Tonight on ESPN Radio 1410 it’s North Platte Community College volleyball. The Lady Knights host their biggest rivals tonight as Central Community College comes to town. The two teams are consistently the best in Region IX Division II, with the Raiders winning last year’s championship and ending North Platte’s two-year reign. The Lady Knights enter the match with an 8-4 record, while the Raiders are 11-4. ESPN Radio 1410’s coverage starts with the pregame show at 5:45, leading to first serve at 6.

The Colorado Rockies pitching imploded early in an 8-3 loss to the San Francisco Giants last night at Coors Field. Starter Jeff Francis gave up five runs in the first inning and was out of the game after three innings. The Giants would add a run in the sixth and two more in the ninth to bury the Rockies. Colorado’s offense came mostly from Wilin Rosario. The rookie catcher moved into a second-place tie on the franchise’s single-season rankings for home runs by a rookie when he blasted his 24^th dinger in the third. He also drove in a run on a single, giving him 62 RBI on the season. Charlie Blackmon added a pinch-hit RBI double for the Rockies. Today is a travel day for the Rockies. They open up a seven-game Western road swing Friday night with the first of three contests against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park.

The Husker football team has suffered another defection. Sophomore defensive tackle Chase Rome has left the team, and Bo Pelini says he’ll be gone “for the foreseeable future”. Rome earned a place in the starting lineup last season after an injury to Jared Crick and was expected to start alongside Baker Steinkuhler this year. But he saw his playing time decrease in the first two games this season, and with the struggling Husker defense expected to give more opportunities to younger faces after a disappointing start, Rome apparently became frustrated with his reduced role. After yesterday’s practice, Pelini told reporters, “His personal goals and his personal perception of where he should be on this football team doesn’t match the team goals.” Pelini also confirmed that sophomore wide receiver Tyler Wullenwaber would miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL.

A new Denver Bronco earned a conference award for his Week One performance – no, not that one. Cornerback Tracy Porter was named the AFC’s Defensive Player of the Week yesterday. Porter returned an interception 43 yards for a game-sealing touchdown in Sunday’s 31-19 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. He also tallied eight tackles and had five passes defensed. Porter and the Broncos take on the Atlanta Falcons Monday night at the Georgia Dome.

Notre Dame to ACC in all sports but football 

Light day schedule

UNDATED (AP) — There are two day games in Major League Baseball and the result of each will have an impact on the National League Wild Card race. In the first game, Philadelphia is playing host to Miami. The Marlins, a pre-season pick to contend for the post season, are 63-80; while the Phillies, another pre-season favorite, are 71-71. That said, the Phils have won 14 of 18 and have moved within four games of St. Louis in the NL Wild Card race.

Those same Cardinals, who along with the Braves hold down a Wild Card berth, are in San Diego today. The Braves this evening are facing the Brewers in Milwaukee.

The closest divisional race in the NL is in the West as the Giants top the Dodgers by 6 games. This evening LA is playing at Arizona while the Giants are in Denver to face the Rockies.

In the NL East, the Nationals top the Braves by 7 ½ games and tonight the Nats are in New York for a game with the Mets. In the Central Division the Reds have a whopping 10 ½ game lead over St. Louis and tonight Cincinnati is home to Pittsburgh. The Pirates are far from dead as they are just 2 ½ games out a Wild Card berth.

The remaining game has the Astros hosting the Cubs.

On to the American League portion of the schedule and in Chicago, it’s game-three of the four-game Tigers-White Sox series. They’ve split the first two games and in the standings the Sox top the Tigers in the American League Central by 2 games.

In the AL East the Yankees and Orioles are tied for first with records of 79-62. The Yankees were beaten by the Red Sox last night while the Orioles stopped the Rays. In the AL Wild Card race the Athletics hold down one of the two spots with the Yankees and Orioles tied for the second. Oakland is in Anaheim, Calif., tonight for another game with the Angels. Last night the A’s won while the Rangers beat Cleveland, meaning the Athletics remain 3 games back of Texas in the AL West. This evening the Rangers entertain the Indians once again while the Yankees are in Boston and Baltimore is home to Tampa Bay. By the way the Angels are just 2 ½ games out of a Wild Card berth.

