The Nebraska offense largely escaped blame for the Huskers’ 36-30 loss at UCLA last Saturday, but the unit did commit two costly turnovers and scored just three points in the entire second half. Huskers offensive coordinator Tim Beck knows that’s not acceptable. Despite another big game on the ground from his team, Beck sees inefficiency as the team’s biggest problem coming out of the defeat. It’s unclear whether Beck’s offense will have the services of Rex Burkhead for Saturday’s game at this point. The Huskers host Arkansas State at Memorial Stadium.

Listen to Tim Beck’s post-practice remarks here: Beck 9.11.12

An early 4-0 lead and a late rally weren’t enough for the Colorado Rockies in a 9-8 loss to the San Francisco Giants last night at Coors Field. The Rockies jumped out to their big lead after three innings but the lead disappeared in the fourth, with the big blow a three-run homer by Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner. The Giants then added two runs in the fifth, two more in the sixth, and one in the seventh. Colorado got back to within 9-8 on a two-run home run by Tyler Colvin in the ninth inning but couldn’t bring in the tying run. The Rockies outhit the Giants 17-12 in the defeat. The rubber game of the series is tonight. It’s the final matchup between the Rockies and Giants in Denver this season and the last game of this brief three-game homestand. ESPN Radio 1410 has the action with pregame coverage at 7:05 and the first pitch at 7:40.

Several key games on tap tonight

UNDATED (AP) — The Chicago White Sox look to build on their three-game lead over second-place Detroit in the American League Central tonight as the two teams square off in Chicago. Last night the Sox upped their lead by beating the Tigers 6-1. The pitching matchup this evening has Jake Peavy going for the Sox against Doug Fister.

Two teams vying for the lead in the American League East, as well as a wild card berth, are facing off tonight in Baltimore as the Orioles entertain the Rays. In the East the Yankees have a one-game lead over the Orioles and a two-game lead over the Rays. In the wild card race, the Orioles currently hold down one of the two berths with the Rays a game back. Ten-game winner Matt Moore is on the mound for the Rays against 8-6 Jason Hammel. As far as the Yankees are concerned they start a series in Boston tonight that really means nothing for the home team as the BoSox are 63-78, 16 ½ games back of the Yankees.

The second AL wild card spot is currently held by Oakland and the A’s are in Anaheim, Calif., tonight for a game with the Angels. In the AL West, the A’s are three games back of first-place Texas while the Angels are 6 ½ back. LA is just a game and a half back of a wild card berth.

Pittsburgh is just 2 ½ games out of a wild card berth in the National League and tonight the Pirates are visiting the Reds in Cincinnati. Cincy tops the NL Central by 9 ½ games over St. Louis. The Cardinals have one of the wild card berths in hand right now and tonight they are in San Diego to play the Padres. The Braves have the other wild card spot and they are in Milwaukee.

In the NL East, the Braves are 6 ½ games back of first-place Washington. The Nationals are in New York to face R.A. Dickey and the Mets. Dickey is looking for his 19th win of the season.

The Giants lead the Dodgers by 5 games in the NL West. This evening San Francisco is in Denver to play the Rockies, while the Dodgers are visiting Arizona.

The rest of the games in baseball tonight have Cleveland playing at Texas, Miami at Philadelphia, Minnesota at home to Kansas City, Seattle at Toronto and the Astros playing host to the Cubs.

NHL lockout looms as players, owners travel to NYC 

League awards money for concussion research

NEW YORK (AP) — 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. This year’s grants include research on stem cells and nervous system injuries; MRI methods after concussions; and the effect of temperature on the severity of potential brain injuries.

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 6:05 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.
L.A. Dodgers at Arizona 8:40 p.m.
St. Louis at San Diego 9:05 p.m.

Flacco leads Ravens to 44-13 rout…Chargers flatten Raiders 22-14

BALTIMORE (AP) — Joe Flacco threw for 299 yards and two touchdowns, Ed Reed took an interception 34 yards for a score, and the Baltimore Ravens beat the Cincinnati Bengals 44-13 for their 11th straight win at home.

Baltimore’s high-powered, no-huddle offense also produced two short touchdown runs by Ray Rice. After letting an early 14-point lead dwindle to 17-13, the Ravens pulled away by scoring 24 straight points in just over six minutes.

Flacco watched the final eight minutes of the blowout on the sideline after going 21 for 29 in Baltimore’s ninth consecutive victory in the AFC North. The Ravens were the only team in the division to win the opener. The Ravens sacked Bengals QB Andy Dalton four times.

