Whilst serving notice all season long they are in amongst the cluster of top teams in MLS this season, the Montreal Impact are also making the right noises off the pitch, too. Bruce Bowen Jersey . Thinking it would be beneficial to launch their season ticket renewals earlier than they did last season, the club recently announced two out of three current season ticket holders had exercised their option to renew. Having challenged his team to always give and be their very best, Impact president Joey Saputo doesnt lessen that demand for those working in the front office. "Im not taking anything away from what our guys have done and the fact we have a great season ticket base but theres still a third that havent renewed and we have to find out why they havent renewed and what we can do to make sure they will be renewing," Saputo told TSN Radio 690. He wasnt finished. "Not only that, we need to increase the season ticket base a little more. At the end of the day, we need to fill the stadium and thats what we are doing." "So its nice to know two-thirds of our season ticket base like what we are doing and want to part of what we are doing." Not only are the fans supporting the club at the box office, but now finally they are also buying into club merchandise in significant numbers. Crucially, down Stade Saputo way these days, no longer is it the case a Juventus or a Real Madrid jersey appears most prominent amongst those in attendance. Everywhere you look, a sea of blue confronts you and the punters are not merely restricting it to the token jersey. Branded apparel in all forms has suddenly become the norm. This pleases Saputo. "Merchandise sales have been doing relatively well," added Saputo. "Were very excited, were very happy with the way it is going." However, just like season ticket renewals, Saputo is more focused on strengthening where there is weakness. "One of the things we need to do is to be out there a little bit more. Right now, we are very strong inside the stadium but not as strong outside the stadium. We need to work on the team store concept outside of the stadium. Thats something we are looking at in the future." Jersey sales of certain players may well be flying off the shelves but Saputo is of a strong conviction the upsurge in sales is down to the club and the jersey itself. "Without a doubt you have the Marco Di Vaio and Bernier jerseys but I think its the jersey itself and what the jersey represents. "When we talked about the jersey and when we designed the jersey with the aspect of the fleur de lys and the cross, it represents the city of Montreal. I think we have a nice product and the jersey sells itself." Di Vaio has been much in the news himself of late. Seemingly scoring goals for fun, matters of a very personal nature may well necessitate he return home to his family come seasons end. Having grown a strong bond and deep relationship with his DP, Saputo feels Di Vaios anguish personally. "Im so disappointed that he is going through some personal issues right now back home which is weighing on whether he is going to stay or not." Not wanting to provide any false hopes to the supporters but the Impact president did confirm that under better circumstances, Di Vaio would sign his 2014 option. "This is a person who wants to stay. This is a person who wants to be here but at the end of the day, he is going to make a very, very tough decision," said Saputo. "He doesnt want to finish playing, he still feels he has a year or two left in him. Its going to be tough for him to hang up his boots at the end of this year if he decides to go back to Italy. We hope that he will stay. He is a definite asset to this organization, not only on the field but off it, too. Saputo also addressed reports from the Italian media where some suggested Di Vaios return would be in a playing capacity. "In our discussions with Marco if he goes back it is not to play," Saputo stated. "If he goes back, it is to be closer to his family and if a position was to open at a club as a Sporting Director or a General Manager of some sorts, he would definitely take a look at it. From my understanding, from what he told me, he is not looking to play. Thats what makes it difficult. He doesnt want to go back to Italy to play. He wants to stay here but hes torn between the situation with his family and staying here in Montreal." Of course, Di Vaio isnt the only Italian player who might not be trotting out at Stade Saputo in 2014. During an interview Alessandro Nesta conducted with the BBC earlier in the summer, the central defender strongly indicated he was hanging up his boots at seasons end. Saputo puts that down to Nestas jovial side as he anointed him the clubs prankster "Sandros a little bit different and obviously he has joked around a lot," offered Saputo. "He is the biggest joker in