Dein erstes Forum » He also pitched well in his lone playoff star

TORONTO -- With a salary of US$6.5 million, Michael Bradley can afford a fine. And the Toronto FC star midfielder will likely be digging into his wallet after Saturdays 2-1 loss to Sporting Kansas City. "Its by no means an excuse, it was the same for both teams, but the referee was absolutely awful," Bradley said after carefully choosing his words. "The people at the MLS (head) office in New York, when they talk about wanting to improve the league, the first thing that needs to be improved is the refereeing, bottom line. "That shouldnt come across as sour grapes because thats just the reality. And it was bad for both teams and Im sure theyre sitting in their locker-room saying the same thing to themselves but theyve got three points with them and that certainly makes it a little easier to swallow." Referee Ted Unkel issued eight yellow cards, including five to Toronto. Kansas City was reduced to 10 men in the 75th minute when captain/defender Matt Besler got a second yellow. Despite that, substitute Jacob Petersons goal five minutes later completed the comeback for the MLS champions. Bradleys criticism will not go unnoticed at Major League Soccers head office. He is one of U.S. Soccers glamour boys and is no whiner. Foremost on Torontos list of complaints was a no-call in the 23rd minute when Unkel waved play on after Kansas City defender Aurelien Collin, chasing Brazilian striker Gilberto after a deft through ball from Bradley, appeared to clip the Brazilians leg. Gilberto, who had a clear path on goal, went down and Bradley went after the referee imploring for a call, which should have garnered Collin a red card. The French defender went unpunished and Toronto got the first four yellows of the night. Toronto manager Ryan Nelsen, who would have taken off if he had flapped his arms any harder on the sideline, was appalled by the no-call. "Collin should have been sent off. I mean an under-12 ref can pick that one," Nelsen said with disgust. "Thats pretty basic." Nelsen said he was left wondering what was going on with the referee, whose decisions he said had mystified his players. "You tell them to forget about all the decisions that went against you, forget about all that, forget about the ridiculous yellow cards that we got and they got nothing. Just try and focus on the game. But theyre human." Kansas City coach Peter Vermes had a different view of the officiating. "I thought the referee did a good job tonight, that is my personal opinion," he said. "I dont think it was an easy game to ref. "I really liked his management of the game, the things that you can control the ball going out of bounds and the guy trying to steal 15 yards. Those are the things that drive us nuts as coaches, the little calls you might miss or might get, but those things he did a good job of and kept the game going on both sides. But Gilberto, who normally glides through life with a huge smile, was stony-faced after the game. Goals have been hard to come by for the Brazilian, who is being paid handsomely (US$1.25 million) to find the net. He has just two goals and was clearly irked at not getting any action from the referee when he was denied a shot at his third. Quizzed by reporters, he launched into a lengthy diatribe in Portuguese. He wondered if MLS officials were trying to force him "to learn how to play in the MLS." "I want them (the referees) to know that Im not just going to roll over, that Im going to play my game and Im going to play strong and Im going to play hard," he said through an interpreter. "Im not somebody thats going to be a pushover. I want to be treated fairly, just like any other player." A reporter remarked it was the most the 25-year-old Gilberto had ever said to reporters. Was he angry? "Yes, Im a little upset," he said, his face drawn. "Im going to have a play a little harder then," he added. "Im going to show people I came here to play." An upset Nelsen, frustrated for his team, lamented the loss of points at home before a tough four-game road trip with games against D.C. United, Montreal, Columbus and Kansas City. And while saying his team was clearly the better outfit on the night, he rued missed chances. Despite a good run of late, Toronto has conceded soft goals and Saturday night was no exception. "We were spectators. In a time where we had to be urgent and our intensity had to be focused, we just hoped that somebody would do their job. And that was unfortunate." Nelsen was left wondering what pieces are needed for the team to regain its hard edge. "We havent got our balance right yet in that midfield," he said. Peterson, a former Toronto midfielder, took advantage of the home sides inability to clear a deflected cross and poked the ball past goalie Joe Bendik for the winner. Graham Zusi had tied the game for the defending MLS champions in the 48th minute. Toronto (7-6-5) saw its three-game unbeaten streak snapped. Kansas City (11-5-5) has won four straight, is unbeaten in seven league games (6-0-1) and has gone 6-1-3 since back-to-back losses to Philadelphia and Chicago in May. The defending champions also extended their club-record win streak on the road to five games. The seven-game unbeaten streak is its longest since the clubs 12-game unbeaten streak to end the 2012 regular season. Jackson scored for Toronto and could have had a hat trick on the night if his finishing had been better before the BMO Field sellout crowd of 22,591. Oduro, who set up the Jackson goal, terrorized the left side of the Kansas City defence for much of the night. Bradley was also influential in the middle of the park, carving open the K.C. defence with his passes. Toronto was without star striker Jermain Defoe, who was sitting out a one-match ban due to an accumulation of yellows. Captain Steven Caldwell (quad) and fellow defender Mark Bloom (knee) were also out. The home sides injury concerns on defence were not helped by a yellow card in first-half stoppage time to Doneil Henry, who will miss the next game as a result. Kansas City was missing goalie Erik Kronberg (hand) and midfielder Paulo Nagamura (ankle). Oduro made the opening goal, retrieving the ball from an errant K.C. header and beating Besler before slicing open the defence with a pass to Jackson. The Brazilian winger rounded goalie Andy Gruenebaum and scored his third of the season into the empty net. Nick Hagglund and Oduro both hit the goalpost in the first half. The tying goal came early in the second half after a pinball-like scramble in front of Bendik saw four Kansas City players try to get to the ball. It came back to Zusi at the edge of the box and he curled the ball into the top right corner with Bendik out of position in the 48th minute. 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Portuguese sides Benfica and Porto also advanced to the last eight while Basel overcame an early red card to win 2-1 at Salzburg and progress from a last-16 second leg that was briefly suspended because of crowd trouble. Lyon, Valencia and AZ Alkmaar will also be in Fridays draw in Nyon, Switzerland, where the team to avoid will be Juventus -- even though the Italian champions made heavy work of their all-Italian last-16 match against Fiorentina.DETROIT - Justin Verlander is doing his best to take Max Scherzers departure in stride.Yes, the Detroit Tigers will miss Scherzer, one of the games top right-handers. But his exit via free agency was by no means a shock.Obviously you dont want to see a teammate go, but you can kind of see it coming too, Verlander said Thursday. I think once that deal was turned down last year, I think the probability of him coming back went way down. Thats the nature of the sport.Scherzer signed with the Washington Nationals this week after a five-year run in Detroit that included four division titles, a Cy Young Award in 2013 and strikeout totals that even Verlander had a hard time keeping up with. Now the Tigers will try for a fifth straight AL Central championship with a retooled rotation that also lost Rick Porcello. This may be the first time in a while that Detroit isnt a solid favourite to win the division.Scherzer turned down a lucrative deal with the Tigers before last season, and he ended up signing a $210 million, seven-year contract with the Nationals.Obviously, you lose a player of that calibre, its always tough. I think this organizations been preparing for that since last year, and I think if anybody, this staff has the capability to lose a guy of that calibre and still not miss a beat, Verlander said at the start of the Tigers winter caravan. I think were still going to be one of the best staffs in baseball, if not the best. Youve just got to perform. I know Ive got to pitch better and I will.Verlander was the American League MVP in 2011 and remained dominant the following year as well, but his performance dipped a bit in 2013, and last year he went 15-12 with a 4.54 ERA. At this time last year, Verlander was recovering from core muscle repair surgery, so hes hoping a more normal off-season will help.The rotation has been the backbone of the Tigers success over the last few seasons, but it looks a lot different than it did at the beginning of 2014. Detroit acquired star left-hander David Price at last years trade deadline, sending starter Drew Smyly to Tampa Bay in that deal.dddddddddddd The Tigers then traded Porcello in the off-season for Boston outfielder Yoenis Cespedes.Detroit also traded for right-handers Shane Greene and Alfredo Simon this off-season, and its those two newcomers who now face the daunting task of replacing Scherzer and Porcello.I have a lot of expectations for myself, and theyre probably higher than most peoples expectations for me, said Greene, who went 5-4 with a 3.78 ERA as a rookie for the New York Yankees last year.Price may be the key to Detroits division title defence. The Tigers can look forward to having him for a full season, although he can become a free agent at the end of it.Price went 4-4 in 11 starts with the Tigers, but he ended last season on a good note, shutting down Minnesota in a division-clinching victory in Game 162. He also pitched well in his lone playoff start, although the Tigers were swept by Baltimore in the AL Division Series.We want to pick up, not where we left off last year, but we want to continue the success that the Tigers have had in recent years, Price said. We want to build on that as well and be the last team playing in October.Losing Scherzer was certainly a setback, but it doesnt have to be a crippling one.I talked to Max the day it kind of broke. Max is a good guy. Hes got a great sense of humour, Detroit manager Brad Ausmus said. I was happy for him. I kind of knew, it kind of seemed all along that he wasnt going to be coming back here as a Tiger, so Im just glad he went to the National League.NOTES: Ausmus said hes been in touch with slugger Miguel Cabrera, who had off-season surgery on his right ankle. Hes out of the boot, as of a week ago maybe. Hes in shoes, Ausmus said. Hes got another appointment mid-February, just before spring training, and were hoping that all goes well, and the doctor says he can really start doing some stuff on it. 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