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) —The San Diego Chargers held Oakland without a touchdown until the final minute of their 22-14 road victory. Philip Rivers completed 24 of 33 passes for 231 yards and one TD, a 6-yarder to Malcom Floyd, for the Chargers. Nate Kaeding booted five field goals.

The Chargers took advantage of three Raiders penalties that led to first downs on the 13-play, 90-yard drive late in the second quarter. Oakland had problems on special teams, botching three punts after an injury to the Raiders Pro Bowl long snapper, Jon Condo.

Buffalo loses Nelson…Jets’ Revis has “mild concussion

UNDATED (AP) — Buffalo Bills receiver David Nelson is expected to miss the rest of the season with a torn ligament in his right knee. The status of running back Fred Jackson remains uncertain. Doctors will now wait between seven and 10 days to conduct further tests to determine the severity of Jackson’s injury.

In other NFL news:

— The New York Jets report that defensive back Darrelle Revis suffered a “mild concussion” in Sunday’s win over the Bills. His status for Sunday’s game against Pittsburgh is unclear.

— Green Bay Packers wide receiver Greg Jennings has a groin injury, and his status for Thursday night’s game against the Chicago Bears is unclear.

— Arizona Cardinals quarterback John Skelton has a low ankle sprain. Coach Ken Whisenhunt called the diagnosis “good news,” considering Skelton had to be carted off the field in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 20-16 victory over Seattle.

— The Atlanta Falcons have lost cornerback Brent Grimes to a season-ending Achilles tendon injury. Grimes went out in the fourth quarter of Atlanta’s 40-24 win at Kansas City in the season opener. Grimes was a Pro Bowler in the 2010 season and got the franchise tag this past offseason when he couldn’t agree on a new contract, receiving a salary of $10.2 million.

— Washington Redskins rookie safety Jordan Bernstine is out for the season with torn ligaments in his right knee. The Redskins moved quickly to replace him with third-year safety Jordan Pugh, who was cut this month by the Carolina Panthers.

— Cleveland Browns cornerback Joe Haden has been suspended without pay for four games for violating the NFL’s policy on performance enhancing substances.

— A person familiar with the schedule tells The Associated Press that the NFL has devised a temporary five-week setup for using replacement officials. The regular on-field officials are locked out and replacements worked the preseason and the first week of the regular season.

Murray outlasts Djokovic in five sets for first Grand Slam

NEW YORK (AP) — In an epic, four-hour, 54-minute men’s title match at the U.S. Open, Olympic champion Andy Murray outlasted second-seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic 7-6, 7-5, 2-6, 3-6, 6-2 to win his first Grand Slam title.

Murray is the first man to bring a major championship back to Britain since Fred Perry in 1936. It’s Murray’s first Grand Slam title after failing in four previous major tournament finals.

Murray vs. Djokovic was a test of will as much as skill. The match tied the record for longest U.S. Open final. The first-set tiebreaker’s 22 points set a tournament mark.

When it was finally over, Murray crouched to the court with both hands over his face, exhausted but exalted.

Fred Perry won Britain’s last Grand Slam men’s title 76 years ago at the U.S. Championships, the Open’s predecessor.

Gio first to 19…Reds outlast Pirates in 14

UNDATED (AP) — Gio Gonzalez is baseball’s first 19-game winner. The Washington southpaw pitched six innings, allowing one run on three hits in the Nationals’ 5-1 win over the Mets. Gonzalez is 19-7.

The Nationals got just five hits but three of them left Citi Field. Ian Desmond and Ryan Zimmerman both hit two-run homers. Catcher Kurt Suzuki added a solo shot.

Gonzalez didn’t allow a hit until Scott Hairston homered in the fourth.

In the rest of the NL:

— Atlanta fell six and a-half games back of the Nationals after losing 4-1 in Milwaukee. Norichika Aoki had a two-run double to key a four-run seventh inning.

— NL Central-leading Cincinnati outlasted Pittsburgh 4-3 in 14 innings. Ryan Ludwick delivered the game-winning hit, an infield single. The Pirates have lost four straight and 21 of their last 30.

— Kyle Kendrick struck out a career-high eight over seven strong innings to lead the surging Philadelphia Phillies to their fifth straight win, 3-1 over Miami. The Phils have won 13 of 17 and are only five games out of the final NL wild card.

— Dave Sappelt scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch and had three RBIs, leading the Chicago Cubs to a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros in a matchup of the teams with the worst records in the majors.

