Monday news conferences and talk of the weather

Early weather forecasts for Toronto all say the same thing: Brrrr!

Temperature at game time should be in the high 30s. Oh, and there’s a 30 percent chance of rain.

FYI, if you haven’t been to BMO Field, it’s a wonderful ground on the quaint Exhibition Place fairgrounds, right off beautiful Lake Ontario. Well, it is beautiful … unless you’re talking about the wind whipping off that bad boy on a chilly November night. Which … well, you get it. Brrr!

Dallas manager Schellas Hyndman, along with goalkeeper Kevin Hartman addressed the media today on a national teleconference. Rapids manager Gary Smith and striker Omar Cummings followed. Hyndman admitted that Colorado, who played their semifinal in 32 degree temperatures Saturday in Commerce City, probably have a little edge due to familiarity.

“That’s not to say they can’t adapt,” Smith said of Sunday's opponent. “But generally we have had to adapt to what we have at the moment, something falling out of the sky, a little bit cooler [temperatures], perhaps some wind, conditions that aren’t just straight forward.”

Neither Hyndman nor Hartman seemed too bothered by the prospects of meteorological nastiness. “It’s a game of a lifetime,” Hyndman said. “When you’ve worked nine and a half months to get to this stage, you’re not going to let weather or anything else affect your positive thoughts.” Translation from the martial arts master: they’re focused and excited and not about to whine about the weather.

Both coaches talked a bit about the teams’ meetings this year, a pair of draws. It’s fair to say that Colorado out-played Dallas in the 2-2 draw at Pizza Hut Park in October. But this important point should be made: Dallas was missing three important starters that afternoon, Daniel Hernandez, Kevin Hartman and Ugo Ihemelu. Dario Sala gave up a soft goal, and Jackson is not anything close to Hernandez as a leader of as a defensive screener in Dallas’ 4-1-4-1.