It says something about the conundrum that is Toronto FC that Eric Avila only wants to talk about the good memories he has of the team that cut him adrift. The slight midfielder, who now plies his trade for Chivas USA, remains a huge fan of the underachieving MLS franchise in Toronto. "I really enjoyed my time there," he said in an interview Tuesday. "Obviously playing-wise was not as much as I wanted. But the experience of being up there and playing. And obviously playing in front of all the fans there, its amazing." On Wednesday, Avila and Chivas (3-11-5) will welcome Toronto (2-9-7) to the StubHub Centre in Carson, Calif., just south of Los Angeles. Toronto may want to keep a close eye on the former Red. Avila, acquired in January by Chivas from Colorado after the MLS re-entry draft, has scored against both Montreal and Vancouver this season. The 25-year-old from San Diego was a familiar sight to reporters covering Toronto FC. They often saw Avila, his cowboy-like gait and slim build hard to miss, getting off a streetcar en route to BMO Field. "The citys amazing," he said of Toronto. "Obviously theres a lot of friendly people down there. ... I didnt have a car so I got to know the way through the streetcars and trains." After signing a Generation Adidas contract as an elite underclassman, the former U.S. under-20 international was taken by FC Dallas 19th overall in the 2008 MLS SuperDraft. In four seasons for Dallas, Avila made 63 appearances. He was traded to Toronto during the 2011 season, appearing in 33 games before being one of many players let loose after the disappointing 2012 season. He has flourished at Chivas, a team like Toronto under reconstruction, and has seen action in 16 games. His two goals are tied for the team lead, which while good for Avila speaks volumes about the ineptitude of the Chivas offence. When it comes to poor performance on the pitch, Toronto is almost unparalleled. The franchise, owned by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, could be a Harvard Business School study on how to and how not to run a sports franchise. Off the pitch, the team was a hit out of the box as fans flocked to the no-frills but cosy stadium on the citys lakefront. But management could not deliver the product to match the fan fervour. Now in its seventh season, Toronto has never made the playoffs and sports a woeful 47-97-62 regular-season record. TFC has only ever won 13 MLS games on the road. Yet the teams support remains amazingly vibrant. Toronto, under new management yet again this season, stands 18th in the 19-team standings, but ranks eighth in attendance at 19,608 a game. Is it any wonder that new MLSE CEO Tim Leiweke says Toronto FC has done "a lot of damage" to what he says was the best brand in MLS. Avila, however, sees the glass as half-full. His faith in Toronto is based on that support despite the constant management and roster fluctuations. "Dont get me wrong. Things are always changing there," he said. But Avila remembers the packed stands and enthusiasm that filled the Rogers Centre when Toronto hosted the defending champion Los Angeles Galaxy in a CONCACAF Champions League quarter-final in 2012. He recalls how the city rallied behind the soccer team. "For me, its a taste of the success of what it could be," he said of the franchise. Avila has also seen how Toronto looks after its players. The clubs training centre in north Toronto is European-calibre, complete with a chef and well-appointed facilities. The club is also among the best in MLS in looking after and settling in its players. These days, a car service helps ferry players to the training base north of the 401 highway. The turnover at Toronto has been such that only eight players on the current roster played with Avila last season. But the Chivas midfielder took time to seek out his old teammates in Los Angeles after TFC flew directly to the West Coast from their 3-0 loss Saturday in Kansas City. "I have nothing but love for Toronto. It will be very exciting to play against them," said Avila, sounding like he really meant it. At Chivas, Avila has re-stablished himself as a regular, albeit on a team with its own problems. Its been a difficult season for the largely Hispanic franchise, which fired coach Jose Luis Sanchez Sola in late May with the team languishing in the Western Conference basement with a 3-7-2 record. Like Toronto, it has found goals hard to come by with just 17 in 19 games. Only D.C. United, with eight, has scored fewer goals. Chivas has not won a league game since March 30, going 0-10-4 since. Prior to a 3-1 loss in Philadelphia last time out, however, the Goats had managed three straight ties against Montreal, FC Dallas and New England. Chivas has been shut out nine times this season and managed to score more than one goal just four times. Since the end of April, Chivas has been outscored 24-5 in 11 league games. Wednesday could mark the Chivas debut of newly acquired U.S. international defender Carlos Bocanegro. Another new face is Mexican forward Erick (Cubo) Torres. Chivas is playing its fourth game in two weeks, returning home after an 0-1-2 road trip that included a 1-1 tie in Montreal. Toronto continues