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TORONTO -- In playing Real Salt Lake this weekend, Toronto FC is taking on the kind of team it aspires to be -- a perennial playoff side with a winning tradition and championship character. Now in its 10th season, Real Salt Lake has made the playoffs the last six years, winning the MLS Cup in 2009. Until overtaken in the MLS record books early last year, Real Salt Lake held the league mark for consecutive home wins at 29. Rio Tinto Stadium was an impregnable fortress from June 2009 to May 2011. Toronto (2-0-0 this season) has a 1-5-0 lifetime record in Sandy, Utah. RSL (1-0-2 this season) was also the first MLS team to reach the CONCACAF Champions League final, losing to Monterrey 3-2 on aggregate in 2011. Last season Real Salt Lake made it to two finals but lost both: beaten in the MLS Cup by Sporting Kansas City in an agonizing penalty shootout and 1-0 by D.C. United in the U.S. Open Cup. There has been stability on the sidelines with Jeff Cassar, who has been with the team since May 2007, moving up the ladder to head coach last December after Jason Kreis became the first head coach of New York City FC. Cassar is the third head coach in RSL history. Toronto was on coach No. 5 in Year 4 and is currently on its eighth manager in Ryan Nelsen. RSL captain Kyle Beckerman arrived in 2007 in a trade from the Colorado Rapids. The midfielder with the distinctive dreadlocks credits coaching and a little luck for the franchises success. "We were able to get players into this team that were ready to be coached by a coach like Jason and Jeff Cassar and Robin Fraser (a former RSL assistant coach who is now with the New York Red Bulls)," he said Thursday. "It just so happened that we were able to get a group of guys together that ... really just needed a good environment -- an ownership that cared, a coaching staff that did the right thing. A lot of the guys were coming from places that didnt do the game right. "A lot of us, that core group thats still here, it was a breath of fresh air that we really needed. And we just took full advantage because we knew exactly the opportunity that was in front of us, because wed had it the opposite way, where the owner doesnt care or the coach just doesnt get it. "So I think we lucked out a little bit that we had the core in the same place, here in Salt Lake, that was just absolutely ready to explode and take full advantage of what was in front of us. And thats what we did." The 31-year-old Beckerman is joined on the team by fellow U.S. internationals Nick Rimando (a goalie who came on board in 2007) and Luis Gil (a midfielder who joined in 2010). Other veterans include defenders Nat Borchers (2008) and Chris Wingert (2007), midfielders Ned Grabavoy (2009) and Javier Morales (2007) and forwards Robbie Findley (two stints since 2007) and Alvaro Saborio (2010). Players want to come to winning clubs. And RSL does a good job checking out new talent. "They want to bring in not only good players but good people," said Beckerman. Toronto FC has followed the same road this off-season, with marquee signings Jermain Defoe, Michael Bradley, Gilberto and Julio Cesar all fitting in. Beckerman acknowledges that he respects Torontos search for success. "The thing that I really admire about Toronto is that they wont stop. Theyve kept at it. Theyve kept trying to fix and get the right recipe. And it doesnt seem like theyre going to stop any time soon. Theyre going to keep going and keep spending until they get the right recipe. "And I admire that. Thats something a lot of other teams would love to have that. With the fan base, theyve been loyal there and theyve stuck with them through tough times. The ownership and what theyre doing there, is kind of a reward to that loyalty and giving them a successful team. "Time will tell if this is the right one. But it seems so far that theyve brought in the right players so far. So I think its definitely on the up and up over there." Like Toronto, the early days were bleak in Salt Lake. The team went 5-22-5 with just 20 points in its inaugural season in 2005. In 2005-06, the fledgling franchise endured a league-record 18-game winless streak. But it didnt take long for Real Salt Lake to turn the corner. It had 39 points in Season 2 and 40 in Season 4, going 10-10-10 and reaching the 2008 playoff semifinals. In 2009, it was another 40-point season and the 11-12-7 team went on to win the title. Since then, RSL has collected 56, 53, 57 and 56 points. In contrast, Torontos points total since entering the league in 2007 is 25, 35, 39, 35, 33, 23, and 29. The two teams meet Saturday. Discount MLB Jerseys . The Hockey Canada Foundation is donating $50,000, with Hockey Quebec contributing $15,000. Hockey Canada also