TORONTO -- Michael Bradley sat dejected in his locker stall, almost lost for words as Toronto FCs season looped to another loss. Cant defend. Cant score. Cant win. Repeat and add another loss to the standings. That was the bottom line of a 2-0 defeat Saturday afternoon at the hands of the Philadelphia Union that saw first-half goals by Conor Casey and Andrew Wenger extend Torontos MLS misery. "Weve been through this before," Bradley said with a sigh after a long pause. "To be quite honest, you get sick and tired talking about it . . . When you constantly dig yourself these kind of holes then you know its going to be hard to come back and get anything out of the game." Toronto (9-11-6) has lost three straight via shutout, is winless in five (0-4-1) and has just three victories in its last 15 outings (3-7-5). Toronto has dropped 31 of 45 points over that period. The club that once talked of making BMO Field its fortress has not won there since July 12 (0-3-2) and now has a 5-6-2 record at home in 2014. Still Toronto came hard in the second half at a Philadelphia side that had two first-half goals in its back pocket. The home side hit the woodwork three times, only to see its goalless streak stretch to 280 minutes. "I think we have more," said manager Greg Vanney, whose record at the helm dropped to 0-2-0. "We have to be better. It wasnt good enough. "We have eight matches left. We have a full week of training next week. I think its important that we take a good hard look and set our identity, the identity of this team and how were going to push forward for the next eight games and get everybody on the same page. Were still sort of a group moving in one direction and another group moving in another direction" Vanney has been handed an almost impossible task, trying to arrest the slide of a team whose bad habits have been amplified by injury and lack of squad depth at certain positions. Once again, Toronto paid the price for early slack defending before a disappointing crowd -- announced as a sellout of 22,591 but showing plenty of empty seats -- that booed them off the field for the second home game in a row. Toronto is 2-8-4 when it allows the first goal and 7-3-2 when it scores first The team is sliding down the standings like they were a greased pole. Toronto, with 33 points, started the day fourth in the Eastern Conference. It finished the game in fifth and could end up in seventh if Columbus and New York both post wins. "We played like we were a little bit underwater," said Vanney. "Maybe fatigued at a third game in seven days." There was some good news for TFC supporters. Fan favourite Dwayne De Rosario got his first start since April 12 and injured star striker Jermain Defoe, whose future with the club has come into question lately, is expected back in training in Toronto on Sept. 20. Vanney said he expected Defoe to play "soon thereafter." Toronto has games Sept. 21 and 27 and then five more in October. Defoe offered cause for hope for Toronto fans by tweeting: "Big game for boys tonight good luck cant wait to be back out there scoring" Apprised of the Sept. 20 return for Defoe, Bradley said: "Awesome. Sounds good." And he insisted Toronto can turn things around and make the playoffs. "Frustrated for sure but not even close to giving up," said Bradley before taking a glass-half-full view of the schedule. "Theres still a lot of games left, a lot of soccer to be played and a lot of points still on the board. "Anybody that thinks that were ready to pack it in has another thing coming." While Toronto players take a long hard look at themselves, the well-drilled Union (9-9-9) are headed in the other direction. The victory, Philadelphias second in three days over Toronto with Casey scoring in both games, means the Union have won three of four and lost just one of its last nine (5-1-3). Philadelphia is 6-2-3 in MLS play since Jim Curtin was hired as interim manager. "Im happy with the guys performance," said Curtin. "Toronto is a very good team who are missing some pieces right now and we are a little bit fortunate to get them at the time we did." Toronto was without injured defenders Steve Caldwell and Justin Morrow and Canadian midfielder Jonathan Osorio. Veteran Bradley Orr, who played at centre back despite a painful toe injury, declined comment after a difficult day at the office. Vanney said he chose a sore Orr to play because the backline badly needed some experience. Canadian coach Benito Floro did the team a solid by releasing De Rosario and fellow midfielder Kyle Bekker from the national team game for Saturdays game. The 36-year-old De Rosario, showing bursts of energy, got a standing ovation in some quarters when he came off in the 69th minute. Bekker started on the bench, coming in just before halftime for an injured Collen Warner. Vanney and his players had hoped for a fast start to get the fans into the match. Instead it was a late-arriving crowd and Philadelphia went ahead in the eighth minute after a series of botched Toronto clearances allowed Sheanon Williams to deliver a perfect cross to Casey. The burly striker, who played two games for Toronto in its inaugural 2007 season, made no mistake with the header for his eighth of the season. Philadelphia went ahead 2-0 in the 44th minute off a corner and yet another failed clearance. Mark Blooms header went to Williams, who headed it back it to Wenger at the other end of the goal. Wenger, free of any Toronto pressure, headed it in for his fifth goal. Bloom had Torontos best chance to date in the 54th minute when his long-range shot bounced off the post. Nick Hagglunds bicycle kick went just wide minutes later. Bradley forced a save off a diving Zac MacMath in the 66th minute. A header by Brazils Jackson hit the crossbar in the 77th minute and Bekker slammed a ball off the crossbar in the 90th minute after his free kick came back to him. The Philadelphia defence bent but didnt break. Toronto had 16 attempts on goal -- including 12 in the second half -- but only put three on target compared to 12 (seven on target) for the Union. Randy Johnson Jersey . Almost 40 years to