the club so sometimes you wonder what he says whether he is joking or whether he is serious. You know at times when things dont go well, he is ready to pack up and leave. At other times, he is already planning for next year. "I can tell you one thing, from a heart standpoint, he would play another 10 years but I dont know whether his legs will last that long." With a mouth-watering encounter against the Whitecaps at home Saturday afternoon, the Impact know they have to step it up dramatically if they want to have any chance of avoiding a third straight defeat. Saputo knows exactly why Columbus pulled off the shock road win but doesnt expect his players wont be up to the task come 2pm et Saturday. "We need to play it more desperately. I think its something we lacked on Saturday. We werent hungry and Columbus were. We cant give away three points at home, its not like us and the players have to understand that and I think they do." Just like Columbus, the Whitecaps are desperate for points as their playoff hopes have dwindled away. Two old foes both in need of the three points. "Theres been some great games with Vancouver in the past and this should not be any different. Its going to be a good game and our players should be ready for it," said Saputo. If the Impact win, the playoff horizon will come into full view. For Saputo though, making the playoffs wont be reason enough to celebrate. "Its been a great season and people are extremely excited with the fact its been a great season and with what weve done. Theres still a lot of work to be done for us to not only make the playoffs, but not to bow out early in the playoffs." You can reach and follow Noel Butler at:Noel.Butler@BellMedia.ca@TheSoccerNoel Montreal Impact v Vancouver Whitecaps - Live TSN2 and CJAD800 Radio Saturday, 2pm et/11am pt The full interview with Saputo is available at TSN Radio 690 on TSN.ca George Gervin Jersey .com) - Delon Wright made all 12 of his free throws and finished with 21 points and six assists as No. Sean Elliott Jersey . Its not intended to be some magical formula and doesnt apply any context, like, for example, taking injuries into account. This remedial statistical method has gone 9-5 in picks through the first three rounds. http://www.cheapspursjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-pau-gasol-jersey .J. -- Fabian Johnson scored his first international goal and Clint Dempsey doubled the lead after a defensive lapse as the United States beat Turkey 2-1 Sunday in the second of three World Cup warm-up matches for the Americans before they head to Brazil.(SportsNetwork.com) - No team was hotter than the Cleveland Indians down the stretch. The Tribe shoots for an 11th straight win on Wednesday when they welcome the Tampa Bay Rays to Progressive Field for the American League wild card game. Cleveland won its final 10 regular-season games to earn the No. 1 wild card position. The Indians also became the sixth team in major league history to finish a season on a winning streak of 10 or more games. Prior to the Indians, the last team to do it was the 1971 Orioles. Cleveland also went a major-league-best 21-6 in September. It was the first time Cleveland won 20 games in a month since doing so twice in 1995, a year in which the Indians reached the World Series. "This is what you play for," Indians pitcher Justin Masterson said on Sunday. "You play to win a World Series, but youve got to get there first, get to the playoffs. So you play to get to the playoffs, and here we are with that opportunity. Its just been incredible. The ups and downs of this organization the last few years, we couldnt ask for anything better." Hosting the game may also be a benefit for the Indians, who were 51-30 in front of their fans this season. However, Cleveland was an absurd 36-52 against teams with .500-or-better records this season. "Its been a long time since Clevelands had something like this," Indians first baseman Nick Swisher said after Cleveland clinched the wild card spot on Sunday. "I hope the fans are as excited as we are." The 92 wins for the Tribe were quite a contrast from a year ago when they lost 94 games. General manager Chris Antonetti made a bevy of offseason moves, but none may have been bigger than landing manager Terry Francona, whose leadership and calm presence has helped the Indians back to the postseason for the first time in six years. "I have no doubt," Antonetti said, "that we would not be in the position we are without Titos leadership." As big of an impact as Francona has had on Cleveland, it was the teams starting pitching staff that carried them to the finish line. Clevelands 3.16 ERA since the All-Star break was the second best in the American League and the fourth best in the majors. During the 10-game winning streak, Indians pitchers held the opposition to two