First Person View – Soccer on Canadian Television

    It’s been a volatile time for soccer on Canadian television. Counter intuitively, it seems the more the big players get involved in broadcasting and rights holding, squeezing out the smaller boutique outlets, the less is available for viewers.

    It wasn’t so long ago that one could find at least a match or two available live every day and replays of matches dotted the overnight schedules, but now large swathes of the programming calendar are left empty, while the sport plays on.

Beyond POV-FS - Know Your Enemy: Columbus Crew – Meeting the Third at Waking the Red

    Preview of Sunday’s match between Toronto FC and the Columbus Crew at Crew Stadium in Ohio is up over at Waking the Red.

    Check it out.

So You've Graduated; Now What?

    With the end of season roster cull due and yet another rebuilding project on the cards, the next month will be an important time for several of the Toronto FC Academy Graduates waiting to discover their fate.

Thoughts? - Would Acquiring Alessandro Nesta Have Helped TFC?

    Now, on the morning of the meeting between Toronto FC and the Montreal Impact, seems as good a time as any to look at the half-season of work put in by Italian legend, Alessandro Nesta and attempt to answer the question of whether he would have been a good signing for Toronto.

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: Montreal Impact – Meeting the Fifth & Final at Waking the Red

    Preview of today’s match between Toronto FC and the Montreal Impact at BMO Field is up over at Waking the Red.

    Check it out.

Head-to-head: Canada vs. Honduras – All-time Results

    Mere hours remain until kickoff to the match that will decide whether Canada progresses to the next round of CONCACAF qualification for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

The Cavellini Debate – Will He See the Pitch?

    Nineteen-year-old Lucas Cavellini joined the Canadian National Team as a replacement for the suspended Olivier Occean - who saw an unjust red card in the second half of action against Cuba on Friday.

First Person View - TFC Academy v Montreal Impact Academy

    Wednesday night, on a lark, I hopped on the TTC and made my way up to Downsview Park to take in the rescheduled match between the TFC Academy and the Montreal Impact Academy.

Cuban News Rounds

    In preparation for tomorrow evening’s match between Canada and Cuba, POV-FS fired up the Google machine and the old-reliable translate function to dig a little deeper behind the upcoming opposition.

    Information was scarce, with Cuba already eliminated and the nation’s sporting attentions more internally focused on Baseball, Boxing, and most-interestingly, Chess, but there were a few tidbits of information that may be of interest to the anorak-enthusiasts out there.

Head-to-Head: Canada vs. Cuba – All-time Results

    Canada and Cuba take to the pitch on Friday evening in the first of two matches that will determine whether Canada will move on to the final phase of qualification: The Hex.

    Cuba, with zero points, has already been eliminated, but don’t let that cloud the fact that they have been much tougher opposition than would have been expected.

    National Team coach Stephen Hart has reiterated the importance of not looking beyond this first match to Tuesday’s meeting with Honduras.

    The full Men’s sides of Canada and Cuba have met ten times previously. Here’s a rundown of past results:

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: DC United – Meeting the Third

    Preview of this afternoon’s match between Toronto FC and DC United at BMO in Toronto is now up over at Waking the Red.

    Check it out.

On the Race to Be the First Canadian Team in the MLS Playoffs, Measuring Success, & Long-Term Planning

    The Vancouver Whitecaps, should they make the playoffs this season, will become the first Canadian club to gain entry to the MLS postseason, much to the chagrin of Toronto FC and their fans, who have long used the playoffs as their stated goal, or as a measuring stick of success.

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: New York Red Bulls – Meeting the Second

    Preview of tonight’s match between Toronto FC and the New York Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena is up over at Waking the Red.

    Check it out.

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: Los Angeles Galaxy at Waking the Red

    Preview of tonight’s match between Toronto FC and the Los Angeles Galaxy at the Home Depot Center is up over at Waking the Red.

    Check it out.

The Curse of the SkyDome Strikes Again

    Back on March 7th Toronto FC began their 2012 season with a dramatic 2-2 match in front of nearly fifty-thousand fans at the SkyDome in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinal against the Los Angeles Galaxy.

First Person View - Mariner’s Contrasting Comments

    In the space of just under a month Paul Mariner has radically changed his tune.

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: Philadelphia Union – Meeting the Third at Waking the Red

    Preview of the afternoon’s match between Toronto FC and the Philadelphia Union at BMO Field is up over at Waking the Red.

    Check it out.

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: Chicago Fire – Meeting the Third at Waking the Red

    Preview of tonight’s match at BMO Field between Toronto FC and the Chicago Fire is up over at Waking the Red.

    Check it out.

Upon First Glance – Canada vs. Panama

    Last night in Toronto at BMO Field, Canada defeated Panama 1-0 on quickly taken free kick from Atiba Hutchinson after Simeon Jackson had been fouled on the right-side of the pitch. Hutchinson picked out Dwayne De Rosario, sharply placed onside in the six-yard box for a simple, but ever so important, finish into the unguarded net.

First Person View – The Canada Lineup

    A few thoughts on what I’d like to see from Canada to complete the barrage of posts prior to kick off.

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: Panama (Home Edition) at Waking the Red

    Preview of tonight’s match at BMO Field between Canada and Panama is up over at Waking the Red.

Panamanian News Rounds

    Again leaving it rather late, but here’s a brief rundown of some news snippets from the Panamanian press.

Head-to-Head: Canada vs. Panama – All-time Results

    Canada and Panama will take to the pitch twice over the coming seven days in the latest fixtures of the third round of CONCACAF World Cup Qualification.

    Somewhat curiously the two have only met on six previous occasions. Perhaps even more surprising, Canada is undefeated against the Panamanians, tallying two wins and four draws.

    Here’s a rundown of those meetings:

Canadian MLS Contingent – Weekend Review

A brief look at the recent form of the nine MLS players called into the Canadian National team.

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: Sporting KC – Meeting the Third at Waking the Red

    Preview of tonight’s match between Toronto FC and Sporting KC at Livestrong Sporting Park is up over at Waking the Red.

    Check it out.