Otherwise » needed spark off the bench for the lethargic Lakers in t

It was broad smiles all around from head coach Frank Klopas and Sporting Director Nick de Santis as the Impact put on their brave and cheery faces at training yesterday. Hard to imagine this is a club who are firmly entrenched at the bottom of the Eastern Conference as results this season mirror the tailspin the Impact suffered throughout the later stages of the 2013 season. Last Saturdays Kansas City shambles offered very few shreds of comfort or optimism for a club who have only claimed a solitary victory over the course of their last 15 regular season matches. Coincidentally, that win - secured in the final home match of the 2013 season - came against the Philadelphia Union who will be the opponent for the Impacts Saputo Stadium home opener Saturday afternoon. Going into this season there was no expectation the Impact would start in the same forthright manner they did in 2013, where they had already accumulated 16 points and by a distance were the form team of the Eastern Conference through seven games. By the same token nobody in the organization would have thought the club would still be in search of its first win on the back of the worst start of the season in club history. By a quirk of fate Klopas old flame, the Chicago Fire, are the only other winless team in the conference. Any thought Klopas would suffer a similar fate of so many Impact coaches before were completely dismissed out of hand by De Santis yesterday, as he offered full and unequivocal support for his besieged head coach. De Santis could not have appeared more genuine as he addressed the media first in French and then reinforced the same message when switching to English as he expressed complete confidence in his coaching staff. “Its frustrating, its disappointing but we do need to stay patient,” De Santis said of the Imapcts start. The opening goal conceded against the reigning MLS Cup champions was a Callum Mallace attempt at a headed clearance that found nothing but the roof of the Impact net. It typifies the run of ill fortune the Impact has experienced so far this season. One that by this stage drains, and erodes confidence levels allowing for the doubts to set in. This was evident during the second half in Kansas where as a team they completely lacked conviction and confidence. After Marco Di Vaio was forced off injured in minute 55, many players became mere shadows of themselves as they conceded three soft goals. After the match Impact captain Patrice Bernier could offer little explanation of why the team had performed so poorly though the second half. If the Impact is to salvage their season this has to represent rock bottom. Playing at Saputo Stadium for a first time this season offers up the perfect tonic. Training yesterday took place at the clubs training pitch adjacent to the stadium and was conducted under glorious blue skies, which is in stark contrast to training and playing at a dreary appearing Olympic Stadium. A spring was in everyones steps, a certain buoyancy in the air. Di Vaio - who will be the first to admit that his form this season is far from where he would like it to be, or where the club needs it to be - seems likely to overcome the slight hamstring strain and should be available Saturday. Someone who likely again wont feature is Argentine DP Hernan Bernardello. Yesterday De Santis spoke of the midfielders fellow countryman Igniacio Piatti, who currently plays for San Lorenzo. The Impacts Sporting Director admitted the club was very much hoping to bring him in during the upcoming transfer window. Dont expect summer shopping to be limited to merely adding a third and final DP. This is a club who throughout its 20-plus-year history doesnt shy away from making the investments where needed. Bolstering the lineup and adding greater depth will certainly enhance the Impacts chances in the second half of the season. For now, though, its about getting the optimum performances from all the players at their disposal. This is something Klopas admitted earlier in the week was keeping him awake at night. In the lead up to Saturdays game much has been made in both Montreal and Philadelphia about Andrew Wengers return to Saputo Stadium. Wenger even got in on the act himself in the week when he spoke of his time in Montreal and learning much from Marco. Referring to Di Vaio, this was clearly a backhanded slap in the direction of Marco Schallibaum. As the team were putting in some of their final preparations for Saturday afternoons encounter, the finishing touches were been applied to Saputo Stadium. The pitch looks in perfect shape. The last time the club took to that pitch was last Oct. 19 in what was a must-win game for the Impact - who had gone into the game on the back of a six-game winless skid. Philly took the early lead before Di Vaio notched his 20th goal of the season and Karl Ouimette scored the late winner. The opponent will be the same Saturday afternoon, and the club fully need a similar result. Or as De Santis put it yesterday: “We are a win away from relieving the pressure on everyone.” You can reach and follow Noel Butler at: Noel.Butler@BellMedia.ca @TheSoccerNoel on Twitter Listen to Montreal Impact vs. Philadelphia Union live on TSN690 Montreal [TSN690.ca] Saturday at 4pm et. 