Canadian Crossing

Toronto FC wins Eastern Conference title and will host 2017 MLS Cup

The breakthrough!@JozyAltidore puts @torontofc ahead 1-0! #TORvCLB // @audi #MLSCupPlayoffs https://t.co/A60AaxAH7I

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) November 30, 2017

Jozy Altidore was suspended in a controversial decision for the first leg against Columbus. So the scenario was fitting where Altidore overcame an injury in the 49th minute to score the lone goal in the 60th minute, sending Toronto FC to the 2017 MLS Cup with a 1-0 win.

Toronto FC will host either Seattle or Houston on December 9, but that will likely be Seattle. The MLS Cup defending champion Sounders scored a pair of first-half goals in the opening leg in Houston to post the 2-0 victory. Even if the Dynamo can shut down the Sounders in Seattle Thursday night, the 2 away goals advantage looms large.

In the first leg at Columbus, Toronto did not put a shot on target. Toronto had six shots in the first half and one in the second, all off the mark.

Toronto FC won the Supporters Shield, dominating the MLS schedule. The Reds have had to focus on defence, only scoring 3 goals in 4 playoff games.

2017 MLS Canadian teams playoffs results

Date	Teams	Winner	Score
December 9	Seattle/Houston @ Toronto	TBD	TBD
November 29	Columbus @ Toronto	Toronto	1-0
November 21	Toronto @ Columbus	Tie	0-0
November 5	New York Red Bulls @ Toronto	NY Red Bulls	1-0
November 2	Vancouver @ Seattle	Seattle	2-0
October 30	Toronto @ New York Red Bulls	Toronto	2-1
October 29	Seattle @ Vancouver	Tie	0-0
October 25	San Jose @ Vancouver	Vancouver	5-0

What a feeling. 🏆#TORvCLB // @Audi #MLSCupPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/EEO7Xk3UaF

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) November 30, 2017

The lone goal in this series started with a goal kick from Toronto FC goalie Alex Bono. A few fortunate bounces later, the ball came to Sebastian Giovinco, who was also suspended in the first leg. Giovinco back passed the ball to Altidore, who gave a nice leading pass to Victor Vazquez. Vazquez set up Altidore with a beautiful pass and Altidore kicked the ball into the far left section of the Columbus goal.

"I couldn't leave the game. I felt like I had more to give," Altidore told Fox Sports 1. "There was a chance coming, and luckily enough the chance came when I was still on." Altidore said to TSN, "This is a testament to the organization."

Altidore did come out in the 68th minute after giving the Reds all the scoring the team would need.

Toronto FC faces Columbus for chance to go back to MLS Cup

Toronto FC advances in ugly fashion; Vancouver Whitecaps out of MLS playoffs

Vancouver Whitecaps FC win first ever MLS playoff game

2017 MLS playoffs preview

CanadianCrossing.com soccer coverage

If the Sounders do win tonight, the 2017 MLS Cup will be a rematch of the 2016 MLS Cup, which Seattle won on penalty kicks.

The 2017 MLS Cup will be at BMO Field on December 9 at 4 pm Eastern on ESPN and TSN. We'll have a 2017 MLS Cup preview next week.

Twitter captures: MLS

Toronto FC faces Columbus for chance to go back to MLS Cup

2017 MLS Canadian teams playoffs results

Date	Teams	Winner	Score
November 29	Columbus @ Toronto	TBD	TBD
November 21	Toronto @ Columbus	TBD	TBD
November 5	New York Red Bulls @ Toronto	NY Red Bulls	1-0
November 2	Vancouver @ Seattle	Seattle	2-0
October 30	Toronto @ New York Red Bulls	Toronto	2-1
October 29	Seattle @ Vancouver	Tie	0-0
October 25	San Jose @ Vancouver	Vancouver	5-0

A rivalry renewed. We're ready to write the next chapter.

Next stop: Columbus#TFCLive | #MLSCupPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/oI2qx70cjk

— Toronto FC (@torontofc) November 18, 2017

Toronto FC might feel like the team has an arm or two tied behind their back in the opening leg of the 2017 MLS East final in Columbus.

Jozy Altidore received a red card for an infraction off the field that, according to the Toronto FC people, was based on an incident where New York Red Bulls captain Sacha Kljestan wasn't supposed to be. Toronto FC appealed the decision and lost.

"The burden of proof for us was to unequivocally prove that what we think and what we understand to have happened did happen," said Toronto coach Greg Vanney. "We weren't able to do that conclusively with the video because there's still little gaps in the video."

I'm definitely not the biggest fan of this sport but from a casual fan standpoint, the whole incident is bizarre. An official follows the players up the tunnel in case something happens. Kliestan had knocked down Altidore on the field. Kliestan may or may not have been in the wrong place. The Red Bulls behaviour was absolutely shameful to any organised sport, and there doesn't seem to be any pushback to their actions. 

The hope is that Toronto FC can recover from these actions, but the impression is that if the Red Bulls had come to play soccer that afternoon in Toronto, both Altidore and Sebastian Giovinco would be playing in Columbus tonight.

Giovinco, who has half of the 2 Toronto FC goals so far in the 2017 MLS playoffs, got a second yellow card on November 5 and will not play in the game in Columbus.

