Lynx News April 26th

[Rocket Robin]

TORONTO LYNX MEDIA RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LYNX ADD FORMER MLS FIREPOWER!

Tuesday, April 26, 2005 [TORONTO, ON] - The Toronto Lynx Soccer Club have added some firepower to their offense today with the acquisition midfielder/forward, Winston Griffiths, on a season-long loan from Jamaican National Premier League Club, Arnett Gardens. Griffiths is a member of the Jamaican National Team player pool having earned 26 international caps and scoring 4 goals for his country.

"Winston adds to our creative midfield talent," explained Head Coach, Hubert Busby Jr. "He is a versatile player that can play multiple positions across the midfield and also up front if necessary. He will be a big addition to our offense."

After beginning his North American professional career with the now defunct Connecticut Wolves of the USL First Division, Griffiths enjoyed success in MLS in 2002 and 2003 playing with the Los Angeles Galaxy, New York/New Jersey Metrostars and New England Revolution with whom he reached the MLS Finals in 2002. Following his MLS stint, Griffiths returned to the USL First Division last season playing with the Vancouver Whitecaps, scoring 2 goals and adding 5 assists in 23 matches, helping the Whitecaps reach the Western Conference Finals. Griffiths will join his Lynx team mates this week pending international clearance and will make his debut with the club this upcoming weekend.

MUNTHALI EARNS TEAM OF THE WEEK HONOURS

Lynx defender, Rumba Munthali, was selected to the first edition of the USL First Division Team of the Week for the 2005 season. The Brampton resident was solid defensively in the Lynx 0-0 draw at Vancouver on last Sunday. The honour was Munthali's first as a member of the Lynx.

LYNX TO FACE TEST AGAINST RICHMOND KICKERS & VIRGINIA BEACH MARINERS

Following a western swing that saw the Lynx drop a 3-0 result in Portland before rallying for a 0-0 draw in Vancouver, Toronto will continue on the road this weekend as they take on the Richmond Kickers and Virginia Beach Mariners on Saturday, April 30 and Sunday, May 1 respectively. Richmond are off to a quick start to the season, winning 2 of their first 3 matches to jump into a first place tie. The Kickers have received outstanding play from forwards Matthew Delicate and Kevin Jeffery. Delicate has scored 3 goals in his first three matches and ranks second in the USL First Division in goals and points, while Jeffery has been the main supplier with 2 assists and 1 goal in 3 games. Coming off their first shutout of the season in Vancouver, the Lynx defense will again face a stern test against the high powered Kickers' attack.

Virginia Beach have not come out of the gate as quickly as their cross-state rivals. However, the Mariners did manage their first win of the season edging the Kickers 1-0 last Saturday. The Mariners are always a dangerous offensive team having finished in the top 5 in USL First Division scoring in each of the past two seasons. Despite the loss of two-time All-A-League selection, Dante Washington, to MLS, the Mariners still boast an impressive roster including Hamisi Amani-Dove who recorded 16 points last season and David Castellanos who managed 5 goals in 14 matches for the Minnesota Thunder.

"Richmond is off to a great start," says Busby. "They are always a contender for the championship and Richmond is a difficult place to play. Virginia Beach is also a quality organization and another back-to-back will be a big test for us. We will build on our performances last weekend at training and hope for a result on the road."

The Lynx will continue on the road on May 6th and 7th to Charleston and Atlanta before local fans can finally catch them in action at home. The home opener will take place at Centennial Park Stadium on Sunday, May 15th at 1pm when the Lady Lynx kick off their inaugural season followed by the Lynx match at 4:00 when they welcome the defending USL First Division Champion Montreal Impact. With Lynx management providing a great ticket offer of two games for the price of one, this match is almost sold out! For ticket information call 416-251-4625 ext. 31 or visit www.lynxsoccer.com.

-30-

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

DAVE NUTT -- MEDIA & PUBLIC RELATIONS, TORONTO LYNX SOCCER CLUB

416-251-4625 ext. 25

[Rocket Robin]

yeah yeah. one exclamation point. big laugh. now let's get on with it.

