TORONTO -- James Hinchcliffe didnt know how terrible he has been in his hometown race. 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." USA Soccer Jerseys 2020 . Brassard and Coyotes defenceman Derek Morris were battling for position in the crease when a nudge from Morris sent Brassard on top of Smith late in the third period. USA Soccer Shirts . Masahiro Tanaka has touched down in the United States and the courting of the Rakuten Golden Eagles stud pitcher has begun in earnest by a bevy of MLB teams interested in the Japanese ace. https://www.cheapusasoccer.com/. 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Dragic was a game-time decision because of a sore right ankle that had kept him out of Wednesdays loss at Utah, but played all but the last 10 seconds of the second half in the first 40-point game for a Phoenix player since Amare Stoudemires 44 on March 19, 2010.LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The Dodgers hired Canadian-born Farhan Zaidi as general manager and Josh Byrnes as senior vice-president of baseball operations Thursday.The moves are the first major ones under Andrew Friedman, who arrived in Los Angeles from Tampa Bay last month as the new president of baseball operations.Zaidi, who was born in Sudbury, Ont., but grew up predominantly in the Philippines, joins the Dodgers as the 11th general manager in club history. The 37-year-old executive spent the last 10 years with Oakland, most recently serving as the clubs assistant GM and director of baseball operations. Zaidi will focus on the major league club and player acquisitions.Zaidi has an economics degree from MIT and a doctorate in economics from California-Berkeley. He replaces Ned Colletti, who is now a senior advviser to team president and CEO Stan Kasten.ddddddddddddWith the As, Zaidis areas of expertise included providing statistical analysis for evaluating and targeting players in the amateur draft, free agent and trade markets. He also worked on arbitration cases, minor league contracts and worked closely with coaches to analyze data from advance scouting reports.Zaidi previously served as business development associate for Small World Media, the fantasy sports division of The Sporting News, and also worked as a management consultant for the Boston Consulting Group.Byrnes will supervise the Dodgers scouting and player development operations after previously working for two of the clubs NL West rivals, Arizona and San Diego. The 44-year-old had previous stints with Cleveland, Colorado and Boston. ' ' '