ons become a lot more with the quality thats on the fi

The pressure is on as a retooled Toronto FC kicks off its MLS season today in Seattle against the Sounders. Catch all the action live on TSN and TSN Radio 1050 at 4:30pm et/1:30pm pt.After seven years of on-field failure, new Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment CEO Tim Leiweke dug deep into a well-stocked corporate pocket to bankroll manager Ryan Nelsen and GM Tim Bezbatchenkos global talent search. Many zeros later, Toronto FC is now home to England striker Jermain Defoe, U.S. international midfielder Michael Bradley, Brazilian international goalie Julio Cesar and forward Gilberto, and veteran Canadian star midfielder Dwayne De Rosario. Toronto stocked up on so many designated players, it had to trade incumbent DP Matias Laba to Vancouver to get down to the league limit of three. The shopping spree has prompted a return to the clubs early days, when season tickets were hard to come by. BMO Field should be full this season, although Leiweke has acknowledged the team will still lose money in 2014 because of the outlay on players. With demand exceeding supply, top football talent is not cheap and MLSE likely had to overpay to convince such elite players to choose MLS over more established leagues.Fullbacks Justin Morrow and Bradley Orr and Brazilian midfielder Jackson have also joined the party, meaning Toronto will likely have eight new faces in its starting lineup when everyone is healthy. And theres the early season rub. Torontos pre-season was hit by injury, particularly at fullback and forward. Defoe, meanwhile was a late arrival due to club and country commitments.Gilberto, troubled by an upper leg injury, was been left out of the travelling party for Seattle. Nelsen hopes to have him back for the home opener March 22 against D.C. United. The Brazilian actually returned to training this week but Nelsen doesnt want to rush him in case he aggravates the injury. The artificial turf at CenturyLink Field was likely a factor in that decision. The good news is Defoe and Bradley are both available for selection. Bradley has been nursing a foot injury while Defoe simply hasnt had much time training with his new team. But Nelsen says the 31-year-old English forward has adapted well. "He feels pretty good, to tell you the truth," Nelsen said. "So well see how he is."Defoe could well come off the bench. Nelsen, in his second year at the Toronto helm, is mindful that this is a marathon, not a sprint.Other clubs kept their stars in cotton wool in Week 1 of the season. New York rested French forward Thierry Henry rather than expose him to the artificial turf at B.C. Place Stadium while Seattle sent in U.S. international striker Clint Dempsey off the bench. As for Bradley, Nelsen said: "Hes come through this week pretty good. I think Michael will be a definite." Thats good news for Toronto, which went 6-17-11 last season. Bradley looks to be the straw that stirs the TFC drink. Most everything will run through the American, a box-to-box midfielder who manages to be both cerebral and driven. Other injured players like Morrow and Orr have also returned to training. Their concern is game fitness rather than health. Nelsen is taking the long view."This game is not going to define us," he said. "Its going to take a bit of time to get everybody kind of on the same wavelength. Even Seattle, when they brought Clint (Dempsey) over -- just one piece -- were a bit of a different team last year. "Everybody has to kind of get used to each other and weve done it with several big pieces and several other pieces as well. This game is not going to define who we are. The next probably five or six, seven games are going to define who we are." Still, he hopes the progress is rapid, starting Saturday. With the playoffs a stated goal, Toronto cannot wait too long to start making its move up the standings, especially since Bradley, Cesar and possibly Defoe will be away for considerable time this summer on World Cup duty. When Toronto FC does not have possession, Nelsen expects his team to play the same kind of game it did last year -- with players pressing the opposition. The difference should be more noticeable when the team has the ball, given the influx of talent."Your options become a lot more with the quality thats on the field. Last year we had to be a bit more conservative because of the personnel we have," Nelsen said. "But when you have good players, you can start being a bit more expansive." While Toronto had a bye last weekend, a rain-soaked crowd of 39,240 saw Seattle win its season opener 1-0 over defending champion Sporting Kansas City with a stoppage-time goal by former Toronto forward Chad Barrett. Former Toronto keeper Stefan Frei was in goal. And on Thursday Seattle coach Sigi Schmid confirmed Frei as his No. 1 goalie ahead of veteran Marcus Hahnemann. The state of the Seattle turf at CenturyLink Field became an issue in the buildup to the Toronto game after Nelsen said of the surface: "Youve got not just an artificial field -- its a bad artificial field." Schmid took umbrage at the suggestions Seattles turf is bad, saying all the artificial surfaces are about the same in the league."Let me say this first, tell me which turf field is good in this league. There is no good turf field in this league," he told reporters. "I dont disagree, necessarily, with Ryans statement."Id love to have brand-new