Cunnigham's take

Monday morning I published a story about striker Jeff Cunningham, and how personnel and formation changes at TFC have pushed the league's third-highest scoring active player to the sidelines and, eventually, to the reserve team.

DANNY MOLOSHOK/REUTERS

More than a few readers have asked me how he feels about moving to the bench, but after assisting on Toronto's first reserve game goal and scoring the second, he took off at halftime, so I never got to ask him where his head's at these days.

Got the chance after today's practice.

Before we go on, understand this about Cunningham:

The guy works hard.

I realize he arrived here with a bit of a prima donna rep, and I know some fans think he sulks on the bench, then dogs it on the field if he's not starting and scoring goals.

But in the 11 months he's been here I've noticed that most days he's one of the last guys to leave the practice field. After the team stretches and guys head to the showers Cunningham often returns to the field with a partner and a bunch of soccer balls and works on finishing.

At 31, he realizes he's not going to play forever, and after 267 MLS games he seems determined to make the most of what's left of his career, hence the extra practice.

Now, I can already hear the skeptics wondering how much good that extra work is doing. Eighteen games with TFC and four goals to show for it. Big deal.

Point taken, but there are much worse ways for an aging goal scorer to spend his free time.

Just ask Ronaldo.

Anyway, when I asked Cunningham how he feels about his new role as a substitute, he said he actually didn't mind it. The team's on a three-game winning streak, so what is there to complain about?

"I don't consider it a role. My job is to make the coaches' decision (about whom to start) as difficult as possible," he said. "Right now I'm just trying to help the team win matches, and if that means playing five minutes, or one minute, as I did against Salt Lake, then that's what it is."

As far as reserve games are concerned he couldn't even remember the last time he played in one, but thinks he said more with his performance Saturday than he can in an interview.

"I did my job, had a goal and an assist in 45 minutes," he said. "That's good enough production. It should help me get at least in the 18 for the next match."

-- Morgan Campbell

Almost ready to shoulder the load

Caught up with a sweat-soaked Julius James in the BMO Field tunnel after the TFC reserve team's 3-2 loss to Kansas City.

Not surprisingly, his first full 90-minute game since who knows when had him exhausted. His last game action came two weeks ago when he played 45 minutes in a reserve team exhibition against the Cleveland Stars of the USL's second division.

Before that, he hadn't played since a 22-minute pre-season cameo against New York, an appearance that ended with the dislocated shoulder that started this whole mess.

Earlier this week he said he was just about ready to return to the senior team, but after the reserve team game he admitted he still doesn't quite have the gas to play 90 minutes with the big guys.

As Kansas City's reserves filed past him James said his empty belly caused him more problems than his shoulder did.

Dressing for the senior team meant eating at noon and hitting the field at 2:30 to warm up. Playing with the reserves meant sitting through an entire game before taking the field again. By the time the second half of the reserve game started nearly seven hours had passed since James's last meal.

And he felt it in the final 45 minutes.

"That's a minor slip up," he said. "I felt good in the first half and part of the second half, but I guess I have to do some more work to try to retain nutrients."

Beyond that, he said he'll be ready to return to the lineup after some fine-tuning.

"Just fitness and awareness," he said. "That's basically it."

Last couple of things

Jeff Cunningham, he of the 97 career goals, played the first half of yesterday's reserve game.

He scored.

Olivier Tebily, he of the brand new work permit, played the second half.

He didn't score.

This reporter, he of the tight deadlines, didn't actually see much of the reserve game.

He was writing.

Consequently, I can't really say how well James, Tebily et al played together.

I do know that TFC scored the first two goal, but by the time I reached the stands late in the second half Kansas City had tied the game, and by the time I found a comfortable place to stand (away from the swarms of gnats that invaded BMO yesterday) the Wizards had pulled ahead.

Anyone who saw the entire the game, feel free to enlighten us in 100 words or less.

