TORONTO — Alan Hinton was crestfallen that he wouldn’t be able to make the trip.
Hinton was standing in his usual spot at Sounders practice early last week at Starfire, off the near sideline in the corner, watching his former player Brian Schmetzer coach up his charges.
No, Hinton didn’t think he was going to make it Toronto, he said, voice cracking. He is in remission now, but the four-year war with bladder cancer has taken its toll. At 74, having to take multiple connecting flights and sit out in the freezing cold on game day were just too big of risks.