MONTREAL - That Wandrille Lefevre and Maxim Tissot played a hand in the Montreal Impacts 2-2 draw at Chicago last week was not b

MONTREAL - That Wandrille Lefevre and Maxim Tissot played a hand in the Montreal Impacts 2-2 draw at Chicago last week was not big news around Major League Soccer. Jaguars Jerseys . But it was significant for Montreal, as both are graduates of the Impact Academy, which was set up in 2010 to develop mainly local talent for the pro team. Lefevre, and possibly Tissot, may see more action in Houston tonight when the third-place Impact (13-9-7) take on the fourth-place Dynamo (12-10-8) in a key battle in the Eastern Conference playoff race. "Weve always had a good pool of players in Quebec," assistant coach Mauro Biello said Thursday. "Now that we have the academy, we can mould them the way we want. "Itll be an advantage to us. I think well see the results over the next five to seven years." Against Chicago, Lefevre had a strong game replacing injured central defender Alessandro Nesta. Tissot substituted for Andrew Wenger in the midfield in the 67th minute. Twenty minutes later, he headed in the equalizer. The 23-year-old Lefevre, a native of France who moved to Montreal as a teenager, and 21-year-old Tissot, of Gatineau, Que., are among five academy graduates to sign with the MLS team. The others are defender Karl Ouimette of Repentigny, Que., Morocco native Zakaria Messoudi of Montreal and goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau of Greenfield Park, Que. Tissot has appeared in three MLS games and has a goal and an assist, both in matches against Chicago. Lefevre has played two. "Tissot had a very good training camp but then got injured," said Biello. "He came back and started a game against Salt Lake, but then broke a toe. "Hes shown good things. Hes got his rhythm back. He had a solid game against C.D. Heredia (in the CONCACAF Champions League) and then he got into the game in Chicago and scored. "Lefevres a little older. He had a solid game against Chicago." Before they joined MLS last season, the Impact were a power in various leagues for most of the previous 18 seasons, always with a strong core of local players. Some now coach or manage the club, including Biello, sporting director Nick De Santis, director of soccer operations Matt Jordan, team manager Adam Braz and academy coaches Jason DiTullio and Simon Gatti. But the calibre of play is higher in MLS, and the Impact have imported most of their starters from Europe and South America, plus Americans like goalie Troy Perkins, fullback Jeb Brovsky and midfielder Justin Mapp. The only local in the starting 11 is 34-year-old Patrice Bernier. The midfielder from Brossard, Que., began his pro career with the Impact in the A-League from 2000 to 2002, played nine seasons in Europe and returned when the club entered MLS in 2012. They hope to produce more and get back to that local flavour under Impact assistant coach Philippe Eullaffroy, the Frenchman who has been director of the academy since its inception. His work is beginning to pay off. "Were very happy with the progress of our young players," said Biello. The 37-year-old Nesta, nursing a groin injury, and midfielder Hernan Bernardello, who is recovering from a sprained ankle, did not make the trip to Houston. Bernardello has resumed practising with the team and may be ready for a home game next week against New England. Coach Marco Schallibaum keeps his starting 11 secret, but it is likely that Lefevre will be back in Nestas spot, with Tissot on the bench. Midfielder Felipe Martins will return after serving a one-game suspension for accumulating five yellow cards, which will bump a player, likely Wenger, from the formation. The Impact beat Houston twice at home this season 2-0 and 5-0, but they expect a tougher match at BBVA Compass Stadium. The Dynamo have found their legs of late, with two wins and a draw in their last three games. "As a coach, when you get beat by a team by zero, thats always the first reminder," said Biello. "Theyll be ready to make amends. "We expect a playoff-type game." Marco Di Vaio, the MLS leader with 19 goals, has three against Houston this season. Felipe has two goals and a pair of assists. The Dynamo are starting a run of three home games against the best of the Eastern Conference and hope to use that to nail down a playoff position. After Montreal, striker Will Bruin and his Houston teammates will face second-place Kansas City and first-place New York. Montreal, which has a win and two draws in its last three road games, holds a two-point lead on Houston with a game in hand. The Impact have five games left to play in the regular season, only two of them at home. "This is a good opportunity for us," Dynamo captain Brad Davis told the clubs website. "This Friday is the most important one. "We can jump Montreal in the standings and, hopefully, give ourselves room." Notes _ The game was to have aired in French on TVA Sport, but was bumped by an Ottawa Senators hockey game to RDSinfo, which normally runs sports news in a 30-minute loop. . . The Impact opened its new FieldTurf practice pitch next to Saputo Stadium this week. The field will also be used by the academy and some neighborhood teams, and will be home field for the University of Quebec at Montreal varsity squad. Ronnie Harrison Jersey .85 million contract with the two-time Gold Glove outfielder. Parra earned his second Gold Glove last season when he set a club record with 17 outfield assists. Austin Seferian-Jenkins Jersey . Mats Zuccarello and Derek Stepan scored shootout goals, and backup goalie Cam Talbot earned his second win in two nights as the Rangers shook off a late tying tally and beat the Maple Leafs 2-1 Monday night. http://www.jaguarsfansclub.com/Black-DJ-Chark-Jaguars-Jersey.html?cat=980 . Ferrer was unable to find his rhythm in losing 6-4, 6-2 to Teymuraz Gabashvili in his opening match while Nadal struggled past fellow Spanish player Albert Ramos 7-6 (2), 6-4. Nadal eventually overcame his 103rd-ranked opponent to reach the third round, rebounding from a surprise loss to Ferrer in the Monte Carlo Masters quarterfinals.BROOKLYN - It was widely expected to be one of the more unpredictable drafts in recent memory, but in the end it was Masai Ujiri and the Toronto Raptors that raised the most eyebrows. For the first time all night, as the Raptors were on the clock to make the 20th overall