The rest of the American League schedule has Kansas City at Minnesota and Toronto at home to Seattle.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Tampa Bay at Baltimore 6:05 p.m.
Seattle at Toronto 6:07 p.m.
N-Y Yankees at Boston 6:10 p.m.
Cleveland at Texas 7:05 p.m.
Detroit at Chi White Sox 7:10 p.m.
Kansas City at Minnesota 7:10 p.m.
Oakland at L.A. Angels 9:05 p.m.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Miami at Philadelphia 3:05 p.m.
St. Louis at San Diego 5:35 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati 6:10 p.m.
Washington at N-Y Mets 6:10 p.m.
Chi Cubs at Houston 7:05 p.m.
Atlanta at Milwaukee 7:10 p.m.
San Francisco at Colorado 7:40 p.m. (LISTEN LIVE on ESPN Radio 1410)
L.A. Dodgers at Arizona 8:40 p.m.

Orioles and Yanks tied at the top

UNDATED (AP) — The American League East is tied again with Baltimore and the New York Yankees sporting identical 79-62 records.

J.J. Hardy homered twice, doubled and drove in five runs, and the Baltimore Orioles defeated Tampa Bay 9-2. The Rays are two games back and two behind in the chase for the final AL wild-card spot.

Hardy went four for five. Chris Davis homered and Matt Wieters had three hits and two RBIs for Baltimore.

— Meanwhile, the Yankees were dropping a 4-3 decision to Boston in Fenway Park. Jacoby Ellsbury had four hits and drove in a pair. Ellsbury capped a strong performance on his 29th birthday with a solid single to drive in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth.

In the rest of the AL:

— Doug Fister pitched seven innings of two-hit ball, Austin Jackson hit a tying two-run homer and Miguel Cabrera delivered a go-ahead solo shot to lead the Detroit Tigers past the White Sox 5-3, reducing Chicago’s AL Central lead to two games.

— Oakland held off the L.A. Angels 6-5 to stay atop the AL wild card standings. Jerry Blevins got Howie Kendrick to ground into a game-ending double play with two runners on in the ninth inning for their fifth straight victory. Brandon Moss and Yoenis Cespedes (yoh-EHN’-ehs SEHS’-peh-dehs) homered.

— The AL Central-leading Texas Rangers beat Cleveland 6-4. Adrian Beltre cracked his 31st homer. Matt Harrison became the fourth AL hurler to win 16 games.

— Kyle Seager homered and came within a triple of the cycle, Erasmo Ramirez pitched seven innings for his first major league win and the Seattle Mariners beat the Toronto Blue Jays 4-3.

— Kansas City routed Minnesota 9-1. Eric Hosmer homered to help Will Smith win his fifth game.

Over in the NL:

— Meanwhile, the Arizona Diamondbacks were blanking the Dodgers 1-0. Ian Kennedy outpitched Clayton Kershaw for the win. The only run of the game was unearned, the result of an error by Dodgers shortstop Hanley Ramirez.

— Washington rookie Bryce Harper had his first four-hit game in the majors in the Nationals’ 5-3 victory over the Mets. In the process, the Nats denied knuckleballer R.A. Dickey his 19th victory, dropping him to 18-5. Rookie Tyler Moore’s pinch-hit home run in the seventh gave the Nats the lead.

__ Logan Forsythe and Alexi Amarista had key hits in a five-run fourth inning, and the San Diego Padres beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-4 to send the slumping World Series champions to their 10th loss in 13 games.

— Washington’s lead in the NL East is now six and a-half games over Atlanta. Marco Estrada pitched shutout ball into the seventh inning, Rickie Weeks and Aramis Ramirez homered and the Milwaukee Brewers blanked the Braves 5-0. The Brewers won their eighth in a row at Miller Park and reached the .500 mark for the first time since April 24. Milwaukee has surged back into the NL wild-card race by winning 17 of 22 overall. They are four out of the final wild card.

— Philadelphia is another team inserting itself in the wild card picture. Jimmy Rollins homered and drove in three in the Phillies’ 9-7 win over Miami for their sixth straight win. The Phils have won 14 of 18. The Phils moved within four games of St. Louis in the NL wild-card race.

— Mike Leake pitched seven innings and had a pair of hits in leading the NL Central-leading Cincinnati Reds to a 5-3 victory over fading Pittsburgh. The Pirates have lost five in a row and 22 out of 31, falling out of contention. They now trail the Reds by a season-high 13 games.

— Jimmy Paredes singled and scored an unearned run in the third inning and the Houston Astros beat the Chicago Cubs 1-0.

Rest for Chapman…Orioles DFA reliever Gregg

UNDATED (AP) — The Cincinnati Reds are giving closer Aroldis Chapman a few days off to rest his tired pitching shoulder.

The left-hander struggled with his control and only hit 96 mph on the radar gun Monday night during a 14-inning, 4-3 win over Pittsburgh.