-- Morgan Campbell

Yes, no and heck no

Will Olivier Tebily play Saturday?

Yes.

At least that's what Mo Johnston says. I wrote earlier this afternoon that Tebily had traveled to Buffalo to pick up a U.S. work permit, and a few minutes ago Johnston sounded confident that Tebily would complete the paperwork in time to become eligible for Saturday's game. A veteran of these procedures, Johnston said it takes about 15 minutes to secure the proper documents. I asked him to handicap Tebily's chances of clearing up these final details and showing up in uniform tomorrow, and he didn't leave much wiggle room.

"100 percent," he said.

There you go. The Tebily Era begins.

Will Tyler Hemming ever start again?

No.

At least not for Toronto FC. The team released him a few hours ago.

Johnston said it's just another sign of the direction the team's trying to head in -- stronger, faster, more experienced, all that stuff.

But it's still too bad for Hemming. He spent most of last summer on the bench with a bad knee, and most of the winter refining his game with the U-23 national team as they tried to qualify for the Olympics. Sure that squad lost the CONCACAF semifinal 3-0 to the U.S., ending any chance of them heading to Beijing, but afterward TFC head coach John Carver said he was impressed with how much Hemming had improved. Nine days later Hemming made his first start in the season opener against Columbus.

In the end, though, he was a midfielder on a team full of them. Dunivant, Edu, Guevara, Robinson, Ricketts, Robert, Smith....am I missing anyone? All those guys play substantial minutes. Where was Hemming going to fit in?

Turns out, he didn't.

Will Joe Lapira ever join TFC?

Heck no.

OK, maybe that was a little strong, but Johnston says the team's third round pick in the 2008 draft isn't even on TFC's radar screen these days.

I know some folks got excited when TFC was able to draft Lapira 35th overall, and why not? He scored a ton of goals at Notre Dame (41, to be exact), and if he's good enough for Ireland's national team (even if it was for just one game), surely he's good enough for TFC.

Makes sense.

But he'd put the word out before the draft that he had no interest in playing in MLS, which explains why such a dominant college player was still available at the 35th pick.

So instead of joining TFC he headed to Scotland, where a tryout with Aberdeen didn't work out. As far as I can tell he bounced from tryout to tryout until early April, when he signed with a second-division club in Norway.

Norwegian second division.

Wow.

Guess he was serious about not playing in North America.

Toronto FC's stake in all this is diminishing by the day. Basically, they retain his MLS rights for 18 months from the day they draft him. If they can't sign him by then Toronto relinquishes his rights.

But they don't seem too interested in signing him.

-- Morgan Campbell

Will Tebily Play?

As of this minute that's a damn good question.

Now that he has a contract he's finally part of the roster. And now that he's part of the roster he'll be eligible to play as soon as he gets a work permit, and today, according to the team, he traveled to Buffalo to get one.

Remember, this is a U.S. based league, so anyone playing here has to be eligible to work down there too.

Anyway, TFC media relations director Michelle Lissel tells me that if the league can process Tebily's paperwork this afternoon, he'll play tomorrow.

If not, he'll wait a few more days.

It's not like he's not used to waiting.

As soon as I know more I'll post again.

-- Morgan Campbell

On Soccer Terms

Received a lot comments on my last post. Minus my own comment we're at six braces and counting...that's 12 for the soccer impaired.

Seems it unsettled a few of you to learn that I have no interest in speaking soccerese, either online or in print. But before I pointed it out how many of you even noticed?

Two posts ago, when I wrote that few MLS players can match Marvell Wynne's "flat-out speed," were any of you confused? Did any of you think to yourselves "I wish he had used 'pace' because I don't quite know what 'speed' means..."?

After reading Wednesday's story about Julius James, were any of you still in the dark about his "match fitness," because I didn't use that exact phrase, or did you understand that he's just about ready to play?

Exactly.

I know you guys are smart, so I don't worry about you making the intuitive leap from soccer jargon to plain English.

