The Colorado Rockies jumped out in front early and held on late to secure a series victory. Four runs in the first inning sparked an 8-6 Rockies win over the Milwaukee Brewers at Coors Field. Carlos Gonzalez drove in a pair of runs in the first with a single, the first of his four hits on the night. Wilin Rosario added a solo home run in the fifth inning, and red-hot Eric Young Jr. blasted a two-run dinger in the sixth to tack on further insurance. Tyler Chatwood had by far his best outing in a Rockies uniform, working six innings and allowing just two runs. The Brewers rallied for three runs in the ninth inning, but Rafael Betancourt held the rally at bay for his 21^st save of the season. The Rockies aim for a sweep of the Brewers this afternoon. ESPN Radio 1410 has the action from Denver, with the pregame show at 1:30 and the first pitch at 2:10.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska women’s basketball coach Connie Yori will be paid a bonus of $31,250 if the Cornhuskers make the NCAA tournament and an additional $100,000 if they win the national championship.

Yori’s bonus structure is outlined in her new contract, which was announced in June and made public Tuesday.

The contract, which runs through June 2017, calls for her to be paid $673,200 a year, up from $660,000.

She’ll earn $15,000 for winning either a Big Ten regular-season or tournament championship.

The more she wins in the NCAA tournament, the more she’ll earn. The scale: $15,000 for a first-round win, $30,000 for a second-round win, $45,000 for a third-round win and $75,000 for reaching the Final Four.

Nebraska (24-9, 10-6) made it to the Big Ten tournament title game last season.

Denver Broncos offensive lineman Chris Kuper suffered a grotesque leg fracture and ankle dislocation in the final game of the 2011 regular season. His comeback from that injury will have to wait a little longer. Kuper, the team’s starting right guard, broke a bone in his left forearm at practice yesterday and will be out for six weeks. That likely keeps him out for at least the first three games of the regular season. Veteran Manny Ramirez will fill in for Kuper in his absence. The Broncos also got some unfortunate injury news about rookie running back Ronnie Hillman. Hillman was held out of the preseason opener last Thursday with a right hamstring injury, but was hoping to play this week before he re-aggravated the injury yesterday during workouts. His status for Saturday’s home preseason opener against Seattle is in doubt.

Lincoln – The Nebraska men’s basketball team will face a 13-game non-conference schedule that features matchups against teams from the Pac-12 and ACC, along with both of the state’s other Division I programs, first-year coach Tim Miles announced Tuesday.

“I’m excited to get going with the season,” Miles said. “Every year is different in how you create a non-conference schedule. Some teams need more of a challenge, and some need more grooming so you prepare accordingly. This one is a nice mix of everything. I think we will be challenged a great deal, and we will know exactly what we have going into the start of Big Ten play.”

The Huskers will play nine home games in their final season at the Bob Devaney Sports Center, including the previously announced Joe Cipriano Nebraska Classic, which features Valparaiso, Nebraska-Omaha, Tulane and Kent State. Nebraska will also face Southern (Nov. 11), USC (Dec. 3), Creighton (Dec. 6), Jacksonville State (Dec. 18) and Nicholls State (Dec. 29) at the Devaney Center.

“We have put together a strong home slate when you look at the Joe Cipriano Classic, a rivalry game with Creighton and a Southern California team that believes it will be an NCAA-caliber team this year. I think that it is going to be fun for our fans.”

In addition, the Huskers will make trips to Wake Forest (Nov. 27), Oregon (Dec. 15) as well as participate in the Sun Bowl Invitational (Dec. 22-23).

“Playing at Wake Forest in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge as well as playing at Oregon will be important games for us, Miles said. “We are also excited to return to El Paso for the Sun Bowl Classic. We had a great experience there with Colorado State last year. The hospitality was amazing, and we are looking forward to going back to be part of the event this year.”

Miles also announced the Huskers will have one exhibition game, as they will take on Midland University on Wednesday, Nov. 7, at the Devaney Center.
Fans can purchase season tickets for as little as $95 by visiting Huskers.com, calling 800-8-BIGRED or stopping by the Nebraska Ticket Office during business hours (Mon.-Fri., 8 a.m.-5 p.m.). In addition, all fans who purchase season tickets for the 2012-13 season will have priority over the general public when the Huskers move into Pinnacle Bank Arena in 2013-14.

Nebraska will spend most of November at home, opening the final basketball season at the Devaney Center on Sunday, Nov. 11, when the Huskers take on Southern. The contest against the Jaguars, who went 17-14 and finished second in the SWAC standings, will be the first of five consecutive home games before Nebraska travels to Winston-Salem, N.C., for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge game at Wake Forest.

The month of December opens with a tough three-game stretch that begins with a USC team on Dec. 3 that was limited by injuries last year. USC returns nearly its entire roster in 2012-13, including starting point guard Jio Fontan, who missed all of last season following knee surgery, as well as six of the team’s top eight scorers in 2011-12.

