The Globe and Mail - 06.11.2019

B18 O THEGLOBEANDMAIL| WEDNESDAY,NOVEMBER6,2019

CORNERED BLISS SPEED BUMP BIZARRO

UEFA

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

TuesdAy

Barcelona 0, SK Slavia Prague 0

Zenit St. Petersburg 0, RB Leipzig 2

Liverpool 2, KRC Genk 1

SSC Napoli 1, Salzburg 1

Dortmund 3, Inter Milano 2

Olympique Lyonnais 3, Sl Benfica 1

Chelsea 4, Ajax 4

Valencia 4, Lille 1

WednesdAy

All Times EAstern

Bayern vs. Olympiacos FC, 12:55 p.m.

FC Lokomotiv Moscow vs. Juventus,

12:55 p.m.

Paris Saint-Germain vs. Club Brugge,

3 p.m.

Real Madrid vs. Galatasaray, 3 p.m.

Red Star Belgrade vs. Tottenham, 3 p.m.

Dinamo Zagreb vs. FC Shakhtar

Donetsk, 3 p.m.

Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio vs.

Manchester City, 3 p.m.

Leverkusen vs. Atletico Madrid, 3 p.m.

NHL SCORING LEADERS

G A Pts

David Pastrnak, Bos 14 5 29

Brad Marchand, Bos 10 18 28

Leon Draisaitl, Edm 13 14 27

Connor McDavid, Edm 7 17 24

John Carlson, Wash 7 16 23

Elias Pettersson, Vcr 6 14 20

Alex Ovechkin, Wash 11 8 19

Jonathan Huberdeau, Fla 9 9 18

Mark Stone, VGK 8 10 18

Nathan MacKinnon, Col 8 10 18

Jack Eichel, Buf 7 10 17

Sidney Crosby, Pgh 5 12 17

Mitch Marner, Tor 4 13 17

Aleksander Barkov, Fla 2 15 17

Auston Matthews, Tor 11 5 16

Brock Boeser, Vcr 7 9 16

Dougie Hamilton, Car 6 10 16

Roman Josi, Nash 5 11 16

Ryan O’Reilly, StL 4 12 16

Elias Lindholm, Cgy 10 5 15

Matthew Tkachuk, Cgy 7 8 15

Patrice Bergeron, Bos 7 8 15

David Perron, StL 7 8 15

Not inCluding TuesdAy’s gAmes

MLS PLAYOFFS

MLS CUP CHAMPIONSHIP

SundAy

All Times EAstern

Toronto at Seattle, 3 p.m.

