Toronto

Although Toronto was a late arrival last night, the Thunder made certain it was an early exit for the Rock.Blindsiding Toronto with an 8-2 run, the Thunder built an eight-goal lead early in the third quarter and coasted to a 21-10 win over the Rock before 5,738 at the Baltimore Arena.Toronto, making its National Lacrosse League debut, never seemed to be in sync after arriving only an hour before game time because of fog at Baltimore-Washington International Airport.Gary Gait registered another one-man assault with a personal-best 10 goals and four assists.

The Maryland Mania turned over a new leaf yesterday in its brief A-League existence, but except for the positive of playing on real grass in Arnold instead of plastic in Catonsville found only more bad memories.First, the team, obviously dispirited, probably by front-office cash-flow struggles and the departure of a couple of players, came out flat on its new home field at Anne Arundel Community College and lost its fourth 1-0 match.This one really hurt, because it was to the Eastern Conference's other 1-8, last-place team, the Toronto Lynx.

TORONTO -- Take the two best teams in the National Lacrosse League, put home-field advantage through the postseason on the line, mix in a nearly full house at storied Maple Leaf Gardens, and you'd have every right to expect a feverish matchup played at playoff-intense boil.Which is what the 13,230 paying customers, plus a Canada-wide television audience got in last night's Thunder-Toronto Rock hookup.Toronto's Colin Doyle thrilled them all with his game-winner with just 7 seconds remaining, giving the Rock a 16-15 victory.

A look at the NBA teams on the playoff bubble (the top eight seeds in each conference qualify; current seeding in parentheses):Eastern Conference(5) DetroitRecord, games remaining: 23-18, 9Games remaining vs. winning teams: 4Home (3): 4/22 Philadelphia; 4/28 New Jersey; 5/2 Philadelphia.Away (6): 4/21 Charlotte; 4/25 Toronto; 4/27 Boston; 4/30 Milwaukee; 5/3 Chicago; 5/5 Philadelphia.Skinny: Should not drop out of top eight.(6) MilwaukeeRecord, game remaining: 22-18, 10Games remaining vs. winning teams: 5Home (6)

TORONTO -- Still waiting for Scott Erickson to right himself as the season approaches its midpoint, manager Ray Miller has enlisted the help of former pitching coach and current Home Team Sports broadcaster Mike Flanagan. Flanagan dusted off a sequence of 7-by-9 photos snapped of Erickson last season when he rolled to 16 wins and the league lead in innings pitched.Erickson noted several differences, especially when pitching from the stretch, and tried to correct them during a bullpen session before last night's game against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Cubs: Glenallen Hill's two-homer game yesterday was the 10th of his career. His previous one came last May against Toronto when he was with the Mariners.Pub Date: 4/15/99

The Thunder, knocked out of first place for the first time all season with a loss in Toronto on Friday night, answered with a vengeance last night.It was not unlike a spiffy sports car matching maneuverability and horsepower with a farm vehicle with historic plates the way the home team handled the Syracuse Smash, a team the Thunder lost to on the road two months ago.Everybody, or just about everyone wearing a Baltimore uniform, got involved, as the team...

TORONTO -- Taking another step into "uncharted waters," Cal Ripken was given off last night against the Toronto Blue Jays. Unlike his two scratches last week, manager Ray Miller's decision was based more upon Ripken's performance and personal difficulties than his lower back."

Athletics: The team has home runs in 16 consecutive games. In its three-run third, Oakland sent eight men to the plate but had only three official at-bats.Blue Jays: At nine games over .500 (55-46), Toronto matched its season high. Toronto's 16 wins in July lead the AL. Shawn Green's 23-game hitting streak is the second-longest in team history behind John Olerud's 26-game streak in 1993.Devil Rays: Second baseman Miguel Cairo aggravated a left hamstring injury and left after four innings.

Blue Jays: The attendance was 40,175, the largest of the year at Toronto. Toronto has lost all five games this season to the Yankees.Rangers: Right-hander Mike Morgan missed his scheduled start against the Twins with swelling in his right shin.Tigers: As part of the team's fifth annual salute to the Negro leagues, Detroit players wore replica uniforms of the Detroit Stars while the White Sox were dressed as the Chicago American Giants. Outfielder Juan Encarnacion missed his fourth straight game after suffering a hip pointer Tuesday.

Eliminated from playoff contention long ago, the Blue Jays are finishing with a flourish. They've won a season-high six straight games, including a three-game sweep over the American League wild card-winning Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Overall, Toronto has won nine of 10 games, a streak that started with a three-game sweep of the Orioles last week. The Blue Jays' offense has fueled the late-season surge. The Blue Jays hit 13 homers in the three-game series against Boston and have connected for a total of 46 homers in September, two shy of a team record for any month.