Tosaint Ricketts and Victor Vazquez, who has the other Reds 2017 playoff goal, will be key people to step up for Toronto FC.

Columbus has played inspired soccer to this point, getting past a hot Atlanta United in the knockout round and a strong NYC FC team in the East semifinal. The team and fans are also rallying behind since the Crew's owner has threatened to move the team to Austin, TX.

The teams haven't played since May 26. The Reds went 1-1 in the Ohio capital with a convincing 5-0 win at BMO Field on May 26. In that large home shutout, the Reds were without Giovinco (injury) and Altidore (suspension).

Toronto FC-Columbus times and networks

Date	Site	Time	U.S. TV	Cdn TV
November 21	@ Columbus	8 pm	ESPN	TSN, TVAS
November 29	@ Toronto	7:20 pm	FS1	TSN, TVAS

 

The Trillium Cup is an extension of the rivalry between the Reds and the Crew. The teams compete for the Cup based on goals scored in the regular MLS games between the squads. The trillium is the official flower of Ontario and the official wildflower of Ohio.

Columbus dominated the rivalry early on since 2008 while Toronto FC has won the Cup 3 of the last 4 seasons.

This time, the teams are competing for the right to play for a more impressive Cup.

Toronto FC advances in ugly fashion; Vancouver Whitecaps out of MLS playoffs

Vancouver Whitecaps FC win first ever MLS playoff game

2017 MLS playoffs preview

CanadianCrossing.com soccer coverage

If Toronto FC pulls off the win, the Reds would host either the Houston Dynamo or the Seattle Sounders. The Reds would host the 2017 MLS Cup for having a better record. The winner of the Supporters Shield is the team with the most points in the whole league.

Twitter capture: @torontofc

Toronto FC advances in ugly fashion; Vancouver Whitecaps out of MLS playoffs

2017 MLS Canadian teams playoffs results

Date	Teams	Winner	Score
November 29	Columbus @ Toronto	TBD	TBD
November 21	Toronto @ Columbus	TBD	TBD
November 5	New York Red Bulls @ Toronto	NY Red Bulls	1-0
November 2	Vancouver @ Seattle	Seattle	2-0
October 30	Toronto @ New York Red Bulls	Toronto	2-1
October 29	Seattle @ Vancouver	Tie	0-0
October 25	San Jose @ Vancouver	Vancouver	5-0

 

Toronto FC got caught up in an attempt by the New York Red Bulls to drag the game down. Unfortunately for the Reds, the team will be without Jozy Altidore and Sebastian Giovinco in the first leg against the Columbus Crew in the MLS 2017 East final.

The Reds advanced to the next round with the advantage in away goals thanks to a 2-1 win in New Jersey on Monday.

In the first game, Victor Vazquez got a quick goal for Toronto FC at 8'. Sebastian Giovinco added to his free kick prowess at 72' to snap a 1-1 tie at 72'. Giovinco set a league record with 6 free-kick goals in the regular season.

Toronto FC went 2-1 against Columbus, all before May 26. Columbus won at home 2-1 on April 15. Toronto won 2-1 in Columbus on May 10 and 5-0 at BMO Field on May 26.

The first leg will be in the Ohio capital on November 21 at 8 pm on ESPN, TSN, and TVAS. The second leg is in Toronto on November 29 at 7:20 pm on FS1, TSN, and TVAS.

Vancouver Whitecaps FC win first ever MLS playoff game

2017 MLS playoffs preview

CanadianCrossing.com soccer coverage

The Vancouver Whitecaps MLS division playoffs pattern: Play a Cascadia Cup rival. Have a scoreless tie in the first game. Lose 2-0 in the second game.

The Whitecaps pulled that off in the 2015 MLS playoffs against the Portland Timbers. In 2017, the same pattern held with the Seattle Sounders, the other Cascadia Cup rival.

Clint Dempsey scored both goals for Seattle. Dempsey had been suspended for the first game in Vancouver.

In 2015, Vancouver didn't need the knockout round game. In 2017, the Whitecaps did win the knockout round game. Treasure those 5 goals in the off-season.

Vancouver Whitecaps FC win first ever MLS playoff game

The Vancouver Whitecaps were the first Canadian MLS team to make the playoffs (2012) and the first to get a bye in the playoffs (2015). Until Wednesday night, the Whitecaps were the only Canadian MLS team never to win a MLS playoff game.

Fredy Montero scored a header off a corner kick to give the Whitecaps a 1-0 halftime lead. Vancouver kept adding insurance, scoring 4 goals between 57' and 80'. Nicolas Mezquida had the final 2 goals within a 2-minute span at 78' and 80' to seal the 5-0 decision, having come into the game at 68'. Cristian Techera and Kendall Waston had the initial goals of the second half for the Whitecaps. Techera (corner kick) and Waston (header) helped out on the Montero goal.

San Jose actually dominated the first half in the Whitecaps 5-0 win but didn't have goals to show for their effort.

The Vancouver Whitecaps have little time to celebrate with the West semifinal starting tomorrow night with their Cascadia Cup rival Seattle Sounders. BC Place will be the home of the first leg at 8:30 pm Eastern on Sunday.