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE

EASTERN CONFERENCE WESTERN CONFERENCE

NFL

AMERICAN CONFERENCE

W L T PCt PF PA

EAST

New England 8 1 0 .889 270 98

Buffalo 6 2 0 .750 158 131

Miami 1 7 0 .125 103 256

N.Y. Jets 1 7 0 .125 96 211

SOUTH

Houston 6 3 0 .667 238 191

Indianapolis 5 3 0 .625 182 177

Jacksonville 4 5 0 .444 176 189

Tennessee 4 5 0 .444 168 165

NORTH

Baltimore 6 2 0 .750 251 176

Pittsburgh 4 4 0 .500 176 169

Cleveland 2 6 0 .250 152 205

Cincinnati 0 8 0 .000 124 210

WEST

Kansas City 6 3 0 .667 252 204

Oakland 4 4 0 .500 182 216

L.A. Chargers 4 5 0 .444 183 168

Denver 3 6 0 .333 149 170

NATIONAL CONFERENCE

W L T PCt PF PA

EAST

Dallas 5 3 0 .625 227 142

Philadelphia 5 4 0 .556 224 213

N.Y. Giants 2 7 0 .222 176 255

Washington 1 8 0 .111 108 219

SOUTH

New Orleans 7 1 0 .875 195 156

Carolina 5 3 0 .625 209 204

Tampa Bay 2 6 0 .250 230 252

Atlanta 1 7 0 .125 165 250

NORTH

Green Bay 7 2 0 .778 226 189

Minnesota 6 3 0 .667 234 158

Detroit 3 4 1 .438 204 217

Chicago 3 5 0 .375 142 144

WEST

San Francisco 8 0 0 1.000 235 102

Seattle 7 2 0 .778 248 230

L.A. Rams 5 3 0 .625 214 174

Arizona 3 5 1 .389 195 251

WEEK NINE

Byes: L.A. Rams, New Orleans, Atlanta,

Cincinnati

MondAy

Dallas 37, N.Y. Giants 18

WEEK 10

Byes:Washington, Jacksonville, New

England, Denver, Philadelphia, Houston

ThursdAy

All TImes EAstern

L.A. Chargers at Oakland, 8:20 p.m.

TELEVISION

WEDNESDAY (EASTERN TIME)

BASKETBALL

NBA: Golden State vs. Houston, TSN 4, 5,

7:30 p.m.

NBA: Sacramento vs. Toronto, SN 1,

7:30 p.m.

NBA: Philadelphia vs. Utah, NBA TV

Canada, 9 p.m.

NBA: Milwaukee vs. L.A. Clippers, SN 1,

10 p.m.

HOCKEY

NHL: St. Louis vs. Edmonton, SN Ontario,

East, West, Pacific, 8:30 p.m.

SOCCER

2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup: Japan vs.

Mexico, TSN 1, 2:18 p.m.

2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup: Spain vs.

Senegal, TSN 3, 2:18 p.m.

2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup: Brazil vs. Chile,

TSN 1, 5:48 p.m.

2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup: France vs.

Australia, TSN 3, 5:48 p.m.

TENNIS

ATP: Next Gen ATP Finals — Day Two,

TSN 2, 8 a.m., 1:30 p.m.

CFL

PLAYOFFS

DIVISION SEMIFINALS

SundAy

All Times EAstern

EAST

Bye:Hamilton

Edmonton at Montreal, 1 p.m.

WEST

Bye:Saskatchewan

Winnipeg at Calgary, 4:30 p.m.