the day, the two teams will meet again, this time at BC Place, to celebrate the past and try to earn important points for the present. Luis Gonzalez Jersey . Yahoo! Sports columnist Marc Spears says that the Boogie Smooth album may have been an elaborate April Fools prank. http://www.diamondbackssale.com/diamondb...lta-jersey/.The surgery was performed by Dr. William Meyers at the Vincera Institute in Philadelphia.Letestu had three goals and two assists in nine games before being injured in late October.The 29-year-old has 54 goals and 65 assists in 273 career NHL games, including 39 goals and 51 assists in 188 games with the Blue Jackets. Alex Avila Diamondbacks Jersey . The Kings paraded the Stanley Cup through downtown Los Angeles on Monday to celebrate their second NHL title in three seasons. Jake Lamb Diamondbacks Jersey .James scored 29 points, including 16 in the first quarter, and the Cleveland Cavaliers broke a four-game losing streak with a 106-74 win over the Orlando Magic on Monday night.CHAMROUSSE, France -- If Vincenzo Nibali was looking happier Friday after the Tour de France rode into the Alps, heres why: His top rival fell out of contention, he gained nearly a minute on his next-biggest challenger and oh, he won Stage 13 to boot. On a sunbaked and melting Alpine road, the 29-year-old Italian, cemented his control of cyclings greatest race with a solo-finish victory that was an afterthought to gaining time on other title contenders. Team Skys Richie Porte, who began the day in second, saw his title hopes all but vanish after he lost about 9 minutes to Nibali on the last climb along the grueling 197.5-kilometre (122-mile) trek from Saint-Etienne to Chamrousse ski station. Ever cautious, calm and understated after his stage win, Nibali noted that three big Alpine climbs still await Saturday and other punishing ascents are on tap in the Pyrenees next week. "For the coming days, I only know that I have to remain quiet," he said. But in the winners circle, where he collected the yellow jersey for the 11th time this year, Nibali perhaps let slip a bit more happy emotion -- knowing that a first Tour victory for an Italian since Marco Pantani in 1998 just got a little closer. "I expect more attacks tomorrow in another very hard stage and next week," Nibali said. "My advantage over Porte is good now. Hes the rider I feared the most in the closing time trial." If Nibalis mountain dominance keeps up -- on Monday, he won the only other high-mountain stage so far -- the 54-kilometre (33-mile) time-trial in Stage 20 from Bergerac to Perigueux is the only real challenge left in his way. The unexpected has gone Nibalis way. He surprised himself by winning an up-and-down Stage 2 stage in the hills and dales of Yorkshire and capturing his first Tour yellow jersey. He mastered cobblestone treachery in Stage 5, when 2012 Tour champ Chris Froome crashed out. And then, two-time Tour winner Alberto Contador went out five stages later after a fast downhill crash fractured his tibia. In a sport where many dominant riders in past years later turned out to be drugs cheats, Nibali confronted the issue of doping a day earlier, saying he expected questions about it. "This theme belongs to the past," he said, crediting recent efforts like enhanced testing and the biological passport to clean it up. This 101st Tour could become the third straight in which the winner locked up victory from before the halfway point. Last year, Froome was in yellow from the eighth stage onward. In 2012, Bradley Wiggins had the shirt for good after Stage 7. Nibali tookk it in Stage 2, lost it in Stage 9, and regained it a day later.ddddddddddddHes hoping to take it home after a largely ceremonial ride on the Champs-Elysees in Paris on July 27. A comeback by a rival would be exceptional by recent standards. After the 13th stage last year, Froome had three other riders within minutes. In 2012, Wiggins had only two. After Fridays ride, no one is within three minutes of Nibali. The first of two days in the snow-capped Alps lived up to its billing as the daunting final climb of 18 kilometres (12 miles) with an average 7.3 per cent gradient shook up the overall standings. The ride was hot: black tar on the recently resurfaced road to Chamrousse melted. Big crowds lined the route, including fans dressed as superheroes and one as a scantily clad Borat -- the Sacha Baron Cohen film character. As riders embarked on the final climb, the pack was mostly together and Valverdes Movistar team was pushing the pace. But when it hit the steepest part, Porte struggled and dropped off the back and Nibali briefly turned his head to look. Valverde attacked a short while later, but Nibali and the others reeled him in. Nibali said he felt "better and better" as he climbed, despite the heat of more than 30 degrees Celsius (86 F). When the Italian saw "Richie Porte in trouble," he turned his attention to gaining time on Valverde, he said. After two riders raced ahead, the Italian leader struck -- jumping out of his saddle, and pedaling while standing in the upright riding position known in French as "la danseuse" or the dancer. He overtook them, and went on to win. Portes troubles also meant others climbed in the standings: Frances Romain Bardet moved up to third, countryman Thibaut Pinot was fourth, and American Tejay van Garderen fifth. Nibali appeared to be taking a risk that his effort to distance his rivals could come back to haunt him. By his own admission a day earlier, he said that he feared the second Alpine day more. Saturdays 177-kilometre (110-mile) stage takes riders over three tough climbs from Grenoble to Risoul -- including the Izoard pass that is one of the hardest under cyclings ranking system. Some of his rivals seem to be accepting that Nibali may win. "Vincenzo is the strongest rider in the race, but after him, there is a place to take," Bardet said, referring to the final podium. Nibali "played it well", said FDJ.FR team manager Marc Madiot. "Now he can say Ive got all the cards, I can do what I want, when I want and if you try to slap me, I give two slaps in return." ' ' '