Patrick » 95 on Wednesday night, erasing that big deficit out

TORONTO - Toronto FC went 1-2-2 during an injury-plagued Florida training camp, coming home to a frozen tundra. Star striker Jermain Defoe has yet to touch down and fellow marquee signings Michael Bradley and Gilberto have been hampered by injury. Goalie Julio Cesar is on international duty with Brazil in South Africa and backup forward Bright Dike is already probably out for the season after tendon surgery. Manager Ryan Nelsen has been down three fullbacks and three strikers. Minor niggles have turned into more bothersome setbacks. Its meant extra minutes for some players and new positions for others. For an MLS franchise that has gone all-in on the transfer market in a bid to finally make the playoffs after seven seasons of failure and a woeful 51-105-66 record, there is still much work to do. The good news is Toronto has a bye this weekend when 16 clubs kick off the 2014 season. Toronto opens March 15 in Seattle. "We planned that brilliantly," Nelsen said dryly after practice Tuesday under the bubble at the teams well-appointed north Toronto training ground. Nelsen, in his second year at the helm, has managed to find some positives in the rocky pre-season. "It did expose our weaknesses," he said. "You always get exposed at some part of the season, whether its injuries or suspensions or international call-ups or something like that." "We know what we have, we know what we need to be and where we need to get to," he added. "Its good to know now rather than a quarter or halfway through the season. "Well be a different animal come the 15th but in the back of my mind, its a nice thing to know moving forward." Depth is an issue. Toronto can field an impressive starting 11 but pre-season has already shown that the wrong combination of injuries at the wrong position can cause havoc. The team remains very much a work in progress. Even MLSsoccer.com, which ranked TFC 17th out of 19 teams in its weekly "power rankings," has Toronto 14th in its pre-season list. "Were not all aboard the bandwagon just yet," said the website. Nelsen, whose team went 6-17-11 last season, says he doesnt concern himself with "outside voices." But the former New Zealand international knows that whipping up a gourmet meal is more than just buying the right ingredients. "Just because you make some changes, its not like a light switch. It does take time," he said. "Thats the beauty of sport. "But in saying that we fully expect to get where we want to be. And if you think the expectations are high outside, theyre probably higher inside. But we know its hard and we know its a journey to get to." The pre-season injury list has included forwards Gilberto (quadricep) and Dike (tendon), midfielders Jonathan Osorio (flu) and Daniel Lovitz (knee) and fullbacks Mark Bloom (quadricep), Bradley Orr (calf) and Justin Morrow (hip). Bradley, who withdrew from the U.S squad to face Ukraine in Cyprus, is nursing a minor foot issue. More worrying for Nelsen is the fact that the injuries to Bloom and Orr started as minor issues but got worse. "Well definitely be addressing it," Nelsen said. "You always get niggles and you always get injuries but theyre re-injuries. When you re-do an injury, its major cause for concern." Nelsen expects everyone to be ready for the season. Defoe, the former Tottenham star, is expected to join the team after Wednesdays England friendly against Denmark. "As soon as he plays the game for England, hell be on a plane over," said Nelsen. Still, that means a longer road for team chemistry. Although, unlike past off-seasons, Torontos transaction list has been relatively short and very select. Bradley, Defoe, Gilberto, Cesar, Morrow, Jackson, Orr, and veteran midfielder Dwayne De Rosario are all targeted as starters. The injuries at fullback have meant rookie centre back Nick Hagglund has been shifted to an emergency right back. "Couldnt be more happy with Nick," said Nelsen. Nike Air Max Sale Outlet Ireland . The Bruins forward has been fined $5,000 by the National Hockey League for spearing Red Wings defenceman Danny DeKeyser in the groin. Cheap Air Max Ireland . Thats exactly what happened. And they enjoyed every moment. Durant remained sizzling with 33 points, Serge Ibaka added 22 and the Thunder roared back from an abysmal start -- they trailed 22-4 early -- to embarrass the Miami Heat 112-95 on Wednesday night, erasing that big deficit out of the gate by outscoring the two-time defending champions by 43 points over a 33-minute span. http://www.airmaxcheapireland.com/. The 26-year-old Sobotka injured his left leg playing for the St. Louis Blues in a 3-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday. The Blues said he would not recover from the injury in time for the Olympic tournament. Buy Air Max Ireland . -- Center Max Unger and tight end Zach Miller are both probable for the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday against the New York Giants and Percy Harvins recovery continues to be slow. Wholesale Air Max Ireland . A groundswell for raising the number of playoff qualifiers to seven in each conference figures to get plenty of support from the 32 owners. Most notably, Arizonas Bill Bidwill, who saw his Cardinals go 10-6 and not get in, while Green Bay (8-7-1) qualified by winning the NFC North.SAN FRANCISCO - Some extra post-season pillow time has Brandon Crawford and the San Francisco Giants dreaming about another World Series championship.Sweet dreams, indeed.Looking for any advantage, the Giants are again getting help in October from a sleep expert.The Giants have reached the playoffs three times in five years, and every time they get that far, athletic trainer Dave Groeschner consults regularly with Dr. Chris Winter. Hes the medical director of the Martha Jefferson Hospital Sleep Medicine Center in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the Giants were the first pro team he advised.Winter offers ideas on how to plan trips, and the best ways to keep players at their most fresh and alert despite being road weary at the end of a long season.What were trying to do is create a situation where their brain is being tricked into thinking that whatever time the game is happening, its 4 oclock in the afternoon. Thats when those athletes are at their best, Winter said in a phone interview.Were trying to help them develop smarter ways to get better sleep, he said.After the Giants lost Game 2 at Kansas City on Wednesday night, they stayed in their hotel, rather than catching a late flight back to the West Coast. The next afternoon, they flew to the Bay Area and worked out at AT&T Park.Most teams leave town right away. For the Giants, the stay-over meant an extra night of hotel costs — then again, thats not too expensive when a team is chasing its third title in five seasons.Again, looking for an edge, Groeschner said. Just gives us some thoughts on how to travel better, especially to the East Coast. He just helped us with some ideas.The Royals led the Series 2-1 going into Game 4 Saturday night. The teams are set to play Game 5 in San Francisco, too, before returning to Kansas City, if necessary.The Giants began the playoffs with a win in the wild-card game at Pittsburgh, opened the NL Division Series at Washington and started the NL Championship Series in St. Louis. They split the first two games of the Fall Classic at the Royals home.Several Giants have said their travel schedule helps guard against severe jet lag.Crawford has two young daughters, yet still gets plenty of rest.Ive liked it this post-season how wevve left the next day, said the shortstop, whose baby girl had a rough night Thursday ahead of Game 3.dddddddddddd Its been nice to get a semi-normal nights sleep and come back the next day.When we come from the airport and have a workout that same day, its almost easier than coming in real late, then going home and sleeping in most of the day and then having to come to practice. Actually, I like it more, he said.Winter spent three days earlier this year at the teams spring training headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona. He met with the training staff and players, talking about how to ensure proper rest.Winter said he thinks teams could implement sleepiness screenings into player evaluation.This month as the Giants advanced, recovery was a point of emphasis. That, along with deceiving the body clock.Second baseman Joe Panik said he felt good going into Game 3, which the Giants lost 3-2.I was on a consistent sleeping pattern, so I wasnt up late and I wasnt waking up too late or too early, so my sleeping patterns were normal, the rookie said. It definitely helps. I feel great. Hopefully, it translates onto the field.Research backs up the Giants methods.A pair of studies released last year — one led by Winter — linked fatigue and sleep to performance and career longevity in baseball players.Knowing that his players are getting enough rest is important to Giants manager Bruce Bochy. He doesnt want his team to be sleepless in San Francisco, thats why the club stayed overnight in Kansas City.We had made that decision that we feel its better for them, just, hey, try to get a normal sleep, keep them in their normal routine, Bochy said.The basic principle:Try and get a good night sleep, Groeschner said.Its tough when you get in at 5, 6 in the morning. One, the suns coming up and your circadian rhythm gets caught up in the sunlight. And also, especially coming back, guys have families and kids and if you get home in the morning and the kids are up, youre going to want to get up.Giants third base coach and musician Tim Flannery is benefiting.He had enough energy after a recent trip to come home and attend a local jazz festival before getting back to his baseball work.After I slept six hours ... ha! he said. ' ' '