Couple randomly attacked, 1 stabbed, by group of teens in Toronto, police say
A man has been transported to hospital after police say he was stabbed in a random attack carried out by a group of teens in Toronto on Friday night.
Jim Brennan, Toronto FC's first-ever signing and captain, has fond memories of the MLS club. But he's looking to take it down this week.
Now head coach and technical director of York United FC, Brennan will be on the visitors' bench at BMO Field on Wednesday when his Canadian Premier League team takes on TFC in the Canadian championship quarterfinal. Toronto, languishing in the MLS basement at 4-15-6, has targeted the domestic cup competition, seeing it as a way to get something out of a nightmarish campaign.
Brennan is all too aware of that. And Monday, he happily noted that the pressure was all on the MLS side.
"For our players now, there's no pressure on them going into this game," he said. "I want them to go out there and enjoy the occasion, play with freedom. The pressure's going to be all on TFC. They're at home. They're the big guys in the country."
Still, he expects TFC to come out hard, given its need for success in something this season.
"They need this for their season now. This is what they've got left … They're going to be coming at us and it definitely won't be an easy match at all. I expect them to come out guns ablazing."
York (6-5-8) currently stands fourth in the CPL, is unbeaten in its last five league games (2-0-3) and has lost just once in its last 10 outings (4-1-5).
The game is one of three Canadian Championship quarterfinals Wednesday.
Defending CPL champion Forge FC has already advanced to the semifinals having beaten Valour FC 2-1 last Wednesday. The Hamilton-based club will play either CF Montreal or HFX Wanderers FC, who play at Wanderers Ground.
The Toronto-York winner will face either Cavalry FC or Pacific FC, who meet at ATCO Field.
York United defeated League 1 Ontario's FA Masters FA 5-0 in preliminary-round play. Toronto had a bye to the quarterfinals.
Toronto has won the Canadian Championship seven times, most recently in 2018 when it hoisted the Voyageurs Cup for the third straight year. Montreal is the defending champion.
Brennan won the tournament four times with Toronto FC. In 2009, as a player he helped Toronto to a 6-1 win in Montreal in the final game of the tournament, then a round-robin affair, taking the title on goal difference over Vancouver.
He also won it as an assistant GM and assistant coach.
"It's a great competition and obviously it's getting bigger and bigger every year and even more hard to win," said Brennan. "For these young guys, getting their first taste of the Canadian Championship, it's a great opportunity. And look you never know what's going to happen on any given day."
Pacific FC has already shown that, knocking out the Vancouver Whitecaps by a 4-3 score in the preliminary round.
Brennan, a feisty fullback/winger as a player, made 84 appearances for TFC before moving upstairs to the front office in April 2010. He says he's looking forward to returning to BMO Field.
"It's not so much for me but watching our players perform on a big stage, a fantastic ground, and against a good team," he explained. "So that's what I'm really looking forward to, is seeing how our players embrace the occasion."
He says the key thing for his squad is to control their emotions and not let the moment get to them.
Brennan noted many of his players grew up in the Toronto area supporting TFC. York winger Michael Petrasso was once a member of the TFC academy.
But Brennan played down the Toronto derby angle.
"I'm a firm believer (that) derbies take a while to develop. This is our first game against them."
Brennan, now 44, left his Newmarket, Ont., home as a teenager to pursue his soccer career.
His original destination was Glasgow Celtic but the manager got fired on the eve of his arrival, ending the Scottish powerhouse's interest. Brennan found himself headed to Bristol City instead, kicking off a distinguished pro career that also took him to Nottingham Forest, Huddersfield Town, Norwich City, Southampton and finally Toronto FC.
A member of the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame, Brennan won 49 caps for Canada and was a member of its winning Gold Cup squad in 2000.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 20, 2021
A man has been transported to hospital after police say he was stabbed in a random attack carried out by a group of teens in Toronto on Friday night.
Ron Ellis, who played over 1,000 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs and was a member of Canada's team at the 1972 Summit Series, has died at age 79.
The wildfire that sparked Friday and caused evacuation orders for more than 3,000 people in Fort Nelson, B.C., and the nearby Fort Nelson First Nation, has grown to nearly 1,700 hectares in size, according to a Saturday morning update from the BC Wildfire Service.
Hours before the final, Dutch contestant Joost Klein was dramatically booted out by organizers over a backstage incident. He had failed to perform at two dress rehearsals on Friday, and contest organizer the European Broadcasting Union said it was investigating an "incident."
From London, to Grand Bend, Collingwood and Guelph, here are some highlights of Friday night and Saturday morning's northern lights display.
A growing number of civilians and police officers are demanding the dismissal and arrest of Haiti's police chief as heavily armed gangs launched a new attack in the capital of Port-au-Prince, seizing control of yet another police station early Saturday.
Irresponsibly using a credit card can land you in financial trouble, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew says when used properly, it can be a powerful wealth-building tool that can help grow your credit profile and create new opportunities.
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
The rolling hills leading to the hamlet of Rosebud are dotted with sprawling farms and cattle pastures -- and a sign sporting a simple message: No Race Track.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.
The stakes have been set for a bet between Vancouver and Edmonton's mayors on who will win Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
A grieving mother is hosting a helmet drive in the hopes of protecting children on Manitoba First Nations from a similar tragedy that killed her daughter.