2017 MLS Canadian teams TV schedule

Date	Teams	Time	U.S. TV	Cdn TV
November 5	New York Red Bulls @ Toronto FC	3p	ESPN	TSN 1/4
November 2	Vancouver @ Seattle	10:30p	FS1	TSN
October 30	Toronto FC @ New York Red Bulls	7p	FS1	TSN4
October 29	Seattle @ Vancouver	8:30p	ESPN	TSN 1/4

Times are Eastern.
All games on TVAS except for TVAS2 on October 29.

The second leg in Seattle at Century Link Field was moved up to Thursday since the NFL Seattle Seahawks are at home on November 5, the date for the rest of the MLS second legs in the division semifinal rounds.

Vancouver went 1-1-1 with Seattle this season. The Whitecaps won at home 2-1 on April 14, played to a 1-1 draw at home on August 23, and lost in Seattle 3-0 on September 27.

Seattle veteran Clint Dempsey is suspended for one game as the result of a red card in the regular season finale. Dempsey will miss the game in Vancouver Sunday night. The Whitecaps need to take advantage.

The playoff meeting of Cascadia Cup rivals is the second for the Whitecaps. Vancouver FC didn't fare well against Portland in 2015. There is extra excitement outside of the Pacific Northwest to see how these teams will battle against each other in the playoffs.

2017 MLS Canadian teams playoffs results

Date	Teams	Winner	Score
November 5	New York Red Bulls @ Toronto	TBD	TBD
November 2	Vancouver @ Seattle	TBD	TBD
October 30	Toronto @ New York Red Bulls	TBD	TBD
October 29	Seattle @ Vancouver	TBD	TBD
October 25	San Jose @ Vancouver	Vancouver	5-0

We found out Wednesday night that Toronto FC will face the New York Red Bulls in the East semifinal.

Toronto FC will play the New York Red Bulls in the East semifinal. The Red Bulls manhandled the Chicago Fire 4-0 Wednesday night.

The Reds went 1-0-1 against the Red Bulls this season. The teams played to a 1-1 tie on May 19 in New Jersey. Toronto FC won 4-2 at BMO Field on September 30.

The teams have never met in the MLS playoffs. The Montréal Impact handled the Red Bulls in the 2016 playoffs.

Playing the Red Bulls gave a guarantee of not facing 70,000 potential Atlanta United fans in the division semifinal, even though the Columbus Crew advanced to the next round.

2017 MLS playoffs preview

A key reminder to casual MLS fans: away goals are significant since they are the first tiebreaker if the teams are deadlocked after 2 games. The Whitecaps weren't able to take advantage in 2015.

In 2015, the Montréal Impact gave up 2 away goals to Columbus. The Impact got those 2 goals back in Columbus but had to score a 3rd goal in overtime.

Toronto FC scored 2 OT goals with Montréal in the East final in 2016 since the teams were tied in overall goals and away goals.

CanadianCrossing.com soccer coverage

I signed up for a free preview of MLS Live to watch the Whitecaps game. I do get a UniMas signal but the SAP wasn't working during the early game. The SAP worked beautifully in the nightcap.

The MLS Live feed was about 30 seconds behind the TV feed. The really nice 10-seconds backward and forward buttons were very helpful. The MLS Live feed came from TSN, a nice bonus.

photo credit: TSN

2017 MLS playoffs preview

Vancouver Whitecaps FC had a chance to run with the West title in the 2017 MLS playoffs with 3 games to go. Even before the final game, the Whitecaps needed a win or tie to take the top seed in the West.

Vancouver fell to 3rd place and will host a knockout game instead of resting this week. Adding even more insult is that the Whitecaps finished behind both their Cascadia Cup rivals in Portland (#1 seed) and Seattle (#2 seed).

The Whitecaps finished 0-2-1 to have an overall record of 15-12-7 for 52 points. Vancouver hosts San Jose in the knockout round on Wednesday. If Vancouver wins, the Whitecaps will play the Seattle Sounders and actually host the first game on Sunday/Tuesday.

Vancouver and San Jose played to a 1-1 tie in Vancouver on October 15. The Whitecaps finished with a 0-1-1 record against San Jose this season. The Whitecaps lost at San Jose 3-2 on March 11.

The Earthquakes just made the MLS playoffs with a goal in the 93rd minute to defeat Minnesota 3-2.

San Jose only had 11 road points all season. Vancouver had the fewest home points (32) of any playoff team. 

The Vancouver Whitecaps game will air in Canada on TSN 1/3/4/5 and TVAS 2 at 10:30 pm Eastern Wednesday. The Western Conference games in the knockout round are on UniMas. If your English is better than your Spanish, tune in your SAP signal to English and you will be able to get the audio in English.