Anyone in Vancouver agree that Rumba was good? The brief sports hilight I saw on the Vancouver sportscast had a clip of him passing back to the goalie Theo Zagar and the ball bouncing over his head and Zagar chasing it down and booting it away with two yards to spare. If that had gone in, it would have made him the 'goat of the week'.

(strange with StarChoice satellite tv I can get a lot of western stations but not Toronto Rogers community channel which will have the Lynx home games)

[analyst]

You Lynx fans will enjoy watching Winston Griffiths. He is very creative offensively, great dribbling skills, good passing and quick, but not a breakaway person. He can do noting for 15 minutes then make a great play to create a chance.

[DJT]

quote:Originally posted by Rocket Robin

(strange with StarChoice satellite tv I can get a lot of western stations but not Toronto Rogers community channel which will have the Lynx home games)

Not strange considering StarChoice is a Rogers competitor!

You can get all those channels from across Canada on Rogers as well. I didn't catch the highlights from Sunday's game because I'm assuming they'll be shown on this coming Saturday's "Caps Corner" on Citytv Vancouver.

[Rocket Robin]

Maybe the correct expression is 'ironic'. I switched to Starchoice to get a better picture (Rogers wasn't completely digital in my area a few years ago). Within months they started broadcasting Lynx games and had the CPSL show both on their community channel.

.....................................................................................

anyway next story from Share newspaper.

April 28th, 2005 issue.

Lynx will be contender - coach

By RON FANFAIR

Toronto Lynx new head coach Herb Busby says he's not bothered by his team's inauspicious start, and promises that his club will be a contender this season in the United Soccer League's (USL) first division.

The Lynx dropped its opening game last Saturday night, succumbing 3-0 to the Portland Timbers who out shot the Toronto side 10-7. The Lynx drew nil-all with the Vancouver Whitecaps the following night at Swangard stadium.

The Timbers, who lost 3-0 to the Lynx in their only previous meeting four years ago, netted all three of their goals in the second half.

"We made three defensive mistakes and they made us pay each time," said Busby. "You cannot give teams at this level those opportunities, because they will capitalize on them. Good teams simply punish you when you make the kind of mistakes that we did."

Busby inserted former Trinidad & Tobago international Rick Titus and current T & T player Conrad Smith into the starting line-up to face the Whitecaps before a capacity crowd of over 5,000.

"The team showed great character in the way they were able to bounce back after a disappointing loss on a poor surface the previous night," he said. "Everybody worked their socks off and I am proud of them."

The team returned home on Monday to prepare for this weekend's back-to-back games on the road against Richmond Kickers on Saturday and the Virginia Beach Mariners on Sunday.

"Now that we actually have two games that matter under our belt, the aim is to have a good week of practice and go out there and start winning some games," Busby said.

The coach said he doesn't feel that he's under any pressure to start producing winning results immediately.

"We have a plan and I am going to stick to it," he said. "With a little time, I am confident that it will work and the victories will come."

The team plays its first of six games on the road before the season home opener against the defending A-League champions Montreal Impact on May 15.

The Lynx heads back on the road next week to take on Charleston Battery on May 6 and the Atlanta Silverbacks the following night.

Busby said he does not plan to use the tough schedule as an excuse.

"Sure, we have been dealt a rough hand, but we have to go out there and play with the hand we have been given," he pointed out. "In fact, I hope that my players will use it as motivation to show that we can handle any adverse situation that we are put under. We just have to go out there and play Toronto Lynx soccer."

[Allison A]

quote:

"The team showed great character in the way they were able to bounce back after a disappointing loss on a poor surface the previous night," he said. "Everybody worked their socks off and I am proud of them."

If all else fails, blame the playing surface.

I get the feeling this coach is going to have an excuse for every loss that has nothing to do with his own team, or his own coaching.

[Marc]

quote:Originally posted by Allison A

If all else fails, blame the playing surface.

I get the feeling this coach is going to have an excuse for every loss that has nothing to do with his own team, or his own coaching.

Busby on the Lynx: "We made three defensive mistakes and they made us pay each time," said Busby. "You cannot give teams at this level those opportunities, because they will capitalize on them. Good teams simply punish you when you make the kind of mistakes that we did."

You may be right about Busby, but at least give him more than two games, especially when he acknowledges we made mistakes.