ATLANTIC DIVISION

Boston 14 11 1 1 1 52 31 24

Buffalo 15 9 4 1 1 45 40 20

Florida 14 7 3 1 3 51 51 18

METROPOLITAN DIVISION

Washington 16 11 2 3 0 64 49 25

NY Islanders 13 10 3 0 0 40 29 20

Carolina 14 9 4 1 0 49 38 19

WILD CARD

Pittsburgh 15 8 6 1 0 51 39 17

Toronto 15 7 5 2 1 53 52 17

Montreal 14 7 5 1 1 51 45 16

Tampa Bay 13 6 5 2 0 44 47 14

Philadelphia 13 6 5 0 2 43 45 14

Columbus 14 5 6 3 0 34 50 13

NY Rangers 12 5 6 1 0 37 42 11

New Jersey 12 3 5 1 3 36 50 10

Ottawa 13 4 8 0 1 37 44 9

Detroit 16 4 11 1 0 34 63 9

CENTRAL DIVISION

St. Louis 15 9 3 2 1 47 46 21

Nashville 15 9 4 1 1 60 43 20

Colorado 14 8 4 2 0 48 39 18

PACIFIC DIVISION

Edmonton 16 10 4 1 1 46 41 22

Vancouver 14 9 3 1 1 53 34 20

Arizona 14 9 4 1 0 41 30 19

WILD CARD

Anaheim 16 9 6 1 0 43 39 19

Vegas 15 8 5 2 0 49 45 18

Calgary 17 8 7 2 0 48 50 18

Winnipeg 15 8 7 0 0 43 49 16

Dallas 16 7 8 0 1 37 41 15

Chicago 13 4 6 2 1 31 40 11

Los Angeles 14 5 9 0 0 38 57 10

Minnesota 14 4 9 1 0 33 49 9

San Jose 15 4 10 1 0 36 56 9

QMJHL

WESTERN CONFERENCE

GP W L OL SL GF GA Pts

WEST DIVISION

Val-d’Or 18 9 7 2 0 61 58 20

R.-Noranda 19 9 8 1 1 60 67 20

B.-Boisbriand 17 8 7 1 1 53 63 18

Gatineau 18 4 11 3 0 48 70 11

CENTRAL DIVISION

Sherbrooke 18 15 1 2 0 77 42 32

Drmmondville19 12 7 0 0 71 67 24

Shawinigan 17 8 9 0 0 56 58 16

Victoriaville 19 4 12 0 3 47 69 11

EASTERN CONFERENCE

GP W L OL SL GF GA Pts

MARITIMES DIVISION

Moncton 17 14 3 0 0 77 47 28

Cape Breton 18 12 5 1 0 82 60 25

Charlottetown 18 11 4 3 0 61 50 25

Halifax 18 8 9 1 0 56 65 17

Saint John 18 6 11 1 0 58 87 13

Acdie-Bthurst 17 0 12 2 3 33 72 5

EAST DIVISION

Chicoutimi 17 12 3 2 0 62 48 26

Rimouski 18 11 4 1 2 79 48 25

Québec 18 11 7 0 0 63 61 22

Baie-Comeau 18 7 8 3 0 52 64 17

MondAy-WednesdAy

No Games Scheduled.

ThursdAy

All Times EAstern

Drummondville at Charlottetown, 6 p.m.

Baie-Comeau at Val-d’Or, 7 p.m.

FridAy

Moncton at Acadie-Bathurst, 6 p.m.

Drummondville at Halifax, 6 p.m.

Blainville-Boisbriand at Québec, 7 p.m.

Baie-Comeau at Rouyn-Noranda,

7:30 p.m.

Victoriaville at Chicoutimi, 7:30 p.m.

Gatineau at Rimouski, 7:30 p.m.

SCORING LEADERS

G A Pts

C. Paré, Rim 22 22 44

A. Lafrenière, Rim 12 31 43

D. Zavgorodniy, Rim 13 23 36

E. Sokolov, Cap 14 20 34

F. Robert, She 14 19 33

R. Francis, Cap 11 21 32

D. Mercer, Dru 16 15 31

A. Khovanov, Mon 12 18 30

R. Lavoie, Hal 13 15 28

J. Pelletier, Mon 11 17 28

AsofNov.4

AHL

EASTERN CONFERENCE

GP W L OL SL GF GA Pts

NORTH DIVISION

Toronto 10 7 0 2 1 40 28 17

Utica 10 8 2 0 0 39 22 16

Rochester 12 7 3 1 1 40 34 16

Cleveland 11 7 3 0 1 39 25 15

Laval 13 7 5 1 0 36 36 15

Syracuse 10 5 3 2 0 35 37 12

Belleville 10 4 6 0 0 31 43 8

Binghamton 12 3 7 2 0 29 41 8

ATLANTIC DIVISION

Hartford 12 8 1 0 3 33 27 19

Springfield 12 8 4 0 0 44 28 16

Providence 13 7 4 0 2 41 35 16

Hershey 12 6 4 1 1 37 37 14

Lehigh Valley 10 4 2 1 3 28 28 12

W-B/Scranton 11 5 4 1 1 33 41 12

Charlotte 10 4 5 1 0 29 35 9

Bridgeport 12 2 7 2 1 24 46 7

WESTERN CONFERENCE

PACIFIC DIVISION

GP W L OL SL GF GA Pts

Stockton 10 7 1 1 1 39 29 16

Tucson 11 8 3 0 0 35 25 16

Ontario 10 6 2 2 0 32 28 14

Bakersfield 11 5 5 1 0 30 32 11

San Jose 9 4 4 0 1 27 26 9

Colorado 9 4 5 0 0 24 32 8

San Diego 8 2 6 0 0 20 32 4

CENTRAL DIVISION

Iowa 11 7 1 2 1 33 27 17

San Antonio 11 6 2 2 1 39 31 15

Milwaukee 11 5 3 1 2 29 26 13

Chicago 12 6 5 1 0 32 35 13

Grand Rapids 11 5 4 1 1 39 39 12

Rockford 10 5 5 0 0 28 34 10

Texas 12 3 7 0 2 29 45 8

Manitoba 10 3 7 0 0 27 37 6

TuesdAy

Ontario at Colorado

MondAy

No Games Scheduled.