MLS Canadian teams playoffs results

Year	Date	Teams	Winner	Score
2017	October 25	San Jose @ Vancouver	TBD	TBD
2016	December 10	Seattle @ Toronto FC	Seattle	0-0 (5-4 PK)
2016	November 30	Montréal @ Toronto FC	Toronto FC	5-2 (OT)
2016	November 22	Toronto FC @ Montréal	Montréal	3-2
2016	November 6	Montréal @ New York Red Bulls	Montréal	2-1
2016	November 6	Toronto FC @ NYCFC	Toronto FC	5-0
2016	October 30	NYCFC @ Toronto FC	Toronto FC	2-0
2016	October 30	New York Red Bulls @ Montréal	Montréal	1-0
2016	October 27	Montréal @ D.C. United	Montréal	4-2
2016	October 26	Philadelphia @ Toronto FC	Toronto FC	3-1
2015	November 8	Portland @ Vancouver	Portland	2-0
2015	November 8	Montréal @ Columbus	Columbus	3-1 (OT)
2015	November 1	Vancouver @ Portland	Tie	0-0
2015	November 1	Columbus @ Montréal	Montréal	2-1
2015	October 29	Toronto FC @ Montréal	Montréal	3-0
2014	October 29	Vancouver @ Dallas	Dallas	2-1
2013	October 31	Montréal @ Houston	Houston	3-0
2012	November 1	Vancouver @ LA Galaxy	LA Galaxy	2-1

 

Vancouver FC has had a rough going in the playoffs since joining the MLS. Even though the Whitecaps were the first Canadian team to make the MLS playoffs, success hasn't arrived. The Whitecaps lost 2-1 to the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2012 and 2-1 at Dallas FC in 2014.

In 2016, the Whitecaps got their first home game and having at least 2 playoff games. Unfortunately, Vancouver FC scored as many goals in the 2016 MLS playoffs as I did. In 4 MLS playoff games, Vancouver FC has scored 2 goals and 0 wins.

The first playoff win for a Canadian MLS team came in 2015 when the Impact shut out the Reds 3-0. Going into 2016, Montréal had the only 2 playoff wins of all the Canadian MLS teams.

Vancouver beat Portland on the last day of the 2016 season to win the Cascadia Cup. This year, the Whitecaps were a very distant third among the 3 Cascadian teams. Vancouver has won 6 Cascadia Cups going back to 2004, including now 3 of the last 5 years.

Toronto FC went 20-5-9 for 69 points, winning the Supporters Shield and breaking the league record for points. The Los Angeles Galaxy had 68 points in 1998.

Jozy Altidore and Sebastian Giovinco scored Sunday in a 2-2 tie with Atlanta United.

If Chicago beats the New York Red Bulls in the knockout round, the Reds will draw the Atlanta-Columbus winner. Otherwise, the Red Bulls will be Toronto's opponent. New York City FC is the #2 seed in the East.

The Supporters Shield is no guarantee of a MLS Cup. The 2011 Los Angeles Galaxy was the last team to win both.

CanadianCrossing.com soccer coverage

The Montréal Impact finished with a 11-17-6 record for 39 points, 9th in the East. The Impact were eliminated when the New York Red Bulls defeated Vancouver on October 7.

Sunday was the final game for Impact captain Patrice Bernier at the age of 38. Bernier, a Quebec native, played for the Impact in 2000 in the old USL A-League. He rejoined the club in 2012 when Montréal was brought into the MLS.

Montreal Impact gets extra telecast on Fox but with a huge catch

2017 MLS preview

2017 Canadian MLS teams U.S. TV schedule

Date	Game	Time	U.S. TV
March 31	Sporting Kansas City @ Toronto FC	7:30p	FS1
May 6	Toronto FC @ Seattle	4p	ESPN
July 23	Portland @ Vancouver	6p	FS1
July 30	NYC FC @ Toronto FC	2p	ESPN
August 27	Toronto FC @ Montréal	4:30p	ESPN
September 24	Montréal @ Atlanta FC	5p	Fox*/Fox Deportes
October 7	Vancouver @ NY Red Bulls	5p	UniMas/Facebook
All times Eastern. *-- available in some Fox markets

The U.S. audience got as many telecasts involving Canadian teams (7) as CTV ran in its early season telecast schedule. For the few Americans who could get CTV, you got 13 telecasts (both countries carried Toronto FC @ Seattle).

The final 2 telecasts were intriguing stories in themselves. We wrote about the bizarre scenarios over which audiences got to see a second Montréal Impact game. The second Vancouver Whitecaps telecast required a SAP signal or a willingness to watch a soccer match on Facebook.

logos credit: MLS/Vancouver Whitecaps FC/Toronto FC Reds

Montreal Impact gets extra telecast on Fox but with a huge catch

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect a Vancouver Whitecaps FC U.S. TV date and correct the French-language rights holder to MLS games in Canada.

We complained significantly that the Montréal Impact was shafted by U.S. TV outlets after reaching the Eastern Conference final. Well, Fox is coming to the rescue … in a way.

Sunday's Impact game in Atlanta will be on the Fox network but not in some major cities.

Fox carries the NFL on Sundays but the network is in the second year of an experiment to run MLS soccer on a week where the network only has a single NFL game.

The Montréal-Atlanta FC game will be on some Fox television stations that will carry an early NFL game (1p ET/10a PT). The coverage starts at 5 pm Eastern.

2017 MLS preview

While that sounds simple, there are a few complications. The Fox station in your area may still not carry the game you want.

Fox offers duopolies (more than one station) in a number of markets including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco, Washington, DC, Houston, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Orlando, and Charlotte. But they aren't using those Fox stations to carry both MLS games.