In other MLB news:

— The Baltimore Orioles have purchased the contracts of outfielders Endy Chavez and L.J. Hoes from Triple-A Norfolk and designated veteran reliever Kevin Gregg for assignment. Gregg went 3-2 with a 4.74 ERA in 40 appearances with the Orioles.

— Texas Rangers right-hander Roy Oswalt has been diagnosed with a right forearm strain and won’t throw for several days.

Goodell to meet with 4 players in bounty scandal

UNDATED (AP) — The NFL confirms that Commissioner Roger Goodell has agreed to meet with four players whose suspensions in connection with the bounty investigation were recently lifted by an appeals panel. No specific dates have been set for the meetings.

Goodell is reconsidering whether to hand down revised suspensions to Saints linebacker Jon Vilma, Saints defensive end Will Smith, Cleveland linebacker Scott Fujita and free agent defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove.

In other NFL news:

— The NFL lifted the roster exemption for Browns linebacker Scott Fujita, who had the three-game suspension for his role in the Saints’ bounty scandal lifted last week. Fujita is now back on Cleveland’s 53-man roster, which had an opening when cornerback Joe Haden was suspended four games Monday for failing a drug test.

— The Oakland Raiders have finalized a multiyear contract extension with fullback Marcel Reece. No details were announced but Reece had been slated to make $540,000 this season as an exclusive rights free agent. He has played 31 career games for Oakland and has 56 career receptions for 674 yards and five touchdowns. He has also rushed for 234 yards on 48 attempts with one touchdown.

— The Washington Redskins have signed long snapper Justin Snow to replace Nick Sundberg, who was put on injured reserve.

— Former Pro Bowl center Dan Koppen, who spent nine season snapping the ball to Tom Brady in New England, will now have the chance to work with Peyton Manning. Koppen signed with the Denver Broncos on Tuesday, two weeks after his release from the Patriots.

— NFL Charities is awarding more than $1.5 million in grants for sports-related medical research at 15 organizations, with nearly two-thirds of the money going to study concussion prevention and treatment.

Face-to-face meeting today

NEW YORK (AP) — There’s a glimmer of hope in the stalled talks aimed at preventing hockey’s fourth work stoppage since 1992.

The NHL and the players’ association will resume negotiations today in an effort to avoid a lockout this weekend. The two sides have not met face to face since last Friday.

Both sides planned to get together at the league office in New York before the NHLPA holds player meetings later today. The NHL board of governors will convene on Thursday with Commissioner Gary Bettman.

In a show of solidarity, more than 250 players are set to attend union meetings today and Thursday in New York to hear the latest bulletins on any negotiations.

Reports: Harvard captain to leave school

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — Harvard basketball co-captain Kyle Casey plans to withdraw from school amid a cheating scandal that also may involve other athletes, according to several reports. Sports Illustrated and the Harvard Crimson are reporting that Casey, a senior, would take a leave of absence from school in an attempt to preserve a year of eligibility once the issue is resolved.

Co-captain Brandyn Curry also has been implicated. The Boston Herald reported Curry also is expected to withdraw from classes.

The school is looking into whether at least 125 undergraduates in what has been reported to be an Introduction to Congress class of about 280 students cheated by working together on a take-home final exam in the spring.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Baltimore 9 Tampa Bay 2
Seattle 4 Toronto 3
Boston 4 N-Y Yankees 3
Texas 6 Cleveland 4
Detroit 5 Chi White Sox 3
Kansas City 9 Minnesota 1
Oakland 6 L.A. Angels 5
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Philadelphia 9 Miami 7
Cincinnati 5 Pittsburgh 3
Washington 5 N-Y Mets 3
Houston 1 Chi Cubs 0
Milwaukee 5 Atlanta 0
San Francisco 9 Colorado 8
Arizona 1 L.A. Dodgers 0
San Diego 6 St. Louis 4

The North Platte Bulldogs went on the road and swept Kearney in a softball doubleheader yesterday evening. In the first game, Ashten Hernandez and Mikenzi Wiseman each had three RBI and Hernandez pitched a complete game in a 10-4 rout. The second game was a slugfest. Kaite Franzen had five hits, Hernandez belted a two-run homer and pitched the final six innings, and the Bulldogs held on for the 11-9 triumph. The victories move North Platte to 10-4. They host the North Platte Softball Classic on Saturday.

The North Platte Lady Knights were defeated in four sets at Northeastern Junior College last night, falling to the Plainswomen 20-25, 18-25, 25-23, 16-25. Sandrina Hallahan led the North Platte attack with 12 kills, while Jacee Kershaw added eight kills. The Lady Knights fall to 8-4 with the loss. They host Central Community College in the first installment of their Region IX Division II rivalry on Thursday night.