Jhoulys Chacin’s return to the Colorado Rockies rotation was a welcome sight. So was yet another victory. The Rockies topped the New York Mets 6-2 last night in Queens. Chacin pitched six innings, allowing a run on four hits and striking out two in his first start with the big club since May 1. He earned his first win since August 28, 2011. At the plate, the Rockies were stymied for the first half of the game by Mets starter Chris Young, who retired the first 15 men he faced. But in the sixth the Rockies erupted for four runs on four hits, a sac fly, and a Met error. Dexter Fowler drove in a pair of runs to lead the Rockies offensively. The Rockies can wrap up a series win over the Mets in game three of their series tonight. ESPN Radio 1410 has the action, with the pregame show at 5:30 and first pitch at 6:15.

Tim Miles went overseas for the newest member of what’s shaping up as an intriguing 2013 recruiting class for Husker men’s basketball. Tai Webster, a point guard from New Zealand, gave a verbal commitment to Nebraska yesterday. Webster represented his country at the Olympic Qualifying Tournament earlier this year, averaging 13.5 points per game. The seventeen-year old Kiwi chose Nebraska over offers from Wake Forest, Virginia, Pitt and LSU, among other schools. The third member of the 2013 class, Webster will sign his letter of intent upon his high school graduation in November.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Free agent safety Jim Leonhard practiced Tuesday for the first time since undergoing a right knee operation in December.

The Broncos removed him from their PUP list and placed him on their 90-man roster. He participated in drills with other defensive backs but was held out of team drills.

Leonhard said he hopes he can practice in team portions when the Broncos (No. 10 in the AP Pro32) return from a day off Thursday. He also said he’d like to play in one of Denver’s final two preseason games, but he’s sure the training staff will “protect me from myself” and take things slowly.

Leonhard is a seven-year veteran who spent the past three seasons as a fan favorite with the New York Jets following stints in Buffalo and Baltimore.

Lincoln – The Nebraska women’s basketball team added the final piece to its non-conference scheduling puzzle on Tuesday with the announcement of Pittsburg State as the Huskers’ first exhibition opponent for the 2012-13 season.

The Huskers, who return four starters from a team that went 24-9 overall and advanced to the 2012 NCAA Tournament, will take on the Gorillas at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Monday, Oct. 29 at 7:05 p.m.

The game will mark the earliest tip-off date for the Huskers in history – one day earlier than Nebraska’s 86-55 win over Pittsburg State on Oct. 30, 2011. The Huskers will be facing the Gorillas to open exhibition play for the fourth straight year.

NU’s exhibition opener with Pittsburg State will be the first of 19 home dates for the Huskers in their final season at the Devaney Center before moving into the new Pinnacle Bank Arena in 2013-14. The Huskers had previously announced a home exhibition date against Nebraska-Kearney on Sunday, Nov. 4, at 2:05 p.m. Nebraska will tip off the regular season against North Carolina A&T at the Devaney Center on Friday, Nov. 9 at 2:05 p.m.

Nebraska’s game with North Carolina A&T will be the first of nine regular-season non-conference home dates, including battles with ACC powers Maryland (Nov. 28) and Florida State (Dec. 8), and 2012 Atlantic-10 Conference runner-up Temple (Nov. 11). The Huskers will also face Summit League runner-up Oral Roberts at the Devaney Center on Dec. 20.

NU’s home Big Ten schedule has not yet been announced, but the Huskers will play home games against defending Big Ten champions Penn State and Purdue, along with 2012 NCAA Tournament qualifiers Iowa, Ohio State and Michigan State. The Huskers will also face Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota in Big Ten Conference home action.

The game between the Huskers and Gorillas will give Nebraska fans their first look at Coach Connie Yori’s 2012-13 Huskers. Returning honorable-mention All-American Jordan Hooper returns to lead the Huskers after capturing first-team All-Big Ten honors as a sophomore in 2011-12. Hooper, an Alliance, Neb., native averaged 18.9 points and a Big Ten-best 9.3 rebounds per game. Hooper earned mention on both the Wade and Naismith National Player-of-the-Year watch lists in 2011-12.

Although last year’s result between Nebraska and Pittsburg State was lopsided, the NCAA Division II Gorillas went on to their most successful season in school history. Pittsburg State opened the season with a school-record 14-game winning streak and finished with a 27-6 overall record under Lane Lord. Not only did PSU win the first NCAA Tournament game in program history, the Gorillas notched three NCAA wins to advance to its first-ever Elite Eight. Pittsburg state ended its season with a narrow 61-58 loss to Shaw in the quarterfinals in San Antonio, Texas.

