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Ninety minutes doesnt make a season. Just ask last seasons Supporters Shield winners, the New York Red Bulls, who were resoundingly defeated last weekend by a rampant Vancouver Whitecaps in a match which produced two contenders for MLS Goal of the Week from Sebastian Fernandez and Pedro Morales. Another of those contenders was a slice of set piece magic from FC Dallas playmaker, Mauro Diaz, which after the final whistle blew, ended up the difference-maker as the Montreal Impact kicked their season off on the wrong side of a five-goal thriller after taking a deserved lead at Toyota Stadium last Saturday night. This for a club which has built its foundation on taking the lead and parking the bus since the time Jose Mourinho was working as a translator for Sir Bobby Robson at Barcelona. Conceding goals in threes, though, was a recurring theme in the preseason for the Impact. For those who believe preseason matches dont really matter, lets not bother having them and, while were at it, please scrap all those preseason tournaments. There was no connection whatsoever with the Columbus Crew putting four past the 2013 MLS Cup champion Sporting KC in the final of the Disney Pro Soccer Classic and taking all that confidence and Orlando momentum into D.C. to start their season last Saturday with a 3-0 rout of United. Growing a cohesive defensive unit and mindset was a significant ingredient as the Impacts training camp progressed. With that in mind, it was rather baffling that in his first match as gaffer, Frank Klopas strayed from that blueprint and morphed into the Tinkerman. Pre-game, I dont suspect that anybody would have predicted that such an unacquainted defence would have taken the pitch in Dallas. Having not played a minute in preseason, it was hardly surprising that Jeb Brovsky didnt display his usual reliable, risk-averse self. And when will the Impact finally realize the liability that is Hassoun Camara in a central role? As its only in adversity or defeat that one learns, the Impact head across the state with plenty learned in Dallas to be applied when the Impact return to the scene of that playoff crime in Houston on Saturday night. As geography plays a significant part in growing rivalries across planet futbol, whod have thought MLSs 19th franchise would have developed a bitter rivalry with a club they dont even share the same time zone with? The origins for which we must thank Dominic Kinnear and Jesse Marsch. The Dynamos head coach for first leaving him unprotected in the Expansion Draft and the Impacts original head coach for having the fortitude to rise to the rostrum at the Impacts downtown offices back on November 23, 2011 and, with his first selection, utter those infamous words, "Brian Ching." Whether Quebec native and Canadian international defender Andre Hainault was the real target is still the stuff of debate, but what is certain is that these two clubs dont much care for each other with last years Halloween Eve playoff horrors merely the icing on the cake. After embarrassing the Dynamo in sticking five past them late last summer at Saputo Stadium, Houston avenged that by first beating the Impact in the return encounter in early October and twisted the knife during the first round of the playoffs. Houston boasts one of the best home records in all of Major League Soccer these recent seasons and it is going to take a supreme team effort for the Impact to get anything from the match. Having spent the entire week down in Texas will have allowed them for the perfect preparation. No club wants to start its season 0-2 and the Impact will not want any additional pressures heading into their Olympic Stadium home opener March 22 against the Seattle Sounders. Nor will Klopas want to be explaining himself as he makes his Montreal bow. Houston has not been kind to the ex-Fire head coach, where he sports a solitary win from seven matches. Klopas will want a repeat performance from Justin Mapp, who was scintillating in Dallas. New DP Hernan Bernadello will have to last the 90 minutes. Splendid early on orchestrating the attacks, the 27-year old Argentine physically and mentally tired as the game wore on. How refreshing it would have been for Impact management and faithful alike that Andrew Wenger finally displayed the type of football through the 90 minutes we all know he is capable of? A well taken goal, following expert delivery from Felipe on the flank, was thoroughly deserved. The 2012 SuperDraft first-overall pick will be brimming with confidence when he hits the pitch Saturday night. It is vital he utilizes that additional injection of adrenaline in a positive manner. Individually and as a team, the Impact cannot allow any tension get to them. Greater concentration and discipline were the key messages to emerge from the time training in Texas. The Impact didnt gain any points in Dallas, but after a thoroughly entertaining 90 minutes of football, they certainly gained many new admirers back in La Belle Province as they tuned into the action as an appetizer to the Habs late night west coast encounter. Sanna Nyassi, who was the Impacts best player to emerge from training camp and scored last weeks opener, will be missed. Klopas will tinker with his starting XI. You can reach and follow Noel Butler at:Noel.Butler@BellMedia.ca @TheSoccerNoel on Twitter Jason Williams Jersey . Last year, Islanders forward Colin Mcdonald released a "Do It For Colin" campaign to promote his teammate and friend John Tavares for the EA sports honour:The most popular sports voting video ever has to go to Chris Bosh who showcased his comedic abilities in his effort to get fans to vote him into the 2008 All Star Game:You can vote for TJ and other star players for the NHL 15 cover vote here. Vlade Divac Jersey .com) - St. Louis Blues right wing Vladimir Tarasenko, Detroit Red Wings center Pavel Datsyuk and Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury have been selected as the NHLs top players for last week. http://www.nbakingsonline.com/Authen...