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THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- Bernhard Langer has a left knee injury that could force him to withdraw from the PowerShares QQQ Championship, the inaugural Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs event.Im not sure Ill be able to play tomorrow, but Ill make that call at noon when my tee time is, Langer said Thursday. For right now, Ive been getting treatment and trying to stay off my knee.Simply, the decision will come down to whether the he can hit the ball.I tried yesterday and it didnt work, Langer said. I cant transfer my weight. I cant put any pressure on my left knee.The 59-year-old German star leads the 50-and-over tour with tour four victories and has wrapped up the season money title with $2,697,459.I had an MRI on Monday because I couldnt walk properly and just had problems, Langer said. Obviously, havent hit a shot yet, havent been out on the course. I walked it, but I havent hit a shot yet because I cant, I cant put much pressure on my knee. Walking these hills is very difficult, especially downhill.The top 72 players on the money list earned spot at Sherwood Country Club, the former site of Greg Normans Shark Shootout and Tiger Woods event that is now called the Hero World Challenge. The playoff field will be cut to 54 for the Dominion Charity Classic next week in Richmond, Virginia, and to 36 for the Charles Schwab Cup Championship the follow week in Scottsdale, Arizona.Each dollar earned in the first two events is worth two points and will be added to the regular season total. At the Charles Schwab Championship, points will be reset so that the top five only have to win to capture the Charles Schwab Cup. Langer has a big enough advantage over second-place Miguel Angel Jimenez that he would keep the lead event even if he doesnt play this week.I came all the way here from south Florida and committed to play, said Langer, a three-time Cup champion. But if Im going to do long term damage, the last thing I want to do is try and play and do further damage and then I cant play next week or the following week, which that would really be bad if I cant play the Schwab Cup. You know, the priority is to get my health. You cant play golf if youre not healthy. The game is hard enough when youre healthy, you dont need to be injured.Fred Couples is attempting to play after sitting out eight months with a back injury.Im honestly hoping to get through this, the 57-year-old Couples said. Its one of my favorite golf courses, so I found out last week that I was in the playoff. I havent played since February, so I thought, `You know, Ill commit. I hit balls on Friday before I committed and actually felt OK.John Daly qualified 70th. He has five top-25 finishes in 14 starts since turning 50.All of us old guys have seen this course a few times, so theres no home-field advantage, Daly said. 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Weber had a goal and two assists, and Roman Josi scored the shootout winner to lift the Predators to a 4-3 win over the Flyers on Thursday night. United States law enforcement authorities are investigating a Russian sports agent based in New York on suspicion of bribery and corruption, sources tell The New York Times.The agent, Andrey Baranov, who lives on Manhattans Upper West Side, has been under surveillance by federal authorities. Sources tell the newspaper that investigators are trying to determine whether Baranov conspired with organizers of American marathons, including the New York City Marathon, to allow runners to used banned substances while competing.The operation is part of a broader investigation by the U.S. Justice Department into doping. The probe includes the FBI and investigators from the U.S. Attorneys office for the Eastern District of New York.Federal officials also are looking into possible racketeering and money-laundering schemes involving the organizers of major American track events.The news about Baranov comes as elite athletes from all over the world are arriving in New York for Sundays marathon.According to the Times report, Baranov, who has been described in the past as a whistleblower who exposed cheating and corruption in track and field, has not been charged with any crimes.Baranov, on Thursday, said he was not aware of the governments probe. Baranov denied he is involved in any criminal activity, telling the Times he has absolutely not entered doping athletes in U.S. races, nor made inappropriate payments to race officials.A New York City Marathon spokesman, meanwhile, said race officials also know nothing about criminal activities within their organization, and that Baranov had not bribed anyone in the group.In keeping with international authorities who have banned Russian athletes from competition, no Russians are registered to run in Sundays marathon. Baranov said none of his clients are registered to run, either.The Justice Department was investigating state-sponsored doping by Russian athletes, with an emphasis on those who might aid competitors in the U.S. who are doping, or used the nations banks to fund doping schemes -- the Times reported in May. Grigory Rodchenkov, former head of Russias anti-doping lab, told the newspaper the Russian government was running a prograam to help its athletes use banned substances and avoid detection.ddddddddddddMore than 100 Russian athletes were banned from the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Eastern European athletes who participated in the 2008 and 2012 Summer Games also faced discipline, after their urine samples were retested.Federal authorities, according to the Times, are looking into whether race officials have been bribed to allow athletes to compete while using banned performance-enhancing drugs, and whether doped athletes have consciously been entered into competitions, which legally could be considered fraud. The track investigation reportedly is focusing on the agents for track athletes, like Baranov, and whether they might be laundering money through American banks.The investigation is similar to criminal inquiries into FIFA, soccers scandal-ridden governing body. Eighteen people connected to the FIFA investigation have been convicted on charges ranging from bribery and racketeering to money laundering and wire fraud.While the investigation centers on Russian agents, if it is found that payments being used for illegal purposes are being made through American banks, the U.S. government can claim jurisdiction over the alleged crimes.In fact, Rodchenkov also is facing scrutiny by U.S. officials, though he fled to the United States in 2015 and has provided investigators with information.Baranov, 50, who moved to New York in the 1990s, according to the Times, and has competed in the New York City Marathon six times, runs the Spartanik Running School. It was founded in 2003 to help boost Eastern European athletes in Olympic competitions.Baranov has represented a number of high-profile runners, including some top finishers in New York, Boston, Los Angeles and Chicago, who have failed drug tests. One of his clients -- Liliya Shobukhov -- who won the Chicago Marathon in 2009, 2010 and 2011, was accused by Baranov of paying officials to conceal doping violations that allowed her to compete in the 2012 Summer Games. She was later stripped of several titles. ' ' '