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Four-time series champion Sebastien Bourdais has signed a two-year deal with KVSH Racing to replace Indianapolis 500 winner Tony Kanaan. The contract confirmed to The Associated Press on Wednesday gives team principals Kevin Kalkhoven, Jimmy Vasser and James "Sulli" Sullivan hope that KVSH can compete for titles going forward now that it has a driver that is tied for second with Mario Andretti and Dario Franchitti for series championships. "Sebastien is a proven champion and we look forward to working with him to produce more championships," Kalkhoven said. Kanaan won the Indianapolis 500 in May with KVSH, but decided to leave for Chip Ganassi Racing next year. KVSH acted fast in offering the same deal it offered Kanaan to three-race winner James Hinchcliffe, but the team gave Hinchcliffe a short deadline to accept the contract that did not require the driver to bring any sponsorship. When Hinchcliffe decided KVSHs timeline was too fast, the team moved on to Bourdais, winner of four consecutive Champ Car titles from 2004 through 2007. Bourdais has 31 victories, tied with Franchitti and Paul Tracy for eighth on the all-time wins list. "I have raced against him and can say without a doubt that he is an exceptional driver and a true champion. We look forward to winning a lot of races with him," said Vasser, the 1996 CART champion. Bourdais left American open-wheel racing for Formula One following his fourth Champ Car title, joining Scuderia Toro Rosso for the 2008 season. He was replaced nine races into the 2009 season. Bourdais joined Team Peugeot after his release and finished second in the LMP1 class of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2009, dabbling in a variety of series before returning to IndyCar in 2011 for nine races with Dale Coyne Racing. Bourdais landed a full-time ride in 2012 with Dragon Racing, where he was hampered for the first part of the season with a Lotus engine. After a switch to Chevrolet before the Indianapolis 500, Bourdais had to share his car with teammate Katherine Legge for the remainder of the season. He finished 25th in the final standings with a season-best finish of fourth at Mid-Ohio. This year has seen a far better showing from Bourdais as Dragon has put forth a more stable effort. Bourdais has three podium finishes, including a runner-up finish to Scott Dixon in Toronto. Now he joins a team that clearly can compete on ovals -- all three of Kanaans podiums this season are on ovals -- but isnt sure what it can do on road and street courses because thats not Kanaans strength. But because Simona de Silvestro finished second at Houston two weeks ago in KVSHs second car, the team believes Bourdais will give them a well-rounded driver capable of challenging on every circuit. Of Bourdais 31 victories, 15 are on road courses and 12 are on street courses. Hes also won on three ovals -- twice at Las Vegas, and once at Milwaukee. "I want to thank Kevin Kalkhoven, Jimmy Vasser and Sulli for this opportunity," said Bourdais. "The fact that I have an agreement with KVSH Racing so early, and that I have a two-year contract, shows the teams commitment to their new era in the IndyCar Series. I am looking forward to meeting the crew and getting started with testing as soon as possible." KVSH has not decided who will drive its second car yet. Its alliance with de Silvestro and her management team was only a one-year deal, and replacing Kanaan was the first priority. The team also has given Sullivan a larger role as principal. He was instrumental in landing the bulk of the sponsorship that was on Kanaans winning car at Indy and stayed with the team after Kanaan said he was leaving for Ganassi. "First of all I want to thank Kevin Kalkhoven and Jimmy Vasser for their hard work. The three of us are committed to taking the team to the next level," Sullivan said. "This is something we have been working towards for many months. I am ecstatic to sign Sebastien, a driver I expect will get it done for us throughout the season. This is the next step in building KVSH Racing into a team that competes for wins and championships every year." Its not clear if Jay Penske will need a replacement for Bourdais at Dragon because its not known if Dragon will return to the IndyCar grid next season. Hes already announced hell field entries in the FIA Formula E championship next season, and Penske has not indicated if hell compete in IndyCar, as well. Bourdais thanked Penske for supporting him the last two seasons. Hinchcliffe, meanwhile, seemed close to locking down a deal before Saturday nights season finale at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. Intent on not rushing into a decision and making his next contract the best for his long-term future, Hinchcliffes decision could be to return to Andretti Autosport. The team appears to have locked down the sponsorship needed to resign Hinchcliffe as current sponsor GoDaddy is likely headed out of IndyCar. Andretti also could be poised to announce his 2014 manufacturer alliance this weekend, with all signs pointing to a switch to Honda. The team owner was coy Wednesday on all fronts while announcing ABC Supply Co. as title sponsor of the Milwaukee IndyFest for the next two years. "Were getting close. Weve got a few things to button up. Im hoping we can make a few announcements this weekend," Andretti said. When asked if Hinchcliffe would be on hand for those announcements, Andretti said: "I hope so. Well see. Were working on it. We dont have anything done yet, but were getting close on some things. Thats the goal, so well see if we reach our goal or not." Hinchcliffe also had been in preliminary talks with Ganassi on a deal that would have allowed him to compete across all of Ganassis platforms, including sports cars and possibly even NASCARs Nationwide Series as a replacement to Kyle Larson in events Larson could not get to once he moves up to the Sprint Cup Series. But with negotiations finally heating up with Andretti, staying put, especially if a potential move to Honda could pair the Canadian with Honda Canada, could be Hinchcliffes best bet. Phil McConkey Youth Jersey . The 155th edition of the Plate for Canadian-foaled three-year-olds, the oldest continuously run stakes race in North America, will be televised live on TSN in HD (High Definition) in a special presentation from 4:30 – 6:00 pm ET. Post time is 5:38 pm. Dexter Lawrence Giants Jersey .200. 