The pressure is on as a retooled Toronto FC kicks off its MLS season today in Seattle against the Sounders. Catch all the action live on TSN and TSN Radio 1050 at 4:30pm et/1:30pm pt.After seven years of on-field failure, new Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment CEO Tim Leiweke dug deep into a well-stocked corporate pocket to bankroll manager Ryan Nelsen and GM Tim Bezbatchenkos global talent search. Many zeros later, Toronto FC is now home to England striker Jermain Defoe, U.S. international midfielder Michael Bradley, Brazilian international goalie Julio Cesar and forward Gilberto, and veteran Canadian star midfielder Dwayne De Rosario. Toronto stocked up on so many designated players, it had to trade incumbent DP Matias Laba to Vancouver to get down to the league limit of three. The shopping spree has prompted a return to the clubs early days, when season tickets were hard to come by. BMO Field should be full this season, although Leiweke has acknowledged the team will still lose money in 2014 because of the outlay on players. With demand exceeding supply, top football talent is not cheap and MLSE likely had to overpay to convince such elite players to choose MLS over more established leagues.Fullbacks Justin Morrow and Bradley Orr and Brazilian midfielder Jackson have also joined the party, meaning Toronto will likely have eight new faces in its starting lineup when everyone is healthy. And theres the early season rub. Torontos pre-season was hit by injury, particularly at fullback and forward. Defoe, meanwhile was a late arrival due to club and country commitments.Gilberto, troubled by an upper leg injury, was been left out of the travelling party for Seattle. Nelsen hopes to have him back for the home opener March 22 against D.C. United. The Brazilian actually returned to training this week but Nelsen doesnt want to rush him in case he aggravates the injury. The artificial turf at CenturyLink Field was likely a factor in that decision. The good news is Defoe and Bradley are both available for selection. Bradley has been nursing a foot injury while Defoe simply hasnt had much time training with his new team. But Nelsen says the 31-year-old English forward has adapted well. "He feels pretty good, to tell you the truth," Nelsen said. "So well see how he is."Defoe could well come off the bench. Nelsen, in his second year at the Toronto helm, is mindful that this is a marathon, not a sprint.Other clubs kept their stars in cotton wool in Week 1 of the season. New York rested French forward Thierry Henry rather than expose him to the artificial turf at B.C. Place Stadium while Seattle sent in U.S. international striker Clint Dempsey off the bench. As for Bradley, Nelsen said: "Hes come through this week pretty good. I think Michael will be a definite." Thats good news for Toronto, which went 6-17-11 last season. Bradley looks to be the straw that stirs the TFC drink. Most everything will run through the American, a box-to-box midfielder who manages to be both cerebral and driven. Other injured players like Morrow and Orr have also returned to training. Their concern is game fitness rather than health. Nelsen is taking the long view."This game is not going to define us," he said. "Its going to take a bit of time to get everybody kind of on the same wavelength. Even Seattle, when they brought Clint (Dempsey) over -- just one piece -- were a bit of a different team last year. "Everybody has to kind of get used to each other and weve done it with several big pieces and several other pieces as well. This game is not going to define who we are. The next probably five or six, seven games are going to define who we are." Still, he hopes the progress is rapid, starting Saturday. With the playoffs a stated goal, Toronto cannot wait too long to start making its move up the standings, especially since Bradley, Cesar and possibly Defoe will be away for considerable time this summer on World Cup duty. When Toronto FC does not have possession, Nelsen expects his team to play the same kind of game it did last year -- with players pressing the opposition. The difference should be more noticeable when the team has the ball, given the influx of talent."Your options become a lot more with the quality thats on the field. Last year we had to be a bit more conservative because of the personnel we have," Nelsen said. "But when you have good players, you can start being a bit more expansive." While Toronto had a bye last weekend, a rain-soaked crowd of 39,240 saw Seattle win its season opener 1-0 over defending champion Sporting Kansas City with a stoppage-time goal by former Toronto forward Chad Barrett. Former Toronto keeper Stefan Frei was in goal. And on Thursday Seattle coach Sigi Schmid confirmed Frei as his No. 1 goalie ahead of veteran Marcus Hahnemann. The state of the Seattle turf at CenturyLink Field became an issue in the buildup to the Toronto game after Nelsen said of the surface: "Youve got not just an artificial field -- its a bad artificial field." Schmid took umbrage at the suggestions Seattles turf is bad, saying all the artificial surfaces are about the same in the league."Let me say this first, tell me which turf field is good in this league. There is no good turf field in this league," he told reporters. "I dont disagree, necessarily, with Ryans statement."Id love to have brand-new turf this year, as would everybody else. But I disagree with the point of making it seem like Seattles is worse than the others. I think the others are equally as good or as bad -- however you want to look at it." Scottish defender Steven Caldwell retains the Toronto armband as captain. Cesar starts in goal. To put Torontos woeful league history into perspective, a win Sunday would only be its 