So before any more of you wonder whether I'm trying to alienate my readers by excluding certain phrases from my copy, you need to remember two things:

1. Changing location changes language

On some level even the most ardent soccer purist understands that. Toronto FC plays in Major League Soccer, and not "Major League Football." And they play at BMO Field instead of "BMO Pitch." Are any of you planning a campaign to scrap those names in favour of something more "football specific"? I doubt it. You understand that to market this sport in North American you have to North Americanize certain small details.

At the same time, while working the soccer beat, I've learned few words and phrases and synonyms specific to the sport -- "dead leg," "niggle," "transfer window," etc. -- but it doesn't mean I'll ever use them in my copy outside direct quotes.

I'm pretty sure that if the Indianapolis Colts played the Chicago Bears in London, writers there would discuss what happened in "training." They would talk about Devin Hester's "pace" and wonder if Marvin Harrison was "match fit" after the knee injuries that hampered him last year.

But I doubt they'd call Bob Sanders a "centre back."

After all, we're talking "football," not "football."

2. I'm a Writer, not a stenographer

When I covered cops and courts I dealt with police-speak every day. Following up on a police report I might phone the police station and hear something like this:

The incident began as a confontation involving two adolescent males, which then escalated into an altercation, which culminated in one of the adolescents receiving sharp instrument wounds to the abdomen.

In the paper I'd summarize it this way.

An argument between two teenage boys turned into a fight, which ended when one of the boys allegedly stabbed the other in the stomach.

Which account makes more sense to you? Which is easier to read?

The point here is that outside direct quotes, I don't have to speak to my readers the same way my sources and interview subjects speak to me.

In fact, it's usually better if I don't.

What I have to do is tell good stories in language everyone can understand, which often means replacing genre-specific jargon -- whether it's "a brace" or a "sharp instrument wound" -- with something more universal that enlightens the uninformed without insulting the experts.

Everyone understands "two." Everyone understands "stab."

That's writing 101....

Still with me?

Good.

On of the commenters, I think it was "Skinn," asked me for my official position on the use of soccer specific terms....

SO HERE IT IS

For me, they fall into three categories.

First, you have terms specific to the game. These are words you MUST use to make any story make sense....free kick, six-yard box, player positions, etc. I learned the hard way that soccer doesn't have a "crease," and I can't call a centre back a "free safety" just because I'm comfortable with American football terminology. In this instance, you learn the language and you use it in your stories.

Then you have phrases that could go either way. Personally, I'm comfortable with either "supporter" or "fan." I realize that in other sports a "reserve team" might becalled a "practice squad," but day in, day out, "reserves" works for me.

After that, you have what I lovingly call "soccerese." These aren't "soccer specific" terms. They're just terms soccer people like to use, terms that have perfectly suitable plain English synonyms, and terms that sound fine with an English accent, but sound utterly pompous when uttered by people like me.

For example, if I'm writing about T.J. Ford, I'm writing about his speed. If I'm writing about Jose Reyes, I'm also writing about speed. So why if I'm writing about Dane Richards, do I suddenly write about "pace"?

How does that make sense?

It's pretentious, so I avoid it.

Same goes for "fitness," which sometimes refers to conditioning and sometimes refers to health. If a guy is healthy I'll say he's healthy. If he's in shape I'll say he's in shape.

And a brace?

Didn't even know what it was until January. I had to ask Cathal Kelly.

And again, this is something I think readers understand when they think about it. Last year I took a lot of heat when I wrote that Danny Dichio "crashed the crease."

Fair enough.

But two weeks ago when I mentioned that Landon Donovan had both L.A. Galaxy goals, nobody emailed me asking "where's my brace?"

And if you had I'd have said, "it's on your ankle, where it belongs."

Off to practice now... I hope this blog didn't make me late...

-- Morgan Campbell

A signing? Hurry up and wait...

