TORONTO - Jermain Defoe has been where Gilberto is — under the microscope and unable to score goals. Defoe insists its only a matter of time before his Toronto FC strike partner starts finding the net. And hes told Gilberto the same thing several times. "Everyones trying to talk to him, not just me. The manager and everyone. . . all the boys are just trying to be positive," Defoe said. "Im sure hes experienced enough to know its just a matter of time. Hes been unlucky. "Hopefully when he gets the first one, hell score many more. Still got a long way to go, its a long season." Toronto FC (4-4-1) hosts the Columbus Crew (4-4-4) at BMO Field on Saturday, a game that coach Ryan Nelsen said, in the event of a victory, could "springboard us forward for the rest of the season" Gilberto was part of Torontos much-celebrated off-season makeover, acquired to boost the clubs underpowered offence. The 24-year-old Brazilian has come oh so close numerous times, banging shots off the post and sending balls just wide of the net. But he remains without a goal in eight Major League Soccer appearances. And with his near-misses comes increasing scrutiny, which Defoe said comes "part and parcel with playing football." "I suppose at any level really where youve got to perform, people will expect you to perform, and obviously if you dont people are going to ask questions," Defoe said after Fridays practice at the clubs sun-drenched training grounds just north of the city. "But on the flip side, when youre playing well and youre scoring goals, everyone loves it and you get all the praise. So if its not going well, I suppose you have to just take it on the chin, as they say in England." Nelsen joked that hes played through goal-scoring droughts that lasted years — he, of course, was a defender. But he believes the scrutiny is a bit unfair. "Strikers, they get referred to as goalscoring, with defenders its conceding, . . sometimes (playing) just feels wrong. And its not just in football, its in your job," Nelsen told reporters. "You have a couple of months where its just tough, things just dont seem to go your way. Its life. "The only trouble in our job is everybody is watching you when it happens. Everybody talks about it, everybody wants to know about it, everybodys picking your brain about it. You all go through it, sometimes its just more out front, its just right out there in the media." Gilberto scored 14 goals in 24 games for Portuguesa of Brazils top division last season. He signed with Toronto as a Designated Player in December, and is set to earn US$1.2 million this season — 12th highest in MLS. One TFC official mused before the season kicked off that the Brazilian may score even more goals than Defoe, but the former Tottenham Hotspur striker leads the way with four goals in six games. "I think every striker has been through spells where at some stage in the season you might go a few games without scoring," Defoe said. "But youve just got to keep working hard and getting into position where youre going to score. Youve got to remain positive and thats all you can do really. "Obviously its difficult because your confidence gets really low. But hes working hard. Im sure its just a matter of time before he scores." Defoe missed Torontos previous game against Columbus with a hamstring injury — a 2-0 road victory on April 5 that boosted the teams record to 3-1. Both Defoe and Nelsen said they like where the team is positioned right now. Theres a sense that its turned the corner after a disappointing stretch. "Were starting to strengthen ourselves and trust our squad and get a bit hardened," Nelsen said. "Going to have our ups and downs of course, but were starting to become an MLS squad which is literally competitive in every game. And considering what we inherited here, its a good little evolution. "I know everybody wants to just flip the switch and you go from nobodies to champions overnight and it doesnt happen like that. If you just step back, you can look where we were and look where we are, you kind of see an evolution or developments that other teams — probably because they werent as low as us — are not making. Thats what I like about our team, everybodys just getting a wee bit better, and the squads just getting a wee bit better every day." Nelsen was happy to have midfielders Jonathan Osorio (hamstring) and Jackson Goncalves (concussion) back practising Friday. The two will be available to play against the Crew. "Im anxious to come back. I hate missing games, obviously. I even hate missing practices," said the Toronto-born Osorio. "Im more excited that Im healthy, Im feeling good, so Im excited (Saturday) to just play without any worries, without any knocks on me, and to be 100 per cent." The club will be missing captain and defender Steven Caldwell, who will serve his suspension for a red-card he received in Torontos last league game — a 2-2 draw at Kansas City. Coincidentally, Toronto was also missing Caldwell in last months meeting. "Hopefully we can repeat that (win with him)," Nelsen said. "But I think youve seen in Bradley Orr, and Doneil Henry and Nick Hagglund weve got some pretty decent cover there, so hopefully whoever plays at centre back will be right up for it." Toronto will also be without recently-acquired midfielder Collen Warner. "His brother is getting married in Denver, and hes the best man," Nelsen said. "On several levels, us guys may have told him to tell his brother hes making a bad mistake," Nelsen added, laughing. "(Warner) says hes batting well above his average, so he should do it as soon as he can so. . . To tell you the truth, thats like me exactly." 