That ninth game was going

TORONTO -- Almost three weeks after its last league outing, Toronto FC returns to action Friday night against the New York Red Bulls as the MLS season resumes with a vengeance following a World Cup break. Robinson Chirinos Jersey . After just two league games in June, Toronto (6-4-1) will go on to play seven in July plus a friendly against Tottenham. Five of those contests are against Eastern Conference opposition, meaning valuable points in the playoff race are on the line. Manager Ryan Nelsen gave his players eight days off following the 1-0 win over visiting San Jose on June 7. They have been training ever since, albeit with sessions pushed forward a little bit to allow players to watch the World Cup in the afternoon. There are different allegiances, although the team is rooting for both Brazil and the U.S. given the presence of TFC goalie Julio Cesar and midfielder Michael Bradley at the tournament. Canadian international Jonathan Osorio is pulling for Colombia, where his parents came from. The U.S.-Ghana game pitted the 12 Americans on the Toronto roster against Ghana-born forward Dominic Oduro. Massage therapist and acupuncturist Marcelo Casal is cheering for Uruguay. The public relations department is still mourning the exit of Italy. While his players enjoyed time off, albeit with a prescribed gym regimen, Nelsen and his coaches were at work planning training sessions. "We might have worked around a nice glass of red," said Nelsen, whose business holdings include a winery back home in New Zealand. Nelsen is expecting a hard contest Friday against the Red Bulls (4-5-6) who are one point behind fourth-place Toronto in the East despite having played four more games. Toronto defeated New York 2-0 when they met in May at BMO Field, with Jermain Defoe scoring early and Luke Moore scoring late. "I think that game was a big game for us," said Nelsen. "We had a few guys out (injured) and wed just come back from the West Coast after 120 minutes (in an Amway Canadian Championship game in Vancouver) and it was a really, really good performance. "New York will have a lot of motivation, in all honesty, to put one back on us. Its at their home field. Ive got a real sense that everybodys desperate to play a game after the break. "Its nice to have a break but everybody wants to get back on the field. I can sense this games going to be a really good one, a good tough one. Im looking forward to it." The host Red Bulls will also be well rested. Star striker Thierry Henry, fresh from a stint as a BBC World Cup analyst, and Colombian defender Jamison Olave have not played since May 27 at Sporting Kansas City, skipping artificial turf games June 8 in New England and June 14 against the New York Cosmos (in U.S. Open Cup play). The Red Bulls Australian star Tim Cahill is slated to be back from the World Cup and could make an appearance Friday night. Cahill did not see action in the Socceroos 3-0 loss to Spain on Monday but scored two goals earlier at the tournament including a highlight-reel volley against the Dutch. "Were expecting them to play," Nelsen said of Cahill and Henry. While hes a Kiwi, Nelsen was raving about Cahills strike against the Dutch while saying it had not got the publicity it deserved. "For me, if a Brazilian did that, or an Argentinian, or a big-country-type player did that, theyd be raving about that for years to come. ... It was of such quality that I didnt think they gave him the credit he really deserved for an over-the-shoulder left-foot volley." "But thats Timmy," he added. "Timmys been scoring those type of goals his whole career. Thats why New York is so lucky to have him." Toronto has two injury concerns in winger Daniel Lovitz (concussion) and Brazilian striker Gilberto (hip flexor). Ryan Rua Jersey . Thats exactly what happened. And they enjoyed every moment. Durant remained sizzling with 33 points, Serge Ibaka added 22 and the Thunder roared back from an abysmal start -- they trailed 22-4 early -- to embarrass the Miami Heat 112-95 on Wednesday night, erasing that big deficit out of the gate by outscoring the two-time defending champions by 43 points over a 33-minute span. Prince Fielder Jersey . Chris Johnson singled with two outs off left-hander Jerry Blevins (1-1), and Schafer pinch ran. With a 2-2 count, Schafer ran on the pitch and Upton dropped a single in front of Bryce Harper. Schafer already was rounding third when Schafer bobbled the ball.BUFFALO, N.Y. - Sam Reinharts next step in his NHL progression is a trip to the press box as a healthy scratch.The No. 2 overall pick in Junes draft played in the Buffalo Sabres first five games and did not register a point. Not in the lineup Saturday night against the Boston Bruins, Reinhart hopes he can pick up a few things about playing in the NHL.The biggest thing Im going to be watching is the intensity of guys, the pace it is, Reinhart said. When youre up there, youre gaining confidence as youre watching.Reinhart, a Vancouver native who had 105 points last season for the Kootenay Ice of the Western Hockey League, has struggled to adjust to the pro game early this season. Sabres coach Ted Nolan believes a game off is the best thing for him.Why do you sit out anybody? Its just one of those things, Nolan said. Hes a young player thats still learning, so well let him watch a game and then see how he comes (away) from that.Its not like the Sabres had this in mind as the plan for Reinhart, who opened the season as the second-line centre with Cody Hodgson and capptain Brian Gionta. Delino DeShields Jersey. He saw over 13 minutes of ice time in his first two NHL games.By the time he played Game No. 5 Friday night, he was down to 7:09 while on the fourth line with Nicolas Deslauriers and Cody McCormick.We tried to force-feed it at the beginning, we tried to put him with a lot of minutes, top lines, then we backed off a little bit, Nolan said. Now this is another way to try to get his game going.By sitting him against the Bruins, the Sabres buy themselves some more time before needing to decide whether to send him back to Kootenay or keep him and burn the first year of his entry-level deal. Reinhart can play up to nine games before the first year of the contract counts.That ninth game was going to be Oct. 25 at San Jose. With a game off, he could make it to Oct. 28 at Toronto, or the team could send him back at any time.The 18-year-old said the possibility of going back to junior is not his focus right now.Trying to build every day, Reinhart said. Im trying to learn every day and get better.---Follow @SWhyno on Twitter ' ' '