-Kings-Jersey/. Finlands Kari Lehtonen made 26 saves to lead Dallas over the Phoenix Coyotes 2-1 Saturday night. He received plenty of help from the Stars defence and got goals from Ray Whitney and Russias Valeri Nichushkin. George Hill Jersey . Phoenix originally signed Barbosa to a 10-day contract on Jan. 8 after Eric Bledsoe injured his knee and then signed him to another 10-day deal. Zach Randolph Jersey . Notes on Bergeron, Marchand, Gorges, Vanek, Gaborik, Doughty, Hiller and more. BRUINS STORM BACK TO TAKE GAME TWO The Boston Bruins rallied from a 3-1 deficit, scoring four unanswered goals, to win Game Two, 5-3 over the Montreal Canadiens.NEW YORK -- Frank Cashen, the general manager who wore a signature bow tie and fashioned a New York Mets team that rollicked its way to the 1986 World Series championship, died Monday. The team said he was 88. He died at Memorial Hospital in Easton, Maryland, after a short illness, the Mets said. Cashen was a longtime sports writer in his Baltimore hometown and went to law school before joining the Orioles and eventually becoming their GM. The Orioles won two titles while Cashen worked for them, but it was in New York where he put his stamp on a franchise with the likes of Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden. Hired in 1980, Cashen transformed a last-place team into an outfit that became the most dominant force in baseball. Those Mets were brash and full of swagger, not at all like the personality of the man who built the club. Cashen made the trades that brought star first baseman Keith Hernandez and future Hall of Famer Gary Carter to the Mets, and oversaw the draft picks of Gooden and Strawberry. "Frank was our leader," Strawberry said in a statement. "I always admired the way he put together our team. He mixed young guys, like me and Doc, with guys like Carter and Hernandez. He was able to find the perfect blend to build a championship." Cashen also hired his former second baseman in Baltimore, Davey Johnson, to be the Mets manager. By the 1986, the Mets were ready to take over. They powered their way to 108 victories, won a tough playoff series with Houston and then rallied past Boston to win the World Series in seven games. "Frank was willing to take a chance and jump me from A-ball to the majors. That always meant a lot to me," Gooden said in a statement. "Also, he helped get me my No. 16. Lee Mazzilli had it before and Frank went to bat for me and said, If thats the number Doc wants, let him have it." Hernandez is now a broadcaster for the Mets. He was already a star first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals when Cashen acquired him in June 1983 in a one-sided deal, getting him for pitchers Neil Allen and Rick Ownbey. Before the Mets played at Atlanta on Monday night, Hernandez fondly remembered Cashen. "He was a man of integrity and honestly, and that was most important.dddddddddddd. He told you the truth," Hernandez said. "It was a day when the general managers didnt pal around with the players. We hardly ever saw him, but there was a relationship there. He was just a wonderful man." After winning the championship, however, the Mets werent able to sustain that peak performance. In the following years and Cashen traded away Lenny Dykstra, Ron Darling, Roger McDowell and other popular players. Cashen left the Mets after a fifth-place finish in 1991. He remained close to the team and was briefly the interim GM several years later. "Frank Cashen revitalized our franchise when he took over," Mets chairman Fred Wilpon said in a statement. "I dealt with Frank on a daily basis and he was a man of integrity and great passion." "No one had a more diverse career than Frank. He was also a lawyer, sports writer and marketing executive. His accomplishments will always be an integral part of our team history," he said. Cashen, who also worked as an executive in Major League Baseball, was inducted into the team Hall of Fame for both the Orioles and Mets. "Frank Cashen was one of the greatest executives in our game," Commissioner Bud Selig said. "A true gentleman who had many interests, Frank had a multifaceted career in baseball and beyond. He helped construct some of the best clubs that two of our franchises - his hometown Baltimore Orioles and the New York Mets - have ever had." The Orioles said Cashen served the team during its "most successful on-field era." "It was during his tenure that the Orioles acquired Frank Robinson and named Earl Weaver manager, two of the most significant moments in club history," the club said. In recent years, Cashen spent his time in Easton and in Port St. Lucie, Florida, where the Mets hold spring training. He was in camp with the Mets this year. "One of the great baseball people," Mets manager Terry Collins said Monday. Cashen is survived by wife Jean, seven children and nine grandchildren. ------ AP freelance writer Amy Jinkner-Lloyd in Atlanta contributed to this report. 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