The news on Ruiz' knee...

...Isn't too bad if you're a Carlos Ruiz fan, and I assume he has a few of those in Toronto, even if he isn't scoring like he was six years ago.

After sitting out Tuesday's practice, Ruiz spent Thursday morning on the sideline pedalling a stationary bike while his teammates scrimmaged.

Two days ago he underwent an MRI scan that revealed no major damage to his chronically sore and (twice) surgically repaired right knee. Head coach John Carver said the scan found nothing more serious than a slightly misaligned kneecap, which he says Ruiz can correct within weeks, or even days, if he rehabs properly.

But Carver is sure that Ruiz, who is still sitting on 82 career goals, won't play on Saturday against the Houston Dynamo. He's confident Ruiz can return this season, but says the striker won't see the field in a game situation until he's 100 percent healthy.

Speaking of healthy, I'm enjoying the discussion that followed the previous post.

I understand how Ruiz' perceived lack of effort might turn off a lot of fans, but at this point this reporter is reserving judgment. Clearly Ruiz' knee isn't right these days. When it feels good he plays well -- witness his two goals against Cuba in World Cup qualifying -- but who knows if his knee will be pain-free this season?

For me, the issue isn't why TFC acquired him, because if you can add a big-name player to your roster while surrendering very little, you do it, even if that player appears to be a few years past the top of his game.

My issue is whether he was healthy when TFC acquired him.

Now, his knee issues are no secret. If TFC didn't know about the meniscus surgery last season, they surely knew about the MCL operation in April.

According to the folks at TFC, a medical exam is a mandatory part of any transaction. If you bring a player in, he has to pass a physical to make the transaction complete, and if you place him on waivers you give him another physical before he leaves the team.

Those are the rules, and Ruiz underwent a physical before suiting up for TFC against Chivas on Aug. 31. Clearly TFC was satisfied with the result or they would have voided the deal.

But just because the team was satisfied with the condition of Ruiz's knee doesn't mean Ruiz was fully healthy.

And again, it doesn't appear that anyone, Ruiz included, anticipated how Ruiz tender knee would react to daily training on turf, plus league games, plus national team duty.

I guess the sight of Ruiz on the sidelines, riding an exercise bike while everyone else prepares to play Houston, gives everyone their answer.

MORE MLS ISSUES

An interesting blog post arrived in my inbox this afternoon, via Soccer America Magazine.

According to the U.S. National Team Players' Association, there are 11 major issues facing Major League Soccer in the immediate future, and the Great White North is one of them:

8. Canada: Jingoism aside, Major League Soccer was developed to help improve the US National Team program.  Though it's obvious that motivation has changed to reflect a sports league for its own sake, the push north has to be considered an issue.

Let's start with an easily dismissed point: it violates the FIFA ideal of one league per country.  The exceptions are countries that can't support their own domestic league.  Though Canada has a history of joining US clubs in every major team sport, it's an issue that so many potential Canadian cities are now expansion targets.  Simply put, if that many are willing to buy in, why isn't there a Canadian first division?

First, for the Canadians reading that passage, there's no need to put the author's jingoism aside. Instead, accept it and move on. This blog comes from the players union of the U.S. national team, so expect its slant to favour Uncle Sam.

Second, the author's patriotism seems to have morphed into a mild case of xenophobia. Besides Toronto, three other Canadian cities (Montreal, Ottawa and Vancouver) are interested in an MLS franchise, but how many of these bids does anyone really expect to succeed? One? Two at most? It's not like MLS will need a Canadian Conference any time soon.

And to address the author's point, even if there were four Canadian cities capable of supporting MLS franchises, that would hardly necessitate "Canadian First Division" separate from MLS. I mean who wants to watch the same teams face off week after week after week?

OK, CFL fans do, but this is soccer.

Finally, whoever writes this blog forgets that league rules force even Canadian teams to carry at least five U.S. players, meaning Major League Soccer's original mandate -- developing American players -- remains intact even when the league crosses borders.