turf this year, as would everybody else. But I disagree with the point of making it seem like Seattles is worse than the others. I think the others are equally as good or as bad -- however you want to look at it." Scottish defender Steven Caldwell retains the Toronto armband as captain. Cesar starts in goal. To put Torontos woeful league history into perspective, a win Sunday would only be its 15th road victory since the teams debut in 2007. Seattle is one of seven MLS cities where Toronto has yet to win. NOTES: Torontos record in season openers is 1-6. All have been away from home to escape the weather. That record includes a 3-1 loss in Seattle to open the 2012 season. TFCs lone season-opening win was in 2009 when Toronto defeated Sporting Kansas City 3-2 ... MLSE boss Tim Leiweke is expected to take in the Seattle season opener. Eden Hazard Chelsea Jersey . -- Adam Tambellini scored three times and set up one more as the Calgary Hitmen won their sixth in a row by crushing the host Lethbridge Hurricanes 8-1 on Saturday in Western Hockey League play. Cesar Azpilicueta Chelsea Jersey . Its the second of three meetings between these teams this season. Vancouver was a 2-1 winner on home ice December 22nd. http://www.chelseafcproshop.com/Kids-Ngolo-Kante-Jersey/ . - Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Jason Babin is now a free agent. Kepa Arrizabalaga Jersey .ca. Kerry, In the closing minutes of the second period of Game 4 between Pittsburgh and Columbus there were the remnants of two broken sticks behind the Pittsburgh net. Danny Drinkwater Jersey . Correia pitched six innings of one-run ball, Eduardo Escobar homered, and the Minnesota Twins pulled away late to beat the Colorado Rockies 9-3 on Saturday.Norman, OK - Oklahoma freshman Samaje Perine broke the week-old FBS single-game rushing record to lead the No. 23 Sooners in a 44-7 rout of Kansas on Saturday. Perine rushed for 427 yards, surpassing the record set last week by Wisconsin junior Melvin Gordon, whose 408 yards against Nebraska in just three quarters broke LaDainian Tomlinsons 15-year-old FBS mark. It took Perine a little longer, but not much. He set the new mark on his last run, a 42-yarder 2 1/2 minutes into the fourth quarter after shaking off a few would-be tacklers near the line. Just sensational, said Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops. The guy is just so exceptional in everything he does. Stoops said he considered taking Perine out of the game before he set the record. It just got to that point where we were thinking about resting him and then someone said he only needs 38 more yards, Stoops said. Thats too close not to do it and there is still way too much time left in the game. The game was played in the rain after a 90-minute delay because of lightning and most of Perines big runs came with little contact. He carried the ball 34 times and scored five touchdowns on rushes of 66, 49, 34, 33 and 27 yards. Perine gave much of the credit to the offensive line, which opened holes and sealed corners for him all game. Im not really feeling special in any type of way, he said. I just look at it as doing what I have to do under certain conditions to just help my team win. Perine gained 222 of his yards in the first half on just 18 carries. Cody Thomas, starting for the second straight game in place of injured quarterback Trevor Knight, completed just three of his 13 passes for 39 yards but didnt need to do much for the Sooners (8-3, 5-3 Big 12). Safety Cassius Sendish scored on a 63-yard fumble return for the Jayhawks (3-8, 1-7), who have lost 26 connsecutive Big 12 road games.dddddddddddd Michael Cummings passed for 84 yards and was just 8-of-22 with an interception. Perine broke the Big 12 rushing record of 378 yards set by Iowa States Troy Davis vs. Missouri on Sept. 28, 1996. He broke Greg Pruitts Oklahoma record of 294 yards against Kansas State on Oct. 23, 1971. He now has 1,428 rushing yards this season. Adrian Petersons single-season Sooners record is 1,925 set in 2004. After the lightning delay, Perine flashed around the left side of the line and went untouched on a 49-yard run just 3 1/2 minutes into the game for his first touchdown. They obviously had a good game plan, said Kansas interim coach Clint Bowen. Their offensive line played very physically, came off the ball hard and got movement on us. He is a tough guy to bring down. Michael Hunnicutts 39-yard field goal pushed the Sooners lead to 10-0 later in the first quarter and Perine blew past two tacklers near the line on a 33- yard run that made it 17-0 with 6:05 remaining in the first half. Perine was untouched again on a 34-yard run on Oklahomas next possession, going over 200 yards for the half and giving the Sooners a 24-point lead. He raced 66 yards down the left side of the field to make it 31-0 just 1:04 into the second half. Keith Fords fumble was picked up by Sendish and returned 63 yards for Kansas only points just 22 seconds later. After Hunnicutt kicked a 37-yard field goal for Oklahoma, Perine scored for a fifth time on a EY U 28 VS Weber State 15 2nd QUARTER Charleston So 19 VS WOFFORD 18 1st QUARTER TOWSON 23 VS North Dakota 20 7:00 PM (ET) Xavier 0 VS BINGHAMTON 0 7:00 PM (ET) LSU-Shrevepor 0 VS GRAMBLING 0 7:00 PM (ET) Penn 0 VS NAVY 0 7:00 PM (ET) Brown 0 VS NEW HAMPSHIRE 0 1st QUARTER Seton Hall 6 VS PENN STATE 0 7:30 PM (ET) Georgetown 0 VS ALABAMA 0 VS BYU 0 ' ' '