Toronto

Bob Clarke won't keep Eric Lindros sidelined out of spite toward the Flyers' former captain, Clarke said yesterday. But the Flyers general manager won't trade Lindros to Toronto - which Lindros yesterday announced as his preferred destination - or anywhere else, Clarke said, unless the deal substantially benefits the Flyers. "I don't like what Eric did to this club, but my responsibility is to the Philadelphia Flyers, not to Eric Lindros, and we're going to do what's right for the Flyers," Clarke said yesterday.

The Toronto Blue Jays wonder why Ted Lilly hasn't had more success. He gave them - and the frustrated Minnesota Twins - a good look at his talent last night. Lilly tossed a two-hitter, giving Toronto's struggling starters a big boost in a 6-1 victory over host Minnesota. "I'm surprised he hasn't won more games in his career with the stuff he has," Blue Jays manager Carlos Tosca said. "I think his stuff is that good. I really do. " Lilly, who is 23-26 in 100 career appearances, came to Toronto in a trade for outfielder Bobby Kielty after spending last season in Oakland.

TORONTO - Even though the Flyers are playing on consecutive nights this weekend, it looks as if there is no rest for goalie Ilya Bryzgalov. Coach Peter Laviolette is staying with the hot hand. Bryzgalov made his 11th straight start Saturday night in Toronto. He entered the game with a 1.95 goals-against average, a .926 save percentage, and three shutouts in his last 11 games. "He seems focused and really in control of what he's doing back there," Laviolette said after Saturday's morning skate.

TORONTO - The Flyers have gone from road warriors to roadkill. They scored in the opening minute Monday night, lost their momentum with a series of senseless penalties, and watched Toronto score three goals early in the second period en route to a 5-2 victory at the Air Canada Centre. Inexplicably, the Flyers are 1-6 on the road. A year ago, no NHL team had more road wins than the Flyers. "They were hungrier, and when that happens you're usually first to the puck," defenseman Kimmo Timonen said of the Maple Leafs.

For the sixth time this season, the Flyers had a chance to reach the .500 level. Again, they failed to scale Mount Mediocrity. Toronto, getting goals from four players, scored a methodical 4-2 win over the Flyers on Monday night at the Wells Fargo Center. The Flyers (9-11-1) have lost all six attempts to reach the .500 mark, and have allowed five goals in five of them. They have been outscored in those six games by a combined 29-12. "We're not going to make the playoffs if we keep playing the way we do," left winger Scott Hartnell said.

Free-agent outfielder Rickey Henderson and the Oakland Athletics yesterday agreed to a two-year contract that is believed to be worth more than $8 million. The deal brings Henderson to the A's for the third time. He began his career with the team in 1979, and returned in a trade midway through the 1989 season after playing for the New York Yankees for four-plus seasons. Oakland had traded Henderson to New York in December 1984. Henderson, baseball's career stolen-base leader, was traded to Toronto by the A's on July 31 for minor-league outfielder Jose Herrera and pitcher Steve Karsay.

TORONTO - Former NHL player Wade Belak hanged himself, according to a person familiar with the case. Belak, an enforcer who had played with five NHL teams before retiring in March, was found dead Wednesday in Toronto. He was 35. The person familiar with Belak's death said he hanged himself at a downtown luxury hotel and condo building. The person spoke Thursday to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because details of the investigation were confidential. "At this point, it's non-suspicious," Toronto police spokesman Tony Vella said.

The third-seeded team of Kenton Jernigan, a former Harvard player, and Jamie Bentley of Toronto won the 10th annual $15,000 Mutual Benefit Life Elite Squash Racquets Doubles Championship by beating second-seeded Ned Edwards and Alan Grant, 18-14, 15-12, 15-5, last night at the Cynwyd Club. The victory was worth $2,250 each to the victors while the losers collected $1,500 apiece. The teams entered the match with similar records in two tournaments on the world professional circuit this season.

Complete a comeback from a 3-1 deficit in the World Series? No problem, according to John Higgins. Higgins (right) wanted to impart that message to his heroes. To do it, he flew a kite (above) that could be seen from the team's charter at Philadelphia International Airport as it was preparing to take off for Toronto on Friday. The Phils' 2-0 victory over the Blue Jays, which came courtesy of a five-hit shutout by Curt Schilling, had kept them alive in the Series on Thursday night. It cut the Jays' lead to three games to two.

Here is a look at the NHL playoffs that begin on Tuesday. Eastern Conference No. 8 seed N.Y. Islanders vs. No. 1 Pittsburgh Pity the Islanders. They get into the playoffs for the first time since the Kennedy administration - OK, it's only been six years - and they have to face an explosive Penguins team that outscored them, 16-5, in their last four meetings. The Penguins will use last year's first-round embarrassment to the Flyers as incentive. Pick: Penguins in five.