Sports News Summary: All Blacks respect Canada but want to tick boxes and move forward

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs. All Blacks respect Canada but want to tick boxes and move forward

While the All Blacks are expected to run up a big score against Canada in their World Cup Pool B clash in Oita on Wednesday, Steve Hansen and his coaching staff just want to make sure they are moving forward with their game. Two-time defending champions New Zealand are expected to win the pool after beating South Africa in their first game and have planned to use the matches against Canada, Namibia and Italy to finetune their game ahead of the quarter-finals. Red Sox: Keeping Betts, Martinez 'difficult' but possible

The Boston Red Sox see a potential route to keeping pricey stars Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez while also dropping their overall payroll by some $22 million to get under Major League Baseball's Competitive Balance Tax (CBT) threshold, the team president said Monday. But that doesn't mean it would be easy, Sam Kennedy, also the franchise's CEO, said Monday at the annual press conference at the end of the season. Salazar receives a four-year ban for the doping scandal

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency on Monday said it had banned American Alberto Salazar, who has coached some of the world's top distance runners including British Olympian track champion Mo Farah, for four years for doping violations. USADA said Salazar's punishment was for "orchestrating and facilitating prohibited doping conduct" as head coach of the Nike Oregan Project (NOP), a camp designed primarily to develop U.S. endurance athletes. MLB roundup: Flaherty fuels Cards to NL Central title

Jack Flaherty pitched seven strong innings as the host St. Louis Cardinals captured the National League Central title with a 9-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Sunday. The Cardinals (91-71) will play the Atlanta Braves in the NL Division Series on Thursday. The second-place Milwaukee Brewers will face the Washington Nationals in the wild-card game Tuesday. Epstein: Ross among many possible Cubs manager candidates

While acknowledging that former David Ross is a potential candidate for to be the Cubs' next manager, president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said Monday that the former Chicago catcher far from the only one. "He's on our broad list of candidates," Epstein said during a press conference Monday. Rudolph fires 2 TD passes as Steelers rout Bengals

Quarterback Mason Rudolph seemingly came into his own Monday, passing for 229 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Pittsburgh Steelers past the visiting Cincinnati Bengals 27-3. The win elevated the Steelers from winless to within a game of first place in the AFC North at 1-3. The Bengals fell to 0-4 under first-year coach Zac Taylor. NFL bans Raiders LB Burfict for rest of 2019 season

Oakland Raiders linebacker Vontaze Burfict was suspended for the rest of the 2019 season on Monday for repeated violations of unnecessary roughness rules. The NFL announced Burfict's punishment for the helmet-to-helmet hit that prompted his ejection from Sunday's 31-24 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. Haves vs. Have nots as New Zealand face Canada in World Cup

The haves and have nots of world rugby will meet again on Wednesday when the three-time champion All Blacks face Canada in their World Cup Pool B clash with concerns the gap could be starkly displayed on the scoreboard. The All Blacks are all full-time professionals, earning hundreds of thousands of dollars with basics of the game drilled in them since they were five-year-olds. California to let college athletes be paid in blow to NCAA rules

California cleared the way on Monday for college athletes to profit from brand sponsorships and endorsement deals, as Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation making it the first U.S. state to give them that potentially lucrative opportunity. The legislation states that college athletes may profit from their "name, image or likeness." It could set up a showdown between the most populous U.S. state and the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the influential governing body for intercollegiate athletics, over the NCAA's longstanding rule that college athletes cannot be provided compensation. NFL notebook: Raiders' Burfict suspended for rest of year

Oakland Raiders linebacker Vontaze Burfict was suspended for the rest of the 2019 season on Monday for repeated violations of unnecessary roughness rules. The NFL announced Burfict's punishment for the helmet-to-helmet hit that prompted his ejection from Oakland's 31-24 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.

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