ing a double-double: 22.6 points and 10.2 rebounds | Forum

TORONTO -- There was little separating Toronto FC and New York City FC during the Major League Soccer regular season. Charley Taylor Youth Jersey .The teams played twice and drew twice -- 2-2 at Yankee Stadium on March 13 and 1-1 at BMO Field on May 18.A winner must emerge in their two-game Eastern Conference semifinal that opens in Toronto on Sunday and concludes Nov. 6 in New York.NYCFC (15-10-9) finished one point ahead of TFC (14-9-11) in the standings, which meant Toronto had to play the Philadelphia Union Wednesday to advance to the next round. TFC won 3-1 at BMO Field.Both teams have a lot of guys who can make you pay if you make mistakes, Toronto coach Greg Vanney said. To me thats the allure of this game.New Yorks designated players are David Villa, Andrea Pirlo and Frank Lampard, while Toronto has Sebastian Giovinco, Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore.It sets up for a wonderful spectacle, if you will, for the league, Vanney said.New York led MLS in goals scored (62) but was 17th in goals allowed (57). Toronto was seventh in goals (51) and tied for second in goals against (39).Certainly defensively we have our work cut out for us, Toronto center back Drew Moor said. If you stay tuned in on them and communicate well, you might have a chance to keep them off the scoresheet.Villa is certainly an MVP candidate, scored a lot of goals (23) this year and hes getting some pretty good service from some very good players.Said Vanney: Theyve got a good solid team. We cant get too caught up in just the three so-called stars for them.Lampard could be a key.Frank is really important for us because when we started pushing for this playoff spot, that was related to Frank, NYCFC coach Patrick Vieira said.Lampard, 38, missed the first 12 games or the regular season because of a calf injury.After coming off the bench for three games, Lampard scored 12 goals in 15 straight starts before he sustained another calf injury on Sept. 17.Lampard returned as a substitute last Sunday in a 4-1 win over the Columbus Crew that clinched the spot in the semifinals and contributed two assists.Of course, hes a very good player for the team, a very important player for the team, said Villa, the team captain. We missed him a lot the games he was out.Now you saw the other day, he gets on the pitch and he gave us a lot, he helped us a lot.Lampard participated in a full workout Wednesday when the team returned to training. Vieira was asked if the midfielder would start Sunday.We have to see how hes going to react to the workload, but (Wednesday) morning he did a full session with no problem at all, Vieira said. When everyone was off, he came to do some work (Tuesday).He knows himself and there is no reason why Im not going to start him, but at the same time I have to look at his workload and see how hes going to do this week physically. Montez Sweat Womens Jersey .S. hockey team after paying his dues as an NHL general manager for more than three decades and giving up a lot of his free time to help USA Hockey. Russ Grimm Youth Jersey . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. https:///...ice-Inverted-Jersey/ . -- The Magic have their first victory of the new year. The San Antonio Spurs have not lost a road game all season -- although that streak was certainly put to the test Monday in Milwaukee.Thanks to a big second half, the Spurs (17-4) erased a first-half deficit and edged the Bucks, 97-96, to improve to an impressive 12-0 away from San Antonio. The Spurs road winning streak will be on the line once again Tuesday night in Minneapolis.For whatever reason, San Antonio is playing much better basketball on the road -- the Spurs are just 5-4 at AT&T Center this year.The reason why his team is barely .500 at home despite remaining perfect on the road has escaped head coach Gregg Popovich.If I knew, we wouldnt lose, Popovich told the San Antonio Express-News.San Antonios lineup Tuesday will be worth watching as Popovich tries to keep his players healthy during a stretch of four games in seven days. Theres a chance some players may be given rest against a Minnesota team that is just 6-15 on the season.Veteran guard Tony Parker returned to San Antonios lineup Monday against Milwaukee after missing two games with a thigh contusion. In total, 13 Spurs players saw the court in Mondays narrow road victory.The young Timberwolves snapped a four-game losing streak on Saturday with a win over Charlotte. To make it two straight wins, the Wolves and coach Tom Thibodeau will have to top one of the best teams in the NBA.Minnesota has struggled to close out games this year, seeing many second-half leads disappear. That wassnt the case Saturday against Charlotte, however, as the Wolves escaped with a 125-120 overtime victory. Terry McLaurin Womens Jersey. Saturdays win allowed Minnesota to let out a sigh of relief after losing seven games in an eight-game stretch.I havent smiled like that and felt that good in a while, Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns told the Minneapolis Star Tribune on Monday. (Tuesday) was an amazing day. I havent had a day like that. A lot of smiles, happy.Towns was a big reason for Minnesotas sixth win of the year. The second-year big man had 27 points and 15 rebounds, including six points in overtime. It was his 11th double-double of the year, tied for eighth most in the league.As the early-season losses have piled for the Wolves, Towns has tried to shoulder much of the blame on his own -- even though hes hardly the reason for Minnesotas inability to string together wins. In 20 games so far this year, the reigning NBA Rookie of the Year is averaging a double-double: 22.6 points and 10.2 rebounds per game.Given how hard Towns has been on himself, Saturdays win was particularly satisfying.The way were losing, not getting blown out but making mental errors late in the game, it hurt us. It hurts me, especially, Towns told the Star Tribune. To have a win like that, Im finally able to smile, laugh a lot more and have my spirits up. ' ' '