Peter Dawson took his long

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TORONTO - Judging from first impressions, Toronto FC has added style and substance on defence in one fell swoop.Newcomer Damien Perquis, a French-born Polish international, will likely partner with Scottish veteran Steven Caldwell in what could be a hard-nosed centre back pairing.Hes a leader. Hes aggressive, Toronto head coach Greg Vanney said of the former Real Betis defender. Hes a guy who doesnt give away a lot of space to attackers, he gets tight. Hes challenging balls that are coming into forwards.Hes sort of a no-nonsense fellow, Vanney added of Perquis. Hes a guy whos definitely going to have presence when theres time to have presence on the attackers. Thats part of our strategy — we dont want to concede space this year, we want to take away space and look to get the ball back as soon as we can.The 30-year-old Perquis has flair off the pitch as well. Resembling a younger version of French actor Tcheky Karyo (The Missing) he met the media Monday looking like he had just walked off a Milan runway with am oversized scarf casually arranged around his neck.On that score, he will blend well with the 34-year-old Caldwell, a fashion plate of his own off the field. The six-foot-one 165-pound Perquis played for Troyes, Saint-Etienne and Sochaux in France before moving to Spain to sign with Real Betis ahead of the 2012-13 season.Of Polish decent through his grandmother, Perquis has won 13 caps for the Polish national team.Hes happy to be wanted after falling off the radar with his Spanish club, which was dealing with relegation and financial issues.I dont play and it was very difficult for me there, the former Real Betis vice-captain said in English. So I will enjoy my job and I will take pleasure doing what I love the most in my life. Now Im here to help the club to get to the playoffs at the end of the season.Perquis, who arrived in Toronto last Thursday, has not played since a Copa del Rey game in mid-December.He got a heads-up on MLS from friends like French midfielder Vincent Nogueira of the Philadelphia Union and New England Revolution forward Charlie Davis.He (Davis) said Bro, you must be here because the new football is here, recalled Perquis, who speaks French, English, Spanish and a little Polish. So I said OK.Seeing Torontos well-appointed training centre sealed the deal.Toronto was thin at centre back last season and the cupboard got a little more bare in the off-season when Doneil Henry joined West Ham United. That left Toronto with just Caldwell and Nick Hagglund, a rookie last season.The addition of Perquis, Eriq Zavaleta (acquired from Seattle for a second-round draft pick) and draft choices Clement Simonin and Skylar Thomas gives Toronto the six centre backs it wants to stock its MLS and USL Pro rosters. Toronto FC II will make its debut in the USL Pro League this season.For GM Tim Bezbatchenko, bringing Perquis on board represents one of Torontos bigger off-season moves.Im over-the-moon excited about having Damien on our roster, he said. Because this league is hard and theres a lot of travel. People will get injured. You need leaders, people with experience and thats what Damien brings.___Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! .com) - The Toronto Raptors are paying Rudy Gay a visit on Wednesday night when they head into the Sleep Train Arena to take on the Sacramento Kings. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! .com) - Virginia is for loving Latrell Scott. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку!. And former Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson certainly knows his pain. "Its pretty hard to coach there without allowing some of these things to kind of affect you," Wilson told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun in his ESPN. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . Peter Dawson took his long before he started the job. "I was playing an American one year at Oxford Golf Club, and he introduced me to this travelling mulligan," Dawson said. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . 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.Tulsa, OK (SportsNetwork.com) - Tulsa fired head football coach Bill Blankenship on Monday, three days after the Golden Hurricane concluded a 2-10 season. The Golden Hurricane were dealt their first campaign with double-digit losses since 2002 with Fridays 49-32 setback to East Carolina. The poor showing came on the heels of a 3-9 season in 2013, a year Tulsa was picked to win the West Division of Conference USA during the preseason. We are grateful for the service and commitment of Coach Blankenship to our university, our student-athletes and our community, but we have decided that the program needs to go in a different direction, Tulsa athletic director Derrick Gragg said in a statement.dddddddddddd Blankenship, a former Tulsa quarterback, went 19-8 and led the program to the 2012 Conference USA title over his first two seasons after succeeding Todd Graham as head coach. The Golden Hurricane finished a disappointing 2-6 in league play in their final season in Conference USA, however, and were near the bottom of the standings in their inaugural year in the American Athletic Conference. Over four seasons overall at his alma mater, Blankenship compiled a 24-27 record. He was named Conference USAs Coach of the Year in 2012. ' ' '