First things first:

Olivier Tebily still doesn't have a contract, though he was back at practice with the team today.

In a perfect world I'd have interviewed him today and in tomorrow's paper you'd all be reading about how he feels about playing the waiting game. But the world's not perfect, and the team couldn't make him available to me today... because he doesn't have a contract.

AARON HARRIS/TORONTO STAR

Laurent Robert joined Toronto FC for the 2008 season and gave the team an immediate, er, kick.

Shouldn't be much longer though. When I asked John Carver about Tebily he actually had to double check that Tebily hadn't in fact signed a contract before explaining that this deal's getting bogged down in minor details, but that he expects Tebily to sign.

So far, though, nobody connected with TFC can tell me when.

Even so, I think it'll happen sooner rather than later. In fact, I'm checking my email for TFC news releases as I write this post, hoping Tebily doesn't sign before I publish and render this whole thing useless.

Wouldn't surprise me to see him sign tomorrow. Wednesday's a day off for the team, which might free people up to finish the paperwork a deal like this requires.

It's also my day off, which is when everything seems to happen. Laurent Robert signing. Kluivertgate (you gotta love chasing rumours...he was NEVER going to sign here, guys)....and now maybe Tebily**.

** Once again, a disclaimer: Predictions made on the blog are NOT legally binding and should under no circumstances be used as the basis for Proline picks, MLS fantasy pools, or internet discussion board pontificating. If Tebily takes three more weeks to sign, or takes the next flight back to Birmingham, remember that this blog is PURE speculation intended to stimulate conversation. HOWEVER...if this deal happens on Wednesday I receive full credit for predicting it correctly. These are the rules of journalism. I don't make them up. I just play by them.

Before I go...

I take a little heat from readers about not being soccerish enough. You won't find terms like "match fitness," or "pace" in my copy, and when somebody scores two goals, I'll write that he scored two goals. A "brace" is something you use to stabilize a weak joint, like Ronnie O'Brien's knee.

But I still keep my eyes and ears open so I can learn a little something from the footy purists I interact with daily. Today, for expample, I'm going to use the phrase "Argentine Clausura" in my blog.

As in, what do you guys think of this goal from the Argentine Clausura?

Best I've seen in a while.

-- Morgan Campbell

Cycling, civics and scoring droughts...

TFC Free Press

After head coach John Carver finished his media briefing following TFC's 1-0 win over Real Salt Lake, team officials ushered everyone down the hallway, past the locker room to the strength and conditioning room we would be able to interview players as they pedaled their post-game blues away on stationary bikes.

As I mentioned in the entry directly below this one, it's a routine the sports media in Ottawa know well thanks to the Senators, but was foreign to local folks until yesterday.

And once security let us into the room and we saw the starting XI pedaling away on the bikes lining the far wall, a lot of people did what sportswriters do best.

They complained.

It's highly ironic because just about everyone who covers soccer complains about complaining readers. We all know there are some soccer fans out there that we'll never EVER please. If we don't write about soccer we're ignoring the world's most popular sport. When we do write about it we're just jumping on a bandwagon, or worse yet, part of a sinister conspiracy to drive soccer out of Toronto for good through bad publicity. For some soccer fans, enough is never enough, and we know that.

So after a year spent corralling players as they straggled in and out of the locker room, we finally had a captive audience and still a few folks weren't satisfied.

The fan's too loud.

There's too much echo.

The bikes are too close together so we can't swarm people like we usually do.

Personally, I had no problems, but it's not about me. Seriously. I've learned that since Thursday's post.

It's about you guys and people like you. Readers. Sports fans. Consumers. The soccer junkies who read four sports sections and 40 soccer web sites every day.

You guys stand to benefit most from the new interview format, and here's why.

Last year Danny Dichio shows up at his locker after a game and 20 reporters shove mics in his face and ask him to start talking. Read the stories that come out of that media scrum and you'll find most of them have the same quotes.

Boring.