As John Carver will point out in a few weeks when he loses a slew of players to World Cup qualifying, playing in Canada didn't stop Marvell Wynne from developing into a full U.S. international from an intriguing prospect.

The U.S. national team will prosper as long as MLS is thriving.

Even if it's north of the border.

-- Morgan Campbell

What's With Ruiz' Knee?

The folks at Toronto FC thought striker Carlos Ruiz had recovered from a season's worth of knee problems when they acquired him from the L.A. Galaxy last month, but now it looks like they thought wrong.

Ruiz, who sat out last Thursday's practice a day after having fluid drained from his right knee, spent this morning's practice on the sidelines, his knee bothering him once again. Last weekend he dealt with the discomfort and played 54 minutes in TFC's 2-0 loss to the Kansas City Wizards. This morning, though, his knee didn't feel right, and though Ruiz couldn't pinpoint the problem he hoped an MRI scheduled for Tuesday afternoon could.

"It's hard to say (what's wrong)," Ruiz said. "I can tell you more tomorrow."

Ruiz' knee issues date back to last season at FC Dallas, with a torn meniscus and subsequent surgery. After moving to the L.A. Galaxy to start the season, Ruiz suffered a sprained medial collateral ligament in the same knee in April, leading to another operation and sidelining him for more than two months.

A former league MVP, Ruiz recorded just three starts in 10 games with the Galaxy, scoring once.

But by late August he was healthy enough for the Galaxy to trade him to TFC, and his knee held up through his TFC debut at Chivas and three World Cup qualifiers. He even scored twice to lead Guatemala to a 4-1 win over Cuba.

Now, though, Ruiz wonders if his tender right knee can withstand such a heavy workload.

"Playing with the national team and playing here sometimes (the knee) is a little bit tired," he said.

If TFC wants Ruiz to survive the season they'll have to figure out how to manage his minutes in the coming weeks. In addition to league games the next two Saturdays -- on turf, no less! -- Ruiz has World Cup qualifiers scheduled for the 11th and 15th of October.

And let's remember that this is a player with chronic knee problems who is undergoing an MRI momentarily. If the examination yields bad news, TFC won't have to worry about managing his minutes.

They'll just have to figure out how to replace him.

-- Morgan Campbell

TFC Heading South?

As of this past Monday MLS rosters are frozen, meaning teams can't transfer, make trades or sign free agents, but that doesn't mean TFC director of soccer Mo Johnston's work is done for the season.

With an eye on next year, he recently made a scouting trip to South America, and Thursday he returned to TFC practice full of hope amid big talk about building strong networks in Brazil and Argentina.

Of course, he said similar things last year when he made a scouting mission to South America, but a quick scan of their current roster reveals exactly zero South American players.

This isn't to say that Johnston is wasting his time and MLSE's money with his annual pilgrimages to Brazil and Argentina. But it looks like bringing South American talent to BMO Field is a lot like installing natural grass there -- a noble goal, but much more complex than it seems.

Johnston himself acknowledged that the trips aren't so much about signing players for today as they are about finding pipelines of young talent that TFC can tap tomorrow.

"I'm not looking at guys who are 33 or 34," Johnston said, adding that his targets are between 19 and 21. "It's important that we establish ourselves within that market, even if we don't take anything this year."

Might be a smart move, since most folks who follow MLS agree that South American signings generally yield more player for less money than European free agents do.

You can't deny that Real Salt Lake's play improved when they added Argentines Javier Morales ($240,000) and Fabian Espindola ($75,000) last summer.

On a recent story about head coach John Carver's promise to sign a designated player, a commenter points out correctly that Guillermo Barros Schelotto gives Columbus DP-type play (a league-high 18 assists) but doesn't cost close to DP money ($375,000).

Not to suggest that Laurent Robert exemplifies all European signings, but the former French international and Derby County castoff made 90 percent of Schelotto's salary while delivering, say, 15 percent of his production.