WednesdAy

All Times EAstern

Springfield at Bridgeport, 10:30 a.m.

Cleveland at Grand Rapids, 11 a.m.

Toronto at Rockford, 11:30 a.m.

Manitoba at Milwaukee, 11:30 a.m.

W-B/Scranton at Lehigh Valley, 7:05 p.m.

Utica at Binghamton, 7:05 p.m.

Ontario at Colorado, 9:05 p.m.

SCORING LEADERS

G A Pts

C. Terry, GR 7 11 18

L. Elvenes, CHI 5 13 18

S. Noesen, WBS 11 3 14

L. Pederson, TUC 9 5 14

N. Walker, SA 8 6 14

R. Boucher, UTI 10 3 13

Not inCluding TuesdAy’s gAme

OHL

EASTERN CONFERENCE

GP W L OL SL GF GA Pts

CENTRAL DIVISION

Sudbury 18 11 7 0 0 75 65 22

Barrie 16 10 5 0 1 65 60 21

Niagara 18 5 10 2 1 56 78 13

Mississauga 15 5 10 0 0 41 62 10

North Bay 16 3 13 0 0 49 96 6

EAST DIVISION

Oshawa 16 12 3 0 1 64 50 25

Ottawa 16 12 4 0 0 68 48 24

Peterborough 16 11 5 0 0 73 58 22

Hamilton 18 8 9 1 0 64 74 17

Kingston 15 1 11 2 1 42 75 5

WESTERN CONFERENCE

GP W L OL SL GF GA Pts

WEST DIVISION

Windsor 14 10 3 1 0 66 49 21

Flint 15 10 5 0 0 65 57 20

Saginaw 17 9 6 1 1 68 60 20

Sarnia 15 7 8 0 0 71 76 14

S.S. Marie 17 6 10 1 0 75 77 13

MIDWEST DIVISION

Owen Sound 15 9 4 1 1 62 44 20

Erie 17 8 6 1 2 66 59 19

London 14 8 4 1 1 65 51 18

Guelph 14 7 4 1 2 54 48 17

Kitchener 14 6 4 2 2 50 52 16

TuesdAy

Kingston at Peterborough

MondAy, WednesdAy, ThursdAy

No Games Scheduled.

FridAy

All Times EAstern

Oshawa at Ottawa, 7 p.m.

Peterborough at Kingston, 7 p.m.

Mississauga at Flint, 7 p.m.

Sault Ste. Marie at Sarnia, 7:05 p.m.

Niagara at Sudbury, 7:05 p.m.

North Bay at London, 7:30 p.m.

Guelph at Kitchener, 7:30 p.m.

