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Dressed in civvies and a hoodie to hide the damage, a sheepish looking Nigel Reo Coker emerged at training Thursday following his Sunday night stumble. The injury was gruesome, enough to keep the midfielder out of this weekends clash with Houston. The bruise to Reo-Cokers ego and reputation, however, might be more damaging. The former Villa and West Ham recruit has not had a stellar start to 2014. He dazzled once during the season opener beautifully setting up Pedro Moraless first MLS goal in the late stages, but that was a rare foray into the front third. At Chivas, he coughed up the ball in a bad area at a bad time, and the 10 men Goats took full advantage. In addition, against New England he had his pocket picked on a couple of occasions and was fortunate that neither led to a serious goal threat. Being substituted in the 60th and 70th minutes of those last two games was an indictment on his fitness. Youd think with a child on the way and a real opportunity in Vancouver to be the catalyst and a leader in a young squad, that "Reo C" would have come to camp in top shape and perhaps give the Whitecaps something to think about long term. At 29-years-old, hes still young, hes the box to box midfielder the Caps need, and he has some excellent supporting characters around him. But he didnt come to camp in shape, and in a simple one-on-one drill at the beginning of last week, he was badly exposed by a potential replacement in young Canadian Bryce Alderson. For all his bluster, Reo Coker has been put in his place, by an inanimate object no less. It might have been his manager sending the message, but now Carl Robinson has been let off the hook by having that decision made for him. What happens from here will define Reo Cokers future in Vancouver. He might view this injury/incident as the motivation needed to put his head down, get fit and let his game do the talking. The alternative will look all too familiar to keen observers of the British Bulldogs career; a departure with questions asked and unanswered followed by a new beginning somewhere else. I for one, hope its the former because its easy to like Nigel Reo Coker the person. Its even easier to like Nigels game when its at its very best. Jared Spurgeon Wild Jersey . -- The Jacksonville Jaguars are bringing back quarterback Chad Henne -- and making him the starter. Minnesota Wild Jerseys . Ireland was the last unbeaten side in the championship after France fell to Wales on Friday, and was favoured to end a three-match losing run to England with a side with more than twice as many caps, rampant momentum, and added incentive to celebrate Brian ODriscolls world record-tying 139th test cap. http://www.authenticwildpro.com/Jt-brown-wild-jersey/ .ca! Hi Kerry, The recent issues in the Boston-Pittsburgh game have highlighted a number of officiating, game control, and player sportsmanship aspects. Joel Eriksson Ek Jersey . While Chelsea stayed two points behind leader Arsenal courtesy of Etoos hat trick, seventh-place United slipped 14 points from the summit this weekend. And the gap from the Champions League places is growing as well, with Liverpool six points ahead in fourth. J.T. Brown Wild Jersey . The Oilers jumped into the free agent market early by signing defencemen Keith Aulie (six-foot-six, 228 pounds) and Mark Fayne (6-3, 210 pounds) and left-winger Benoit Pouliot (6-3, 197-pounds). Two days earlier MacTavish traded lightweight forward Sam Gagner to Tampa Bay for 6-3, 203-pound right winger Ted Purcell.EDMONTON -- Keith Acton has joined the Edmonton Oilers as an associate coach. Acton spent this past season in the Columbus Blue Jackets organization, where he served as an assistant coach. Before joining Columbus in 2012, he served as an assistant coach for 10 seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he worked with current Oilers head coach Dallas Eakins from 2006-2008. He has also spent time as an assisttant coach with the New York Rangers and Philadelphia.dddddddddddd As a player, Acton registered 584 points (226 goals, 358 assists) and 1,172 penalty minutes in 1,023 career NHL games with, Montreal, Minnesota, Edmonton, Philadelphia, Washington and the New York Islanders. The 55-year-old native of Stouffville, Ont., will join Kelly Buchberger, Steve Smith and Frederic Chabot on Eakins staff. ' ' '