__ San Diego routed St. Louis 11-3. Cameron Maybin hit a two-run homer, Will Venable had three RBIs. The Cards’ lead for the final wild card berth in the NL is down to one game over the Dodgers.

In the AL:

— The Chicago White Sox opened a crucial four-game series with Detroit with a 6-1 win over the Tigers. Alex Rios, A.J. Pierzynski and Gordon Beckham homered. The White Sox now the lead the Tigers by three games in the AL Central.

— Oakland stayed atop the wild card chase by beating the L.A. Angels 3-1. Brandon Moss and Cliff Pennington homered. Jarrod Parker pitched seven innings of three-hit ball as the A’s halted the Angels’ six-game win streak.

— Minnesota beat Cleveland 7-2. Samuel Deduno struck out six in seven innings.

Coach takes sick leave

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — A Texas Tech athletics official says men’s basketball coach Billy Gillispie is on indefinite sick leave. The school announced Aug. 31 that it had opened an investigation into alleged mistreatment of players by Gillispie. Earlier that day and hours before he was to meet with athletic director Kirby Hocutt, Gillispie called 911 and was taken to a Lubbock hospital.

He told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal he thought he was having a heart attack or a stroke.

He spent six days at University Medical Center before being released last Thursday.

Utah loses quarterback

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) —Utah quarterback Jordan Wynn has decided to end his football career after yet another shoulder injury, and possibly a fourth operation. Coach Kyle Whittingham made the announcement after he talked to Wynn and Wynn talked to his father.

Whittingham said further medical tests need to be done but that it’s likely Wynn will need surgery on his left, non-throwing shoulder.

Whittingham says senior Jon Hays and freshman Travis Wilson will battle it out this week for the right to start Saturday’s game against No. 25 Brigham Young.

Tonight on ESPN Radio 1410, it’s North Platte Community College volleyball. The Lady Knights hit the road to face perennial Region IX power Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colorado. They’ve not played since last Wednesday, when they defeated McCook in five sets to move their record to 8-3. The Plainswomen are 8-6 on the campaign, with one of those wins a three-set victory over the Lady Knights at the season-opening Subway Invite in North Platte. ESPN Radio 1410’s coverage begins a 6:45 tonight, with the match starting at 7 PM.

Change may be coming to the embattled Nebraska defense after their worst performance of the Bo Pelini era. Some new faces were working with the first team at yesterday’s practice, most notably linebackers David Santos and Zaire Anderson. Husker defensive coordinator John Papuchis says he’ll take this week to evaluate how his defense can get more athletic. The Huskers lack of defensive speed was exposed in their 36-30 loss at UCLA on Saturday. They gave up 653 rushing yards, just three yards shy of being the most ever given up by a Nebraska defense. Nebraska hosts Arkansas State this Saturday.

Listen to John Papuchis’ full post-practice remarks here: John Papuchis 9-10

The Colorado Rockies held off a late charge from the San Francisco Giants for a 6-5 victory at Coors Field last night. Starting pitcher Alex White hit his first career home run and worked four strong innings on the mound. Rafael Betancourt worked a clean ninth frame for his 28^th save after the Giants had cut a 6-2 Rockies lead down to one run. Tyler Colvin and Chris Nelson each had two of Colorado’s 10 hits. The Rockies and Giants play game two of their three game set in Denver tonight. First pitch is set for 7:40.

The Denver Broncos won their season opener on Sunday night, but it came at a cost. Defensive tackle Ty Warren re-tore the tricep in his left arm in the victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. The injury will likely cost Warren the rest of the season. Warren tore the same muscle in training camp last year and had to sit out the entire 2011 season as a result. He missed all of 2010 with a hip injury, making this potentially his third season-ending injury in as many seasons. The 31 year-old Warren signed a two-year deal with the Broncos before the 2011 season, and restructured the contract before training camp this year.

The Big Ten Conference and Big Ten Network have announced that Nebraska’s Sept. 22 home game against Idaho State will kick off at 2:30 p.m. CT and will be televised on BTN.

The game will mark the Huskers’ first appearance of the season on BTN. Idaho State will come to Lincoln with a 1-1 record, following a bye week this Saturday. The Bengals opened the season with a loss to Air Force, before rebounding with a win over Black Hills State on Saturday.

Nebraska’s matchup this Saturday with Arkansas State will be televised on ESPN2 with kickoff set for 11 a.m. CT at Memorial Stadium.

— Keith Mann, Nebraska Sports Information