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The staff and players of the San Antonio Spurs had a hectic off-season, but not even the busiest day this summer could make them forget what might have been just three months ago. San Antonio was five seconds away from winning its fifth NBA title only to watch the Miami Heat rally for an improbable 103-100 overtime victory in Game 6. Almost as heartbreaking was a 95-88 loss in Game 7 that gave the Heat their second consecutive title and handed the Spurs their first series loss in the NBA Finals. "Suffice to say Ive thought about it every day," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "Im wondering if it will go away, Im anxious for it to happen, but it hasnt happened yet." Returning to the court as a team should help ease the pain. Thats what the players and coaches are hoping for. The Spurs open a four-day training camp in Tuesday at the Air Force Academy near Colorado Springs, Colo. "As time goes on, as we all know in our lives, you get back to the day-to-day stuff pretty easily, because its the nature of life," Popovich said. "Basketball might be like the 11th- or 12th-most important thing on your list. So, its time to get over it." Thats the mentality the veteran Spurs take into their 18th season under Popovich, but its one that will be different in a number of ways. San Antonios Big Three of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili return to a roster basically unchanged from last season. Still, the bench is going to look vastly different after assistants Mike Budenholzer and Brett Brown left to become head coaches at Atlanta and Philadelphia, respectively. "We really dont know yet (what impact the departures will have)," Ginobili said. "But, for sure, were going to miss them. If any of us had a doubt during the game we would go bother Brett probably before Pop because Pop is doing so many things and controlling other stuff that if you have a question you go to them because you knew they were going to think the same as Pop." Jim Boylen, formerly of the Pacers, was added to the coaching staff along with former Spurs player Sean Marks. Popovich joked he may turn over player instruction during training camp to his Big Three because he will be too busy "coaching the coaches." The Spurs have added Marco Belinelli, Corey Maggette, Sam Young and Jeff Ayres, who changed his surnamee from Pendergraph in the off-season, through free agency.dddddddddddd Maggette and Young will compete to spell Kawhi Leonard, the talented third-year forward who is expected to take on a bigger role in the teams offence after a breakout campaign last year. Leonard averaged 11.9 points and 6.0 rebounds last season and had a career playoff-high 22 points as well as 11 rebounds and three steals in Game 6 against Miami. "I think Kawhi is the new Parker, Ginobili and Duncan kind of guy," Popovich said. "Hes going to take over as the star of the show as time goes on. Hes been phenomenal. Hes improved more quickly than any other player weve ever had because his mindset is such that he wants to be great and he has all the reasons to be so we have to put him in position where he can be a great player." Leonards development will be needed on a veteran team that many thought was too old to make it past the first round let alone to fall in a heartbreaking defeat in the Finals. Can San Antonio overcome that disappointment for another improbable run? The Spurs can look to their French teammates to see a rebirth is possible. Parker, Boris Diaw and Nando De Colo took some of the sting out of their Finals loss by defeating Lithuania on Sept. 22 to claim Frances first title in the European Championships. "I had a great summer," Parker said. "Obviously it was worth it. Big win for France, first win in history. That last week it was an experience that you only live once in a lifetime; it was crazy in France." Popovich was proud of his players, but jokingly said he wasnt going to take it easy on Parker during training camp even though his All-Star point guard spent most of the off-season playing for Frances national team. "No, what does he make, like $200 million a year?" Popovich said with a wry smile. Still, the jovial mood didnt quite hide the disappointment he said he continues to feel. A former player and assistant coach with the Air Force Academy, Popovich said holding training camp in a new environment should quicken the team bonding. "Its going to be a lot of fun, just to do something different," Popovich said. "Take them to altitude, take them to mountains; get them away from everything. It will help the coaches. And look at the players that have been her for a while, it will be good for them to meet the new coaches. Weve got some new players in camp, so its a good camaraderie thing." 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