15th road victory since the teams debut in 2007. Seattle is one of seven MLS cities where Toronto has yet to win. NOTES: Torontos record in season openers is 1-6. All have been away from home to escape the weather. That record includes a 3-1 loss in Seattle to open the 2012 season. TFCs lone season-opening win was in 2009 when Toronto defeated Sporting Kansas City 3-2 ... MLSE boss Tim Leiweke is expected to take in the Seattle season opener. Air Jordan China . Thats 14 consecutive losses to the two-time defending champs, and most of them were over before they even began. Result notwithstanding, Sundays game had a very different feel to it. Jordan China . The Blueshirts hope to stay alive once again when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins in Sundays Game 6 battle at Madison Square Garden. https://www.jordanchina.us/. Wawrinka, who is seeded fourth, is in the top half of the draw with Serbian Novak Djokovic. The Swiss star outlasted Djokovic in a five-set quarterfinal thriller last year and stunned Spaniard Rafael Nadal in the final to capture his first-ever Grand Slam title. Fake Jordan . On Friday night, after a long rain delay, he was scratched from his scheduled start. Clearance Air Jordan Store .5 million. University officials released the term sheet signed by Harsin Wednesday, the day the former Broncos walk-on player and Boise native was named the successor to Chris Petersen, who left for Washington last week.GLENDALE, Ariz. - The odd rules that the NFL tried in the Pro Bowl made for a strange sideshow.No kickoffs, no blitzing, alternate possessions to start each quarter, two-minute warnings for each quarter and stopping the clock when a running play doesnt gain a yard in the final two minutes.And skinny little goal posts, particularly hard to hit on longer extra-point kicks.A capacity crowd of 63,225 watched Team Irvin beat Team Carter 32-28. Chances are no one came to see if Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri — who had not missed a PAT in five years — could squeeze a 33-yard extra point through 14-foot wide uprights.Twice he couldnt.Vinatieris counterpart on Team Carter, rookie Cody Parkey, didnt miss. But he didnt like the experiment.Its just unfortunate that theyre trying to make it harder us for a lot of guys success in the league, he said.Vinatieri also missed a field goal.Parkey, who kicks for Philadelphia, said his job got a lot tougher with the smaller target and the added distance.Its definitely different, but at the same time, you just go out there and kick your ball, and a little more accuracy is definitely needed.It was the second Pro Bowl in which the NFL dropped the AFC vs. NFC format and had big-name former players pick their teams in a draft.The guys enjoy it, Houston defensive end J.J. Watt said. The new style where you pick teams make it like schoolyard ball, Ive said that before, its competitive.Some things we learned from Sundays Pro Bowl:STARS COME OUT: The best players usually make the biggest plays, and that was true on Sunday.At the top of the list was Watt, who intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble. Named the games defensive MVP, he also showed how much fun he was having, dancing during commercial breaks.I just tried to enjoy it. Thats what the Pro Bowl is all about, giving the fans a good show, he said.Jimmy Graham, New Orleans superb tight end, caught two touchdown passes and dunked over the goal post both times. In a real game that would have been a penalty.That was amazing. For me, it made the entire week, he said. Hopefully, one day theyll look back and change this rule so I can do itt in a real game.dddddddddddd And hopefully one day in the Super Bowl.Indianapolis Andrew Luck completed 9 of 10 passes for 119 yards and two scores. Detroits Matthew Stafford, the offensive MVP, was 15 for 25 for 316 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.And rookie Odell Beckham Jr. of the New York Giants caught five passes for 89 yards, including a diving ground-level grab of a 48-yard pass from Stafford.BIG CROWD: The Pro Bowl has just a one-year run in the desert. Next year it will be back in Hawaii, where the crowds are nothing like the one that showed up in Glendale on Sunday.The NFL staged the Pro Bowl on the same field where the Super Bowl will be played next Sunday. That meant a big media contingent, too.The people have been fantastic, Dallas quarterback Tony Romo said. Theyve got a lot of passionate fans. Its been a great week.TEAMMATES: With Michael Irvin and Cris Carter picking the teams, there were some NFL teammates on the same side and some going against each other.T.Y. Hilton caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from his Indianapolis quarterback Luck.Stafford connected with Detroit teammate Golden Tate on a 60-yard play.Golden came out here and played fantastic tonight, had some big plays, Stafford said. Obviously got me off to a fast start and hes been doing that for me for a long time.Even when players faced a teammate, they couldnt help but cheer them on.When Jordy Nelson caught a caught a 21-yard touchdown pass from Drew Brees for Team Carter, he jumped up in celebration with Green Bay teammate Clay Matthews, who was playing for Team Irvin.LOTS OF Offence: As usual, offence ruled in the Pro Bowl.The teams combined for 1,067 yards and 54 first downs.And the wealth was spread around.Ten players caught at least one pass for each team.OPEN ROOF: Arizona Cardinals fans may have forgotten, but the roof does slide open at University of Phoenix Stadium.Sunday marked the first time it was open for a game since the Cardinals played San Francisco on Dec. 29, 2013.The Cardinals like it closed because its a lot louder.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '