TORONTO -- Michael Saunders was born in Victoria, British Columbia -- about as close to Seattle as you can get without being in the United States.Yet when it came to his baseball allegiance growing up, nationality mattered at least as much as geography.Proximity-wise, I guess everyone felt like Seattle would be my hometown team, but it was really the Jays, Saunders said. My whole family was Jays fans growing up.Now an outfielder for those Toronto Blue Jays, Saunders is uniquely qualified to explain how Canadas lone major league team has cultivated a following among baseball fans all across the country. When the Blue Jays try to avoid elimination Tuesday in Game 4 of the AL Championship Series against Cleveland, theyll have support in provinces near and far.Just ask the Mariners how much Canadians love their Blue Jays. Seattle is three time zones from Toronto, but since its close to Canada, Blue Jays fans show up in droves when the Mariners host Toronto. They also make their presence felt in Detroit, which is just across the river from southern Ontario.It is a very unique situation when you have a whole country as opposed to 29 teams that are localized to a state, Blue Jays reliever Jason Grilli said. The United States is where baseball thrives, of course, but there is one team in Canada that everyone here supports. Its truly incredible. People dont know what its like until they experience a game here and see the support.A winning team always helps, of course, and Toronto is in the postseason for a second consecutive year after a dry spell that stretched back to the teams most recent World Series title in 1993. Sportsnet reported that Game 3 of this months AL Division Series between the Blue Jays and Texas Rangers drew an average audience of 4.73 million, making it Sportsnets most-watched program of the year to that point.Canadas obsession, of course, is with hockey, but thats largely divided among the countrys NHL teams. Toronto has been Canadas only big league team since the Montreal Expos left after the 2004 season, and the support the Blue Jays receive from far-flung Canadian areas wouldnt necessarily be there for, say, the more polarizing Toronto Maple Leafs.It would be the exact opposite, actually, said 31-year-old Stephen Safinuk, a Blue Jays fan from Saskatchewan. Theyd be wishing them a quick exit from the playoffs, if they ever make it.Safinuk was in Toronto for the ALCS, and he was visiting the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday -- while wearing a shirt with Blue Jays slugger Josh Donaldsons name on the back. He said hes seen the Blue Jays play on the road against the Los Angeles Angels, and hed like to be among the throngs of Toronto fans in Seattle sometime soon.Seattle next year is my goal, he said. Its a must-do trip, absolutely.Saunders spent his first six seasons with the Mariners before playing these past two for the Blue Jays.Were not just representing Toronto, were representing all of Canada, he said. Its a really neat experience to see that kind of fan support, and you really see it when you go to Seattle and play the Mariners. I spent my entire career with the Mariners, so I saw kind of the other end of the spectrum. It was a different experience for me to be wearing a Jays uniform this time around.A couple offseasons ago, the Blue Jays made stops in Alberta (Calgary and Banff) and Vancouver, British Columbia, on their winter tour itinerary, the equivalent of the Reds trying to reach out to fans in, say, San Diego. As long as the Blue Jays are Canadas only team, theyll continue to have substantial territory to claim as their own.Itll never overtake hockey here, but the passion is very similar, Safinuk said. You dont see this kind of singular team support for anything other than -- you see it for the Raptors, too, when they were doing good the last couple years, but thats because in Canada, we only have the Raptors and the Blue Jays in NBA and MLB. You dont get that anywhere else.---Follow Noah Trister at www.Twitter.com/noahtrister Custom Ozzie Smith Jersey . But what about the officials? Every sport has officials and they also have stories about hard work and sacrifice but their accomplishments are seldom recognized by anyone outside their inner circle. Daniel Ponce de Leon . Mitch Holmberg added a goal and three assists. Connor Chartier also scored for the Chiefs (3-0-0). Luke Harrison spoiled Garrett Hughsons shutout bid with a power-play goal at 13:17 of the third period. The Spokane goaltender finished with 28 saves, including a Brandon Fushimi penalty shot in the second period that would have tied the game 1-1. http://www.custommlbcardinalsjersey.com/custom-tyler-webb-jersey-large-1011q.html . LOUIS -- St. Custom Cardinals Jersey China . All of the scoring came in the final 20:04. Lucic scored on a power play at 15:46 of the third period, when he tipped a shot over Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen for a 3-1 lead. Tony La Russa . Anthony Davis had 31 points and 17 rebounds in his seventh straight game with more than 20 points, but that was only enough to keep the Pelicans competitive into the final minutes. Andrew Bogut had 10 points and 15 rebounds for Golden State, which rebounded from a loss a night earlier in Oklahoma City and snapped a two-game skid. RIO DE JANEIRO -- Denis Gargaud Chanut stepped to the top of the podium and watched as the medal presenter made his way across the deck.The French paddler never expected to earn a medal and now Tony Estanguet, the greatest slalom canoer in his countrys history, was about to drape a gold around his neck.There was only one chance in one million that I could win a medal and that would already be good for the French legacy, Gargaud Chanut said after earning gold in mens slalom canoe at the Rio Olympics on Tuesday. That Tony was able to give the gold to me was an historical moment for both of us.Estanguet and Slovakias Michal Martikan had dominated canoe slalom over the previous five Olympics, winning every gold since Atlanta in 1996. Estanguet captured gold three times and Martikan twice, adding two silver medals and a bronze.But the Rio Games were without the power duo after Estanguet retired and Martikan failed to make the Slovakian teams.That left the gate open for a new champion.Great Britains David Florence was expected to be the favorite, but never had much of a chance once in the final. He made a mistake early in his race and never recovered, finishing 10th.Gargaud Chanut was an unlikely contender.The 29-year-old had some strong finishes through the years, including a world championship in 2011, but had never competed in the Olympics.Gargaud Chanut qualified third in Rio and put together a strong run in the finals, topping Slovakian Matej Benus time by 0.85 seconds.Gargaud Chanut let out a yell after setting his name atop the leaderboard at 94.17 seconds, but then had to wait; Spainss Ander Elosegi and German Sideris Tasiadis still had to make their runs.ddddddddddddNo worries.Elosegi was three seconds slower and Tasiadis finished more than a second behind, sending Gargaud Chanut to top of the podium to meet Estanguet.It was difficult to wait for the race to finish, Gargaud Chanut said. I was already happy to be on the podium and after the Spanish went; I saw that I was silver, so the gold was just the cherry on the cake.Gargaud Chanut wasnt the only one to make history.Benus, who led the finals until Gargaud Chanuts run, earned silver to stretch Slovakias run of medals in mens slalom canoe to six straight Olympics.Bronze medalist Takuya Haneda of Japan had an even bigger distinction: He became the first paddler from an Asian country to win an Olympic in canoe/kayak.Haneda knew the significance while he was on the water, too.He qualified fifth, so had to wait out four paddlers to see if his run of 97.44 seconds was good enough for a medal. When it was, Haneda broke down on his boat in the water, cupping hands to face as he openly wept for several minutes.Several competitors paddled over to pat Haneda on the back as he cried, but the tears quickly turned to smiles.We have been working to be the first medalist from, of course, Japan and from Asia, he said through an interpreter. This is the first time for a Japanese, an Asian to win in a boat and for me it is great.American Casey Eichfield was seventh for his best finish in three Olympics. ' ' '