It also homogenizes the news, defeating the purpose of turning to different sources for different perspectives on the same event.

This year Dichio hops on his bike and talks to reporters in small groups. He might get bored answering the same questions over and over, but it's not like he's got anywhere to be. He's on his bike. Coach's orders. And more reporters have to craft their own questions instead of depending on a few strong personalities to carry the conversation.

So now 20 different reporters have 20 different sets of quotes.

Now you actually do have different perspectives on the same event.

Break away from pack journalism and you increase the chances that any one reporter has a meaningful quote or anecdote that nobody else will have. Doing that gives readers a reason to look around. Finally they can consult different publications without seeing the same stuff recycled in story after story.

That's diversity.

That's democracy.

That's the free press at work.

I've got no complaints.

Back to Soccer

Civics lessons aside, I'm pretty sure some of you visit this blog to talk soccer, so let's do it.

Let's talk Marvell Wynne.

If you've seen him play you know he's been one of TFC's most exciting players since Mo Johnston traded for him last spring. I can't think of another player in MLS that can match his flat-out speed. Combine that with his mean streak and I'm sure most wingers think twice about challenging him on balls played deep into TFC's zone.

But check that stat line again.

Fifty-four career games, no goals.

I understand that he's a defender, but it's not like goals never come from the back line. Jim Brennan, Andrew Boyens, Kevin Goldthwaite. All defenders, all had goals for TFC last year.

You can't say Wynne's not trying to contribute on offence. I know you hardcore TFC fans will remember last year's Colorado game, when he nutmegged some guy to set up Danny Dichio's goal. He almost scored against New England, too.

Then today, a minute before halftime he did to an RSL defender what Eddie Johnson did to Kevin Goldthwaite in last year's home opener -- which is to say he faked the guy out of his socks and gave himself a chance to score with his left foot.

But while Johnson unleashed a changeup that dribbled past Greg Sutton's outstretched arms, Wynne's fastball hit Nick Rimando square in his hands.

** Before any of the "football" purists reading assail me for talking baseball on a soccer blog, understand that the references is valid here because Wynne's dad spent eight seasons playing major league baseball...so there.**

In the middle of his post-game bike ride Wynne planted his tongue in his cheek and conceded that he's made peace with not scoring.

"I'm never going to score, and I know this," he said. "That's why I don't shoot. And I'm not going to get an assist for a loooooooooooong time."

Maybe, maybe not, but check out this highlight reel from last Sunday's game against L.A. Specifically, watch Wynne come from nowhere to track down Landon Donovan about 40 seconds in.

If he keeps making plays like that I don't think anyone will even notice, or care, that he hasn't scored in a looooooong time.

Fifty-five games now.

Not that anyone's counting.

-- Morgan Campbell

It's all about the media... isn't it?

Toronto FC held its annual media day today, and if you're a reporter the news was all good.

Today we picked up our stadium passes, got reacquainted with people we hadn't seen since last season (not everyone has the budget/desire to cover games in South Carolina and L.A.), and learn about this year's pre- and post-game protocol.

Most of the changes don't affect day-to-day coverage, so I won't bore you with them here, but the team has added something to its post-game routine that all of us will notice.

Exercise bikes.

If you've been watching sports highlight shows the last few years then you've probably grown used to seeing an Ottawa Senators post-game ritual that's part press conference and part spinning class. Instead of meeting the media in the locker room after hitting the showers, players would conduct interviews in the exercise room, pedalling stationary bikes.

I don't know if the practice caught on around the league, but clearly Brendan Shanahan wasn't a big fan.

Haven't seen the Sens on the bikes in a while, which makes me think they've abandoned the practice.

We all know how that worked out.

Anyway, this year TFC's picking up where the Sens left off, moving post-game player interviews to the stationary bikes in the strength and conditioning room.

Great news for those of us in the newspaper business.

