Europa » and some teams had quiet afternoons, keeping th

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. Scarpe Air Max 720 Scontate . Nwaneri, who was born in Dallas and attended Naaman Forest High School in nearby Garland, Texas, tweeted, "Its official! Im coming home, Im coming home. Air Max 720 Outlet Italia .5 million contract, according to a person familiar with the deal. Hatcher agreed to terms Thursday, according to a person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the contract had not been signed. http://www.airmax720scontate.it/ . - The Florida Panthers are getting some Army training to finish off their preparations for the season. Air Max 720 Scontate Uomo .C. Lions signed cornerback Dante Marsh to a contract extension on Friay and released receiver Paris Jackson. Scarpe Air Max 720 Outlet . Some teams got significantly better, some teams divested themselves of talent and some teams had quiet afternoons, keeping the status quo.LONDON - Bahrain has been blocking Qatar from hosting a Formula One race, according to Bernie Ecclestone.Bahrain, which first hosted an F1 race in 2004, has to approve other races in the region following an agreement with Ecclestone. The country did agree to allow a second race in the Middle East in Abu Dhabi since 2009.When we went to Bahrain I made a deal with the people there, Ecclestone said. They said to me that as they were going to be something new in the area, would I give them a guarantee I wouldnt stage another race in the Gulf, and I said, YYes.ddddddddddddEcclestone said it was a handshake deal with Bahraini Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa. While Bahrain approved Abu Dhabis place on the F1 calendar, Ecclestone said a similar deal has not yet been agreed to about Qatar.Now this other race has been proposed, Ecclestone said, discussing Qatar. So I put the people together and said Can you sort this out between you? They havent managed to do it.Qatar has a facility in Losail that hosts MotoGP and World Superbikes, while the annual FIA gala was held in Doha last week. ' ' '