PHILADELPHIA - The outcry started before Jermain Defoe officially left the Toronto FC books. Avonte Maddox Jersey .Carpetbagger. Bloody big embarrassment. Perhaps the biggest high-profile bust in recent Toronto sports history.And there was worse.Toronto FC fans may grit their teeth at the 32-year-old Defoes comments to the Daily Mirror after passing a medical and working out Wednesday for Sunderland.I felt so sharp, said Defoe, whose lone season in Toronto was cut short by injuries. All that hard work has paid off. I cant wait to start scoring goals for Sunderland.Everybody knows how much I love English football and I still feel that I have a lot to offer. People might look at my age, but I have always looked after myself and I hope I can show that with my performances.Sunderland visits Defoes old stomping grounds on Saturday when it plays at Tottenham.Amidst the vitriol, Toronto FC coach Greg Vanney chooses to think of the positives of Defoes time in MLS.When he was motivated and focused and healthy, he was for me the best player in the league, the best striker in the league, Vanney said Wednesday ahead of the MLS SuperDraft.I think he was scoring a goal every two shots. Arguably if we could have got him more chances, it would have maybe even have been crazy the number of goals he could have scored.Defoe scored 11 goals in his first 13 games in MLS. But the England star didnt connect again, missing 12 of the next 18 games through injury or suspension.At some point in the season between national team stuff, injury, a number of things, there was an appearance of sort of a lack of motivation to still be there, Vanney said. And maybe we didnt see exactly the best of him and maybe a lot of that had to do with injury, I dont know what percentage was what. But clearly when he was motivated and on his game, there have been few strikers if any in our league that have been as good as him.We wouldnt have won as many games at the beginning of the year if we didnt have him, thats for sure. He definitely carried more than his fair share early on in the season. And I think that had some of us thinking that we were really on path to have a great season. And really without Jermain we would not have been in the same place.And so all the other stuff that happened is obviously a long story and a sage and everything else. But on his game he was fantastic, thats true.Ryan Nelsen, the former TFC manager and ex-Premier League player who helped bring Defoe to Toronto, also spoke highly of the striker.He is a great player and myself, more than anyone, wished he stayed and scored goals for Toronto, he told The Canadian Press in a text. But this happens in football. The key is to maximize the situation by being creative in the market to benefit the club moving forward.The anger at Defoe seems more motivated by the Its a Bloody Big Deal campaign Toronto ran around Defoes arrival — a full-on marketing campaign that, like the team, did not deliver.The England striker also never became the face of the franchise as perhaps ownership intended.___Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter Custom Eagles Jerseys . Now Arizonas new manager is hoping Yasmany Tomas can have the same effect on the Diamondbacks. Mike Wallace Jersey .Y. - Islanders forward Anders Lee has been fined $2,286 by the NHL for elbowing St. http://www.theeaglesshoponline.com/Youth-Josh-Sweat-Eagles-Jersey/ .com) - Delon Wright made all 12 of his free throws and finished with 21 points and six assists as No. SALT LAKE CITY -- The Utah Jazz have acquired veteran forward Steve Novak from Toronto in exchange for guard Diante Garrett. The Jazz also received the rights to New Yorks second-round draft pick in 2017 as part of the deal, which was struck last Friday but formally announced by Utah on Thursday per league rules. The 6-foot-10 Novak has a .432 3-point percentage over his eight-year career, second only to Golden States Stephen Curry (.440) among active players. Novak, the 32nd overall pick in the 2006 draft out of Marquette, has averaged 5 points and 1.4 rebounds in 13 minutes over 414 career ggames, playing with Houston, the Clippers, Dallas, San Antonio, New York and Chicago. Michael Bennett Eagles Jersey. Last season he averaged 3.3 points, 1.1 rebounds and 10 minutes per game over 54 games with the Raptors. Novak was acquired by Toronto in a deal last July that sent forward Andrea Bargnani to the Knicks in exchange for Novak, Quentin Richardson, Marcus Camby, and future draft picks. Garrett, a call-up from the NBA D-League last November, averaged 14.8 minutes, with 3.5 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 71 Jazz games. The 6-foot-4 guard is a two-year veteran out of Iowa State. Cheap Canadiens Jerseys Cheap Predators Jerseys Cheap Devils Jerseys Cheap Islanders Jerseys Cheap Rangers Jerseys Cheap Senators Jerseys Cheap Flyers Jerseys Cheap Penguins Jerseys Cheap Sharks Jerseys Cheap Blues Jerseys Cheap Lightning Jerseys Cheap Maple Leafs Jerseys Cheap Canucks Jerseys Cheap Golden Knights Jerseys Cheap Capitals Jerseys Cheap Winnipeg Jets Jerseys ' ' '