Sports News Roundup: Olympics-Taiwan pulls out of baseball qualifying tournament over COVID-19 fears; Golf-LPGA Tour cancels Canadian tournament due to COVID-19 and more

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

MLB roundup: Dodgers score 11 in first, rout Cardinals

Cody Bellinger had a grand slam and six RBIs during an 11-run first inning, and the Los Angeles Dodgers rolled to a 14-3 victory at home Wednesday against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Dodgers sent 14 batters to the plate in the inning and didn't make their first out until No. 9 hitter Walker Buehler struck out. Los Angeles had scored six times by then.

NBA roundup: Trae Young, Hawks eliminate Knicks

Trae Young continued his breakout postseason, scoring 18 of his game-high 36 points in the fourth quarter as the visiting Atlanta Hawks eliminated the New York Knicks with a 103-89 win in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinals. The fifth-seeded Hawks, who won the final three games by a combined 42 points to clinch their first series win since 2016, will face the top-seeded Philadelphia 76ers in the conference semifinals beginning Sunday.

NFL-League says working to eliminate 'race-based norms' in brain injury settlement program

The National Football League (NFL) said on Wednesday it was "committed to eliminating race-based norms" in its $1 billion settlement program with former players over brain injuries. In an ABC News interview https://abcnews.go.com/US/negotiator-nfl-concussion-settlement-program-race-norming-wrong/story?id=78031699 set to air on Wednesday, Christopher Seeger, an attorney for former players in the landmark concussion settlement said that the compensation program discriminated against Black players by using a system known as "race-norming" in cognitive tests.

Golf-LPGA Tour cancels Canadian tournament due to COVID-19

The CP Women's Open will not be played in Canada for a second consecutive year due to logistical challenges and continued border restrictions related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the LPGA Tour said on Wednesday. Among the factors that led to the cancellation of the Aug. 23-29 event at Vancouver's Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club, the uncertainty around travel restrictions and quarantine requirements made it most difficult to move forward.

Tennis-Medvedev overcomes clay court demons at Roland-Garros, Williams survives scare

Highlights of the fourth day at the French Open, the second Grand Slam of the year, on Wednesday (times GMT): World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev overcame his past struggles on clay to reach the third round of Roland-Garros, and 23-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams advanced after a second-set scare, as a debate over the complicated relationship between athletes and the media spilled over into another day of competition.

Olympics-"We cannot postpone again," says Tokyo 2020 chief amid pandemic fears

The president of the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee ruled out cancellation or further postponement of the Olympics as doubts swirled among city governments and medical professionals whether the event can be held safely amid the pandemic. Public opinion polls in Japan have consistently shown that a majority want the Games canceled or put off yet again after being delayed by one year because of the coronavirus crisis. A majority of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly feel the same way, the Tokyo Shimbun newspaper reported on Thursday.

Golf-Finally injury free, Creamer confident heading into U.S. Women's Open

Paula Creamer said she is feeling better than she has in years ahead of this week's U.S. Women's Open at The Olympic Club, where the tournament's 2010 champion will look to add more silverware to her collection. A 10-time winner on the LPGA tour, the San Francisco Bay Area native has overcome wrist and foot injuries during her career but said she feels healthy and confident.

Olympics-Taiwan pulls out of baseball qualifying tournament over COVID-19 fears

Taiwan has pulled out of the final baseball qualifying tournament for the Tokyo Olympics after failing to secure a training facility and because of concerns over the health of the players in Mexico. Ranked fourth in the world, Taiwan was originally scheduled to host the tournament before a spike in COVID-19 cases in the country forced the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) to move it to Puebla, Mexico.

Tennis-Curfew set to spoil birthday boy Nadal's party at French Open

Defending champion Rafa Nadal will mark his 35th birthday on Thursday with his first night-session match at Roland Garros but the Spaniard will have to celebrate the special occasion inside an empty Court Philippe Chatrier. Nadal's second-round match against Frenchman Richard Gasquet is scheduled to begin after 9 p.m. when the government-enforced COVID-19 curfew forces organizers to ask fans to vacate the premises.

Tennis-Press gang: Osaka withdrawal puts spotlight on media mandate

The waves of anxiety Naomi Osaka described before heading into a post-match press conference might be familiar to French Open finalist Sofia Kenin, whose gut-wrenching exit from the Australian Open was laid bare in front of cameras in February. American Kenin, a year younger than Osaka, had seemingly the world at her feet when she arrived in Melbourne to defend her title only months after reaching her second Grand Slam final at Roland Garros.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)