As we discussed earlier this week, an athlete who loves a long shower or a post-game, pre-interview rubdown can wreak havoc with deadlines. Sometimes the one player you want to talk to after the game is the one guy you can't find because he either leaves early or arrives late.

This new policy makes life easier for us because it puts all of the players in the same place at the same time. No more deadlines jeopardized by stragglers.

Thank you, TFC strength and conditioning coach Paul Winsper, for looking out for the media.

Strangely, when I asked Winsper about his rationale behind changing the post-game ritual, he rattled on about all this technical stuff that had nothing to do with me or my precious deadlines. He talked about strength, circulation and recovery; crazy stuff like that.

It confused me. As a sportswriter, I know that everything is always about me and my colleagues.

But the more he talked the less he mentioned us.

Instead he said the post game ice bath will constrict players' blood vessels, and a quick switch to warm water will open them back up, causing fresh blood to rush into their muscles and flush out any toxins.

After that, a special carbohydrate drink will quickly restore energy to depleted muscles, and a few minutes on the bike will engorge those muscles again with oxygen-rich blood.

The whole process, he said, is designed to aid recovery. The more thorough the recovery, the fewer injuries and the sooner the players can return to high intensity training.

And the increased media availability?

Just a byproduct.

Kind of like lactic acid, I guess.

But I think he was just saying that.

Deep inside, he knows it all about us.

I mean, it is....isn't it?

-- Morgan Campbell

Hablando "Espanglish" Con Guevara

CARSON, Calif. -- Thirty minutes after TFC's 3-2 win over David Beckham . . . I mean the L.A. Galaxy, I'm leaning against a wall in the bowels of the Home Depot Center, watching the visitors' locker room clear out. I'm one of three reporters waiting for Amado Guevara to emerge from the shower.

After a courtship that dates back to last year, then a single practice with the club, he suited up Sunday and tried to bring some of this magic to TFC.

And after a debut that saw him break down L.A.'s defence with long, accurate passes, he's taking his time to come talk to us.

A dangerous habit.

At a night game a dawdling athlete sends reporters under deadline pressure into temper tantrums.

Yeah, newspapers are a dying medium, but right now they're still paying our bills. And as long as they are, deadlines will matter. The later guys decide to give interviews, the later we file our stories, and that makes things sticky for us. Missing a deadline is like missing a penalty kick.

You just don't do it.

But Sunday's noon kickoff had us all in an easy mood.

We had time.

And Guevara took it.

Finally, when nothing remained in the locker room except a mess, and a few TFC staffers trying to clean it up, Guevara appeared.

I approached this interview a little wearily. Like every other reporter covering the MLS, I'd heard Guevara's abrasive.

Now before you go bashing Cathal for bashing Guevara, understand that he's not the only writer to express concerns over Guevara's temperament. ESPN.com's soccer columnist Ives Galarcep said it, too.

But Sunday afternoon he seemed friendly and open.

I figured out pretty quickly that even if he has a habit of yelling at refs, and sometimes clashes with coaches, Guevara will talk all day to the media.

In Spanish.

Now I took some Spanish in high school, and when I lived in the U.S. I spent countless evenings watching Boxeo Telemundo. In a year on the soccer beat I've learned that what we call a field (excuse me, "pitch"), Latinos call a "cancha." I know that "header" is a "cabezoso" and that "Golazo" translates roughly into "big-ass goal."

Between that and listening to a lot of salsa I've come to understand more than a little Spanish.

So as Guevara spoke I caught every third word, but by the time I'd translate it into English in my head he'd already be on to the next topic.

Not a good way to get quotes.

Luckily, Jaime Cardenas of the L.A. Times was around to translate for me.

As friendly as Guevara seems, he made clear he's still got the stubborn streak that can irritate coaches. He could have come to Toronto last spring, but when Mo Johnston tried to trade for him he elected to head back to Honduras and play there.

The reason?

He didn't feel like being told where to play.