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The moves were the first punitive steps taken by the Dolphins since a report on the NFLs investigation of the case was released last week. Investigators found that guard Richie Incognito and two teammates engaged in persistent harassment directed at tackle Jonathan Martin, another offensive lineman and an assistant trainer. Cheap Air Max 97 Uk . 1 and reigning champion Caroline Wozniacki was among Thursdays third-round winners, while second- seeded Victoria Azarenka pulled out of the draw at the $4.LOS ANGELES -- Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol were just too much for the injury-riddled Los Angeles Lakers to overcome in the fourth quarter of an ugly loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. Randolph scored 14 of his 28 points in the final period and grabbed 11 rebounds, Gasol had 18 points, eight boards and eight assists, and the Grizzlies eked out an 89-86 victory Friday night for their first road victory of the season. "Everybody knows that we go as Zach goes. Thats our horse, him and Marc. And we need them to continue that throughout the year," guard Tony Allen said. "Everybody came here with their antennas up, and everybody just wanted to get this win more than the other team. And it showed. We played hard for 48 minutes." Mike Conley had 11 points and seven assists for the Grizzlies in the opener of a four-game California trip. Last season they finished with a winning road record for the first time at 24-17, third-best in the NBA. "It felt good, especially being our first road win of the season," Randolph said. "We had been up and down and inconsistent, so it was just good to get a win and build from here." Reserve shooting guard Jodie Meeks had 25 points for the Lakers (4-7), who have lost four of their last five games without their injured starting backcourt of Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash. They are off to their worst start through 11 games since 2002-03, when they began 3-8 following their third straight championship. "Kobes not out there to bail us out, but we have good players on this team and everyone is confident in one another," Meeks said. "I feel like we had a chance to win, but we couldnt for whatever reason. Its frustrating, but were not panicking. There are 71 more games left." Lakers centre Pau Gasol had 10 points on 4-for-12 shooting and grabbed 13 rebounds playing against his younger brother, who was the NBAs defensive player of the year last season. "We have to score more points and we have to make bigger plays," coach Mike DAntoni said after the Lakers were held under 90 for the third time. "I felt that it was better tonight that we showed up at the rim more. But when you put everything together, we had some turnoveers and some sloppy plays that led to fast breaks.dddddddddddd" Forward Shawne Williams, one of seven new players on the Lakers roster, hit back-to-back 3-pointers 39 seconds apart to give Los Angeles a 75-73 lead with 7:19 remaining. But Randolph responded with eight points during a 3:06 span, capping it on a fadeaway baseline jumper over Jordan Hill to give Memphis an 83-81 lead they would not relinquish. "I was just trying to let it come to me and try to be aggressive," Randolph said. Randolph added a spinning layup and two free throws in the final 17 seconds after Lakers guard Steve Blake missed a 20-footer and a 3-point attempt at the other end. Hill, who averaged 19.5 points in his first two starts of the season, put the Lakers in a bind after picking up two fouls 40 seconds apart and went to the bench with 8:12 left in the first quarter. Chris Kaman replaced him and missed his first five shots, including a layup that was blocked by Tayshaun Prince. "It was real important to get Hill out of the game early," Randolph said. "Like I told the kid, hes having a helluva season." Nick Young provided a much-needed spark off the bench for the lethargic Lakers in the second quarter with 12 points, including a pair of jumpers in the final minute of the half to help them leave the court tied at 40-all after they trailed by as many as 10. NOTES: Kobe Bryant, sidelined indefinitely after surgery on his torn Achilles tendon in April, walked onto the court to a standing ovation at the end of the first quarter -- in his Lakers warm-ups -- and presented a $150,000 check from the club to representatives of the Philippine Red Cross following last weeks deadly Typhoon. ... The Lakers, whose streak of 320 consecutive home sellouts (including playoffs) ended Tuesday night when they came up 571 short of capacity in their win over New Orleans, announced a packed house of 18,997 for this one. ... Memphis is 7-10 against Los Angeles when the Gasols have played against each other. In the 16 previous head-to-head battles between them, Pau averaged 15.0 points, 9.8 rebounds and 47.9 per cent from the field -- while Marc averaged 10.6 points, 8.9 boards and 42.4 per cent shooting. ' ' '