lack said. "Its a round number. I like 601 b

By now, we shouldnt be surprised at anything that happens at Toronto FC - and yet events on Sunday at the long-troubled MLS club added another incredible chapter in its short history. Just eight months ago, MLSE President Tim Leiweke was announcing the teams ambition to be a "super club" following the arrival of big name players, and Ryan Nelsen was heading into his second season as head coach with the team, with a vastly improved squad and aiming to qualify for the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. On Sunday, just days after Leiwekes impending departure from MLSE was confirmed, Nelsen was fired following an embarrassing 3-0 loss at home to New England Revolution after which he criticized General Manager Tim Bezbatchenko during his post-match press conference. Bezbatchenko had made it clear to media ahead of the game that he wasnt happy with the teams current form. "I think everyone would agree that over the last 12 or so games, it hasnt been good enough," he said. Nelsen hit back voicing his concern that the GMs comments should have been kept in-house and that they added unnecessary extra pressure onto his players. It was clear evidence that Bezbatchenko and Nelsen were not on the same page, something that has been brewing for a while and is an unworkable situation for any sports organization. "We are in a results-oriented business," Bezbatchenko said on Sunday. "I know we can get more out of this group of guys." Of course changing the coach position at Toronto FC is nothing new. Through eight seasons, Nelsen is the ninth coach to leave he club, but there are a couple of significant differences this time. First is that the new coach takes over a team in the playoff positions rather than languishing in the basement of the Eastern Conference. Second is that the house has been cleaned with Nelsens other staff leaving with him. Greg Vanney will have a clean slate to work with - Jason Bent is the only current assistant coach to be offered a role in the new setup. Back in January of 2013, Nelsens hiring as head coach of Toronto FC was described by my colleague Jason deVos as "the most bizarre hiring," he had ever seen in football. Nelsen was arriving without any coaching experience or qualifications and while still a player with QPR in the Premier League. It was a very strange appointment for a club that at the time needed stability and veteran leadership. He had an extremely difficult task during his rookie season working with a squad that wasnt anywhere good enough to compete in Major League Soccer, but this year having been given the pieces to work with, he didnt get enough out of the team. The early months of the season were about building and gelling as a team. There were lots of new pieces learning to play together and key injuries to contend with as well, but watching the them play, you didnt really get the feeling they had an identity. There was no clear vision of what they wanted to be as a team, or how they were going to get there. Even this month, they were still experimenting and looking for a winning formula. Nelsen was learning on the job, and I have always believed he would have been in a much stronger position if he had hired more experienced veteran coaches to complement some of the younger assistant coaches within the organization. The club has now appointed Greg Vanney who is another young coach, but has plenty of experience as a player in MLS and also knows the inner workings of TFC having been Assistant GM and Academy Director. He will have the opportunity to build a coaching staff around him, but has been thrown in at the deep end. Despite the change in coach, making the playoffs should be the only acceptable outcome for this team. Failure isnt an option if they want to remain relevant in the city. Its not often a club manages to overshadow the firing and hiring of a head coach, but thats what happened on Sunday. The departure of Nelsen was almost secondary to the speculation about the future of Jermain Defoe. Defoe has been excellent for Toronto FC this season, despite missing games through injury. On the field, they could cope with his departure, off the pitch if Defoe leaves it could potentially have massive consequences, especially given the much heralded arrival of the England striker in January and the marketing campaign that surrounded his signing. Bezbatchenko has made it clear that there is no done deal yet - but there is interest in Defoe from QPR and the way things stand, it would be no surprise if he departs MLS before the transfer window closes. Eight years in, the merry-go-round continues at a club that has been one of the most dysfunctional in MLS history. Each time there is change, there is always the hope that the right people will be in place to bring success. Once again, Toronto FC fans are left waiting to see if this will be the time they finally get things right. Nike Air Max Tilbud .ca. The NHL Play of the Year showdown kicks off with some slick moves going head-to-head with a combination of soft hands and endless patience. Air Max Outlet Danmark . The CFL will help tackle womens cancers by playing four special "CFL PINK" games this weekend. http://www.airmaxdanmark.com/. Both sides came closest to scoring in the first half, when Roma had a goal from Mattia Destro waved off for offside and Inters Rodrigo Palacio headed high. "A draw was a fair result. Neither squad had many chances," Roma midfielder Miralem Pjanic said. Air Max Danmark . In the late match, Shinji Okazaki scored two goals to pace Mainz to a 3-2 victory at Werder Bremen. Goals from Milan Badelj, Maximilian Beister and Hakan Calhanoglu ended Hamburgs two-match losing run and kept Hannover winless in seven games. Nike Air Max Danmark Billig . The shortstop still grieves, but it will be nights like the one Segura had in a 5-2 victory Monday over the Cincinnati Reds that will provide some distraction.PHOENIX -- Ian Kennedys first trip back to Chase Field was a little strange. His second was much easier -- and had a better result, too. Kennedy pitched into the sixth inning to win at Chase Field for the first time since being traded to San Diego, lifting the Padres to a 7-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday. "It was a little different my first time, but this time was no different," Kennedy said. "Ive been a Padre for over a year now and it kind of goes away." After struggling his first game back in the desert a year ago, Kennedy (10-11) was sharp against his former team before making a few mistakes late, striking out six in 5 2-3 innings. Yasmani Grandal provided plenty of support, hitting a deep sacrifice fly in the first inning and clearing the wall easily in the fifth with a three-run homer off Chase Anderson (7-6). Pinch-hitter Will Venable added a two-run homer and Joaquin Benoit worked a perfect ninth for his eighth save to give San Diego manager Bud Black his 600th career win. "They (Arizona) battled back, put some stress on us," Black said. "It wasnt easy from the middle part of the game on, but our guys hung in there." Arizona fell behind early when the Padres hit Anderson hard and never fully recovered. Cliff Pennington hit a solo homer and Miguel Montero had a two-run single for the Diamondbacks, who went 1 for 6 with runners in scoring position. "We had opportunities," Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said. "We left 10 guys out there today. They got more of their guys in than we did." Kennedy spent four seasons in Arizona, finishing fourth in the 2011 NL Cy Young Award voting and winning 48 games before being traded to San Diego at the deadline last season. The right-hander pitched at Chase Field for the first time since the trade last Aug. 27, but didnt factor in the decision after allowing six runs on six hits in 4 2-3 innings. Kennedy was sharp early against the Diamondbacks this time, striking out five the first four innings. He made a couple of pitches he would have liked back in the sixth inning, allowing Arizona to load the bases before Montero lined a two-run single up the middle.dddddddddddd Ender Inciarte chased Kennedy with a run-scoring double in the sixth inning that cut San Diegos lead to 5-3. Kennedy allowed three runs on eight hits. "He had really good command today," Gibson said. "His breaking ball and his changeup, he mixed it in good." Anderson had the shortest outing of his career the last time out, allowing six runs on six hits in two innings of an 8-1 loss to Washington on Tuesday. The Padres hit the rookie right-hander hard in the first two innings, scoring a pair of runs in the opening frame on (Seth) Smiths groundout and a sacrifice fly by Grandal. Anderson settled down for a few innings, then walked three in the third to set up Grandals 11th home, a three-run shot that put the Padres up 5-0. Anderson allowed five runs -- four earned -- on six hits and struck out five in five innings. "I kind of lost the feel in that fifth inning," Anderson said. "I cant really tell you why." BUDS 600 Black joined select company by becoming the second San Diego manager to win 600 games, though he didnt know about the milestone until he was told after the game. "Its a tribute to the players, the coaches, the organization," Black said. "Its a round number. I like 601 better." Black is second on the Padres all-time list behind the 951 games Bruce Bochy won with San Diego from 1995-2006. MONTERO VS. SAN DIEGO Monetro went 1 for 4 on Sunday, extending his hitting streak against the Padres to nine games. Hes 11 for 32 with 10 RBIs in that span and also has a seven-game hitting streak at Chase Field. TRAINERS ROOM Diamondbacks: INF Chris Owings played second base Saturday night while going 2 for 4 at the plate in a rehab game with Triple-A Reno. He has been a shortstop, but the Diamondbacks are taking a look at him playing second. UP NEXT: Padres: LHP Eric Stults, Mondays starter against Milwaukee, has allowed three or fewer earned runs in 10 of his last 11 starts. Diamondbacks: The Diamondbacks have a day off before starting a two-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. RHP Trevor Cahill start on Tuesday after going 2-0 with a 2.33 ERA his past four starts. ' ' '