U.S. blasts Canada

Home runs power baseball victory

Behind five shutout innings from Brandon Knight and four home runs, the U.S. baseball team defeated Canada 9-1 in the third game of the Road to Beijing Series on Sunday at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

The U.S. team struck first with a three-run second inning. Matt LaPorta got the U.S. going with a solo home run over the center-field fence.

After a Nate Schierholtz single, Mike Hessman followed with a two-run blast to center.

The teams finish the series tonight at 7:05 in Durham.

GYMNAST INJURED: American gymnast Chellsie Memmel hurt her right ankle while training on the floor exercise Sunday but is still expected to compete in Olympic team competition next weekend.

USA Gymnastics president Steve Penny said in a statement that Memmel's status was being monitored daily. The U.S. women compete in team qualifying next Sunday.

"We're taking things a day at a time, but I was able to do good bars today," Memmel said in a statement.

The three alternates -- Ivana Hong, Jana Bieger and Corrie Lothrop -- are training in Tokyo, available to make the 3 1/2-hour flight to Beijing if needed.

Memmel is the 2005 world champion but has fought through a series of injuries during her career. A broken foot caused her to miss the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

More recently, she has struggled with shoulder and foot injuries but came back in time for the Olympic qualifying period.

SCHUETTLER APPLIES FOR OLYMPIC SPOT: German tennis player Rainer Schuettler sent an application to the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Sunday, asking world sport's highest authority to give him a spot at the Beijing Olympics.

"Rainer Schuettler claims that he should be allowed to compete in the games, considering that he has been entered by the German NOC [National Olympic Committee] and that he is eligible as a result of his position in the ITF computer ranking, due to the withdrawal of some players who were qualified for the Olympic tournament," CAS said in a statement.

Schuettler, 33, is asking CAS to order the International Tennis Federation to enter him into the men's singles competition in Beijing.

The Olympic tennis tournament starts Sunday, two days after the opening ceremony, and will finish Aug. 17.

The hearing before three CAS arbitrators -- Michael J. Beloff of Britain, Luigi Fumagalli of Italy and Alan Sullivan of Australia -- is scheduled to take place today in Beijing.

AGE OF CHINESE GYMNAST QUESTIONED: Birth dates found in online documents have raised questions about the age of another Chinese gymnast -- bringing the total to three, or half the women's team expected to contend for a gold medal, who may be too young to compete in the Beijing Olympics.

Yang Yilin, a medal contender in the all-around and uneven bars, was born Aug. 26, 1993, according to the 2004, 2005 and 2006 registration lists previously posted on the Web site of the General Administration of Sport of China. That would make Yang only 15 later this month. Gymnasts have to be 16 during the Olympic year to be eligible for the games.

In the 2007 registration list, however, Yang's birthday is listed as Aug. 26, 1992, making her eligible to compete.

Similar concerns have already been raised about the ages of He Kexin, a gold-medal favorite on uneven bars, and Jiang Yuyuan.

Chinese gymnastics officials did not immediately respond to a fax from The Associated Press asking for documentation of Yang's age and an explanation of the discrepancy.

Asked about the records that appear to call Yang's age into question, International Gymnastics Federation secretary general Andrei Gueisbuhler said he couldn't comment without seeing them.