Heimspiele » transfers. MLSE stepping up assuming the cost would be s

The Rogers Cup continues on Wednesday with world No 1 Novak Djokovic headlining the action in Toronto. Djokovic takes on Gilles Muller in the second round after the Luxembourgian beat Dmitry Tursunov in straight sets on Monday.Other players in action include Canadian Milos Raonic, who faces Yen-Hsen Lu in his first tournament since losing to Andy Murray in the final at Wimbledon. World No 6 Kei Nishikori faces the USAs Dennis Novikov, Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov plays Canadian wildcard Denis Shapovalov - the 17-year-old Wimbledon junior champion who stunned Nick Kyrgios in the first round - and there is a big-hitting all-Croatian clash as 2014 US Open winner Marin Cilic plays Ivo Karlovic. Milos Raonic will play in his home tournament Elsewhere on Wednesday, John Isner faces compatriot Ryan Harrison, French Open semi-finalist Dominic Thiem meets Kevin Anderson and home favourite Vasek Pospisil plays Gael Monfils.Bernard Tomic, Jack Sock, Lucas Pouille, Djokovics Wimbledon conquerer Sam Querrey, David Goffin and Fabio Fognini are also due on court in Canada. Wawrinka battles on in Toronto Stanislas Wawrinka beat Mikhail Youzhny 7-6 7-6 to progress at the Rogers Cup Dont miss the action from Toronto on Sky Sports 1 HD from 4pm on Wednesday.Check out daily Tennis news on skysports.com/tennis, our app for mobile devices and iPad and our Twitter account @skysportstennis.By purchasing a Sky Sports Day Pass for £6.99 or Sky Sports Week Pass for £10.99, you can enjoy access to all seven Sky Sports channels and watch on a TV with a NOW TV Box or on a range of devices. Also See: Federer to miss rest of 2016 Wawrinka battles on in Toronto Third time lucky for Bouchard Konta eases to win in Montreal Cheap Air Max . Even that couldnt slow them down against the New Orleans Hornets. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook scored 31 points apiece and the Thunder overcame injuries to two key backups to beat New Orleans 101-93 Monday night for their 10th straight home win. Air Max 270 Outlet . Golden States second straight road win wasnt painless. David Lee scored a season-high 29 points -- 13 in the fourth quarter -- and Nate Robinson added 17 points, leading the Warriors to a 105-95 win Tuesday night over the road-worn Cleveland Cavaliers. http://www.airmax270discount.com/ . He liked what he saw on Tuesday night. Not only did his team post a comeback 3-2 victory in a shootout over the Montreal Canadiens, but the rival Washington Capitals were beaten 5-1 in Buffalo. Cheap Nike Air Max 270 Shoes From China . Pistorius mindset when he stood on his stumps in a bathroom and pulled the trigger on his 9 mm pistol in the early hours of Feb. 14, 2013 remains the crux of the South African trial that has captured worldwide attention and is about to start its seventh week of globally televised proceedings. It was initially scheduled to run for three weeks. Wholesale Nike Shoes China . Torres tells Spanish daily AS "in football you never know where you will be inside one month. Im going to work hard, thats all you can do with this last part of the season so important.Hope. Thats all Toronto FC supporters have asked for. Wins have been priority, too but its true, unmitigated hope of positive direction thats been desired. Progress. Commitment. Hope. Hope has been fleeting before. Julian de Guzman, the clubs first designated player brought hope as did the addition of hometown hero Dwayne De Rosario. Toronto FC turning orange, the Dutch total football revolution under Aron Winter brought hope as well. But thats about it. Spare me hype surrounding some unknown international prodigy that has come and gone, or the legendary Mista. Genuine belief has been temporary and few and far between. Unfulfilled promise. Pandering of false hope. Rinse, wash, repeat. Then Wednesday happened. True hope came calling. As often the case may be, good things came in three; each story bigger in importance, potential impact and surprise. De Rosarios return to Toronto was publicly confirmed with a Thursday press conference ahead. My colleague Luke Wileman reported coveted Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe will land in Toronto this weekend with an expected Monday introductory press conference to follow, unveiling the prized acquisition. The bells and whistles surrounding Defoes arrival are said to be impressive. Lastly, the most audacious, unexpected news of all; a deal all but done to bring 26-year-old US international midfielder Michael Bradley to TFC in the absolute prime of his career. Surprised? Yes we are. Three signings dont get much bigger than this in MLS. Make it four with last months arrival of Brazilian Gilberto. If no curveballs are thrown and once the ink is dry, just like that, the inferior, miserable, beaten down landscape of Toronto FC forever changed. Toronto FCs new promo campaign, Its A Bloody Big Deal! – 01.13.14 couldnt ring more true. The YouTube video shows a bald-headed man spit take in shock, presumably about Defoes arrival. Well add another spit take for Bradley; the