For example, Fox owns WFLD-TV and WPWR-TV in Chicago. WFLD-TV has to carry a late NFL game because the hometown Chicago Bears are in the early slot on CBS. As for WPWR-TV, the station is showing reruns.

WFLD-TV is carrying the early soccer game. So the station can't carry the late soccer game featuring the Impact.

This list of major U.S. cities will NOT get the Montréal Impact game. This is not a complete list:

Albuquerque, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, Knoxville, Memphis, Miami, Nashville, Pittsburgh, Portland, Sacramento, San Francisco, and Seattle.

No market is designed to get both MLS games. You might be too young to remember the dreaded The Baseball Network concept that covered the 1995 MLB playoffs. In that scenario, viewers at home could only see the 1995 American League Championship Series or the National League Championship Series, but not both. The networks decided which part of the country would see which game.

The other great solution would be to run the soccer game on an alternate digital channel. Sadly, WFLD-TV is the only O&O network station in Chicago that doesn't have an alternate digital feed of any kind.

Unlike the nightmare that was The Baseball Network, the game is available on Fox Deportes if you have that cable channel. I don't know if there is a SAP signal for English speakers or whether Fox Deportes would offer one. Fox Sports Go will stream both soccer games but that isn't the same as showing the game on television.

Canadians who timeshift can pull up a Fox affiliate that would be eligible to carry that game. Americans don't have the ability to timeshift to pick up an alternate Fox feed.

CanadianCrossing.com soccer coverage

Fox Sports 1 is carrying drag racing instead of soccer. Fox Sports 2 does technically exist but I don't know anyone who has that channel.

If I had a choice between TVA Sports RDS and Fox Deportes, French vs. Spanish, I would definitely choose TVA Sports RDS to get more Montréal Impact soccer. If I can watch the CFL on RDS, watching the Impact in French on RDS would be just fine.

Seeing the game in Spanish, or even French, is better than nothing. But driving interest in MLS, especially an exciting team such as the Montréal Impact, requires a better-laid plan.

The Impact got some badly needed momentum with a 5-3 win over Toronto FC Wednesday night, snapping a 4-match losing streak. Montréal is 3 points out of a playoff spot in the East. The Impact team is 11-12-6 for 39 points.

Before Wednesday, Toronto FC had an 11-game unbeaten run, 6-game winning streak, and were undefeated at home. Still, Toronto FC is having an explosive season. The Reds have the best record in MLS and have clinched a playoff spot. The mark currently stands at 18-4-8 for 62 points.

In the West, the Vancouver Whitecaps are in 1st place with a 13-9-6 record for 45 points. The Whitecaps are still sitting on a lone appearance on U.S. television so far. Let's see if that changes. (The Whitecaps will be on UniMas October 7 at the New York Red Bulls. Better than nothing.)

photos credit: MLS; Montréal Impact/MLS

2017 MLS preview

2017 Canadian MLS teams U.S. TV schedule

Date	Game	Time	U.S. TV
March 31	Sporting Kansas City @ Toronto FC	7:30p	FS1
May 6	Toronto FC @ Seattle	4p	ESPN
July 23	Portland @ Vancouver	6p	FS1
July 30	NYC FC @ Toronto FC	2p	ESPN
August 27	Toronto FC @ Montréal	4:30p	ESPN
All times Eastern.

You might remember that the 2016 MLS season was rather successful for Canadian-based teams in the East. But you wouldn't know that from the U.S. TV schedule for the 2017 MLS season.

Toronto FC narrowly lost the 2016 MLS Cup. The Reds had 5 appearances, one of those being a late-season addition with the game against Montréal. As a reward for making the MLS Cup and coming thisclose to winning it all, Toronto FC has 4 appearances, one against Montréal. Sad.

Montréal Impact made the final 4 and might have been the most exciting team in the MLS playoffs. The Impact had 3 scheduled appearances. The team lost a telecast but gained one back against Toronto FC. As a reward for making the final 4, the Impact have 1 telecast in 2017 and that is against Toronto FC. Mindblowing.

Vancouver Whitecaps finished 8th in the Western Conference, 7 points out of a playoff spot. Like the Impact, the Whitecaps went from 3 telecasts to 1.

Univison and UniMas still has a national contract in Espanol but no Canadian teams are on their schedules.

Toronto FC loses 2016 MLS Cup on penalty kicks

Toronto FC Reds 2016 MLS Cup preview

Toronto FC advances to 2016 MLS Cup

CanadianCrossing.com soccer coverage

I get that the teams are Canadian and that even if Toronto FC had beaten Seattle, the Sounders are more popular. Hopefully, the MLS will add late-season games featuring Canadian teams, especially if they are doing well.

Americans who have access to CTV, and we know there aren't that many of you, will be able to see some early season MLS telecasts.

2017 Canadian MLS teams on CTV

Date	Game	Time
March 18	Toronto FC @ Vancouver	4p
April 1	Montréal @ Chicago	3p
April 15	Atlanta @ Montréal	1p
April 22	Vancouver @ Portland	4p
April 29	Vancouver @ Montréal	3p
May 6	Toronto FC @ Seattle	4p
May 13	Minnesota @ Toronto FC	3p
All times Eastern.

