On Fridays my mind drifts back to the lake…

Everyone wants the blog to be up to date with events in the world of TFC, but the reality of my life is such an obstacle. I work, I spend hours commuting, I am wrapping up my online course and practices for one of the two soccer teams that I coach are now twice a week. So I am going to try for Friday posts as both a look back at what caught my attention (or your attention) and a preview for the upcoming weekend game.


The opinion of the devoted is that Toronto FC gets less mainstream media attention than it should. Maybe the soap opera turmoil is part of a ploy to draw that attention. Last week it was Jim Brennan’s surprise retirement. This week it was the Gerba interview on The Score and the fan fury at JDG’s leap out of the wall against Colorado. The stories just get better as the team on the field flounders.


Ali Gerba’s interview with Kristian Jack of The Score was entertaining television. It might not have been the best career move for Gerba, but it was refreshing to hear a player say something negative and try not to burn his bridges at the same time. He says that he would come back for a future manager/coach mainly because of the great fans and the fact that MLSE know how to do things. I have a hard time imagining Ali Gerba’s name coming up in a future job interview, but stranger things have happened.
Gerba at one point quoted Canadian coach Stephen Hart as saying that he had never seen Gerba in better shape. Hmmm, remember that pitting Steven Hart against the management of TFC is a dead end. The Canadian national team has ZERO international spots on their roster, so he must keep his players happy. The Canadian team does not have to worry about day-to day issues such as training and locker room morale. The team gathers and then after the game they are gone again.


I have been hesitant to write about my good luck of late. I fear the words on the blog create a self-imposed jinx, so here goes. I remain one of the five left in the Survivor Pool over at Duane Rollin’s 24th minute. My pick for this weekend is New England Revolution at home versus the Colorado Rapids. It is a tough weekend and each member of the pool has picked a different team. You can only chose a team once and I have used Houston, LA, Philly and Colorado. Win or draw puts you through and I am trying to fashion a strategy that sticks to teams at home and postpones the eventual choices of Toronto, Chivas and DC United
Trout FC mentions that if I am enjoying this period of wise selection and pure luck, perhaps it is time for me to look at a World Cup pool or MLS betting. I am not a gambler but success leads to temptation.
The king of sports betting, counting both volume and media attention, in North America has to be the NFL. The MLS is eons behind, but I think as it grows it has some of the betting friendly aspects of the NFL. It has the weekly schedule, for example, which gives you the chance to ponder recent form. It would be interesting to see if the equivalent of the NFL point spread can be developed for our lower scoring game.


Preview
I did not catch the Dallas vs Seattle game (2-2 final)last night, so I am unable to speculate on how tired the Sounders will be when they face Toronto Sunday afternoon. I would bet on Seattle winning at this point, but I think TFCs hopes rest on the shoulders of Julian DeGuzman. He’s had a bad start to the season and clearly hit bottom in the Colorado game. This Seattle game is a test to see whether he is going to bounce back and be at the centre of the team or stay in the puzzled and puzzling category.