THE MATCHUP: "The Unexcusables" need to raid Windy City

La Brocca, Mista, Harden and Peterson take practice seriously

CHICAGO FIRE (11TH) VS. TORONTO FC (9TH)

Toyota Park - Wednesday 8:30 PM ET
TV: SPORTSNET ONTARIO & PACIFIC
　
"You wanna know how to get to the playoffs? They pull a knife, you pull a gun. They send one of ours to the hospital, we send one of theirs to the morgue. That's the Chicago way! And that's how you get to the playoffs. Now do you want to do that?" In a perfect world, Toronto FC's head coach would be like The Untouchables' "Malone" and give a pre-match speech like that. Instead, TFC has Preki.
　
For a man who seems like such a hard nut with the media and his players, Preki sure has seemed like a whiny excuse merchant lately. Of course it's part of his job to soothe the player's wounded egos but it's time for some hard truths on the road. One win away from BMO Field all year cannot be glossed over any longer with post-match comments such as "unlucky" "fatigued" "working hard" and "teamwork".
　
Make no mistake, if TFC can't grab points in Chicago on Wednesday it will be a major blow to the very slim hope The Reds have at post-season play. With Chicago right behind Toronto in the standings but with two games in hand, this match definitely falls under the "must win" category. Luckily, with the Canadian Internationals returning, the excuses should be at a minimum. However, if this season does sputter to an end like the past three, there will be many calls for Preki's excuse laden press conferences to be a thing of the past.
　
MANUFACTURED DERBY NAME: "The Playoff Prohibitioner"
　
AL CAPONE'S VAULTS: Freddie Ljungberg, Nery Castillo, Brian McBride
MO JOHNSTON'S BASEMENT: Dwayne De Rosario, Julian de Guzman, Stefan Frei
　
THE ODDS:
- Preki calling the team "unlucky" : 2-1
- Preki hailing "The great atmosphere in the locker room" : 2-1
- Preki promising that TFC will "continue to work hard" : 2-1
- Preki wondering aloud "what the f*** Mo Johnston has been doing for 5 years?" : 1000-1
　
WHO ARE YA?
- Chicago Fire were once again listed in FIFA's "Top Ten Clubs named for human suffering" finishing above San Jose Earthquakes, FK Rapid Bloodloss and FC Hi-Speed Lokomotiv Collision Moscow
- Brian McBride's announced retirement has upset Illinois newspaper editors who fear they will miss out on the headline "Always a McBridesmaid, never a McBride" if Chicago fails to reach the MLS Cup
- Did you know that Chicago Fire won the MLS Cup in their first year of existence? Did you know that TFC's fourth season will be considered a "major success" if they simply reach the playoffs?
- Chicago's form has improved greatly since the firing of ex-coach Denis Hamlett who loved Windy City cuisine so much that he insisted that the club's water bottles be filled instead with blended Chicago deep-dish pizza
　
LAKE MICHIGAN SAYS: 2-0 Chicago
LAKE ONTARIO SAYS: 0-0 Draw
HEADLINE: "TFC A McBRIDESMAID, NEVER A McBRIDE" (I did it!)

Post-match Preki: Adding to The Windy City