Following is a summary of current sports news briefs. League considering playoff bubble amid COVID-19

The NFL, which will kick off its season in three weeks, has not ruled out the idea of creating a restricted postseason bubble to keep teams safe from COVID-19 as they vie for a Super Bowl berth. NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Troy Vincent said on Wednesday the idea of holding playoff games in a so-called bubble was originally brought up by New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton. NBA roundup: Top seeds fall in playoff openers

Damian Lillard scored 34 points, and the eighth-seeded Portland Trail Blazers defeated the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers 100-93 in Game 1 of their Western Conference opening-round matchup on Tuesday in the NBA bubble near Orlando. CJ McCollum had 21 points and Jusuf Nurkic contributed 16 points and 15 rebounds for the Blazers. Carmelo Anthony added 11 points and 10 rebounds while Hassan Whiteside collected five blocks to go along with eight rebounds and seven points. MLB roundup: Maeda loses no-hit bid but Twins win in 12

Jorge Polanco drove in two runs, including the winner with one out in the 12th inning, and Kenta Maeda took a no-hitter into the ninth inning as the Minnesota Twins edged the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 on Tuesday night in Minneapolis. Polanco drove in Byron Buxton from third with a broken-bat dribbler past losing pitcher David Phelps (2-2) to win it. Brawn defends Formula One’s fastest driver list

Formula One managing director Ross Brawn has defended a controversial algorithm-based fastest driver ranking as a fascinating exercise that stands up to scrutiny, despite some social media scorn. The sport published a top 20 on Tuesday using machine learning technology from Formula One’s official partner Amazon Web Services (AWS) and analysing 40 years’ worth of data. Golf: Koepka withdraws from Northern Trust, ends season

World number seven Brooks Koepka’s 2019-20 season came to a close on Wednesday as he withdrew from this week’s FedExCup playoff opener in Norton, Massachusetts, the PGA Tour said on Wednesday. Koepka, who has been battling hip and knee issues, was 97th on the season-long FedExCup points list and would have needed a good finish at this week’s Northern Trust to finish inside the top 70 and advance to next week’s BMW Championship. NHL roundup: Knights KO Blackhawks in Game 5

Max Pacioretty had a goal and an assist, and the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 in Game 5 of their Western Conference series on Tuesday night in Edmonton, becoming the first team to advance through the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Mark Stone, Alec Martinez and Alex Tuch also scored, William Karlsson had two assists, and Robin Lehner made 23 saves for top-seeded Vegas. Tuch scored the winning goal at 1:34 of the third period. FIFA’s ethics committee clears Infantino after investigation

FIFA’s independent ethics committee has cleared the organisation’s president Gianni Infantino of any alleged breach of its code, world soccer’s governing body said on Wednesday. Swiss authorities last month decided to open criminal proceedings against Infantino to look into meetings between the FIFA chief and Swiss Attorney General Michael Lauber. Teams not part of NBA restart to begin workouts next month

The National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) and the NBA on Tuesday announced an agreement for the eight teams not part of the 2019-20 season’s restart in Orlando to begin voluntary group workouts at their facilities next month. According to the agreement, players will reside in a campus-like environment under controlled conditions and will need to adhere to strict health and safety protocols. College football players at a crossroads as U.S. charts path in COVID-19 era

As the debate rages over whether U.S. college football should open its season during the coronavirus pandemic, University of West Virginia player K.J. Martin has already made up his mind: he is out. Martin, who suffers from asthma and sickle cell disease, plays safety for the Mountaineers. He said he did not feel it was safe to play and was stunned when the Big 12 conference, which includes his university, decided to start the season as planned in the fall even as other major conferences postponed their seasons. U.S. Open organisers pleased with lineup, despite tournament dropouts

U.S. Open organisers said on Tuesday that they were happy with the slate of competitors for this year’s tournament, despite numerous dropouts by high-profile names amid the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. One of tennis’ four Grand Slams and the crown jewel of the U.S. tennis calendar, the U.S. Open usually attracts the world’s greatest players to Flushing Meadows every year.