CTV has more games with Canadian teams than ESPN and Fox Sports 1 and the CTV schedule stops on May 13. The CTV games have 3 appearances for each Canadian team. The only duplicate with the U.S. schedule is the 2016 MLS Cup rematch in Seattle.

TSN will carry the rest of the Toronto FC and Vancouver games and 9 Montréal Impact games. TVA Sports takes over the French-language rights and will have all the Impact games en Francaise.

Toronto FC starts on the road for the first 3 games. The home opener is March 31 against Sporting Kansas City at BMO Field on Fox Sports 1. Montréal opens on the road and then plays its only game at Olympic Stadium on March 11. The outdoor home opener at Stade Saputo is April 15. Vancouver opens its home season at B.C. Place on March 5.

photos credit: Major League Soccer

Toronto FC loses 2016 MLS Cup on penalty kicks

Toronto FC had its chances in the 2016 MLS Cup. The Reds had 7 shots on goal in the game to 0 for the Seattle Sounders. Former Toronto FC goalie Stefan Frei had 7 saves, including what will be described as "the save" in extra time on a Jozy Altidore header.

The difference between the teams became a penalty kick that went off the crossbar. The Seattle Sounders won the 2016 MLS Cup 5-4 on penalty kicks.

Toronto FC scored 17 playoff goals in 5 games — a MLS playoff record — yet scoring last night proved a difficult task. Altidore scored in every playoff game except the MLS Cup. Sebastian Giovinco scored a hat trick in Leg 2 against New York City FC but didn't score a single goal in the rest of the playoffs.

Giovinco came out late in the game, replaced by Tosaint Ricketts. Both teams missed a single kick in the first 5 rounds. Seattle won the game in the 6th round.

The teams managed to be the first MLS Cup participants to go scoreless in 120 minutes. The MLS Cup in 2006, 2009, and 2013 also went to penalty kicks.

Toronto FC penalty kicks

Player	Result
Jozy Altidore	scored
Michael Bradley	saved
Benoit Cheyrou	scored
Will Johnson	scored
Drew Moor	scored
Justin Morrow	missed

Frei's best save came in the 108th minute. Ricketts drove down and passed the ball to Altidore. All Altidore could get on the header was a soft touch. The shot was almost high enough but Frei deflected the shot.

Altidore led the Reds with 3 shots on goal in regulation; Moor, Cheyrou, Ricketts, and Jonathan Osorio each had a shot on goal.

The 2016 MLS Cup forced Fox to do something the network doesn't like doing: broadcasting the Canadian national anthem. We have slammed Fox every year for refusing to show O Canada during the All-Star Game. Fox hasn't broadcast any Toronto Blue Jays playoff games.

Jennifer Strype did a lovely job in starting out O Canada before letting the crowd sing loud and strong.

We know that different standards are assigned to sports, so the soccer folks have no issue with airing the anthem while the baseball folks are scared to show O Canada. But the baseball folks should know that O Canada can sound good. Maybe the soccer folks have more respect for Canada than the baseball folks.

"It's been 23 years since the city of Toronto last claimed a major sporting title: the Blue Jays winning the World Series." — Rob Stone

Fox Sports 1 on Friday and Fox on Saturday spent the pregames reminded the folks about the drought, but as it applies to a "major" sporting title.

We've heard this argument during the MLB and NBA playoffs that the CFL does not count. Most Torontoians would likely nod in agreement on that statement. Hearing that in the context of MLS in the United States is a bit of a surprise. This was the first MLS Cup on English-language OTA television since 2008. Does MLS count as major?

That fact that both the Toronto Argonauts and Toronto FC play at BMO Field makes for obvious comparisons. Leg 2 of the Eastern Conference final and the MLS Cup outdrew the Grey Cup, though the Argos didn't play in the Grey Cup. The Reds outdrew the Argos in the regular season by a considerable margin. The attendance at the 2016 MLS Cup was an impressive 36,045, slightly better than Leg 2 against the Montréal Impact.

CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage

The Toronto Argonauts have won 4 Grey Cups since Joe Carter's walk-off home run in Game 6 of the 1993 World Series. Doug Flutie guided the Argos in 1996 and 1997. The team also won the Grey Cups in 2004 and the 100th Grey Cup in 2012 at Rogers Centre.

The Blue Jays have been to the playoffs twice, the last 2 years getting to the American League Championship Series. 2016 was only the second year where the Toronto Raptors won a playoff series.

The Maple Leafs have 9 playoff series wins. 6 of those series wins happened in the 3 years where Toronto lost in the conference finals in 1994, 1999, and 2002. The Leafs last playoff series win was in 2004 and have only won 3 playoff games since then.

Things are getting better for Toronto teams, but the drought is a stubborn one. Perhaps Toronto should start appreciating the Argos titles because the CFL team has been the only consistent winner in the city in over a generation.

Toronto FC Reds 2016 MLS Cup preview

Toronto FC advances to 2016 MLS Cup

CanadianCrossing.com soccer coverage

If you are a casual soccer fan but a huge hockey fan, you had to recoil a bit about having a championship decided by penalty kicks. The Stanley Cup doesn't get decided by penalty kicks.

There was an honour in the way Montréal and Toronto FC played in extra time in Leg 2 where both teams didn't seem to want penalty kicks.