While revealing that he planned to make at least one more trip to South America between now and January, Johnston stressed that he wasn't going there looking for the designated player he and Carver have been discussing with the media lately.

He said the DP he has in mind comes from someplace considerably colder than Brazil.

"Preferably I'd like him to be Canadian. That's all I'm saying," Johnston said.

Any guesses?

-- Morgan Campbell

Hope fades on Kerr deal

With less than five hours remaining until Major League Soccer's trade/transfer deadline, Toronto FC head coach John Carver walked into his post-practice media briefing with his cell phone and a sense of hope.

Midway through the session he revealed that he had brought his cell phone home, hoping director of soccer Mo Johnston would call with good news about Brian Kerr.

The former Hibernian midfielder and a one-time protege of Carver's at Newcastle had been working out with Toronto FC since last week and was on the field again with them this morning.

But as practice ended, despite a mutual desire and ongoing negotiations between Johnston and Kerr's agent, the 26-year-old still didn't have a deal.

Hence the cell phone and the hope.

Looks like Carver will be waiting for a while.

Got a text message this afternoon from TFC PR director Michelle Lissel, warning me not to expect a team announcement regarding Kerr today.

It looks like he's not signing period. At least not until next season, if the mutual interest remains.

FIT TO BE TIED

I'm sure I'm not the only person who has noticed that Carver has been dressing up lately.

For most of the season Carver strutted the sidelines in the same gear he wears to practice every day - sneakers, track pants and a short-sleeved shirt adorned with a team logo.

I had long since noticed that most soccer coaches wear suits on game day, but I figured Carver dressed down by design, and preferred to coach in clothes that suited his image as a no-nonsense straight talker.

Then two Saturdays ago he showed up in slacks, a white dress shirt and a tie as TFC hosted Chivas. And last week he sported the same look against Columbus.

Apparently a change in weather prompted a change in wardrobe.

"I've always wanted to wear a shirt and tie but because of the climate, it was unbearable," Carver said.

So as the temperature continues to drop, look for Carver's sideline sartorial standard to keep rising.

-- Morgan Campbell

Freeman Hunted

When TFC head coach John Carver briefed the media after Thursday's practice, he mentioned that he had hoped to complete a trade before Saturday's game against the Columbus Crew.

He didn't identify the player involved, but did reveal that whoever it was wouldn't be here past this season.

Strange.

STEVE RUSSELL/TORONTO STAR

Throwing the new guy on the pile just for this season.

It's not unusual for sports teams making a push to the playoffs to acquire an impact player with an expiring contract, hoping the guy can help them reach the promised land before he leaves town. But it's not quite normal for the coach hoping to bring him in to then dismiss all possibility of bringing him back the following season.

The next day TFC announced that had received defender Hunter Freeman from the New York Red Bulls in exchange for a pair of supplemental draft picks.

Freeman arrived in Toronto Friday morning, took part in a short practice session for his new (temporary) team, then played 90 minutes in Saturday's 1-1 tie with the Crew.

Afterward he confirmed that while he enjoys what he's seen of his new city and  teammates, he in fact has zero intention of playing in Toronto -- or anywhere else in MLS -- beyond this season.

The reason?

He's already lined up another job.

Raised as I was on North American sports, I struggle to understand how teams can offer contracts to guys who are already under contract, but that's what happened with Freeman.

His MLS contract is set to expire after this season and Freeman says the New York Red Bulls couldn't promise they would re-sign him for 2009, nor could they guarantee they wouldn't cut his salary (guaranteed $71,160) if they did bring him back.

Enter IK Start of Norway's premier league.

In mid summer -- Freeman can't remember exactly when -- they offered Freeman both a contract and a raise.

In North America we call that "tampering," but in soccer you just call it business.

For Freeman it wasn't too tough a choice.

"It was either wait and see what the unknown was, or take what the team in Norway was offering," he said.

