PHILADELPHIA - Toronto FC has pulled off its complicated striker swap.Jermain Defoe reportedly passed a medical in Sunderland on Wednesday. And two sources with knowledge of the deal said Black Cats striker Jozy Altidore will become a Toronto FC player.The U.S. international, who has agreed to terms, is due in Toronto on Thursday for a medical with a contract signing to follow if all goes well.There was no official word from either club or Major League Soccer as of Wednesday evening.Altidore had to go through the MLS allocation process designed to regulate the return of U.S. internationals or certain other players to the North American league — although the rules have been somewhat fluid recently when the players involved have star power.Toronto currently stands sixth on the list, behind the Montreal Impact, San Jose Earthquakes, Colorado Rapids, Chicago Fire and Houston Dynamo.Thats not a barrier if the clubs above elect to pass on Altidore, given their current roster and his high salary cost. They can retain their position in the allocation ladder by simply standing aside.Teams can also trade their position in the allocation rankings.But in a league that sticks its finger into every pie, there may have been concern about Altidore joining fellow U.S. international star Michael Bradley north of the border.Altidore, a New Jersey native, made his pro debut in 2006 at just 16 with the New York Red Bulls — the same franchise that lost its marquee player, Thierry Henry, to retirement in the off-season.With the arrival of a second team in the Big Apple in the form of expansion New York City FC, there is incentive for the league to ensure that the Red Bulls remain vibrant.Defoe was just part of the Sunderland deal. Torontos goal was to swap strikers with cash coming back to Canada to help fund the acquisition of other players.A source said Toronto had its eye on two possible attacking midfielders currently playing in Europe.Juventus Sebastian Giovinco, out of contract at the end of the season, was reportedly one target. But he has been linked to a move to Monaco.Toronto FC coach Greg Vanney, in Philadelphia with other club officials for Thursdays MLS SuperDraft, said he had asked to stay out of the blow-by-blow developments of the Defoe-Altidore deal.Honestly, this thing changes every 15 minutes, he told The Canadian Press on Wednesday. I really truly dont know exactly where it is at this moment.Were hoping something get sorted out sooner rather than later, he added. The cloudiness is enough already for me.Unlike North American wheeling and dealings where contracts move with the player, soccer transactions outside MLS require both clubs to strike an agreement and for the player (s) involved to agree to terms with the new club.It is less complicated if the player is out of contract, which is not the case with Defoe or Altidore. A source said the Sunderland deal was not Defoes first choice. The former Tottenham and West Ham player preferred another deal on the table — its believed he had wanted to land with a London-area team.The presence of Sunderland manager Gus Poyet, a former Tottenham player and assistant manager, may have tipped the scales — along with the clubs reported willingness to keep Defoes rich paycheque coming.Sunderland (3-7-11) currently stands 16th in the Premier League, just two positions and a single point above the drop zone.With 18 goals in 21 games, Sunderland needs scoring help. Only Aston Villa, with 11 goals in 21 games, has scored less in Englands top tier.While the 25-year-old Altidore had a fine scoring record in the Netherlands prior to joining Sunderland, England has proved a different story.A Sky Sports graphic notes that Defoe has 124 goals in 391 Premier League games for a strike rate of one goal every 3.1 games. In contrast, Altidore has two goals in 68 games for a strike rate of one in 34.Adding spice to the proposed swap is U.S. national team coach Juergen Klinsmann, who told SI.com that while it was Altidores decision, he would rather the striker stay in Europe because I think hes a Champions League player. He has that potential, the talent to do so.Now if there is no solution in Europe for him, if the next solution for him is MLS, thats totally cool with me. I have no problem with that.Altidore has 25 goals in 76 appearances for the U.S. national team.He joined Sunderland in July 2013 for six million pounds (C$10.9 million) after scoring 38 goals in 67 appearances for Dutch club AZ Alkmaar.___Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter. Igor Larionov Jersey . Beckham says "nothing has been confirmed yet, but its something I am very excited about." He adds that "Miami is something that really excites me because there is a great energy down there. Todd Bertuzzi Jersey .5 million. University officials released the term sheet signed by Harsin Wednesday, the day the former Broncos walk-on player and Boise native was named the successor to Chris Petersen, who left for Washington last week. http://www.officialcanuckspro.com/Kirk-m...canucks-jersey/. The group of Slava Fetisov, Igor Larionov, Vladimir Konstantinov, Sergei Fedorov, & Slava Kozlov were a dominant force for The Wings at one point in the 90s. Michael Del Zotto Jersey . Linemates Ryan Johansen and Boone Jenner each had a goal and an assist in the first period, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 36 saves to lead the Blue Jackets past the Florida Panthers 4-1 on Saturday night. Alexander Mogilny Jersey . -- David Price didnt think he would be in Port Charlotte this spring. ORLANDO, Fla. -- After Toronto locked up its first post-season berth since 2008 last week, coach Dwane Casey cautioned the Raptors to not get complacent down the stretch with teams still vying for playoff position. Hes hoping that a nearly disastrous letdown against Orlando will send a stronger message. DeMar DeRozan had 28 points, Jonas Valanciunas added 20 points and nine rebounds, and the Raptors escaped with a 98-93 victory over the Magic on Sunday night. Toronto led by as many as 21 points before having to stave off Orlandos late charge. Trailing 96-93 with 8.9 seconds to play, the Magic had the ball and an opportunity to tie the game. But coming out of a timeout they failed to inbound the ball, turning it over on a 5-second violation. DeRozan was fouled and hit a pair of free throws to save the win. "They saw the 20-point lead and like any NBA team, they let their guard down," Casey said. "Thats a development weve got to have -- to keep the intensity, keep your foot on their neck and keep it down." Kyle Lowry added 16 points. The win was the Raptors third in a row and seventh straight over the Magic. Toronto swept the season series 3-0. "We still havent done anything yet in this league. We havent played a playoff game, we havent won a playoff series, we havent done anything, so we still have a long way to go and we understand that," DeRozan said. "Its time to take the next step, finish the season off strong, and then the next step will come after that." Nik Vucevic led the Magic with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Jameer Nelson and Victor Oladipo each added 16 points. Orlando shot 55 per cent for the game, but also had 19 turnovers that led to 19 Raptors points. DeRozan had more free-throw attempts (16) than the entire Magic team. Asked about the 27-14 discrepancy in attempts between the teams, Orlando coach Jacque Vaughn brushed it off. "Im just going to say the referees were great throughout the game. Ill leave it at that," Vaughn said. After struggling offennsively for most of the second half, the Magic cut a 21-point deficit to 76-73 on a layup by Tobias Harris with 9:53 to play in the game.dddddddddddd A driving layup by Oladipo a few possessions later tied it at 78. Orlando had a chance to take the lead, but came up empty on a pair of 3-pointers. The Raptors settled down and carved out an 87-80 cushion on a pair of free throws by DeRozan with 5:16 remaining. Harris trimmed it to 93-88 with 1:21 left, but DeRozan responded on the ensuing possession with a 3 to push it back to eight. It was 96-90 when a Toronto turnover gave the Magic the ball and some life with under a minute to play. Arron Afflalo took advantage with a 3-pointer to cut it to 96-93. Lowrys layup rolled off the side of the rim on the Raptors next touch, giving the Magic their chance to tie with 8.9 seconds remaining. But thats when Maurice Harkless failed to inbound the ball within 5 seconds. "Just good defence by Toronto, denying the basketball in," Vaughn said. "The good thing is well continue to be in those situations and well get better at accomplishing it." The Raptors led 57-38 at the half, but struggled to shake free of the Magic early on. Orlando led 20-18 in the first quarter before Toronto closed the period with a 9-2 spurt. It continued at the start of the second quarter with a 17-4 run that gave the Raptors an 18-point cushion. Valanciunas led the surge with 16 first-half points. Casey said his team needs to work on its mental approach before the playoffs. "Were still learning to put games away, (and) not make games interesting at the end," he said. "Weve got to learn to put them away so we wont be fighting so hard the last minute or two." NOTES: Vucevic recorded his 36th double-double of the season. ... Raptors F Patrick Paterson missed his 13th straight game with a right ulnar collateral sprain. ... G Greivis Vasquez returned to the game in the second half after receiving five stiches to his left cheek following a collision in the first half. 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