Its been 14 games and 98 days since Toronto FC fullback Richard Eckersley hurt his hamstring. Somewhat embarrassingly, he suffered the injury celebrating teammate Darel Russells tying goal March 6 against FC Dallas. "Ive learned my lesson," the 24-year-old English defender said with a sheepish smirk. "When other people score then Ill just relax a little bit. But it was the 92nd minute. I think emotions got the better of me. . . . Its happened. I cant really do much about it." Finally healthy - he aggravated the injury during convalescence - Eckersley should see action Saturday as Toronto (2-8-7) visits Sporting Kansas City (8-5-6). Kansas City, which has a 17-point edge over Toronto in the standings, won 2-1 in Chicago last weekend and is undefeated in its last four league outings and in seven of its last eight. Toronto is coming off a bye weekend. Its last outing was July 3 when it blew a 3-1 lead and had to settle for a 3-3 tie with the visiting Montreal Impact. In 2011 and 2012, Eckersley was almost a club constant seeing action in 56 games. This season, the number is just five. Suspensions, international call-ups and injuries have not helped the Toronto backline in recent weeks. Manager Ryan Nelsen has been forced to shift centre back Darren ODea to left fullback and has been playing Ryan Richter at right back in Eckersleys absence. Eckersleys return is welcome for all those reasons. And because he is a tireless runner and a gritty defender who helps drive Toronto. But in the longer run, while the club has said nothing publicly, Eckersleys salary is a problem in a league where the salary cap is a tight US$2.95 million. Listed at $310,000 (and it may be bigger if Toronto has used allocation money to reduce the amount listed against the salary cap), the red-headed Brit makes more than the high-priced defenders voted into the Fan XI for the 2013 all-star game: Kansas Citys Matt Besler ($200,000) and Aurelien Collin ($256,250), and Los Angeles Omar Gonzalez ($282,000). According to the MLS Players Union TFC salary list, Eckersley is the teams third highest-paid player after Dutch striker Danny Koevermans (a designated player with a $1.663-million salary) and defender-captain Darren ODea (whose $465,250 is also problematic). And Eckersleys contract is guaranteed for next season. Spending $300,000-plus on a fullback in MLS is like buying a Prada toilet brush. Its handy and nice to have. But can you justify buying it? Richter, Eckersleys replacement, makes $35,125. The injury has not helped matters, since Eckersley has been reduced to an expensive spectator. Toronto president Kevin Payne, however, admits the club could have handled Eckersleys injury better. "Players, especially younger players like Richard, their enthusiasm sometimes get the better of them," Payne told reporters this week. "And we probably rushed Richard back a little bit or allowed him to rush himself back a little bit. So I think we learned something from that one." Said Eckersley: "I never really rested it the first time round. Obviously I was trying to get back as soon as possible. So I think we didnt give it time to rest and repair itself." He says the injury took a mental toll, "because youre paid to play football and you cant do it." "So you take it out on other members of your family. But they understand. There were times when I was a little bit down but like I say its injuries and youre a footballer, youre a professional athlete and youve got to learn how to deal with them." While Eckersley has been a regular in the TFC lineup, he is no stranger to long-term injury. The former Manchester United youth product had a back injury when he was 17. Striker Danny Koevermans in unavailable Saturday with a calf issue but Robert Earnshaw is healthy again. Toronto is short in midfield with Jonathan Osorio at the Gold Cup with Canada and Luis Silva traded to D.C. United. Still Kansas City manager Peter Vermes calls Toronto an athletic side not to be underestimated. "I think theyre better than they were last year," he told a news conference this week. "I say it all the time. I dont think that record is a good indicator of what kind of team youre playing in this league because theres so much parity." Toronto defeated Kansas City 2-1 at the Rogers Centre in March in the second game of the season for both teams. "I dont think were going to forget that," said Vermes, referring to "soft goals" his team gave away that day. NOTES — Torontos career record in Kansas City is 1-6-1 Cheap MLB Jerseys Free Shipping .H. -- Matt Kenseth made it 2 for 2 in the Chase, holding off teammate Kyle Busch to win Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Discount Baseball Jerseys . The Canadian squad, skipped by Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg, got on the board first with two in the second end, and followed that with two more apiece in the fourth and sixth ends. http://www.wholesalemlbjerseys.us/ . General manager Jarmo Kekalainen told Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch on Friday that he wants to see Gaboriks contributions go beyond the scoresheet before considering a long-term deal for the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent. Wholesale MLB Store . The 27-year-old Scrivens will be joining his third NHL club since signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a free agent in 2010. The move also reunites with him with head coach Dallas Eakins from their time together with the American Hockey Leagues Toronto Marlies. China MLB Jerseys Outlet .com) - The Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks both take aim at their first wins of the season on Saturday, as the Canucks open their home slate at Rogers Arena. GRAPEVINE, Texas - The College Football Playoff selection committee announced its final top four of the season, and No. 1 Alabama, No. 2 Clemson, No. 3 Ohio State and No. 4 Washington will be headed to semifinal games. The only change to the top four was that Clemson jumped the Buckeyes after beating Virginia Tech in the ACC championship.?The selection committees top six1. Alabama 2. Clemson 3. Ohio State 4. Washington 5. Penn State 6. MichiganA change in protocol for committee?The committees top six was vastly different from the first two years of the CFP because for the first time, a team that didnt win its conference title, Ohio State, was included -- instead of the Big Ten champ, Penn State. At 11-1, Ohio State impressed the committee with three wins against top 25 teams, including a road win over Big 12 champ Oklahoma. In spite of the committees high regard for the Big Ten this season, which could make the case as the best league in the country, it left out the conferences champ. It also looked past Michigans decisive 49-10 head-to-head win over Penn State when it ranked the Nittany Lions ahead of Michigan. Penn State will be going to the Rose Bowl as the Big Ten champs.The committtees final verdict calls into question not only the importance of conference championships, but also head-to-head results (as Penn State also beat Ohio State), and strength of schedule (Washingtons nonconference strength of schedule was No.dddddddddddd 127 out of 128 according to ESPNs Stats & Information group.) All of those criteria are listed specifically in the selection committees protocol, and while its a completely subjective, ambiguous system left in the hands of 12 individuals, this ranking is likely to confuse fans, coaches and athletic directors across the country.Nowhere does it say in the committees protocol, though, that a team has to be a conference champion to be in the top four.Playoff impact gamesFriday, Dec. 2Pac-12 championship game: No. 4 Washington 41, ?No. 8 Colorado 10?Saturday, Dec. 3No. 9 Oklahoma 38, No. 10 Oklahoma State 20SEC championship game: No. 1 Alabama 54, No. 15 Florida 16ACC championship game: No. 3 Clemson 42, No. 23 Virginia Tech 35Big Ten championship game:?No. 7 Penn State 38, Wisconsin 31Championship weekend schedule Jerseys NFL China Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys From China Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale China Jerseys NFL Jerseys China Discount Soccer Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys China China NCAA Jerseys Cheap Cheap Nike Dolphins Jerseys Cheap Nike Patriots Jerseys Cheap Nike Jets Jerseys Cheap Nike Bengals Jerseys Cheap Nike Browns Jerseys Cheap Nike Steelers Jerseys Cheap Nike Texans Jerseys Cheap Nike Colts Jerseys Cheap Nike Jaguars Jerseys Cheap Nike Titans Jerseys Cheap Nike Broncos Jerseys ' ' '