TORONTO -- Toronto FC now has brainiac GM Tim Bezbatchenko to go along with up-and-coming manager Ryan Nelsen. The underachieving MLS team has a $20-million training centre that is the envy of the league, a fan base that has stayed remarkably loyal considering the dreck put in front of it, and an owner willing to spend more than US$25 million on two marquee designated players when the transfer window re-opens in January. There is salary cap space and allocation money to spend, not to mention some talent available to move. So is the dark age over for the 4-14-11 club, whose career league record is a woeful 49-102-66 going into Saturdays home game against Sporting Kansas City? "I do not think the dark days are over yet but I think there is a light at the end of the tunnel and we control our own destiny," said Tim Leiweke, president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. "And now we have to do the heavy lifting to get there by January so we could look everyone in the eye and tell them this is a different era here in this organization. Its not about flash, its not about spin. Its about hard work, tough decisions, spending some money and making the right decisions. I think well know that in January." No stranger to navigating multibillion-dollar sports empires, Leiweke is used to being the smartest person in the room. The 31-year-old Bezbatchenko may give him a run for his money, although the new GM is undoubtedly too smart to make it too obvious. A lawyer with degrees from the University of Cincinnati and the University of Richmond, Bezbatchenko comes from the leagues inner circle. As senior director of player relations and competition at Major League Soccer, he was a young league insider with intimate knowledge of MLSs complicated legal landscape. His brief at the league -- a single entity structure in which players are signed to the league rather than the team -- was to oversee and manage six clubs budgets and rosters, among other things. And his group included Toronto FC. Bezbatchenko (pronounced bez-buh-CHENK-oh) clearly knows where the bodies are buried in MLS. Although Leiweke said exactly that about former president and GM Kevin Payne before firing him. Bezbatchenko, a native of Westerville, Ohio, played midfield for the second-tier Pittsburgh Riverhounds in 2004-05, joining MLS in 2010 after two years with the law firm Shearman & Sterling. Bezbatchenko was working in mergers and acquisitions at the law firm. Or as he explained, he was getting deal experience in buying and selling companies. "This is the same, but youre doing it with players," he said of the move into soccer. Its not exactly a warm, fuzzy management approach. But top sports executives tend to be more ruthless than Ruth Buzzi. Bezbatchenkos job will be to help Nelsen get what he needs to continue the reconstruction of a moribund franchise. Leiweke has given an unqualified vote of confidence to Nelsen, saying the new GM would have to work with him in 2014. But it is clear that come January, if Nelsen gets the players he wants, the clock will be ticking on the manager. Should Nelsen ever depart the team suddenly, he no doubt has a book in him. He has quietly cleaned one mess after another at TFC while staying mostly mum. Leiweke made a point of noting that this is not rocket science. Hard work and good judgment are whats needed. "To be honest with you, this is not that difficult. Theres 11 slots and you need a couple of players per slot. And this is about filling in the boxes ... And one thing that Ryan pointed out, and I think hes right, is its not like were 22 boxes away. Were four or five boxes away. A couple of those are DPs." Those designated players are key, with Toronto eyeing international stars who can score goals while bringing some much-needed sizzle to the franchise. The team has pushed back the deadline for season ticket-holders to put their money down to January so they can see what progress has been made. Asked how long it takes to turn around an MLS team, Bezbatchenko smartly stepped around the crux of the matter. When pressed, he said it would be difficult to do it in one year "but our goal would be to have a nice upward trend over the next few years." Spoken like a true suit. Much of the talk Friday was about business plans, the right course and analysis. Although Bezbatchenko worked himself into a verbal pickle when he talked about Toronto "not having a successful playoff run in, ah, well ever." The club has never made the post-season in its seven seasons in the league. Some observers commented that Nelsen looked uncomfortable at the podium Friday, alongside Leiweke and Bezbatchenko. If so, it was likely because the former New Zealand international is more at home on the training field than in a suit -- although he cleans up nicely. Nelsen, 35, is smart enough to know he needs someone who knows the league and can do the spadework to unearth the talent he wants. Bezbatchenko fits that bill. "This is kind of a Theo Epstein hire," Leiweke said, referring to the baseball executive. Epstein, currently president of baseball operations for the Chicago Cubs, was 28 in 2002 when the Boston Red Sox made him the youngest GM in Major League Baseball history. Bezbatchenko, who is married with a one-year-old son, acknowledged his goal has been to become a GM. "Absolutely. Its the reason I went to law school," he said. There is no shortage of grey matter in the Bezbatchenko household. His wife is in higher education with a PhD to her credit. Leiweke said while commissioner Don Garber was loathe to let Bezbatchenko go, he saw the bigger picture. The league needs to fix Toronto as a franchise once and for all. "He was in Toronto a couple of weeks ago and he went to the game and he saw whats going on here," Leiweke said of a Sept. 11 tie with the Chicago Fire that drew a season-low crowd of 15,217. "I think he understands our pain ... And he knew that we need a big, bold statement. And amazingly he sees this the same way we do. It wont be the biggest name in the business but it will be the best move we could have possibly made." Bezbatchenko has also been a key figure in an MLS partnership with the French Football Federation that sees MLS youth academy coaches learn from the French model. Leiweke is a big believer in the role MLS academies can play, knowing if done right they can be a pipeline for cheap talent. Toronto canned Payne on Sept. 5 with Leiweke saying the