Toronto

Sachin Raina signed his first autograph on May 4, scribbling his name on a young fan's Frisbee followed by his number, 61 — the way he remembers hockey players doing as a kid.“We thought it was the coolest thing. I didn't know what I was supposed to do ... I just scrawled my name, then thought, ‘I'm not writing a cheque; I'm an athlete,' ” said the member of the city's newest professional sports franchise.Their name is the Toronto Rush (yes, after the band) and their sport is Ultimate Frisbee.The team played its first home game at the Toronto Varsity Stadium earlier this month to a crowd of 2,293 people, the largest ever at an American Ultimate Disc League (AUDL) game by about 500. The Rush are also the only undefeated team seven games into their 16-game season as part of the AUDL's eastern division. It's the league's second year running.Toronto's foray into pro-level Ultimate began last year with a conversation between businessman Rob Lloyd and his Frisbee-loving son, Mark, who was looking for something to do after graduating from university.“Why not a start a pro Ultimate team?” said Rob, who now co-owns the Rush with Mark and his brother Jim. The team roster, coaching staff and home at the Toronto Varsity Stadium were finalized at the start of the year. Ultimate is a fast-paced noncontact sport, played seven-on-seven on an American football-sized field. Players are known as handlers (the throwers) or cutters (the receivers). Their aim is to get the disc into the end zone by passing from player to player in football-like plays. The AUDL is one of two fledgling professional leagues in North America on top of high-level tournaments for American/Canadian club teams (which are now being broadcast on ESPN) as well as world championships.One major difference at the professional level is that games are refereed instead of self-officiated.“The AUDL has done a lot of things well to make the game more spectator-friendly. The addition of referees has really made the game move quicker. We're really starting to shake the image of Frisbee players on a beach playing with a dog,” said Hamilton-based player Matt Penman.“It's more about getting recognition for the sport. I'm not trying to make money off it,” said player Thomson McKnight. The games are held on weekends and the players have day jobs — McKnight teaches hockey, Raina is a teacher in York Region and Penman is a social worker in Hamilton. Their travel expenses are paid plus they receive a stipend at the end of the season based on ticket and merchandise sales.Their efforts are about inspiring the next generation of Ultimate players who are getting into the sport earlier as it grows in popularity, said player Willem Maessen “I think back when the NFL was starting or other professional leagues were starting and what it must have been like for those guys,” added Penman. “Just to be part of a league that's growing, I feel really honoured to be getting in there at the beginning of a sport and hope that when I finish playing, my kids will be able to watch it as a professional sport on TV.”In last night's game, the Rush defeated the Dragons in Rochester, N.Y., 28-21.

Nobody in the NASCAR Canadian Tires Series has won more stock car races — three — at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park than J.R. Fitzpatrick.

Cody Franson knew the Maple Leafs were in trouble in overtime. He could feel it in his burning legs.

How the West will be won depends so much on how well Tim Duncan can hold up to the pounding that will punctuate this year’s matchup with Memphis and its two-headed monster.

As forensic investigators begin to wrap up their look into two properties in Waterloo Region, many more layers and players have been revealed in the mysterious case of accused murderer Dellen Millard.

PITTSBURGH — It was a pass Erik Karlsson has completed 1,000 times before.

The Senators were counted out when they lost top centre Jason Spezza to back surgery in January.

WINNIPEG—The Manitoba government says Elijah Harper’s body will lie in state in the province’s legislature.Harper, who as a member of the legislature blocked the Meech Lake constitutional accord in 1990, died Friday at age 64.The province says the public will be able to view Harper on Monday afternoon and that books of condolences will be available.Later that evening, a funeral service will be held at Glory and Peace Church in Winnipeg.The burial service will take place Thursday in Red Sucker Lake, where Harper was born and was once chief of the Ojibwa-Cree Red Sucker Lake First Nation.Jennifer Wood, a longtime friend who worked with Harper in Winnipeg and in Ottawa, said the casket will be open during the viewing and that there will be a Manitoba flag draped over a portion of it.Wood said she believes Harper would have been pleased many of the people he worked with at the legislature will be able to publicly pay their respects.“I know it’s exactly what Elijah would have wanted,” she said.The Meech Lake deal was intended to win Quebec’s signature on the Constitution but Harper said it ignored aboriginal rights.He was a member of the New Democrat opposition in the legislature at the time and the accord had to be ratified by Parliament and most other legislatures. His vote against it prevented it from being ratified by Ottawa’s deadline and eventually scuttled it.Images of him in the legislature holing an eagle feather while voting “No” were printed and broadcast across the country.

Robinson Cano did the damage.

Right-hander Josh Johnson will make his first rehab start Monday in Dunedin and if all goes well will probably make one or two more. “We’d like to rush him, but we can’t,” Gibbons told reporters ... Sportsnet 590 The Fan’s Mike Wilner is finally able to wear a shoe after three foot surgeries. Wilner was not injured by an angry caller, but rather he