The Huskers will continue a busy week when they host Creighton at the Devaney Center on Thursday, Dec. 6. The Bluejays return four starters, including All-American Doug McDermott, from a team that 29 games and reached the third round of the 2012 NCAA Tournament.

Following final exams, the Huskers will trek cross country to take on the Oregon Ducks on Saturday, Dec. 15. Oregon, coached by Dana Altman, went 24-10 last season and tied for second place in the Pac-12 before reaching the quarterfinals of the NIT. Oregon returns two starters, including second-team All-Pac-12 selection E.J. Singler (13.6, 5.6 rpg).

The Huskers will return home for a matchup with a Jacksonville State team that went 15-18 last year and finished sixth in the Ohio Valley Conference, but returns its top nine players, including all five starters.

Nebraska travels to El Paso for the Sun Bowl Invitational, which features Central Michigan, host UTEP and Arkansas Pine Bluff. The Huskers close the non-conference portion of their schedule with a Nicholls State team that returns its top three scorers from last year, including Southland Conference Freshman of the Year Trevon Lewis (12.6 ppg, 5.1 rpg). In addition, senior Fred Hunter, who averaged 15.8 points and a team-high 6.3 rebounds per game in 2010-11, returns after missing all of 2011-12 with knee surgery.

The 2012-13 Big Ten Conference schedule will be announced at a later date by the conference office.

— Shamus McKnight, Nebraska Sports Information

PARK RIDGE, Ill. – The Big Ten announced its 2012 women’s soccer preseason coaches’ poll and players to watch list on Tuesday, with defending regular season champion Penn State earning top honors among the 12 conference teams. The Nittany Lions enter the season as the conference favorites after winning their 14^th straight Big Ten title in 2011.

Penn State compiled a 10-1-0 record in Big Ten play last season en route to the conference crown. Illinois checks in at No. 2 after earning its first Big Ten Tournament title since 2003. Ohio State follows at No. 3 in the poll, jumping four spots from its seventh place finish a year ago. Wisconsin and Michigan come in at Nos. 4 and 5, respectively, while Iowa and Michigan State tied for sixth. The complete preseason coaches’ poll can be found below. The 36-player Big Ten Players to Watch List is attached.

The 2012 season officially kicks off on Friday with 11 conference teams opening play.

BIG TEN WOMEN’S SOCCER PRESEASON COACHES’ POLL

1. Penn State
2. Illinois
3. Ohio State
4. Wisconsin
5. Michigan
6. Iowa
7. Michigan State
8. Minnesota
9. Purdue
10. Nebraska
11. Northwestern
12. Indiana

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Higher education experts say an accreditation warning issued to Penn State is serious and appropriate given the issues raised by a recent child sex-abuse scandal, but the school is unlikely to lose its accreditation.

They also expect the university to comply quickly with demands to show its governance, finances and integrity meet standards set by its accreditation agency.

The Middle States Commission on Higher Education issued the warning last week based on the school’s handling of molestation allegations against former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky.

Judith Eaton, president of the Commission on Higher Education Accreditation, said Tuesday that it’s highly unlikely Penn State will end up on probation or lose its accreditation.

Students cannot use federal funds – including Pell grants and government loans – to attend unaccredited schools.

ANDERSON, Ind. (AP) – Colts quarterback Andrew Luck is sticking to the same goal he brought to training camp.

There’s still plenty of room for improvement.

Following a morning walkthrough Tuesday, the two-time Heisman Trophy runner-up acknowledged that he had put some good things on tape when he went 10 of 16 for 188 yards with two touchdowns and a quarterback rating of 142.6 in his first NFL preseason game.

After watching the film, this year’s No. 1 overall draft pick says he needs to play better for the Colts (No. 32 in AP Pro32).

Luck thinks he can improve on changing protections to avoid hits and should complete more passes when the Colts face Pittsburgh on Sunday night.

BOURBONNAIS, Ill. (AP) – The Chicago Bears say Pro Bowl linebacker Brian Urlacher has undergone arthroscopic surgery on his left knee and still hopes to be ready for the season opener.

The Bears say Urlacher underwent an arthroscopic debridement procedure on Tuesday to help relieve swelling in the knee. He missed the offseason training program after spraining the medial collateral ligament and partially spraining the posterior cruciate ligament in the final game last year against Minnesota.

Urlacher was ready for the start of training camp but has not practiced since July 31. Even so, he said Sunday that he expects to be ready for the opener against Indianapolis on Sept. 9.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Boston at Baltimore 6:05 p.m.
Texas at N-Y Yankees 6:05 p.m.
Chi White Sox at Toronto 6:07 p.m.
Detroit at Minnesota 7:10 p.m.
Oakland at Kansas City 7:10 p.m.
Cleveland at L.A. Angels 9:05 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Seattle 9:10 p.m.

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