kind of choke on your coffee and have it pour out your nose sort of disbelief. In North American soccer circles, this is the kind of impact and magnitude were talking about. Defoe entering the fray isnt much a secret. The 31-year-old English international had fallen out of favour at White Hart Lane. The crafty forward still has pace and ability and could have a similar impact in MLS to Robbie Keane. Toronto FC spared no expense to convince Defoe Toronto was right for him. Flights, houses, family considerations - Toronto bent over backwards, realizing treatment and paycheck would be sufficient to supplant a Premier League caliber talent and bring him to Canada. Many expect Defoe to score 30 goals in Major League Soccer. Along with on-field expectations, off-field ambassadorship is expected. Defoe instantly becomes one of MLS top players. Ditto for Bradley. A work engine in the central midfield, the current AS Roma player is a warrior. The ferocity of Bradley, with ability to move forward in attack, would make him a special breed in MLS, where most central midfielders are either preferred attacking options or stay at home, hold the shape kind of players. Bradley is an all-action type player, and all-important for the US Mens National team and a move to MLS comes at a peculiar time with World Cup preparations first and foremost. US Mens National team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann was critical of Clint Dempseys move to Seattle last fall. So a return to North America comes as a shock. The story behind the potential move has yet to be revealed, but considerable dollars are at pplay.dddddddddddd. A rumoured salary ballpark of $6.5 million per year would do the trick, roughly six times his current salary. Playing time is also an issue. The arrival of Kevin Strootman last summer, along with last weeks signing of Radja Nainggolan put the writing on the wall at Roma: Bradley must leave. Cathal Kelly of the Toronto Star reports upwards of $100 million is being committed to Defoe and Bradley in transfer fees and salary. Its an incredible commitment for soccer in this city. These kinds of dollars cannot be justified by pure economics of the game alone. The MLS salary cap for 2013 before designated player commitments sat at just shy of $3 million. MLSE obviously has the funds but to make this kind of financial commitment to soccer and a team that had operating revenue in the ballpark of $4.5 million last season (according to Forbes) shows true ambition. This is what it takes to compete. For Bradley, whose father Bob is a former US National team coach, to choose a Canadian club no less over a US-based team speaks to the show me the money type mentality of the modern game. Credit Tim Leiweke. He said he would turn Toronto FC around, and quick. This is beyond the expected. Dion Phaneuf salaries to soccer players in Toronto will never make sense. But MLSE using its financial strength to turn an embarrassment into a pillar of the organization is money well spent. Many south of the border will question what a move like Bradleys says about the growth of MLS. Id argue it has less to do with MLS than it does Leiweke. With a network, resources and desire to win, hes what TFC desperately needed. MLS plays a big role in player acquisition and obviously contracts, which they control. Toronto FC failed to play nice in the sandbox regarding specific targets and team performance in recent years. Squabbling and the perennial disappointment of TFC, whose supporters are credited for league growth and expansion, was a black eye for MLS headquarters. Leiweke was an ideal buffer between club and league. Theres a history and understanding. It then made perfect sense to hire the young and bright Tim Bezbatchenko, an MLS staffer to take over as general manager - a calculated move, facilitating congruence with MLS to provide much needed stability. It has not been disclosed who is funding the transfers. MLSE stepping up assuming the cost would be seen as extending the olive branch. Leiwekes fingerprints are all over these transactions. They signal a donning of a new era for the organization. MLSE has a face. Its Leiweke, and all that comes with him. In a city with too few victories and forced tradition rather than substance, Leiweke is filling a void, one handshake and dollar at a time. These signings are an investment as will a stadium makeover in the coming years. Its part of a bigger plan, where reputation speaks for itself. For MLSE to gain credibility, they need to show they are serious about winning. No more talk; actions. No more wrangling with agents. No more disagreement with the league. No more ostracizing fans. Moves like these wins people over. This is how you win. This is how you sell hope. The cynic will remain. Signings alone dont equal results. Even more work is to be done to the roster. The heavy lifting is near complete. Toronto FC will be able to compete. True hope. Thats all it takes. Its a reasonable thought that the vibe, the fun, and actual winning football can all live simultaneously at BMO Field. We hope. @WheelerTSNgareth.wheeler@bellmedia.ca ' ' '