TORONTO - -One thing that has distinguished rookie phenom Chris Tillman from other heralded young Orioles pitchers in the past is that he generally throws strikes. He hadn't walked more than three batters in any of his first 10 big league starts. On Monday, in a 9-2 beating by the Toronto Blue Jays, the Orioles' fifth straight defeat, Tillman again walked only three. But they were issued consecutively in Toronto's three-run third, the turning point in what later became a blowout courtesy of the Orioles' bullpen.

On August 9, 2009 HAZEL TORONTO (nee Cook); mother of Micheal N. and Wanda Y. Cook. She is also survived by four grandchildren, daughter-in-law Rose M. Cook, six sisters, two brothers and a host of other relatives and friends. Friends may visit the family owned MARCH FUNERAL HOME WEST, INC., 4300 Wabash Avenue on Friday after 8:30 a.m. The family will receive friends at St. Paul Community Baptist Church, 1901 E. Federal Street on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. Funeral services will follow at 11:00 a.m.

TOUGH ON ROLEN Orioles pitchers Jason Berken and Matt Albers spoiled the night for Toronto third baseman Scott Rolen, who entered with a 25-game hitting streak, the longest active streak in the majors and a career high for the veteran. Rolen was hitless in four at-bats. DUELING ACTING MANAGERS Dave Jauss, the Orioles' bench coach, who was filling in for the suspended Dave Trembley, wasn't the only acting manager at Camden Yards Friday. Toronto's bench coach, Brian Butterfield, was filling in for Cito Gaston, who left the team because of the death of his sister.

Richmond gets win: : Blue Jays rookie Scott Richmond picked up his first career victory with six innings of four-hit ball before the game was shortened after a rain delay of 1 hour, 5 minutes. The right-hander, 29, allowed no walks and struck out three in his fifth major league start. High mark for Waters: : Orioles starter Chris Waters' scoreless-innings streak against the Blue Jays ended at 14 2/3 when Scott Rolen hit an RBI double in the sixth to give Toronto a 1-0 lead. The rookie left-hander, 28, threw a shutout against the Blue Jays on Sept.

April 6-New York 8-New York 9-New York 10-T ampa Bay 11-Tampa Bay 12-Tampa Bay 13-at Texas 14-at Texas 15-at Texas 17-at Boston 18-at Boston 19-at Boston 20-at Boston 21-Chicago 22-Chicago 23-Chicago 24-Texas 25-Texas 26-Texas 27-Texas 28-Los Angeles 29-Los Angeles May 1-at Toronto 2-at Toronto 3-at Toronto 4-at Tampa Bay 5-at Tampa Bay 6-Minnesota 7-Minnesota 8-New York 9-New York 10-New York 12-Tampa Bay 13-Tampa Bay...

Toronto - Orioles starter Daniel Cabrera sat quietly, head resting in his right hand as he stared into his locker after a crushing 7-6 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays last night. First baseman Kevin Millar went over to shortstop Freddie Bynum, offered a few words of encouragement and walked away. Several other players sat half-dressed, dazed, checking text messages on their cell phones. Silence and frustration, the end result in the big leagues when you're up by four runs in the seventh inning and can't hold on. "It's the kind of game you can't lose.

If Toronto wants to climb out of the American League East cellar, this is a golden opportunity to do it, with the fourth-place Orioles in town for three games. The Blue Jays just went 2-4 on a road trip through Seattle and Anaheim. They've lost four of their past five. Returning to Rogers Centre is a comfort, as they've lost 13 of their past 17 away from home. They batted .233 on the road trip, including .208 with runners in scoring position. Roy Halladay is their lone All-Star representative.

The Buffalo Bills will receive $78 million -- more than double their calculated 2006 operating income -- to play eight games in Toronto over the next five years. The payment to the Bills was disclosed for the first time in Rogers Communications' 2008 first-quarter report released yesterday. The Toronto-based company is part of a consortium that negotiated a deal with the Bills to have them play five regular-season and three preseason games, starting this year, at the downtown Rogers Centre.

OTTAWA -- Commerce Bancorp agreed to accept an $8.5 billion offer from Toronto-Dominion Bank yesterday, three months after the removal of its maverick founder, Vernon W. Hill II, made the sale of the company inevitable. Hill, a real estate developer, had dominated the New Jersey bank since its founding 34 years ago. But the mingling of bank business with his political interests and the businesses of its directors, officers and family led to his downfall. While Hill no longer has an executive role at Commerce, he remains a major shareholder.