WHL

WESTERN CONFERENCE

GP W L OL SL GFGA Pts

B.C. DIVISION

Kelowna 15 9 4 1 1 48 37 20

Kamloops 16 10 6 0 0 57 35 20

Vancouver 18 9 8 1 0 52 49 19

Victoria 14 6 7 1 0 31 41 13

Prince George 16 4 11 0 1 32 58 9

U.S. DIVISION

Everett 15 11 4 0 0 42 34 22

Portland 15 10 4 0 1 59 38 21

Tri-City 15 8 6 0 1 42 57 17

Spokane 15 7 6 2 0 55 39 16

Seattle 15 5 7 2 1 34 54 13

EASTERN CONFERENCE

GP W L OL SL GFGA Pts

EAST DIVISION

Prince Albert 16 11 2 3 0 57 33 25

Saskatoon 18 9 7 1 1 56 54 20

Winnipeg 15 8 6 1 0 51 60 17

Moose Jaw 15 7 7 1 0 47 56 15

Brandon 17 7 10 0 0 49 50 14

Regina 15 2 11 2 0 37 67 6

CENTRAL DIVISION

Edmonton 16 12 1 3 0 63 39 27

Lethbridge 18 11 4 0 3 67 48 25

Medicine Hat 16 10 5 1 0 63 41 21

Calgary 14 8 5 1 0 52 44 17

Red Deer 15 5 8 0 2 39 61 12

Swift Current 15 3 9 1 2 29 67 9

TuesdAy

Red Deer at Brandon

Prince Albert at Edmonton

MondAy

No Games Scheduled.

WednesdAy

All Times EAstern

Red Deer at Winnipeg, 8:30 p.m.

Swift Current at Lethbridge, 9 p.m.

Prince Albert at Calgary, 9 p.m.

Medicine Hat at Prince George, 10 p.m.

Victoria at Kelowna, 10:05 p.m.

SCORING LEADERS

G A Pts

A. Protas, PA 12 14 26

D. Cozens, LET 11 14 25

O. Okuliar, LET 15 9 24

C. Zary, KAM 8 16 24

R. Korczak, MJ 7 17 24

A. Beckman, SPO 6 17 23

B. Kindopp, EVT 13 9 22

Z. Franklin, KAM 9 13 22

N. Foote, KEL 9 12 21

Not inCluding TuesdAy’s gAmes

GP W L OL SL GF GA Pts GP W L OL SL GF GA Pts

TuesdAy

Ottawa at NY Islanders

Vegas at Columbus

Carolina at Philadelphia

Los Angeles at Toronto

Boston at Montreal

New Jersey at Winnipeg

Colorado at Dallas

Arizona at Calgary

Chicago at San Jose

Minnesota at Anaheim

St. Louis at Vancouver

MondAy

Boston 6 Pittsburgh 4

Ottawa 6 NY Rangers 2

Nashville 6 Detroit 1

Arizona 3 Edmonton 2 (OT)

WednesdAy

All Times EAstern

Detroit at NY Rangers, 8 p.m.

St. Louis at Edmonton, 8:30 p.m.

Note:the top three teams per division and the two next-best records in the conference

qualify for the playoffs; a winning team is credited with two points and a victory in the

Wcolumn; a team losing in overtime or shootout receives one point, which is registered

in the respective OL or SL column.

ENGLAND

PREMIER LEAGUE

MP W D L GF GA Pt

Liverpool 11 10 1 0 25 9 31

Man City 11 8 1 2 34 10 25

Leicester 11 7 2 2 27 8 23

Chelsea 11 7 2 2 25 17 23

Arsenal 11 4 5 2 16 15 17

Sheffield United11 4 4 3 12 8 16

Bournemouth 11 4 4 3 14 13 16

Brighton 11 4 3 4 14 14 15

Crystal Palace 11 4 3 4 10 14 15

ManUnited 11 3 4 4 13 11 13

Tottenham 11 3 4 4 17 16 13

Wolverhampton11 2 7 2 14 14 13

West Ham 11 3 4 4 14 17 13

Burnley 11 3 3 5 14 18 12

Newcastle 11 3 3 5 9 17 12

Aston Villa 11 3 2 6 16 18 11

Everton 11 3 2 6 11 17 11

Southampton 11 2 2 7 10 27 8

Norwich 11 2 1 8 11 26 7

Watford 11 0 5 6 6 23 5

Note:Three points awarded for a win,

one for a draw; Home teams listed first.

FridAy

All Times EAstern

Norwich vs. Watford, 3 p.m.

SAturdAy

Chelsea vs. Crystal Palace, 7:30 a.m.

Burnley vs. West Ham, 10 a.m.

Newcastle vs. Bournemouth, 10 a.m.

Southampton vs. Everton, 10 a.m.

Tottenham vs. Sheffield United, 10 a.m.

Leicester vs. Arsenal, 12:30 p.m.

SundAy

Manchester United vs. Brighton, 9 a.m.

