GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) – While Peyton Manning watched, Denver’s reserves pulled out a wild one in the desert.

Manning and the rest of the Broncos’ starters took the fourth game of the preseason off, and Denver got a 44-yard field goal from Matt Prater as the game ended to beat the Arizona Cardinals 16-13 on Thursday night.

Omar Bolden, a fourth-round draft pick from nearby Arizona State, returned a kickoff 103 yards for a touchdown to ignite a second-half comeback for Denver.

In contrast to the Broncos, Arizona used 10 starters on offense and 10 on defense in the game’s first few series. The Cardinals’ two candidates for starting quarterback, John Skelton and Kevin Kolb, did not play.

Cardinals first-round draft pick Michael Floyd made a spectacular 22-yard touchdown catch.

The wait for Husker football ends tomorrow afternoon, when the 2012 edition of the Big Red emerges from the Memorial Stadium tunnel to face Southern Miss. Husker head coach Bo Pelini said after yesterday’s practice that both he and his team are raring to go. “It’s always a little nerve-racking: it’s the first time out, you have some new guys in there,” Pelini said.”Especially in this situation, where you don’t have a lot of information on your opponent. I’m excited for this football team. I know our guys are looking forward to playing. They’re tired of hitting each other. At the end of the day, it’s about playing hard, flying to the football and playing with an attitude. I think our guys understand that.” Nebraska’s previous meeting against the Golden Eagles was one to forget; a stunning 21-17 loss in Lincoln in 2004. But the Huskers haven’t lost a home opener in 26 years. Saturday’s is scheduled for 2:30.

The Colorado Rockies continue their six-game homestand tonight as they open a three-game series against the San Diego Padres. The Rockies wrapped up a stretch of 20 games in 20 days by taking two out of three games from the Los Angeles Dodgers. They won 13 of those 20 games, but the Padres come in playing even better, having won nine of their last ten. Alex White will start on the mound for the Rockies, opposing Padres left-hander Clayton Richard. First pitch in Denver is set for 7:40.

Let’s kick it

NASVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Are you ready for some football that really counts?

The college season kicks off tonight and there is a member of the preseason AP Top 25 getting ready to take the field. Ninth-ranked South Carolina is in Nashville to take on Southeastern Conference rival Vanderbilt.

The Gamecocks need a win to keep the goal of a SEC title alive past the opener. Coach Steve Spurrier is 17-2 all-time against Vanderbilt and 22-1 in season openers.

South Carolina finished second in the SEC East last season and went 11-2 overall.

Vanderbilt is looking for its second straight win in a season opener and SEC opener. The Commodores have not won SEC openers in consecutive seasons since 1957 and 1958.

Get back

UNDATED (AP) – When the major college football season kicks off tonight, those kickoffs will be 5 yards closer to midfield.

It’s one of several changes made by the NCAA rules committee for this season. They’ve moved the spot of kickoffs up from the 30 to the 35-yard line. Also, the kicking teams can line up no more than 5 yards from the 35 when the ball is kicked. And when a touchback does occur on a kickoff, the offense will start at the 25-yard line instead of the 20.

Their reasoning: More touchbacks should equal fewer injuries.

Chasing a postseason berth

UNDATED (AP) – The American League wild card hunt resumes early today with Oakland playing at Cleveland and Baltimore home to Chicago this afternoon.

The Athletics begin the day holding the first wild card. The A’s have won five straight and are one game better than the Orioles. The Birds lead Tampa Bay by a half-game for the league’s second wild card. The Rays are at Toronto this evening.

Rounding out this afternoon’s AL slate, it’ll be Minnesota hosting Seattle.

There are two afternoon starts in the National League, neither with a contending team on the field. Philadelphia hosts the New York Mets and the Chicago Cubs are home to Milwaukee.

Day 4

NEW YORK (AP) – Serena Williams is among those getting ready for Day 4 play at the U.S. Open. The fourth seed is on the afternoon card in Arthur Ashe Stadium against Maria Jose Martinez of Spain.

Williams will take the main show court in Flushing Meadows after 23rd-seeded Mardy Fish of the U.S. takes on Russian veteran Nikolay Davydenko.

Venus Williams will share the spotlight with top-ranked Roger Federer during the night session in New York.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Oakland at Cleveland 11:05 p.m.
Chi White Sox at Baltimore 11:35 p.m.
Seattle at Minnesota 12:10 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Toronto 6:07 p.m.
Detroit at Kansas City 7:10 p.m.
Boston at L.A. Angels 9:05 p.m.

NATIONAL LEAGUE
N-Y Mets at Philadelphia 12:05 p.m.
Milwaukee at Chi Cubs 1:20 p.m.
St. Louis at Washington 6:05 p.m.
San Francisco at Houston 7:05 p.m.
Arizona at L.A. Dodgers 9:10 p.m.