Freeman chose Norway, where he'll join former FC Dallas defender Clarence Goodson with IK Start.

The decision also made him expendable to the New York coaching staff, who, Freeman says, told him they wouldn't play him after he informed them of his deal in Norway.

With no chance to bring him back in 2009, the Red Bulls were happy to unload Freeman for a pair of late round draft picks. With a glaring lack of back line depth, TFC were glad to grab Freeman and put him straight into the starting lineup.

And with a long-awaited chance to play, Freeman seemed happiest of all.

Still, he says his new contract (which stars in January) and the pay raise it promises won't distract him from his current task -- helping TFC salvage the season.

"(Accepting IK Start's offer) was a decision I had to make for my future," he said. "It doesn't affect what I'm doing now."

-- Morgan Campbell

Dollars and Sense

TARA WALTON/TORONTO STAR

TFC's place in the standings just doesn't line up.

THE REAL STANDINGS

Anyone who follows Toronto FC is painfully aware of where the second-year franchise ranks in the league standings.

For those who didn't bother to click the link, TFC heads into Saturday's game four spots from the bottom of the league. Like Los Angeles, Kansas City and FC Dallas, they're stuck at 26 points, but climb a little above those other teams because they've got one more win.

But forget wins and losses for a minute because there's another game being played here.

Earlier today, Forbes Magazine released its rankings of Major League Soccer's most valuable franchises, and when ranking teams in terms of dollars and cents TFC nearly tops the table.

Three years ago Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment paid Major League Soccer $10 million for the right to bring an expansion team to Toronto. Today, according to Forbes, Toronto FC is worth $44 million (U.S.), second only to the Los Angeles Galaxy, which Forbes values at $100 million.

The survey excluded the expansion San Jose Earthquakes, but according to Forbes' research, only three of the remaining 13 MLS teams posted a profit in 2007: L.A. ($4 million), TFC ($2.1  million) and FC Dallas ($500,000).

Anyone else find it ironic that the league's most profitable squads currently occupy three of the bottom four spots in the standings, while perennial contenders D.C., Houston and New England posted an average loss of $2.1 million?

And is anyone else wondering how long that trend can last?

I mean, it's great that David Beckham's presence has prompted fans in L.A. and beyond to embrace the Galaxy, whose reported $36 million in revenue surpasses the combined total of the next two highest-grossing teams.

You can argue that by boosting the Galaxy's revenues, Beckham has done his job in L.A., whether the team finishes first or whether they extend a winless streak that dates back to June and finish at the bottom of the league.

But you can also argue that even the Beckham honeymoon has to end sometime, and that if the league's biggest name doesn't start winning games, fan interest and Galaxy revenue could dip.

Likewise, few observers in Toronto expected TFC to sell out virtually every home game for the first two seasons, even as the team endured goal droughts, winless streaks and a constantly evolving roster. So maybe, like the Maple Leafs, the team doesn't need to win games to keep selling tickets.

But is anyone involved with TFC -- officials, players, fans -- willing to take that chance?

It's one thing to sell out BMO Field on a sunny, midsummer day, and something else to fill the place on a dreary afternoon in October if TFC finds itself out of playoff contention for the second straight year.

TITUS STILL PLAYING...FOR FREE (!)

After a few days spent covering that other kind of football I returned to TFC practice today to find Rick Titus still working out with the team. The 39-year-old defender and former Toronto Lynx regular lined up with TFC last week, called in as a last-minute replacement on a team hamstrung by nine international absences and a last-minute injury to Abdus Ibrahim.

After logging 90 minutes last Friday with one of his many men's league teams, Titus played 90 more for TFC against Chivas. And he did it for free, because accepting payment would compromise his amateur status and render him ineligible for the remainder of the men's league season.

Earlier this afternoon TFC head coach John Carver said he's considering keeping Titus around for the rest of the season, though the "play for no pay" rule would still apply.