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Dexter Lawrence Youth Jersey .The McLaren MP4-30 was launched on Thursday, with chief executive Ron Dennis saying it marks the start of a lengthy journey back to winning grands prix and eventually world championships.McLaren, which hasnt won a grand prix since 2012, will be using Honda engines for the first time since 1992, and has signed two-time world champion Fernando Alonso to partner Jenson Button for the upcoming season.CHARLOTTE - Jonas Valanciunas took a quick glance at the stat sheet, no longer banned post-game, crumpled it up into a ball and hurled it across the locker room. At the bottom of the page the final score read "100-95" - Torontos third loss in four games - but it was how they got there that had the Raptors young centre shaking his head as he destroyed the evidence. In the less literal sense he wasnt alone. The Raptors locker room was filled with distraught players drowning their sorrows in a sea of chicken fingers and mac and cheese at the post-game buffet, eager to forget about their most recent setback. "We cant really panic, but weve got to hold each other accountable," said Greivis Vasquez, moments after his team failed to close out what would have been a historic comeback in eventual defeat to a familiar, albeit perplexing foe, the Charlotte Bobcats. "Its easy when we win and you smile and youre cool, youre hanging around, but when you face adversity or obstacles, thats when you really show your character, so now weve really got to show what [were] made of." For Vasquez - who helped engineer Torontos late-game run - his teammates and his coach, there were no moral victories to be celebrated after cutting a 30-point third quarter deficit to one with 26 seconds remaining. No moral victories, not anymore, not if they fancy themselves a playoff contender. Instead the question was, how could they fall behind by 30 to the Bobcats - who had lost 10 of 13 and were playing without Kemba Walker - in the first place? "Effort," Kyle Lowry said, and repeated six times in a three-minute scrum. For the final 16 minutes they played with plenty of it, outscoring the nemesis Bobcats 54-29 to close out the game. For the first 32 it was nowhere to be found. "Thats it, effort," the Raptors point guard continued. "That simple. Effort." Its not that simple, not for the teams fans or coaching staff that were left to wonder where that effort went for two and a half quarters in a game the Raptors sorely needed. "Its a long season but you tell a lot about who you are in these situations," Dwane Casey said. "Today was a gut-check game and the fourth quarter we turned it around but its about what we did in the first three quarters thats disappointing." Coming off a loss to the corpse of the Los Angeles Lakers 24 hours earlier, and an equally disheartening defeat in Boston last week, the Raptors scored a season-low 11 points in the first quarter. For the second straight day they attempted nearly three times as many three-pointers as free throws and allowed the leagues 28th ranked offensive team to score 100 points on 49 per cent shooting. The loss was their seventh straight in Charlotte to a Bobcats team that has been varying degrees of terrible throughout that span of Raptors fuutility.dddddddddddd "Weve got to take these two losses to heart," said Vasquez who had 15 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, his best line as Raptor. "Were professionals, we know what were playing for, so, [theres] no excuses on this team. Some guys just got to step up and understand what were playing for." "I think were fine," he continued. "Weve just got to wake up and understand that one loss cant really take us down, but one win can really build some good momentum." Veteran bruiser Chuck Hayes put it best. "Its an emotional roller coaster in this league." A week ago they were riding high, winners of three straight and eight of 10, since then theyve crashed back down to earth. Where do they truly stand in the grand scheme of things? Likely somewhere in the middle. Success in the league is fickle, as Casey knows and Hayes has learned in his years of service. "After the momentum we had in December you would kind of hope it would shift over into the New Year but the New Year aint been so good to us so far," said Hayes, who recorded his first double-double - 12 points and 13 rebounds - since Apr. 11, 2011. "But theres a lot of basketball left." Hayes, along with fellow reserves Vasquez and Patrick Patterson, played the bulk of the fourth quarter in place of frontcourt tandem Valanciunas and Amir Johnson, who each played less than 19 minutes, and Terrence Ross, who logged 21. For the fourth straight game Valanciunas failed to eclipse 23 minutes or score in double figures, shooting 6-for-21 over that stretch. On Monday he was overwhelmed in a daunting matchup with crafty, low-post shaman Al Jefferson. The Raptors sophomore bit on Jeffersons pump fakes, got beat on the boards and most alarmingly let his frustration get the better of him. Jefferson, who had a double-double after the first quarter, finished with 22 points and 19 boards. Fellow sophomore Ross has also seen his performance slip over the teams recent slide, recording just one point on Monday, shooting 0-for-6. Meanwhile, Johnson connected on just one of his four attempts and has exceeded 10 rebounds in one of his last 15 contests. "Weve got to find a start that fits us," said Casey, who wouldnt rule out an eventual lineup change but insisted its too early to make that call. "You cant spot any team in this league 25-30 points and expect to be successful." The Raptors will be given a much-needed day of reflection before hosting the Mavericks on Wednesday. It will be the first time theyve faced a winning team in seven games. After squandering three golden opportunities in six days, it could be the wakeup call