two were no longer on the same page. Earl Cochrane, Paynes right-hand man and Torontos director of team and player operations, was also fired. Chief scout Pat Onstad subsequently left. Just minutes before Fridays announcement at BMO Field, pictures of Cochrane and Onstad remained on the wall outside the news conference room. But they were gone by the time it started. The team also wasted little time trading Argentine striker Maximiliano Urruti, Paynes prize acquisition, to Portland after just 37 minutes action in a Toronto uniform. For those wondering, Bezbatchenko grew up a Manchester United fan. He has since helped sign a Rooney, although unfortunately it was John -- Waynes little brother. Cheap Air Max 95 . Sources tell TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun the international tournament will likely return in September 2016 rather than 2015. Cheap Air Max Shoes . The game got off to a less-than-ideal start for the Jets as Oliver Ekman-Larsson found a wide open net from the slot and opened the scoring for the Coyotes a lead in the first period, but Olli Jokinen answered back just over half a minute later. http://www.airmaxshoescheaponline.com/. Western and the second-ranked Laval Rouge et Or (7-0) once again received 20 and 10 first-place votes from the Football Reporters of Canada panel, respectively. Rounding out the Top 10 are the Calgary Dinos (7-0), Queens Gaels (7-1), Guelph Gryphons (7-1), Montreal Carabins (5-2), Bishops Gaiters (5-2), McMaster Marauders (5-3), Manitoba Bisons (4-3) and the Saskatchewan Huskies (4-3) Western crushed York 50-10 last Saturday in its league finale to secure first place in the OUA standings and a bye in the first round of the conference playoffs. Cheap Air Max 2018 Shoes . The 25-year-old native of Milford, Conn., has 18 points in 41 games this season. The five-foot-eight 166-pound centre also has 28 points (10-18) in 15 games with AHL Oklahoma City. Air Max Shoes Online . Yup, he definitely needed this one. Craig homered twice and had three RBIs Wednesday night to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 7-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Craig went 4 for 5 and Yadier Molina added three hits for the Cardinals, who salvaged the final game of a three-game set in hopes of staying within shouting distance of front-running Milwaukee in the NL Central.MIAMI -- Christian Yelich was confident he was safe at home even if home plate umpire Ed Hickox called him out. Replay backed him up. Adeiny Hechavarria immediately followed the ruling with a go-ahead sacrifice fly for the Miami Marlins, who held on to beat the Seattle Mariners 3-2 on Sunday completing a three-game sweep. "I thought I beat it from the get-go and then I saw him call me out, I kind of started yelling at him a little bit telling him I was safe," Yelich said. "If we didnt have replay right there, its a 2-1 game and we got two outs so it was huge. It was a big win for us." Yelich led off the inning with a double that extended his hitting streak to 14 games. He scored the tying run. Steve Cishek made it interesting in the ninth, allowing a leadoff double to Corey Hart. Hechavarria then made a diving stop at shortstop and a spinning throw to nab Dustin Ackley at first base preventing pinch-runner Brad Miller from scoring. "That was a game-saver," Marlins manager Mike Redmond said. "Thats why I feel that guy is the best shortstop in the league. Im glad hes on our team. That was a huge play." Cishek struck out Nick Franklin and Michael Saunders to end the game for his third save and 32nd consecutive conversion. A crowd of 20,208 took in the first day game this season at Marlins Park with the retractable roof open. It was 78 degrees when the game began and shadows partially covered the infield when the game ended. "Shadows came over the infield, which makes it tough for hitters, but at the same time, too, we mounted our rally with the shadows," Redmond said. "Maybe were shadow-friendly." Mike Dunn (1-2) pitched a scoreless eighth for the Marlins, who have won four of five. Tom Wilhelmsen (0-1) took the loss for the Mariners, which lost their sixth straight. "Things just arent going well right now, but thats okay; well get out of this," Wilhelmsen said. "We have a much better team than what were showing." After Giancarlo Stanton and Casey McGehee were walked by Wilhelmsen to load the bases in the eighth with one out, Garrett Jones hit a groundball to first baseman Justin Smoak, whos throw home was late allowing Yelich to score the tying run.dddddddddddd "I fielded it and threw it, but (Yelich) just got a heck of a jump," Smoak said. "It was a bang-bang play." Redmond immediately jumped out of the dugout to challenge the call, which was overturned after a delay of 2 minutes, 20 seconds. It was the second time replay was used in the series, which benefitted the Marlins. During Fridays game, replay determined that third baseman Kyle Seeger bobbled the ball during a transfer leaving the Marlins with the based loaded in the ninth before Giancarlo Stanton cleared them with a game-winning grand slam. "Its worked out well for us over the last couple of games, thats for sure," Redmond said. Seattle led 2-0 on a pair of sacrifice flies by Smoak and Ackley. Mariners starter Brandon Maurer held the Marlins without a hit until the fifth inning when Jones reached base on an infield single. Donnavan Solano ended Maurers outing two batters later with an RBI single to pull the Marlins to 2-1. Maurer allowed one run, two hits, and two walks in 4 1-3 innings in his season debut. "He was tired; he was exhausted," Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon said. "We knew that was going to be a pitch-count (situation) anyway. He did good in the time he was in there." Miamis Kevin Slowey pitched five innings allowing two runs. NOTES: Stanton was intentionally walked in three consecutive games for the first time in his career and has drawn five intentional free passes on the season after having five all of last season. .... The teams combined to use 12 pitchers in the game. ... It was the first time in 11 games that the Marlins did not hit a home run. ... Miami begins a three-game series at Atlanta on Monday with RHP Tom Koehler (2-1, 1.89) on the mound against RHP Julio Teheran (2-1, 1.93). ... Seattle will host Houston on Monday sending ace RHP Felx Hernandez (3-0, 1.91) to the hill against LHP Dallas Keuchel (1-1, 3.50). ' ' '