Wolverhampton vs. Aston Villa, 9 a.m.

Liverpool vs. Manchester City,

11:30 a.m.

U SPORTS FOOTBALL

PLAYOFFS

CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS

SAturdAy

All Times EAstern

AUS

LONEY BOWL

Bishop’s at Acadia, 1 p.m.

RSEQ

DUNSMORE CUP

Montreal at Laval, 2 p.m.

OUA

YATES CUP

McMaster at Western, 1 p.m.

CANADA WEST

HARDY CUP

Saskatchewan at Calgary, 3 p.m.

LATE MONDAY

DALLAS 37, N.Y. GIANTS 18

Dallas 3 10 3 21—37

New York 3 9 3 3—18

FIRST QUARTER

NYG—FG Rosas 21, 13:23.

Dal—FG Maher 35, 8:19.

SECOND QUARTER

NYG—Latimer 1 pass from D.Jones (kick

failed), 11:55.

NYG—FG Rosas 25, 2:50.

Dal—Jarwin 42 pass from Prescott

(Maher kick), :52.

Dal—FG Maher 52, :00.

THIRD QUARTER

Dal—FG Maher 28, 4:43.

NYG—FG Rosas 26, :27.

FOURTH QUARTER

Dal—Gallup 15 pass from Prescott

(Maher kick), 12:40.

NYG—FG Rosas 29, 11:50.

Dal—Cooper 45 pass from Prescott

(Maher kick), 7:56.

Dal—Lewis 63 fumble return (Maher kick),

:06.

A—76,107.

TEAM STATISTICS DAl NYG

First downs 24 20

Total Net Yards 429 271

Rushes-yards 30-172 22-100

Passing 257 171

Punt Returns 2-24 1-15

Kickoff Returns 3-31 7-186

Interceptions Ret. 1-29 1-7

Comp-Att-Int 22-35-1 26-41-1

Sacked-Yards Lost 0-0 5-39

Punts 2-40.0 3-47.3

Fumbles-Lost 2-1 2-2

Penalties-Yards 10-104 8-71

Time of Possession 28:04 31:56

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING—Dallas, Elliott 23-139, Pollard

3-21, Prescott 3-12, Cobb 1-0. New York,

D.Jones 6-54, Barkley 14-28, Tate 1-16,

Engram 1-2.

PASSING—Dallas, Prescott 22-35-1-257.

New York, D.Jones 26-41-1-210.

RECEIVING—Dallas, Witten 8-58, Cobb

6-35, Cooper 4-80, Gallup 2-33, Jarwin 1-

42, Pollard 1-9. New York, Barkley 6-67,

Engram 6-48, Tate 6-42, Fowler 3-22,

Ellison 2-17, Latimer 2-8, Slayton 1-6.

MISSED FIELD GOALS—Dallas, Maher

54.

TuesdAy

Boston 119, Cleveland 113

Indiana at Charlotte

San Antonio at Atlanta

L.A. Lakers at Chicago

Orlando at Oklahoma City

Miami at Denver

MondAy

Washington 115, Detroit 99

Brooklyn 135, New Orleans 125

Houston 107, Memphis 100

Milwaukee 134, Minnesota 106

Phoenix 114, Philadelphia 109

Golden State 127, Portland 118

WednesdAy

All Times EAstern

New York at Detroit, 7 p.m.

Washington at Indiana, 7 p.m.

Chicago at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.

Golden State at Houston, 7:30 p.m.

Sacramento at Toronto, 7:30 p.m.

Minnesota at Memphis, 8 p.m.

Orlando at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.

Philadelphia at Utah, 9 p.m.

Milwaukee at L.A. Clippers, 10 p.m.