The proposal raises questions on three levels:

On the field...How (un)healthy is your team when you're entering the final quarter of your regular season and one of your key stretch-run acquisitions is (literally) a 39-year-old amateur?

In the press box... How can you convince the media and fans that Major League Soccer really is a major league when you're signing guys off the street to contracts that pay nothing? If the mainstream media were interested in pro-am leagues we'd have been covering the CSL all along.

In the real world... How does the MLS players' union feel about guys playing in the league for free? I put in a call to the president but I haven't heard back yet. I can't see the union in this newsroom allowing someone to put in a full work week for a T-shirt and a pat on the back, but the MLS union may be different. I realize they see no problem with developmental players playing for next to nothing ($12,900 per season minimum), but even they have their limits.

Don't they?

ON TRIAL

Couple of new faces at TFC practice this afternoon.

One was Brian Kerr, a former midfielder at Hibernian who spent time with Carver at Newcastle early in the decade.

The other was Pablo Gallardo, a defender who once played on Spain's under-19 national team.

Schedules, Stopgaps and Sutton

SCHEDULES

Just left a media conference call with MLS deputy commissioner Ivan Gazidis. Evidently I wasn't the only reporter with questions about how the league sets its schedule.

The call lasted a long time and might still be going on, but I'll get straight to the part that interests TFC fans and soccer purists:

Gazidis says the league will make a much stronger effort to avoid scheduling games on FIFA match dates in 2009.

As we discussed in the previous post, World Cup qualifying matches in the coming week will squeeze teams across Major League Soccer, but no team will feel it more than TFC, which will lose nine regulars to international duty.

Gazidis said he's aware that scheduling conflicts make things tough on the league, its teams and their fans, and says MLS will try not to let it happen next year.

"We are absolutely...looking at ways...that we could adjust the way we schedule," he said.

He also pointed out that scheduling around FIFA dates would be a lot easier if the whole league were more like Toronto.

Gazidis realizes that TFC games sell out both on weekends and during the week, and says if other fans showed that type of dedication MLS would have more freedom to schedule midweek games, thereby avoiding more FIFA dates.

STOPGAPS

Counted bodies out at TFC practice today.

Still 13, and that includes both goalkeepers.

If my math is correct that leaves the team with just one non-goalkeeping sub.

And a bad situation that grows even worse for TFC when you consider that striker Chad Barrett is still battling cramping problems and averages about 70 minutes a game, and that Danny Dichio, out of the regular rotation since suffering a concussion in early July, probably isn't in shape to play the full 90.

To complicate things even further, only one of TFC's available players -- Marco Velez -- plays defence.

Earlier this afternoon TFC head coach John Carver confirmed that a little help is on the way.

Nothing had been finalized as of this afternoon, but Carver said the team was trying to get two new bodies into uniforms this weekend.

One of them, Diaz Kambere, is a former member of Canada's under-23 national team and a current member of the Vancouver Whitecaps. True, he's never played at the MLS level before, but he has already shown he can win at BMO Field.

The other short-term sub is Tim Regan.

In real life Regan is TFC's chief scout, but in a past life he was a standout defensive midfielder at Bradley University and a second-round draft pick of the New York Metrostars. In fact, TFC selected him in the expansion draft after the 2006 season, then traded him to New York for Edson Buddle.

The point here is that even though Regan is retired, he can still play a little, and TFC is trying to get him cleared for Saturday's game.

SUTTON

Carver said TFC keeper Greg Sutton has been released from national team duty this weekend, but that doesn't mean he'll be at BMO to face Chivas USA on Saturday. Sutton's wife is due to deliver the couple's baby, and with two other keepers on the roster of the national team did the compassionate thing and allowed Sutton to join his wife and (soon to be) newborn.

-- Morgan Campbell

Overbooked

So we've reached the middle of what must be the longest week in the year for Toronto FC.