Lord’s 2012-13 Gorillas will have to replace five seniors from last year’s club but will feature returning All-American Lizzy Jeronimus. The 5-11 guard led the Gorillas with 15.8 points per game, while also leading the team in assists (2.9 apg) and ranking second on the team in rebounding (6.8 rpg) and steals (1.0 spg).

Nebraska’s first meeting with Pittsburg State on the exhibition court came on Nov. 3, 2009, when the best Husker team in history worked its way to a 68-54 win. PSU was one of only three teams in 18 games to play the eventual NCAA Sweet Sixteen Huskers within 14 points at the Devaney Center in 2009-10. The following year, Nebraska worked its way to a 78-60 win on Oct. 31, 2010 against the Gorillas in another entertaining exhibition opener.

— Jeff Griesch, Nebraska Sports Information

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Creighton officials have announced plans to build a men’s basketball practice facility on the east side of its downtown Omaha campus.

The university said in a statement Tuesday that the proposed building would house men’s basketball offices and practice courts, strength-and-conditioning facilities for all student-athletes and the Academic Learning Center.

The project will be paid for by a group of donors.

Officials are considering a new use for the Vinardi Center, the longtime headquarters for the basketball team.

Two site locations near the Ryan Center are being considered for the new facility. Creighton’s Board of Trustees must approve the proposal before the design and construction phases begin.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) – The Jacksonville Jaguars are going to be England’s team. The NFL and the Jags announced Tuesday the team will play one home game in London for four years in a row.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and team owner Shad Khan made a joint announcement about the move in Jacksonville. The small-market franchise will play four games at Wembley Stadium, one every season beginning in 2013.

Khan has made it clear he wants to play games overseas in hopes of increasing the team’s brand globally.

The NFL has played an annual London game since 2007. New England and St. Louis play at Wembley later this year.

The Rams had been scheduled to play in London in 2013 and 2014, but they pulled out last week, citing a need to focus on lease negotiations and ease fan discontent.

PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison remains optimistic his aching left knee will be ready in time for the season opener against Denver.

Harrison had a minor procedure on the knee last week and hasn’t practiced at all during training camp. He was activated from the physically unable to perform list before Sunday’s preseason game against Indianapolis but did not dress.

The 34-year-old Harrison said Tuesday he tried to play through some discomfort during minicamp but the knee flared up whenever he would try to cut. Though the four-time Pro Bowler has spent nine seasons with the Steelers, he believes he needs to practice at least a few times before being OK’d to play.

Harrison added he’s been impressed with how second-year linebacker Chris Carter has played in his absence.

NEW YORK (AP) – Major League Baseball has banned Melky Cabrera associate Juan Nunez from all team clubhouses.

MLB executive vice president Rob Manfred notified teams of the action Tuesday in a memorandum to club presidents, chief executive officers and general managers.

Nunez, a consultant for Cabrera’s agents, took responsibility for fabricating a website that the San Francisco Giants All-Star outfielder was relying on to challenge a positive drug test. Cabrera dropped his grievance last week and was suspended for 50 games.

Manfred says, “Commissioner (Bud) Selig has directed that all major league clubs are prohibited from granting Juan Carlos Nunez access to their clubhouses or other non-public areas,” according to the memo, obtained by The Associated Press.

The memo was first reported by ESPN.com.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Toronto at Detroit 6:05 p.m.
Kansas City at Tampa Bay 6:10 p.m.
L.A. Angels at Boston 6:10 p.m.
Baltimore at Texas 7:05 p.m.
N-Y Yankees at Chi White Sox 7:10 p.m.
Minnesota at Oakland 9:05 p.m.
Cleveland at Seattle 9:10 p.m.

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Atlanta at Washington 6:05 p.m.
Cincinnati at Philadelphia 6:05 p.m.
Colorado at N-Y Mets 6:10 p.m. (LISTEN LIVE on ESPN Radio 1410)
Chi Cubs at Milwaukee 7:10 p.m.
Houston at St. Louis 7:15 p.m.
Miami at Arizona 8:40 p.m.
Pittsburgh at San Diego 9:05 p.m.
San Francisco at L.A. Dodgers 9:10 p.m.