Negative headlines took the place of meaningful

Toronto FCs 2014 season ended Saturday night. You may not have noticed as, for many, the season ended weeks ago. Negative headlines took the place of meaningful football as Toronto FCs playoff hopes slipped away. It was almost better the 1-0 loss to New England was overlooked. A game played on a turf field with football lines hardly does justice to the product. Nor does another dubious refereeing decision (or indecision, rather) leading to the game winner. Multiple controversial refereeing mistakes are an underrated, lesser-told storyline leading to an eighth consecutive season without playoff football for the TFC. Dubious red cards and disallowed goals should have been the extent of controversy in Toronto FCs season. Instead, more self-inflicted wounds due to poor communication, half-truths and speculation continue to hurt the image of Toronto FC. From Doneil Henrys transfer status, to mud-slinging at Jermain Defoe via high-placed club sources, it has not read well. On top of that, Michael Bradley is now having foot surgery in New York after Head Coach Greg Vanney claimed the player was fine after the loss to the New York Red Bulls two weeks ago. Mixed messages never end well. Weve experienced eight years of it and it hasnt helped. Its discouraging the lesson has not been learned from the mistakes of previous regimes: club leaks, he-said, he-said confrontations, and failure to simply tell it like it is continues to create an environment of mistrust and external perception of incompetence. This is the perception, it may not be reality. Things are not that bad at the club, but the manner by which they continue to conduct business opens the door for further criticism. The daggers are out. Calm and stability are needed. Good will is not something readily available based upon track record. Again, self-inflicted wounds are to blame. Its entirely frustrating to watch. Instead of piling on as many others continue to do, Id rather give advice; the club must keep quiet - just stop talking, or at the very least, think before they act. And if theyre going to speak, please make it the truth. Transparency is the ultimate olive branch to a skeptical fanbase. Its especially recommended if there isnt anything to hide. The depth of the negative narrative is surprising considering what the spin on the subpar season can be. The new Toronto FC administration should simply stick to the story that they began a complete rebuild of the squad less than a year ago, with the cupboards shockingly bare. They should stress the restructure will take time, something not simply remedied by a couple big money signings. Focus on the fact the team still set franchise records for wins and points through the growing pains and reshaping of the roster. Hit home that ownership is completely invested, showing for the first time in its history a willingness to spend with the power clubs in MLS. Bang home the message that the future is bright with a massive stadium renovation taking place and the continued investment in the Kia Training Ground. Off-field growth and stability has been achieved like never before. Its now about getting the right players to Toronto. Michael Bradley is the foundation, but its up to management to surround him with complimentary players, helping establish a team identity. 2014 was merely a start, 2015 the job continues. Simply admit the club over-sold expectations and came up short and that the blame is shared by all. There. Done. How difficult was that? All points made are true and paint a much better picture, the kind of explanation presented is completely reasonable. Not all will buy it - and thats fine - but thats the narrative to build off. Instead, a path has been chosen to discredit a star player (who is not without blame), while other items continue to confuse and lack clarity. Other than a small, short-term PR win, its hard to believe portraying the most talented player the club has ever had as a mammas boy does anything for Toronto FC in the big picture. It paints more of the same. Whoever leaked the story must have his reasons. It can be argued it was the last thing the team needed. An amicable split between Toronto FC and Defoe would do much more for future recruitment and league-wide goodwill. The focus has to be in the best interests of the team, emphasis on team. It especially holds true when the club defended Defoe to the hills around a tumultuous and speculative period around the closing of the transfer window. As an astute Toronto FC observer over the last eight years, I truly dont believe this team is that far off the mark. Things have been far, far worse. I have seen few better performances than an opening day win over Seattle and a massive away victory at Columbus a few weeks later. The wheels fell off as injuries mounted and adversity was faced. Personality conflicts emerged and the head coach was let go. Theres no way of telling if it was the right decision to dismiss Ryan Nelsen but the front office and coaching staff need be on the same page - thats a must. But the coaching change created instability. Its the type of instability that has reared its ugly head all-too often. Its unintentionally divisive and signals volatility. The team went back to old ways; nine head coaches in eight years. If Toronto FC could do it all over again, they would have most likely made the coaching change when the new front office took over, yet going down that road is nothing but living in the past. The present issues stem from the fact losing breeds drama at Toronto FC. And the clubs response to hardship leaves much to be desired. DC United went worst in 2013 to first in 2014, from 16 points to 59. Dramatic turnarounds can happen in MLS. A stable, consistent environment is essential for this to happen, though. No more pointing fingers, just proper communication. The establishment of positive conditions needed to