Perhaps MLS could take away a couple of players from each team and make them play sudden death. The teams knew that penalty kicks would decide the championship. Toronto had more chances but none nearly as good as what the Reds had in previous playoff games. The game was incredibly boring as Seattle played to lose as opposed to win. 

All this would be just as true if Toronto FC had won the 2016 MLS Cup.

MLS Canadian teams playoffs results

Year	Date	Teams	Winner	Score
2016	December 10	Seattle @ Toronto FC	Seattle	0-0 (5-4 PK)
2016	November 30	Montréal @ Toronto FC	Toronto FC	5-2 (OT)
2016	November 22	Toronto FC @ Montréal	Montréal	3-2
2016	November 6	Montréal @ New York Red Bulls	Montréal	2-1
2016	November 6	Toronto FC @ NYCFC	Toronto FC	5-0
2016	October 30	NYCFC @ Toronto FC	Toronto FC	2-0
2016	October 30	New York Red Bulls @ Montréal	Montréal	1-0
2016	October 27	Montréal @ D.C. United	Montréal	4-2
2016	October 26	Philadelphia @ Toronto FC	Toronto FC	3-1
2015	November 8	Portland @ Vancouver	Portland	2-0
2015	November 8	Montréal @ Columbus	Columbus	3-1 (OT)
2015	November 1	Vancouver @ Portland	Tie	0-0
2015	November 1	Columbus @ Montréal	Montréal	2-1
2015	October 29	Toronto FC @ Montréal	Montréal	3-0
2014	October 29	Vancouver @ Dallas	Dallas	2-1
2013	October 31	Montréal @ Houston	Houston	3-0
2012	November 1	Vancouver @ LA Galaxy	LA Galaxy	2-1

 

photos credit: MLS/Fox

Toronto FC Reds 2016 MLS Cup preview

Toronto FC will have the home field to be the first Canadian team to win the MLS Cup. The Reds can do so at BMO Field against the Seattle Sounders, a team that has never won the MLS Cup. The 2016 MLS Cup will be Saturday at 8 pm Eastern.

TSN 1/3/4/5 and RDS will handle the telecast in Canada. Fox and UniMas will call the action in the United States. Canadians could access the Fox feed, especially for those that can pick up U.S. OTA signals.

Managed to convince @FS1 to let me give some Canadian history on tonight's MLS pregame show. Tune in and about 🇨🇦 eh? #TORvMTL #MLS pic.twitter.com/lB4AS5bme1

— Julie Stewart-Binks (@JSB_FOX) November 30, 2016

Fox Sports 1 top sideline reporter Julie Stewart-Binks is Canadian, so she was the perfect choice to provide a Canadian history lesson during the pregame of Leg 2 in Toronto.

Stewart-Binks, a Toronto native, gave us 5 examples to highlight the contrasts between Canada's largest cities. "It's not just about sports, it's about history, politics, culture, and it stems from a long-running divide between English- and French-speaking Canada."

• The history lesson started with the Seven Years War and more specifically, the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. The war, which ran from 1756-1763, was won by Great Britain "leading to the control of colonial Canada but they allowed Quebec to retain its French language and culture."
• Quebec Sovereignty Movement, which sparked "2 referendums in the last 30 years." While you might think that is more about Quebec versus Ontario/Canada, Montréal is likely the reason the 1995 referendum failed. One point of order: the 1980 referendum was 36 years ago, which is more than 30 years. "2 referendums in the last 40 years" is correct.
• The Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Montréal Canadiens first meeting was in 1917. Stewart-Binks had a nice Quebecois accent when she said "Les Habitants."
• The Toronto Blue Jays vs. Montréal Expos playing for the Pearson Cup. Stewart-Binks noted that the Blue Jays voted to approve the Expos departure from Montréal. In Pearson Cup contests, the teams went 3-3-2 in exhibitions games from 1978-1986 and 6-6 in regular season games in 2003-2004. However, the Blue Jays had a 24-19 advantage in regular season games from 1997-2004.
• Montréal defeated Toronto 3-0 in the MLS knockout round last season.

Stewart-Binks contrasted the "old guard in Montréal versus nouveau-riche in Toronto." Rob Stone and Alexi Lalas were blown away by the noveau-riche reference. I thought the French reference for Toronto was clever.

Stone asked Stewart-Binks who she thought was the greatest band to come out of Toronto. Stewart-Binks smartly steered the conversation back to Canadian bands and artists in general. She mentioned Barenaked Ladies, Alanis Morissette, Rush, and Neil Young. You can certainly put Barenaked Ladies and Rush in the GTA. Neil Young's childhood is a mixture that includes Toronto and Winnipeg. Morissette is from Ottawa.

Toronto FC advances to 2016 MLS Cup

CanadianCrossing.com soccer coverage

Toronto and Seattle only played once in 2016, a 1-1 tie on July 2 at BMO Field. Toronto FC didn't have Jozy Altidore or Michael Bradley for that game.

Both teams had major struggles during the season. The Sounders replaced their only ever manager Sigi Schmid with Brian Schmetzer. The Sounders finished at .500 with a comeback under Schmetzer at 14-14-6 and a +1 goal differential..   

Then again, both teams have played well in the playoffs. 

