The Fort Lauderdale Strikers and Carolina RailHawks both made players moves late this week. The Strikers added former MLS player Andy Herron to their roster but in turn lost Mike Palacio from their 2011 roster. Carolina announced two signings, Palacio and Ty Shipalane who had played for the RailHawks in 2010.

The Fort Lauderdale Strikers and Carolina RailHawks both made players moves late this week. The Strikers added former MLS player Andy Herron to their roster but in turn lost Mike Palacio from their 2011 roster. Carolina announced two signings, Palacio and Ty Shipalane who had played for the RailHawks in 2010.

Early this season, the Miami Heat looked unbeatable. After Friday's 117-104 loss to the Denver Nuggets, the Heat have lost there straight games. While it's not time to panic in Miami, it's now obvious that this regular season won't be a walk in the park for the Heat.

Ty Lawson, like he's been doing for most of the season, led the way for the Nuggets.

In matchup of undefeated teams, the Portland Trail Blazers topped the Denver Nuggets by a final score of 111-102. These two Western Conference sleepers played a fantastic game that featured a lot of back of forth action. Don't be surprised if the Blazers and Nuggets face each other in the 2012 NBA playoffs.

Pedal-ty, ref! Four-times Olympic cycling gold medalist Sir Chris Hoy has revealed he has become the victim of Twitter hate campaign orchestrated by stupid Tottenham supporters. The confused Spurs fans were angry at referee Chris Foy (note: Foy, not Hoy) following his performance in their match at Stoke on Sunday.

Protected
Avila, Eric -TFC seems high on him, not sure myself
Dunfield, Terry – on list, JDG off, suspect something
Eckersley, Richard -young, energetic, potential and skill and fan fave
Frei, Stefan (GK) - team foundation
Frings, Torsten -team foundation DP
Harden, Ty- salary cap bargain
Iro, Andy- size and left foot?

Duncan Fletcher of Waking the Red, SB Nation's Toronto blog, and I chatted ahead of this afternoon's Union-TFC match.

tBG: How about yourself, what do you think the game will be like?

WtR: Though we should be looking to Tuesday's CCL game, a part of that is the fact that we've had two weeks off, so I'd expect to have the first team out there to shake the rust off and practice.

I may take a few days to develop a theory that hit me tonight. The problem with TFC is the CNE. I am of baby boomer vintage and can remember when the CNE was the pinnacle of a Toronto summer. It was not just an amusement park, it was a showcase for the latest and the greatest The world has changed and we know that the old CNE has been left behind by Disney this and Universal Studios that.

"What the hell do I do with that thing?!"The Dan Gargan mystery was put to rest this morning with the affable defender's trade to Chicago Fire. It was widely reported, and accepted, that Gargan had received an outright release by TFC earlier this week but the club never made an official announcement.

Vehr Factor at Show-Me Soccer

Vehr Factor, a U7 Ozark based team, attended the Show-Me Games in Columbia, MO July 23 &24. The team was coached by Chris Vehr and Brett Ulrich. The team played in 100+ degree weather with a victory over three teams (all shut outs) and 0-0 tie. This is the second tournament the team has played in this summer and their second 1st place victory!

It was all Dynamo on a hot and humid night at Robertson Stadium and while there were plenty of wasted chances by the men in Orange, Danny Cruz finally found the net early in the second half to give Houston a much needed 1-0 victory.

The Dynamo broke through in the 51st minute on the counter attack.

This is not an injury for antsWhat could be the worst way to repair a defence that just saw itself ripped open for six goals this past weekend? How about losing the anchor of that already porous backline for the remainder of the season? No?
　
Thought you'd seen the last of Ty Harden?

After building BMO Field into a fortress in its first couple years in MLS, the Canadians' home field doesn't quite carry the mystique it once did, at least not for the Black & Red. It was only last year when Toronto faced D.C. at BMO Field and the Canadians were in a must-win situation. D.C. had only pride to play for while Toronto was in the thick of the race for the playoffs.

TFC unveil their new "Oranje" kit... and players

One of the hardest things for a new coach is getting to know his new charges on a personal level. Building those bonds between management and players can be the difference between early success and failure. For Aron Winter, it's that extra bit hard, what with having a foreign background to most of the established Toronto FC squad.