succeed and continued commitment to superior player recruitment. This is what will lead to success. This leads us to this week: the year-end media interviews, an annual tradition. Toronto FC PR does a fantastic job making the players, coaches and management available for a year-end retrospect and should be applauded for doing so. The lack of team success and controversial storylines/unanswered questions makes for an awkward exercise. Many of the media use the day to fill-in the blanks, probe and pry for talking point of contention. Nuggets of discontent, bad-mouthing, and tone are dissected. The last thing Toronto FC needs is more off-field squabbling and/or controversy giving further fodder for the detractors to feast on. Basically, nothing good can come from the availability. Somber reflection makes for a depressing day, but its showing commitment to the future build is all thats needed. At this point, silence is golden. Enough talk. No more apologies, no more blame. There is nothing more to say. Everyone just needs to keep quiet. Before you speak, just stop. Enough is enough. Instead, just build a winner. Scout. Recruit. Network. Strategize. Find consistency, build an identity and culture of inclusion - and of success - and provide conditions to succeed. Until that time, all the positives of being a part of Toronto FC remain ignored, and thats not fair. The franchise can be something special. There are many who have worked so hard to make Toronto FC what it is, and there is much good to speak of. Its just overshadowed by losing and controversy, and understandably so. 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MILWAUKEE -- When Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel benched his starters for the entire game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night, it meant extended playing time for the teams reserves. Chris Copeland made sure to take advantage. Copeland scored a season-high 18 points and made a difficult driving layup with 1.2 seconds remaining, giving the Pacers a hard-fought 104-102 that moved them back into first place in the Eastern Conference. "Its big for our confidence, the second unit," said Copeland, who came in averaging three points. "Just to get the opportunity out there. A lot of us have been waiting for that all year. So it was very cool for us to get out there and get a win and show the starters that weve got their backs when they need rest." Copeland also tied a career high with four 3-pointers and matched a season high with 17 minutes of playing time. Following a pair of timeouts, the Pacers inbounded the ball to Copeland, who drove hard to the basket for the winning shot. "I tried to rip through to the basket and tried to use my size," Copeland said. "I saw help coming, so I shot it." Copelands shot came after Milwaukees Khris Middleton had tied the game at 102 after making three free throws. Middleton drew a foul while attempting a shot near the 3-point arc with 4.9 seconds remaining that referees initially ruled a 2-point attempt. After a review, the call was reversed, sending Middleton to the line for three shots. Luis Scola also recorded a season high with 24 points and Evan Turner added 23 for Indiana. Vogel made the unusual move to keep all of his regular first-team players on the bench after saying his team appeared tired following a 107-88 home loss to Atlanta on Sunday, when the Pacers were held to a franchise-low 23 points in the first half. "It was a great win for our guys, a great team effort," Vogel said. "We had a lot of good contributors." Even without the starters, Indiana moved a half-game ahead of the Heat heading into Fridays matchup in Miami. After leading the East most of the season, the Pacers had lost five of six games coming into the matchup with the Bucks. Stilll, the Pacers came in just a half-game behind Miami, which lost at Memphis.dddddddddddd The Bucks, who had only eight players available due to injuries, have lost six in a row and were on the losing end of all four games with the Pacers this season. Brandon Knight had 25 points and Ramon Sessions 20 for Milwaukee. Jeff Adrien pulled down a career-high 17 rebounds. The game featured 23 lead changes. Usual Indiana starters Paul George, David West, George Hill and Lance Stephenson dressed but didnt play. Another starter, Roy Hibbert, was inactive for the game. All five are expected to start against the Heat. Vogel insisted that the move would allow the starters to get some minor injuries healed and for his reserves to play extended minutes. The Pacers starting lineup consisted of Scola, Turner, Rasual Butler, Ian Mahinmi and Donald Sloan. The five had a combined scoring average of 21.7 points, equal to Georges per-game average. "It was great for us starting guys to sit out and get some rest as well as our bench rotation guys to get some rhythm going late into the season," George said. "Its tough to be a spectator. But I had to be a good teammate." Adrien wasnt pleased with the benching of the Pacers starters. "It was kind of like a smack in our face," he said. Sessions also was surprised to see Indianas entire starting lineup on the bench. "They are fighting for something so it was a little surprising to see those guys sit," he said. The Pacers built a nine-point lead in the fourth before the Bucks late rally. Indiana held a 53-50 lead at the half, paced by Scolas 16 points and 14 from Turner. Sessions and Knight each had 11 first-half points for the Bucks. The game was tied at 25 after the first quarter. Scola tallied 12 points in the period for Indiana. Notes: Indiana guard C.J. Watson returned after missing 13 consecutive games with a hamstring injury. ... Milwaukee centre Larry Sanders was activated and began serving his five-game suspension for failed drug tests. ... New Marquette University mens basketball coach Steve Wojciechowski attended the game. 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