It was supposed to be a dream come true. A marriage made in soccer heaven. The hometown star returning back to his roots to help guide his new team to a level of success he had reached many times. Sure, there were some good moments. The all-star appearances, the first goal at BMO Field when he headed the ball into the net against Dallas, but for Dwayne De Rosario it wasnt enough. This was not how he had imagined it going. On the field, De Rosario was able to forget the issues, play a game he loved in front of fans he adored. Sometimes the result would even go the teams way, but often it wouldnt and after the match, as he made the walk from the dressing room to his car, his mind would be cloudy and full of distractions about how the club was run. "Id definitely sit in my car and shake my head," he admitted in a sitdown with TSN.ca. "I know it was my hometown but I never wanted them to take that for granted and use that as leverage against me. I wasnt willing to stand for anything, its who I am, I am very passionate and hungry for success." As he started his third season with Toronto FC in 2011, it became very clear the two were heading in different directions. De Rosario had hoped to be loaned to Celtic during the offseason but didnt get his wish and three months later he was packing his bags from Toronto for, what appeared, good. It wasnt an April Fools joke, but on April 1, 2011, De Rosario was dealt to New York Red Bulls for what can now be labeled nothing more than a bag of balls. On a flight later that day, De Rosario thought he would never play for Toronto FC ever again but admitted he hoped to one day return when the direction of the club was different. "I never closed the door and turned my back on that option. How it was presented to me this time was a situation I couldnt refuse, I always wanted to create special moments and have special memories with my hometown, Toronto FC, and I am looking to live those moments I envisioned and hopefully we can create those this season." It is clear the Canadian international spent many hours dreaming of playing for his hometown club before it happened and it is also clear that a lot of those dreams didnt come true the first time around. "I demand success, first and foremost from myself, but from my teammates and from the organization and to have a situation where we now have it demanded from the top is absolutely ideal. Its the right way and I am happy to be a part of that." When Toronto FC kick off the new season in Seattle on Saturday afternoon, much of the attention will, rightfully so, be placed on star signings Jermain Defoe, Michael Bradley and Julio Cesar. The club has completely reinvented itself this winter and the return of De Rosario is almost an after-thought, a small scene in a blockbuster movie. With De Rosario now 35 that is, probably, the right thing for a team who want to contend for the MLS Cup this season, but the 2011 league MVP believes he can still play a major part on and off the pitch. He said: "I am really looking forward to this year. Jermain Defoe is a world class player, a winner, throughout the season it will be great to pick his brain and see how he runs and moves and create that relationship. Gilberto has a very bright future and so far I have enjoyed playing together with him. Anytime you have an opportunity to play alongside players of that calibre it is always fun, the most important thing is developing the understanding. So far its come along and we are excited to get it started." De Rosario has been in MLS long enough to know that tough times will still come Torontos way this season, even if they are successful. He admits expectations are high but thinks the team is ready to drag themselves through the rough patches because of the personnel general manager Tim Bezbatchenko has assembled. "Thankfully when we look at every position we have strong leaders. Julio Cesar to Steven Caldwell in central defence, Michael Bradley in the midfield and myself, Defoe up top, all strong personalities with experience, its important. All of these guys know its a long season, they understand we havent done anything yet, on paper it looks good but we have to continue to show that on a day-to-day basis and we have to work hard to accomplish something." De Rosarios second stint in Toronto gives the club a player whose best days are clearly behind him but he still thinks his versatility can help head coach Ryan Nelsen in many areas throughout 2014. "I dont have a specific favourite position. I like creating and scoring goals, up top, on the left, attacking mid, all these provide those opportunities for me but it depends on the team and its shape. Sometimes I am on the left and I dont really like it because I dont feel I get as much ball as I would like, sometimes I am in the midfield and you just defend a lot so that can be frustrating but sometimes, even, up top you can not get the balls, so it depends on the situation and the team." Throughout his career, he admits he is constantly learning and developing more and more on the tactical side of the game: "Spatial awareness is a big part of my game, knowing when to leave it and attack it and I have been working with a lot of the forwards here about that as well. You want to continuously move but sometimes you need to stop and let the space develop and attack it at the right moments." De Rosario will be hoping to find some of the space in behind Brad Evans and Osvaldo Alonso against the Sounders on Saturday. (You can read my piece on Toronto FCs strategy against Seattle here) March 15 has been circled on the calendar for many Toronto FC fans because it is their first game but De Rosario cannot wait for the following week when he will get to pull on the red number 14 shirt in front of the home fans. "Those fans are my family, the relationship with them means everything to me. Every time I step out for training or in a game with that badge it is for them. I do not just represent myself, I represent my direct family and the fans and I take a lot of pride in that. One day I want the youngsters to look at me and say I want to be like him, and because of that, I want to set as good an example as possible." On paper, the words look cliché but you dont have to be around De Rosario for long to know just how much he truly means it and how much he loves his city and his club. Toronto FC have lacked a lot of things in their short history. Above all else they have lacked wins, but in recent years there has been a distinct lack of people caring about this club. Whether the signing of De Rosario the player turns out to be a success only time will tell, but to have a winner talk so passionately about this club is already a positive step before a ball has even been kicked. Join Luke Wileman, Jason DeVos and myself in Seattle for Toronto FCs first game of the season live on TSN at 4:30pm et/1:30pm pt. Dalvin Tomlinson Giants Jersey . 