a busy portion of the schedule when it hosts Thierry Henry and the New York Red Bull (9-7-4) on Saturday. DaRon Payne Redskins Jersey . Louis Blues absence from top spot in the TSN. Ereck Flowers Jersey . It might not have mattered. While the Dodgers are preparing for the playoffs, the Padres showed their future has promise behind two rookies. http://www.redskinsfansproshop.com/Customized.html?cat=1287 ., for the next three years with the signings on Monday of Daryl Townsend and Michael Carter. Sammy Baugh Womens Jersey . Inter president Erick Thohir says in a club statement on Wednesday that Vidic is "one of the worlds best defenders and his qualities, international pedigree, and charisma will be an asset. Clinton Portis Jersey . The 20-year-old Pelicans big man glanced up and smiled widely at the well-wishers -- a fitting end to a day he wont soon forget. Davis responded to his selection earlier in the day as a Western Conference All-Star with 26 points and 10 rebounds, and the New Orleans Pelicans overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves 98-91 on Friday night. MINNEAPOLIS -- Blair Walshs five seasons in Minnesota were filled with big-time makes and big-time misses.With the skidding Vikings desperate to save their season, they simply couldnt wait for Walsh to pull himself out of another rut. Minnesota cut Walsh on Tuesday, two days after he missed his league-leading fourth extra point in a 26-20 loss to Washington.Walsh was 12 of 16 on field goals and 15 of 19 on extra points in nine games this season. For a team that started 5-0 but has gone 0-4 since and is constructed to play close games, Walshs inconsistency could no longer be tolerated.After he missed an extra point, had a field goal blocked and misplaced a kickoff in a loss to Detroit two weeks ago, the Vikings brought in six kickers for a tryout. They ultimately decided to give Walsh one more chance, but his miss just before halftime against the Redskins sealed his fate. Walsh was in the first year of a four-year, $13 million extension he signed last season , undoubtedly one reason why the Vikings stayed as patient as they could with him.The Vikings reached agreement on a contract with Kai Forbath to take Walshs place, two people with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because an official announcement has not been made. USA Today first reported the move to Forbath, who made 34 of 35 extra points and 10 of 15 field goals last season while kicking for Washington and New Orleans.With Forbath, punter/holder Jeff Locke and long snapper Kevin McDermott, all three of Minnesotas specialists will be UCLA products. The 29-year-old Forbath is 69 for 82 for 84.1 percent in his NFL career on field goals and 124 for 127 for 97.6 percent on extra points.Walsh was an erratic kicker at Georgia when Vikings special teams coordinator Mike Priefer started to scout him. The coach said Walsh had the best performance at the combine he had ever seen from a kicker leading up to the draft in 2012, and the Vikings selected him in the sixth round before releasing reliable veteran Ryan Longwell. After working on some tweaks to his approach with Priefer, Walsh set a Vikings rookkie record with 141 points and established an all-time NFL mark by going 10 for 10 from 50 yards or longer.ddddddddddddalsh bounced back to make an NFL-high 34 field goals last season, but he missed four extra points and shanked a 27-yard field goal in the closing seconds of Minnesotas 10-9 loss in the playoffs to Seattle. Despite Walshs public expressions of confidence in his ability since then, even after his rough game against the Lions, he clearly hasnt recovered yet mentally from the crushing miss against the Seahawks that left him sobbing in front of his cubicle in the locker room afterward.One of the few roles in sports without any gray area between success and failure, where sending the ball through the uprights is the only responsibility and the only outcome worth judging, being a kicker in the NFL can be a pressure cooker. At least in his interaction with reporters, Walsh has been more guarded and on edge than any other season with the Vikings.For the Vikings, the setbacks to a season that began with Super Bowl aspirations havent stopped. Neither have their aggressive attempts to stay on track, even if the move away from Walsh mightve come a little late. Walsh will still count more than $1 million against the teams salary cap in each of the next two years.They parted with two high draft picks, including their first-rounder in 2017, to bring in Sam Bradford after quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was lost to a massive injury. They took a flier on injury-waylaid former No. 1 overall draft pick Jake Long, who lasted four games before tearing an Achilles tendon and needing season-ending surgery. Offensive coordinator Norv Turner resigned two weeks ago amid philosophical differences about the scheme with Zimmer, even expressing belief in subsequent interviews that his removal from the strategical process could help the team get going.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL---AP Pro Football Writer Dave Campbell contributed to this report. ' ' '