"I felt like people with Chivas were forcing me, and nobody forces me (to do anything)," he said.  "I do, first of all, what God said, and then what I feel.”

He's only been to Canada once, as a member of the Honduran national team, but says his teammates tell him great things about Toronto. And, like everyone else in MLS, he's eager to play at BMO Field.

"I want to play in front of a packed stadium," he said. "You know, us Latinos, we love that stuff. We love to see our fan base support us. I know that with this result they are going to get even more excited. We are going to feel more at home. And, if the fans get excited so should the team.”

By that time TFC staffers informed us that the bus was about to leave, so the interview needed to end. As he zipped up his jacket, spritzed on some cologne he and I had a short exchange.

I explained to him that my Spanglish is on point, pero mi español es todavia un poco débil. He told me his English is about as shaky as my Spanish is.

Works for me. At least we're equals.

Through Cardenas he also suggested that he'd be willing to learn more English . . . but it would help if I learned more Spanish.

Sounds fair enough. Reporter and athlete meeting in the middle, and a fine stat line for Guevara.

One game, one assist and one compromise.

And they said he was stubborn.

-- Morgan Campbell

Still Crunching Numbers

CARSON, Calf. -- It's week three of Toronto FC's sophomore season and I'm in L.A.

That's got to make you happy if you're a fan of Morgan Campbell, and I'm sure at least one or two of you are. Last time I checked I had a couple of blood relatives reading this blog and you guys still love me, right?

Well, even if you hate me, my presence here is good news if you love soccer in Toronto. It means I'm serious about following through on my promise to add depth and breadth to the Star's TFC coverage this season. And someone above values soccer enough to spend the cash good coverage sometimes requires.

So yeah, I'm glad I'm here.

But what about the people who didn't make the trip?

Like Andrew Boyens.

While his team and some of the people who cover them enjoy 29-degree temperatures and cloudless skies in Southern California, he's still in gray and rainy Toronto.

As far as I know he's not hurt. I watched him practice on Thursday.

This morning I got a text message from a reader saying he'd been released, but that hasn't happened either. Mo Johnston says Boyens is still on the team.

He just couldn't crack the 18-man roster.

Johnston didn't want to talk too much about it, but sounded very matter-of-fact in affirming his confidence in the guys who did make the trip to L.A.

It didn't seem personal. As we discussed here last week, it's a numbers game.

Julius James played 45 minutes in an exhibition game earlier this week, and now that he's fully recovered from the dislocated shoulder he suffered in the preseason it'll be tough to keep him off the field. I've only seen him in game action for about 20 minutes, but I didn't even take that long to figure out he's ready to make an impact. Factor in his injury and the time he's spent watching and waiting, and he figures to hit the field hungry, and playing hard to prove a point.

That's great news for TFC fans longing for stability on a back line that looked shaky against DC last week.

They've even got a song ready for him.

But it's bad news for Boyens, who appears to be the subtraction that made room for James' addition.

Since opening day, through free agency or injury rehab, TFC has added four game-ready bodies to its camp -- James, Laurent Robert, Amado Guevara and Rohan Ricketts. Trading Mike Zaher and waiving Collin Samuel helped alleviate the crowding, but not much. And if former Birmingham defender Olivier Tebily signs, the squeeze at central defence gets that much tighter.

When numbers swell like that, somebody's got to get crunched.

And right now it looks like it's Boyens.

One More Number

The MLS Players Union has updated its list of player salaries, revealing that TFC has a new highest-paid player.

It's Robert, who will make $319,800 in base salary, and $337,000 when you factor in bonuses. He's still far from the league's highest paid player. It's not tough to guess who that is.

But Laurent still makes more than Gabe Gala, Joey Melo, Nana Atakorah-Gyan, Andrea Lombardo, Pat Phelan, Tyler Rosenlund, Jarrod Smith, Kevin Harmse and Todd Dunivant.

Combined.

-- Morgan Campbell