The Reds have had a distinct disadvantage against the Sounders, going 2-7-2 overall and 1-3-1 in Toronto. The Sounders have consistently been a playoff team every year in MLS while this is Toronto's 2nd postseason run.

Seattle edged Sporting Kansas City 1-0 in the knockout round. The Sounders won 3-0 over FC Dallas in Leg 1 but lost 2-1 in Leg 2 in the conference semifinals. Seattle swept Colorado 2-1 and 1-0 to win the Western Conference title.

Each team has lost once in the playoffs. Seattle had a much easier time dispensing of Colorado. But will Toronto have the edge in having to work harder to outlast Montréal?

---

Sebastian Giovinco came out of Leg 2 at an awkward time. Often when soccer players fall to the ground, they magically get up soon after the fall. Giovinco was suffering from cramping. He should be fine for the MLS Cup.

Benoit Cheyrou, Giovinco's replacement, scored the first goal in extra time, so that worked out for the Reds.

Jozy Altidore has scored 5 goals and 4 assists in the playoffs. Altidore set the record for scoring in 5 straight playoff games.

Giovinco has 4 postseason goals but 0 against the Impact. Captain Michael Bradley only has a single postseason goal.

Jonathan Osorio and Tosaint Ricketts have 2 goals. Armando Cooper, Nick Hagglund, and Cheyrou added their first postseason goals to clinch the Eastern title.

MLS Canadian teams playoffs results

Year	Date	Teams	Winner	Score
2016	December 10	Seattle @ Toronto FC	TBD	TBD
2016	November 30	Montréal @ Toronto FC	Toronto FC	5-2 (OT)
2016	November 22	Toronto FC @ Montréal	Montréal	3-2
2016	November 6	Montréal @ New York Red Bulls	Montréal	2-1
2016	November 6	Toronto FC @ NYCFC	Toronto FC	5-0
2016	October 30	NYCFC @ Toronto FC	Toronto FC	2-0
2016	October 30	New York Red Bulls @ Montréal	Montréal	1-0
2016	October 27	Montréal @ D.C. United	Montréal	4-2
2016	October 26	Philadelphia @ Toronto FC	Toronto FC	3-1
2015	November 8	Portland @ Vancouver	Portland	2-0
2015	November 8	Montréal @ Columbus	Columbus	3-1 (OT)
2015	November 1	Vancouver @ Portland	Tie	0-0
2015	November 1	Columbus @ Montréal	Montréal	2-1
2015	October 29	Toronto FC @ Montréal	Montréal	3-0
2014	October 29	Vancouver @ Dallas	Dallas	2-1
2013	October 31	Montréal @ Houston	Houston	3-0
2012	November 1	Vancouver @ LA Galaxy	LA Galaxy	2-1

 

Leslie Jones had love for Toronto coach Greg Vanney and Toronto FC. But her love has shifted to the Seattle Sounders. Jones has shown her love for the Sounders on Twitter and on Saturday Night Live over the weekend where she was wearing a Seattle Sounders jersey at the end of the show.

---

The 2 Canadian MLS teams in the Eastern Conference were a strong draw in the conference final. TSN drew 862,000 while RDS had 519,000 viewers for Leg 2, according to Numeris. TSN says the game's average audience was 35% higher than the previous record, which was Leg 1 of the series.

In the States, Leg 1 on ESPN drew 415,000. Leg 2 on Fox Sports 1 drew 223,000. That might be a factor of the difference in the U.S. outlets.

The fog and rain in Toronto added drama and ambiance to Leg 2. No matter which team you were rooting for, the conditions looked cool on television.

Fox Sports 1 will air a MLS Cup preview program Friday at 10 pm Eastern. Fox will run a 30-minute pregame at 7:30 pm Saturday.

TSN 1/3/4/5 will run a 1-hour pregame Saturday night at 7 pm Eastern.

---

photo credit: MLS/Fox Sports 1

Toronto FC advances to 2016 MLS Cup

Toronto FC scored a pair of goals in less than 2 minutes in the first extended time period to win 7-5 in aggregate and 5-2 over the Montréal Impact. The Reds will host the Seattle Sounders for the 2016 MLS Cup on December 10.

The Impact had a 1-goal advantage coming into Leg 2 at BMO Field. The Reds had a 2-goal advantage in the away goals tiebreaker. The 3-2 Toronto win in regulation negated all of that, forcing the extra periods.

Benoit Cheyrou and Tosaint Ricketts scored in extra time. Jozy Altidore, who set a record by scoring in his 5th straight playoff game, assisted on the Ricketts goal.

Dominic Oduro scored the first goal for the Impact in the 24th minute. Armando Cooper and Altidore countered for Toronto in the first half.

Montréal's Ignacio Piatti tied the game at 2 in the 53rd minute. Nick Hagglund gave Toronto the 3-2 lead with a header in the 68th minute.

Toronto's Sebastian Giovinco came off the field in extra time with an injury to his right leg.

The 2 games combined for 97,004 fans: 61,004 on November 22 opener at Olympic Stadium and 36,000 tonight in the pouring rain at BMO Field.

We'll have a more extensive preview next week.

photos credit: Chris Young/The Canadian Press // MLS/ESPN