announced it will hold a skills camp for all levels of minor hockey in Lac-Mégantic during the 2013-14 season. Representatives from Hockey Canada, the Hockey Canada Foundation and Hockey Quebec were on hand Tuesday night at a meeting of the AHM de Lac-Mégantic to make the announcement and presentation. Cheap MLB Jerseys Authentic . His chance at winning a Stanley Cup in Philadelphia is over. Same with Jeff Carter. And Brian Boucher. Throw in Ville Leino and Dan Carcillo. https://www.mlbjerseyschina.us/ . Bayern led second-place Leverkusen by 10 points with a game in hand, while Dortmund was another four points off the pace. Freiburg midfielder Felix Klaus scored in the last minute as his side twice came from behind to climb provisionally out of the relegation zone. Cheap MLB Jerseys From China . When the Dallas Mavericks needed to stop a Golden State rally in the fourth quarter, they looked for defensive help from the rookie point guard playing in just his sixth game. Fake Nike MLB Jerseys . The Raptors had an early deadline Sunday, a dreaded afternoon game, and they left the bulk of their work until the last minute, as theyve done so many times before.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca. Hi Kerry: I was watching the Hawks-Blue Jackets game on Friday night - the game in which the Hawks scored with less than four seconds remaining to claim victory. My question concerns the face-off for that game-winning goal. Let me describe what I saw the previous play. With less than thirty seconds remaining, the puck was shot on the ice in front of the Jackets bench. Two Jacket players jumped on to the ice while two others went to the bench. The puck went just inside the Jackets zone where a Jacket defender got the puck with just over 20 seconds left. A linesman whistled down the play indicating that the Jackets had too many men on the ice and there would be a penalty with a faceoff deep in their end. As it turned out, the two referees counted the players on the ice and determined there were not too many players and NO penalty would be assigned. The face-off was still held deep in Jacket territory. The Hawks took control from the face-off and scored. My question to you is should not that face-off been held outside the Jackets blue line or at centre because the linesman blew down the play incorrectly? Since the Jackets had control of the puck when the "too many men" whistle blew, it seems to me unfair they should be penalized with the deep faceoff. Im sure the Leafs, Flyers and Devils agree with the call; however, I didnt and I am a Hawks fan. Could you please give me your take on this as I am sure it cost the Blue Jackets a very important point or two. Thanks, Doug MacLean --- Hi Doug: I have little doubt that the former Blue Jackets GM with the same name as yours would have been waiting near the officials dressing room looking for some clarification on this play as well if he still occupied thaat position.dddddddddddd The linesman clearly made an error in judgment when he determined the Blue Jackets were in violation of rule 74 - too many men on the ice - with 21.6 seconds remaining in regulation. Even though play was stopped through an officials error the face-off location in this case is determined by where the puck was last played under rule 76.2. “When the game is stopped for any reason not specifically covered in the official rules, the puck must be faced-off at a face-off spot in the zone nearest to where it was last played.” Defenceman Jack Johnson had the puck on his stick a couple of feet inside the Blue Jackets end zone when the linesman blew his whistle to stop play. As per rule 76.2 the face-off had to be conducted on the nearest end-zone face-off dot of the Blue Jackets. The only provision within the rules to relocate a face-off in the neutral zone following a linesmans error is contained in rule 81.2 - If the linesman shall have erred in calling an “icing the puck” infraction (regardless of whether either team is short-handed), the puck shall be faced-off on the center face-off dot. It is most unfortunate for the Blue Jackets that the whistle was not blown by the linesman when Jack Johnson first touched the puck when it rested on the blue line and prior to entering the defending zone. Had that been the case, the ensuing faceoff would have taken place on the neutral zone face-off dot. It might be unfair, Doug, that the Blue Jackets lost so much territorial advantage following the linesmans error but there was no option to locate the face-off in the neutral zone on this play. While the Blue Jackets did have some opportunities to get the puck out of their end zone following the face-off with 21.6 seconds remaining, I acknowledge it was a tough way for a team to lose such an important game. ' ' '