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. Oshane Ximines Cheap Jersey .The Toronto Raptors guard, who will represent the Eastern Conference at the All-Star Game in New Orleans on Sunday, says he doesnt complain in the face of adversity "because I know this little girl is just happy for anything. http://www.giantsonlineteamshop.com/phil-simms-jersey-cheap.html . With the Canadiens leading by one to start the third period, Price turned away 16 shots by the Panthers in the final frame to give Montreal a 2-1 victory over Florida on Monday night. The Panthers (16-21-6) outshot Montreal 16-10 in the final frame, but were repeatedly frustrated by Price, who made 26 saves on the night. Dexter Lawrence Cheap Jersey . The teams were scoreless for most of the first two periods before Canada scored three times in a span of less than four minutes. Sarah Potomak opened the scoring on the power play. Evan Engram Giants Jersey . Josh Bailey had a goal and an assist as the New York Islanders earned a 2-1 win over Ottawa Wednesday, leaving the Senators five points out of a playoff spot with just five games to play and four teams ahead of them.JOLIET, Ill. -- Brad Keselowski saw one shot in front of him to steal the win in the opening race of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. He had twice picked his way through the field Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway, and found himself watching a spirited, side-by-side battle for the lead between Kevin Harvick and rookie Kyle Larson. As everyone else held their breath watching the Harvick and Larson duel, Keselowski saw his opening and pounced. He used a daring three-wide drive through the middle to grab the lead for good. I just saw a hole and I went for it, he said. I didnt know if my car would stick or not, but I knew Id regret it if I didnt try it. The win in the first race of the 10-race Chase automatically advances Keselowski, the top seed in the 16-driver field, into the second round. NASCAR this year has debuted an elimination format and four drivers will be knocked out after every third race. As Team Penske celebrated in Victory Lane, Keselowski moved his name on a bracket-type Chase grid into the next round. I guess you couldnt ask for a better way to start the Chase, he said. Today was about as much of a statement as you can make. Keselowski opened the 2012 Chase with a win at Chicago and went on to his first Sprint Cup title. He failed to make the Chase last year and was ineligible to defend his title, but has raced this entire year as if hes on a mission to win a second championship. Now he can race for fun the next two weeks as he awaits the Chase reset following the Sept. 28 race at Dover -- all because he went for broke on Sunday. The first thing we wanted to do was get a win for one of our cars so were automatically in the next round, team owner Roger Penske said. With Brad being able to split in between (Larson) and (Harvick), it was the winning move. The gamble with 15 laps remaining put Keselowski solidly out front, and he easily pulled away from the field while Harvick and Larson had their hands full trying to hold off Jeff Gordon. Then contact between Danica Patrick and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. set up one final restart with six laps to go, but Keselowski again surged to the front for his second consecutive victory and Sprint Cup Series-leading fifth of the year. It was a huge turnaround from Fridays opening practice, when he and Penske teammate Joey Logano struggled to find speed. Keselowski started 25th, but worked his way up to second, only to give it all up following a questionable pit stop under yellow. The rear tire changer fretted he didnt get the wheel on tight enough, annd crew chief Paul Wolfe had to make a split-second decision on if they should address the issue or see how it played out.dddddddddddd Wolfe decided to give up track position and bring Keselowski back to the pits under yellow instead of gambling there wasnt a problem and it backfiring under green. The real winner today is the young man that changes the rear tire, (he) put his hand up and said Hey, I screwed up. The wheel might be loose, Penske said. Paul had the guts to say on the radio, Were not going to go out and run to find out. Were coming in now. It made for an exciting finish a week after Keselowski led all but 17 laps in a snoozer of a regular-season finale. It also put the rest of the Chase field on notice that Keselowski is a very strong title contender. Although 12 Chase drivers finished in the top 15, Sunday proved theyll all have their hands full with Keselowski, Gordon and Harvick. Gordon, trying for his fifth NASCAR championship, wound up second while Larson, the rookie who flirted with Chase contention, was third. Logano was fourth and Harvick faded to fifth after leading a race-high 79 laps. Chase-eligible drivers Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch took the next three spots, while Larson teammate Jamie McMurray was ninth. Matt Kenseth finished 10th as all three Joe Gibbs Racing drivers finished inside the top 10. The next three spots went to Hendrick Motorsports as Chase drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr., six-time and defending NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne finished 11th through 13th. Ryan Newman battled back from three laps down to finish 15th, but the rest of the Chase field didnt fare as well. Carl Edwards wound up 20th after a tire problem, AJ Allmendinger (22nd) and Greg Biffle (23rd) werent competitive, and Aric Almirola finished 41st after an engine failure. It was a devastating blow for Almirola, an underdog in the Chase who ran as high as fourth in the race. He was sixth and headed for a routine pit stop when his engine suddenly failed. He was greeted with a hug from Hall of Famer Richard Petty, his car owner, in the garage. Heartbroken, I think, is the easiest way to describe it, Almirola said. We know we are capable of running in the top 10. Everyone else might not think so, the rest of the world thinks we are underdogs, and we will gladly accept that tag. We dont have anything to hang our heads about. The four drivers at the bottom of the standings and currently in danger of being eliminated are Newman, Allmendinger, Biffle and Almirola. ' ' '