFC this season was a laugher. Drew Brees and the Saints were stymied the entire night as he lost for the first time on Monday night after nine straight wins, and continued the belief New Orleans cant win outdoors late in the season. New Orleans didnt crack 100 yards of total offence into midway through the third quarter. Jimmy Graham was nearly invisible outside of his franchise-record 12th TD catch of the season in the second quarter that pulled the Saints to 17-7. Brees finished 23 of 38 for 147 yards. Graham had three catches for 42 yards. Darren Sproles led New Orleans with seven catches, many of thosee check downs. USA Soccer Store. The seven points matched the fewest scored by the Saints since Sean Payton became coach in 2006 and the 188 total yards were the fewest in his coaching tenure. "Lot of things to look at," Payton said. "Lot of things we didnt do well." It was K.J. Wrights job to shadow Graham and he hounded the Saints star all night. "The coaches told me Were going to let you hold (Graham). Just do your job, win on your leverage, trust your guys around you and just play your best game. Thats what I tried to do," Wright said. The Saints went three-and-out on their first possession and that was just the start of their struggles. On their next possession, Brees was hit from behind by Cliff Avril and fumbled into the arms of Bennett, who returned it for the touchdown. Brees was unable to take advantage of Seattles depleted secondary. The Seahawks were without Brandon Browner (injury) and Walter Thurmond (suspension) but Byron Maxwell and Jeremy Lane played well in their places. "We took one in the chin today," Brees said. "We got out played today. They played great. They made a lot of plays and we didnt." Seattle used the bye week to add wrinkles to its offence. Wilson was a threat not only passing but running with the zone read again becoming an addition to the playbook. Wilson carried five times in the first half, three of those designed keepers. But it was his passing that stole the show. Wilson was 14 of 19 in the first half for 226 yards and a rating of 148.1. He found Miller open for a 60-yard catch-and-run early in the second quarter, then capped the drive with a 2-yard touchdown pass to Miller and a 17-0 lead. Wilson later hit Doug Baldwin for 52 yards. Seattle had seven pass completions of 12 or more yards in the first half. The Seahawks finished with 315 first-half yards, the most allowed by the Saints in a first half since 2005 against Minnesota. Baldwin said Seattle saw a specific blitz package from the Saints on film and the Seahawks knew theyd have chances to go downfield. "We wanted to be great against the blitz," Wilson said. " ... We knew they were going to bring some pressure and we like the sense of pressure because there is a lot of green grass behind it." Notes: Wilson averaged 10.3 yards per pass attempt, while Brees was at 3.9. ... New Orleans was 25th in the NFL in run defence, but held Marsahwn Lynch to 45 yards rushing on 16 carries. ' ' '