runs or less seven times. One of those starters, right-handed rookie Danny Salazar, gets the call for the Indians on Wednesday. "This is awesome," said Salazar, who has never faced the Rays. "The team has trust in me. Im just going to do my best there." Salazar has been brilliant since joining the rotation in July, boasting a 3.12 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 65/15 K/BB ratio over 52 innings. He pitched to a 2.53 ERA in five September starts and recorded 33 strikeouts over 25 innings in that span. "Hes not a finished product," Francona said. "The finished product is going to be special, but hes comfortable on the mound. We wouldnt do it if we werent comfortable." If theres one drawback to Salazar its the fact that the 23-year-old has pitched more than six innings in only one of his 10 starts. So, Franconas bullpen will have to be ready and its a unit without a leader at the moment, as the Indians will likely employ a closer-by-committee arrangement after Chris Perez was demoted from the closers role following an awful final month that saw him pitch to a 9.64 ERA. "Im here to help the team," Perez said. Tony Parker Jersey. "I went into (Franconas) office the other night and said, Im not going to cost this team a playoff spot. You need to make a change right now. Youve got four or five guys who are throwing the (heck) out of the ball. I dont have an ego. Make the change. And he did." One player who could emerge as a huge factor in the bullpen is Masterson, who missed most of September with a strained oblique, but threw three scoreless innings of relief upon returning. Tampa, meanwhile, needed an extra game to get into this position, as it defeated Texas, 5-2, on Monday in a tiebreaker game to secure the second wild card spot. "Get your 92nd win, you go to Cleveland against a really good ballclub," Rays manager Joe Maddon said after his teams win on Monday. "Theyre rested. I like the notion that weve pretty much been playing this (elimination-type) game for about a week now." David Price went the distance for the fourth time this year and Evan Longoria belted a deciding two-run homer to pace the Rays, who are back in the postseason for the fourth time in the past six years. "Its a whirlwind, like it always is," said Longoria, who was on base in four of his five at-bats. "We went through so much in the last three days, the ups and downs and the emotions, that it kind of feels like the whole season. Weve had a lot of disappointment here, and to be able to celebrate here, its pretty fitting." Longoria could be getting hot at the right time for the Rays, as he is 11- for-19 (.579) with seven homers, 11 RBI and nine runs scored over his last five games. Price (10-8), who came in sporting an ugly 10.26 ERA in four career starts in Arlington, made sure the Rays moved on by limiting the Rangers to two runs on seven hits. The ace struck out four, walked one and retired 11 of the last 12 batters he faced to finish off his gem. "My last time against these guys, I beat them as well, so that kind of gets lost in it, just getting that first game out of the way," said Price. "Getting that first win against a team youve never beat, thats huge. Last time on this mound, I beat those guys. We did it again tonight. Its pretty special." Getting the call for the Rays on Wednesday will be righty Alex Cobb, whose season was almost derailed back in June when he was hit in the face with a line drive. The young hurler returned after missing two months and ended the year 11-3 with a 2.76 ERA. Cobb was unbeaten over the final month, going 3-0 with a 2.57 ERA and tossed seven scoreless innings his last time out against the New York Yankees. "He pitched extremely well once again," Maddon said. "Curveball outstanding, changeup ... I think he was having a hard time command-wise with the changeup early. ... Then he started using his fastball more, which I thought was a great move. But overall, a fantastic performance." Cobb is 2-1 with a 2.70 ERA in his career against Cleveland. This year, he faced the Indians once and beat them, 6-0, with seven shutout innings on April 6. Pitching continues to be the Rays calling card. They threw a team-record 17 shutouts this season, including four in their past 18 games. Their 32 shutouts over the last two years are tied with the Dodgers for most in the majors. They are the first AL team with 15 shutouts in consecutive seasons since the 1989-90 As. Tampa won four of its six matchups with the Indians this season. Cheap Diamondbacks Jerseys Cheap Braves Jerseys Cheap Orioles Jerseys Cheap Red Sox Jerseys Cheap Cubs Jerseys Cheap White Sox Jerseys Cheap Reds Jerseys Cheap Indians Jerseys Cheap Rockies Jerseys Cheap Tigers Jerseys Cheap Astros Jerseys Cheap Royals Jerseys Cheap Angels Jerseys Cheap Dodgers Jerseys Cheap Marlins Jerseys ' ' '