selection, no one had the slightest idea what was about to happen. No leaks, no whispers, nothing. Then came the announcement. "With the 20th pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, the Toronto Raptors select Bruno Caboclo from Sao Paulo, Brazil," first-year commissioner Adam Silver proclaimed with a confused look on his face as the basketball world raced to their internet browsers and Google apps. Who was this Brazilian mystery man? The grainy clip of him shown on the broadcast appeared to be shot from a cell phone. A web search produced a few brief videos, little more. The bio distributed by the Raptors came courtesy of Eurobasket and listed his weight as "n/a". "Theres probably three or four teams that knew about him," Raptors coach Dwane Casey told reporters in Toronto shortly after the selection. Seven days ago Casey was in the same boat. He knew very little about the player that would eventually become his newest 6-foot-9, 205-pound small forward. "I hadnt seen him, didnt know who he was but I was totally impressed when I saw him," said Casey, who accompanied Ujiri on a scouting trip to Houston where they watched Caboclo workout and met with him a week ago. Caboclo had been on Ujiris radar for some time. The Raptors general manager made three trips to see the young Brazilian forward play throughout the season, and he had to be "stealth" about it. In this day and age it seems impossible that such a talent could exist, anywhere in the world, without every team and every scout knowing about him, right? It also seemed impossible that for once, in this age of social media, a pick was not broken on Twitter five minutes before it was made. But thats Ujiri. Thats how he does business, quietly. Expecting to use the 37th pick of the draft, Ujiri promised Caboclo the Raptors would select him months ago and as a result, the forward declined to workout for NBA teams. True to form, Ujiri was not following along with mock drafts, he was not the least bit concerned about how such a pick would be received. He saw something in Caboclo. "Hes a talent," Ujiri said of the 18-year-old and youngest player available in this draft. "I think at the end of the day we will be happy we picked him." Caboclo was not Ujiris primary target. As expected, the Raptors were after Canadian point guard Tyler Ennis, hoping he would fall to them while also trying desperately to trade up for him. Ideally, Toronto had hoped to select Ennis with pick no. 20 and snag Caboclo early in the second-round with pick no. 37. But the plan changed, as they often do on draft night, when the Phoenix Suns took Ennis at 18, two picks ahead of the Raptors. "We decided we lost one," Ujiri said. "Were not going to lose the second one. We jumped on it." The Raptors were fearful that Caboclo, second on their board, wouldnt make it back to them. A couple teams that had intel on the Brazilian and were believed to be interested - Phoenix and Utah - had picks ahead of Toronto and after missing out on a similar prodigy in Greek freeak Giannis Antetokounmpo a year ago, Ujiri was not going to let this target get away. Niles Paul Jersey. . The allure, despite the lack of available information, is not a surprise given the rare gifts possessed by the long and athletic Caboclo. The first thing that jumps out watching short clips of the newest Raptor is his 7-foot-7 wingspan. "Bruno is an athletic phenomenon," Casey said. "At [pick no.] 20, you cant go out and get a perfect player but this young man has a chance to hit it big. Hes raw but hes going to be a guy thats going to develop in our program and grow and do a lot of things for us. Defensively hes long, he covers a lot of ground down [and] blocks shots with his length." He passed Caseys eye test immediately and the Raptors coach is confident hell turn heads once he heads north, calling him one of the most athletic players in the draft. "I know a lot of people dont know about him. Were excited to get him. Hes going to be a guy thats going to grow with our program and no one is going to be disappointed once this guy is developed and hits his peak because hes one of those guys that has a chance to hit it big as far as his potential is concerned." After a return to the playoffs last season, the Raptors have the luxury of bringing Caboclo along slowly, allowing him to learn in practice and on the bench, without the pressure of having to produce at a high level in his rookie campaign. Among other things, hell need to get bigger and stronger, hell need to get comfortable with the NBA game and his familiarity with the language will also be a work in progress. Upon meeting the 18-year-old Brazilian, Casey asked him who his favourite player is, to which Caboclo responded, "Kevin Durant". "Can you guard Kevin Durant," Casey asked and without hesitation the young man replied, "yes". Casey was impressed with his willingness and ability to learn on fly, a quality that should serve him well when he does join his new team. "Hes a smart young man, his basketball IQ is high," said the Raptors coach. "He knows how to play, has a great feel for the game. Hes going to be a clean slate as far as a guy to work with." Caboclo spent draft night in New York getting his visa sorted out before he makes a quick trip to Toronto over the weekend, where hell be introduced following a workout at the ACC on Saturday. Next week hell meet up with some of his new teammates and coaches in Los Angeles and is expected to participate in Summer League with the Raptors next month. Although theres no telling what role hell have with the team or to what extent hes able to produce right away, Caboclo will be a member of the Raptors this coming season. The Raptors were able to add a more seasoned player with the 37th pick in forward DeAndre Daniels, a proven winner and member of the reining National Champion UConn Huskies. Daniels, 22, averaged 13.1 points and 6.0 rebounds with Connecticut last season. "Hes a good athlete also," Casey said of Daniels. "Hes a guy thats going to go through our Summer League program and well see where he is but I was impressed with his workout." Toronto selected Xavier Thames of San Diego State with the 59th overall pick, quickly trading him to the Brooklyn Nets for cash considerations. NFL Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Discount Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Jerseys NFL China NFL Jerseys Wholesale ' ' '