Miami 5 1 .833 —

Philadelphia 5 1 .833 —

Boston 5 1 .833 —

Milwaukee 5 2 .714^1 / 2

Toronto 4 2 .667 1

Charlotte 3 3 .500 2

Indiana 3 3 .500 2

Brooklyn 3 4 .429 2^1 / 2

Atlanta 2 3 .400 2^1 / 2

Detroit 3 5 .375 3

Washington 2 4 .333 3

Orlando 2 4 .333 3

Cleveland 2 5 .286 3^1 / 2

Chicago 2 5 .286 3^1 / 2

New York 1 6 .143 4^1 / 2

L.A. Lakers 5 1 .833 —

Phoenix 5 2 .714^1 / 2

L.A. Clippers 5 2 .714^1 / 2

Denver 4 2 .667 1

Dallas 4 2 .667 1

San Antonio 4 2 .667 1

Minnesota 4 2 .667 1

Houston 4 3 .571 1^1 / 2

Utah 4 3 .571 1^1 / 2

Portland 3 4 .429 2^1 / 2

Oklahoma City 2 4 .333 3

Golden State 2 5 .286 3^1 / 2

Sacramento 2 5 .286 3^1 / 2

Memphis 1 5 .167 4

New Orleans 1 6 .143 4^1 / 2

NBA

EASTERN CONFERENCE

WLPCtGB

WESTERN CONFERENCE

WLPCtGB

| REPORTONBUSINESS

W

hile it may not be sleep-
less in Seattle, Toronto
FC will have an early start
Sunday at the MLS Cup final with
kickoff at noon local time (3 p.m.
ET) at CenturyLink Field.
And that has not happened too
often this year.
Toronto opened the regular
season with a 1 p.m. ET kickoff in
Philadelphia on March 2 and had
four 3 p.m. ET starts, the most re-
cent of which was May 18 in Salt
Lake City. It also had five starts at 4
or 5 p.m. ET and one at 6 p.m. ET.
In all, 23 of TFC’s 34 regular-sea-

son games started at 7 p.m. ET or

later. Toronto was slated to open

the postseason at home to D.C.

United on Oct. 19 at noon ET. But

president Bill Manning, in consul-

tation with the league and its

broadcast partners, managed to

switch kickoff to 6 p.m. ET.

“I think it’s an early start and it

kind of loses its prime-time sort of

feel,” Toronto coach Greg Vanney

said of the championship game

start time Sunday. “But at the

same time I understand that be-

tween television and everything

else they really determine when

things start. We do what we’ve got

to do.”

It was a 1 p.m. local time start (4

p.m. ET) April 13 when Toronto

played its lone regular-season

game against Seattle this season.

The Sounders won 3-2.

“Everything comes fast, which

in some ways maybe isn’t the

worst thing because you’re not

waiting it out all day,” Vanney said

of the early starts. “By the time

you wake up and you do your rou-

tine of pregame meal, you’re al-

ready on the bus, you’re at the sta-

dium before you know it and the

game is on.

“But what it does is everything

is really kind of in fast-forward, so

in terms of team meetings or any-

thing that you might spread out

over the course of a day, every-

thing is just put into hyper-speed

because it’s all going to happen re-

ally fast.

“Again, it’s important every-

thing gets done the day in ad-

vance and you leave as little as

possible for that day.”

On the plus side, Vanney said

teams often practise around 11

a.m. local time, so Sunday’s kick-

off time is not too far off.

“But what always makes the

game day special is that you play

in the evening, you play under the

lights, you play a little bit later and

that always makes game day feel

different than training day. But

this one’s going to feel different

because of the magnitude and the

atmosphere and everything.”

Toronto is flying into the Pacific

Northwest on Thursday, in part to

escape some of the hoopla and

media attention that comes with

MLS Cup week.

Seattle has played six 2019

home games during the regular

season and playoffs that kicked

off at 1 p.m. local time or earlier.

The Sounders went undefeated

(4-0-2) in those early starts TFC

has a career 2-5-1 record in Seattle.

The forecast calls for showers

and 12 degrees on Sunday. A sell-

out of more than 69,000 is expect-

ed.

THE CANADIAN PRESS

TorontoFCissetforanearlier-than-usualstartforMLSCupfinalinSeattle

NEILDAVIDSONTORONTO