TORONTO -- James Hinchcliffe didnt know how terrible he has been in his hometown race.
Dezmen Southward Falcons Jersey . He was aware his history in Toronto wasnt great -- last year in particular was embarrassing for him -- but he was surprised that four years into his IndyCar career the best he has finished at the Honda Indy Toronto is eighth. "Is that the best Ive done is eighth? I knew it was bad, I didnt realize it was that bad," said Hinchcliffe on Thursday. "Hows it feel? Yeah with those stats great. I mean who wouldnt be excited?" Hinchcliffe is quick to point out how excited he is to return to the track he credits with getting him involved in racing. But all the love the Oakville, Ont., native shows the 85-lap, 2.81-kilometre street course at Exhibition Place hasnt been reciprocated with checkered flags. The 27-year-old Andretti Autosport driver could use some love. His season entering the doubleheader this weekend has been plagued by disappointing results, mechanical issues, collisions and even a concussion after being hit by debris at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. Hinchcliffe hasnt lacked for speed. Hes started second in 5-of-12 races so far, but hasnt finished on the podium. Hes been close -- he might have won a race in Houston if he hadnt pitted late and got stuck behind yellow flags -- but with six races left Hinchcliffe is starting to wonder what else might happen before the season ends in August. "Running for a podium in Indy GP and somebody smoked me in the head with a piece of a wing. I mean, like why does that happen? Who does that happen to? Its just been one of those years," said Hinchcliffe. "It is frustrating certainly because I dont think the results match the effort in the job that the whole team is doing. But at the end of the day were sleeping well at night because were I think executing very well and its just really been a function of wrong place, wrong time a lot of the time this year." Hinchcliffes bad luck appeared to be on the verge of ending when he returned from the concussion to qualify second for the Indianapolis 500. But even that hope ended when he collided with Ed Carpenter. Barring a miracle run -- hes 11th overall in the points race -- Hinchcliffe can be forgiven for being reduced to sarcasm when asked how he can salvage the season. "Well I figure, Ill win both of these ones. And then in Ohio. And then Milwaukee, Sonoma and Fontana and I call the year a success," he said. "Really no reason to aim for anything less than that at this point because were pretty far out of it. "Like I said, were just bummed that we havent had the results that we feel we deserve for the effort weve been putting forward. I really want to get a couple of strong results in there for the guys, and for myself or (sponsor) United Fiber And Data, for everybody because I genuinely think that these guys deserve it." By default Hinchcliffe is Canadas only hope to win the Honda Indy Toronto after Alex Tagliani of Lachenaie, Que., departed IndyCar in the off-season. Torontos Paul Tracy was the last Canadian to win the event in 2003. Hinchcliffe finished third at Exhibition Place in his first season in the Indy Lights developmental series. But the IndyCar event has only become progressively worse for him, culminating in the second race last year when a stuck throttle kept him from starting on the grid and ended in a last-place finish among cars still on the track. This year he has predictably low expectations. "I just assume its going to go poorly. Its not really a superstition as much as it is a statistical thing," he said before recalling a collision with Tracy in 2011 and an engine failure that knocked him out of contention in 2012. "Ive had it all here. Maybe now finally theres nothing left to happen. I mean (I) literally didnt even make the start of the race last year. It cant get any worse than that." Hinchcliffe knocked on the table in front of him just in case. "My engineer would kill me for saying that because now Ill get hit by a meteor or something."
Steven Jackson Falcons Jersey .Brothers B.J. and Justin Upton each homered and had an outfield assist, and the Braves held on for a 4-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday night.
Javier Arenas Falcons Jersey . Eller scored the midway through the third period after Dallas scored twice to tie it, leading Canadiens to a 6-4 win over the Stars on Thursday night.RALEIGH, N.C. -- After being outscored 10-2 in the first two games of a five-game road trip, the Phoenix Coyotes had reason to wish they could pack their bags and return to Arizona. "It was a morgue around here -- nobody was happy, everybody was miserable," said Rob Klinkhammer. The mood on the team has certainly changed in the course of three games over five days. Klinkhammer scored two goals Sunday, including the game-winner 22 seconds into the third period, to help the Coyotes pick up a 5-3 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday. Shane Doan, Mikkel Boedker and Lauri Korpikoski had Phoenixs other goals. Mike Smith made 31 saves for the Coyotes, who closed a five-game road trip by winning in Detroit, Philadelphia and Carolina. "It turns out to be a great road trip," Klinkhammer said. Eric Staal, Riley Nash and Jeff Skinner scored for the Hurricanes. Cam Ward made nine saves after coming on with 10:08 left in the second period to replace starting netminder Anton Khudobin. Khudobin suffered a lower-body injury when he skated out to play the puck. Ward allowed three of Phoenixs goals. "A few guys came ready to play and battle and play their game, but we had too many passengers tonight," said Carolina coach Kirk Muller. "We had some of our top guys that just didnt bring their A game tonight." With the score tied at 3 at the start of the third period, Carolinas Staal gambled in the offensive zone. He couldnt corral the puck, instead allowing Klinkhammer to skate forward on a 2-on-1. Klinkhammer decided not to pass, snapping the puck past Wards glove. "Thats a tough pass to make on your off side there, so I just came down and shot it, and it went in," Klinkhammer said. Doan then gave the Coyotes an insurance goal with 12:49 left when he scored on the power play. Doan also had an assist for his first two points of the year. "At some point, you have to start helping," DDoan said.
Jacquizz Rodgers Falcons Jersey. "The last few games, Ive been playing better and been on the ice for goals for and opportunities, but nothing was going in. I fortunately got one tonight to get off the schneid and get going out there." The relatively high-scoring game broke the mould of Phoenixs other victories -- the Coyotes had allowed four goals in their first three wins compared to 10 goals allowed in their two losses. Phoenix had a strong start, outshooting Carolina 8-1 in the first 12 minutes and scoring the first goal. With Carolinas Alexander Semin in the penalty box for hooking, the Coyotes Derek Morris took a shot that hit the post. Boedker cleaned up the rebound, taking advantage of the fact Khudobin was out of position. The Hurricanes tied the score when a Phoenix clearing attempt bounced to Staal, who was in front of the net. Staal backhanded the puck past Smith. Both teams scored twice in the second period. Nash started things off for the Hurricanes when he deflected a Ryan Murphy shot from the point above Smiths glove. The Coyotes then had consecutive goals to take a 3-2 lead. First, Klinkhammer finished a scrum in the crease by poking the puck through Khudobins pads. After Khudobins injury, Korpikoski finished a nice passing play with Mike Ribeiro by one-timing the puck past Ward. The Hurricanes tied the score at 3 with less than 1 minute left in the second period when Skinner snapped a sharp-angle shot that went off Smiths helmet and into the net for a power-play goal. Up until that point, Phoenix had killed off Carolinas first six power plays, including 1:56 of a two-minute advantage earlier in the second. "We dont score on the 5-on-3, and it just dropped the whole life out of our team," Muller said. Tuomo Ruutu played in his first game of the season for the Hurricanes after missing the teams first five games with a lower-body injury. Muller had no update on Khudobins status other than hed undergo an MRI on Monday.
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