Last Saturday they fielded what was supposed to be their strongest lineup ever (Carlos Ruiz paired with Chad Barrett up front, Jim Brennan replacing Laurent Robert) against what was supposed to be a weakened Chivas team.

We all know how that worked out.

With this Saturday's home game against Chivas falling on the same date as World Cup qualifiers across the globe, TFC figures to enter that match with the weakest (on paper) lineup ever.

Just in case you've lost count, nine guys who dressed for TFC last week will miss this Saturday's game while playing with their national teams:

* Jim Brennan (Canada)
* Greg Sutton (Canada)
*Amado Guevara (Honduras)
* Marvell Wynne (USA)
* Julius James (Trinidad)
* Carl Robinson (Wales)
* Jarrod Smith (New Zealand)
* Carlos Ruiz (Guatemala)
* Tyrone Marshall (Jamaica)

The optimists among you will point out that it could be worse. If Maurice Edu hadn't headed to Rangers TFC would have 10 regulars missing.

Still, there's no getting around the fact that the team practised with just 13 players on Tuesday, and will probably have to sign a few CSL players to short term contracts just to fill out their bench.

Before we go on, we should remember that TFC isn't the only team losing key players this weekend. The L.A. Galaxy, sitting on 25 points and scrambling for a playoff spot, will face Real Salt Lake without Landon Donovan, Ante Jazic, Eddie Lewis and some other guy. And don't forget that most times Canada plays the Houston Dynamo they lose two stars in Dwayne De Rosario and Pat Onstad.

Still, while this round of qualifiers has dented several MLS lineups, it has gutted TFC's, and again raised questions about the league's policy of scheduling games on international match dates.

If I were running the league I'd be a little uneasy this weekend.

At the State of the League address earlier this summer MLS Commissioner Don Garber emphasized that rather than trying to siphon fans away from mainstream sports like baseball and football, the league was happy appealing to the Americans who already follow soccer.

But even those fans need a reason to keep paying attention, and the prospect of watching MLS teams devoid of their biggest stars isn't exactly appealing, especially when the weekend sports schedule presents so many other options. Baseball has begun its critical final month, the NFL kicks off Thursday and NCAA football is already underway, not to mention that anyone can digital cable can now access the Premiership, La Liga and any other European league on any give weekend. Only the hardest hardcore MLS fan chooses star free soccer over all that.

The rest will let their attention wander, and that's never a good thing for a league still finding its niche in the crowded North American sports marketplace.

TFC head coach John Carver has pointed out several times this season that this situation would never occur "back home" -- meaning England. Over there leagues postpone games when either team has more than about three guys gone for national team matches.

As Carver has learned in a number of ways since February, he's not in England anymore.

When Carver contacted the league to request that they postpone Saturday's game, MLS considered his proposal, then declined it.

MLS spokesperson Stephen Rodriguez says in this league, when schedules are determined nine months in advance, it's never as simple as just changing a game date.

Unlike English teams, few MLS clubs own their own stadiums, which means they have little control over stadium scheduling. Switching game dates at the last minute might mean trying to bump other tenants who might have the stadium rented, something that don't work well when you're sharing space with, say, the Jets and the Giants.

Teams at smaller stadium often encounter the same problem.

Rodriguez points out that the Home Depot Center -- home to both the L.A. Galaxy and Chivas USA --  is on the campus of Cal St. Dominguez Hills University, making it difficult to book midweek games there during the school year.

He also says the broadcast schedules are set out months in advances, and that MLS doesn't have the clout to switch game dates and TV slots on short notice.

"We're not the NFL and we're not the NBA," he says. "A lot of times we have to bend over for broadcasters, and not the other way around."

So will the league's scheduling policy change?

We won't have that answer until we get deputy commissioner Ivan Gazidis on the phone, and he wasn't available for comment today.

But with World Cup qualifiers, the CONCACAF Gold Cup and FIFA Confederations Cup all happening in 2009, MLS will have to confront this issue again.

And soon.

-- Morgan Campbell