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VANCOUVER - There were dark clouds and a cold, driving rain Monday as the Vancouver Whitecaps held their final on-field training session but the players and coach showed a sunny disposition as they looked forward to next years Major League Soccer campaign.Under rookie head coach Carl Robinson the Whitecaps accumulated a 12-8-14 record for a franchise high 50 points. Vancouver went 4-0-1 down the stretch to finish fifth in the Western Conference and clinch the final playoff spot. They lost 2-1 to FC Dallas in a heartbreaking playoff game that was decided on a questionable call by the referee.You dont need to be a psychic to read the signs that the Whitecaps have the potential to grow and improve.Were moving in the right direction, said defender Jordan Harvey. Making the playoffs, getting 50 points, all those landmark kind of things . . . it was a successful season.Im as excited as the next guy for coming into next season.Veteran defender Andy OBrien said the Whitecaps have laid a solid foundation.The club will no doubt be looking to get stronger and develop, said OBrien. In terms of the way we finished the season, I think that was a good blueprint in terms of how to start (next) season.As a coach Robinson is perpetually optimistic and supportive of his players. He has the team playing an entertaining, up-temp style on the field and created a positive culture in the dressing room.Of the 28 players currently on Vancouvers roster, 18 are 24 years or younger. That means the Whitecaps are still maturing and developing.I know we can do better, said Robinson, the 38-year-old former Welsh international. I know we can be better prepared not just on the training field but off the training field . . . to make things run easier.Players like midfielder Pedro Morales, holding midfielder Matias Laba, forward Sebastian Fernandez, defender Kendall Waston and goalkeeper David Ousted are part of the teams core.Robinson knows he must add to that group for the Whitecaps to make the next step.There will be changes, said Robinson. There will be additions because I want to strength the squad. The Whitecaps biggest need is the additional of goal scorers. Vancouver scored 42 goals last season, the least of any team making the Western Conference playoffs. Only four other teams in MLS scored less goals.Morales led the team with 10 goals and 12 assists.We lacked a goal scorer, said Robinson. If we had someone that could score 15, 20 maybe 30 goals, then we would be in a totally different position.Thats what we have to try to do to add to the group Ive got. Not to take away anything because we are building here. I want to build a core in here to move forward, not just next year but the next three, four or five years.The Whitecaps have had success finding Latin American players, but Robinson doesnt rule out looking for talent in Europe.I will turn over every rock, he said.One player Robinson would like to add to Vancouvers roster is Erick Torres, who scored 29 goals for Chivas USA this season before the team halted operations.One hundred per cent I would like him on my team, said Robinson. If you ask the other MLS coaches Im sure they would say the same.The Whitecaps will face some new challenges next season. Being the Canadian MLS team with the highest points standings earned Vancouver a berth in the 2015-16 CONCACAF Champions League. That means playing extra games during the season.Next season will also see Sporting Kansas City, the 2013 MLS champions, and the Houston Dynamo move into the Western Conference. That will make the fight to make the playoffs that much harder.In the coming weeks there will be four MLS drafts, including an expansion draft, the Chivas dispersal, a re-entry draft and the SuperDraft. One of the first decisions facing Whitecaps management is which players to protect in the expansion draft.Its very difficult but thats the sign of a good team and a good squad, Robinson said.I have decisions to make. It will be for the benefit of the team and the club moving forward.One player Robinson must decide about is OBrien. The centre back turned 35 in June and moved into a leadership role when captain Jay DeMerit retired due to injury.OBrien says he wants to come back and would consider a reduction in his salary of US$280,000.Its not all about money, he said. Its about being wanted.Robinson plans to meet with OBrien soon.I would like to try and keep Andy in some capacity with the club, he said. 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I suppose Sternberg has earned the right to speak out since his Rays, despite one of the lowest payrolls in the Majors at $58 million, are entering the final weekend of the regular season holding down the first Wild Card spot in the American League, one game ahead of Cleveland and two up on Texas. L.J. Collier Jersey ." The tournament was set to be held Sept. 15-21 and would have been the first ATP tournament held in Israel since 1996. But amid Israels military campaign against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, ATP President Chris Kermode said "we do not feel we can proceed as planned given the situation in the region. VANCOUVER -- The struggling Vancouver Canucks cant seem to catch a break on the injury front. The team announced Thursday that centre Mike Santorelli has undergone surgery to repair a torn labrum and will be out five to six months, effectively ending his season. The news came after assistant coach Mike Sullivan told reporters defenceman Kevin Bieksa wont accompany the Canucks on their five-game road trip that leads into the Olympic break. "Its more than (a maintenance day)," said Sullivan of Bieksas absence from practice. "He is not going to join us on the trip. "We dont know the details of it yet. When we get more information well update you." On top of that, fellow defenceman Christopher Tanev is out with whats believed to be a broken hand. Captain Henrik Sedin has missed the last five games with an upper-body injury, although Sullivan expects him back soon. "Hes still day-to-day, but I believe he will join us on this trip and we are hopeful that well get him at some point here," said Sullivan. It all adds up to a very busy sick bay for a team that has just four wins in its last 15 games (4-8-3), including just two victories in regulation. The loss of Santorelli hurts up front as the Canucks have been held to two goals or less in nine of their last 10 games. The 28-year-old, who was injured Jan. 16, had 10 goals and 18 assists in 49 games this season. A native of nearby Burnaby, B.C., Santorelli impressed head coach John Tortorella in training camp and became one his most trusted players the first half of the season. "After consultation with our team physicians, we determined Mike would require a procedure on his shoulder," Canucks general manager Mike Gillis saiid in statement.dddddddddddd "The surgery was successful and we expect a full recovery." Santorelli -- who can become an unrestricted free agent in July -- had been a journeyman in the league until appearing to find a home with the Canucks. He was put on waivers by the Florida Panthers last season and picked up by the Winnipeg Jets before signing with Vancouver. The loss of Bieksa, who has four goals and 15 assists in 55 games this season, is also a significant blow. To take the 32-year-olds place on the blue-line, the Canucks recalled defenceman Frank Corrado of the American Hockey Leagues Utica Comets. The 20-year-old played six games for Vancouver earlier this season but has yet to register a point. Meanwhile, Tortorella still has one game to go in his six-game suspension for trying to get into the Calgary Flames locker-room after that infamous first-period line brawl Jan. 18. The fiery head coach, who had been on his best behaviour since coming to Vancouver prior to that incident, will sit out Friday games against the Winnipeg Jets before returning Monday against the Detroit Red Wings. What he will find is a team with a 27-19-9 record thats in a dogfight for one of the two Western Conference wild-card spots, a position the Canucks arent accustomed to after winning division titles five of the last six years. "We have to be a resilient group. We understand the circumstance, everybodys looking for the result," said Sullivan. "Resilience and attitude is a big part of having success in this league, because inevitably, most teams go through adversity where they lose a few games or things dont go their way, they hit the injury bug, whatever it may be -- sometimes its all of the above." ' ' '