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PRESEASON
Atlanta at Jacksonville 5:30 p.m.
N-Y Jets at Philadelphia 5:35 p.m.
Baltimore at St. Louis 6:00 p.m.
Buffalo at Detroit 6:00 p.m.
Carolina at Pittsburgh 6:00 p.m.
Cincinnati at Indianapolis 6:00 p.m.
Kansas City at Green Bay 6:00 p.m.
Minnesota at Houston 6:00 p.m.
New Orleans at Tennessee 6:00 p.m.
Chicago at Cleveland 6:30 p.m.
Oakland at Seattle 9:00 p.m.
San Diego at San Francisco 9:00 p.m.
Denver at Arizona 10:00 p.m. (LISTEN LIVE on ESPN Radio 1410)

TOP-25 COLLEGE FOOTBALL
( 9) South Carolina at Vanderbilt 6:00 p.m.

Miami Bryce…Hamilton hits 36th in losing cause for Texas

UNDATED (AP) – Washington rookie sensation Bryce Harper has produced his first multi-homer game of his young career. The 19-year-old phenom homered twice and drove in three runs to help the NL East-leading Nationals snap their season-high five-game losing streak by holding off the Miami Marlins 8-4.

Harper had a shot at baseball history. No teenager has ever hit three home runs in a big league game. But he grounded out and hit into a double play his last two times at-bat. After the DP, Hunter slammed his helmet to the ground and was thrown out by umpire C.B. Bucknor.

Kurt Suzuki also went deep for the Nats. The Nationals’ seven runs exceeded all the runs they had scored in their five-game skid.

In the rest of the NL:

– Chase Headley and the San Diego Padres beat the Atlanta Braves 8-2 for their ninth win in 10 games. Headley hit a two-run single and left-hander Eric Stults won his fourth straight decision as the Padres took two of three from the Braves, who lead the NL wild-card race but fell five back of Washington in the NL East.

– Lucas Duda hit a two-run homer, Matt Harvey had another sharp outing and the New York Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies 3-2 for their fourth straight win.

– Pittsburgh blanked St. Louis 5-0. Pedro Alvarez stayed hot, blasting his 26th homer of the season and driving in three runs.

– Chris Heisey hit two of Cincinnati’s four home runs, including the tying two-run shot in the seventh inning, to rally the Reds to a 6-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Reds starter Mat Latos improved to 11-4 with seven strong innings, striking out seven.

– Ex-Astro Hunter Pence hit a three-run homer and Joaquin Arias drove in two with a triple to help the San Francisco Giants to a 6-4 win over Houston.

– Milwaukee held off the Chicago Cubs 3-1. Mike Fiers tossed seven and a-third strong innings to improve to 8-6. The Brewers have won eight of nine to move within five games of .500

In the AL:

– Evan Longoria homered twice, Tampa Bay roughed up Matt Harrison and the Rays beat the Texas Rangers 8-4 to snap a four-game losing streak. Josh Hamilton hit his 36th home run for Texas.

– Kansas City nipped Detroit 1-0. Bruce Chen allowed four hits over a season-high eight innings. Eric Hosmer’s infield single in the fourth drove in the only run.

– Oakland continued Cleveland’s woes with an 8-4 win over the Tribe, which has lost 13 of 14. Josh Donaldson hit a three-run homer as the Athletics took over the AL wild card lead by one game over Baltimore. The A’s have won 11 of 13.

– The Chicago White Sox spoiled the AL debut of Joe Saunders. They touched the former Arizona hurler for seven runs in an 8-1 victory over the Orioles. Gordon Beckham had three hits and three RBIs to help the White Sox end a five-game road losing streak.

– Yunel Esccobar hit a two-run homer had three doubles and drove in five runs as the Blue Jays beat the Yankees 8-5. J.A. Happ got the win, improving his record to 3-1, despite giving up a season-high five walks. The Yankees made three errors in losing for the sixth time in nine games.

– The Minnesota Twins enjoyed a 10-0 laugher over Seattle. Josh Willingham slugged his 32nd homer. Trevor Plouffe homered and had four RBIs.

– The L.A. Angels built an seven-run lead after three innings and coasted past Boston 10-3. Chris Iannetta and Kendrys Morales homered to highlight the Angels’ 14-hit assault.

Twins to host 2014 game…Utley considering move to third base

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Baseball commissioner Bud Selig (SEE’-lig) says the 2014 All-Star game is coming to Minnesota. The Twins also hosted the game in 1965 at Metropolitan Stadium and 1985 at the Metrodome.

In other MLB news:

– Phillies oft-injured second baseman Chase Utley is considering a move to third base to prolong his career. Utley last played third base in 2002 at Triple-A. It didn’t go well. He made 28 errors in 123 games and moved back to second base the following season.

Replacement refs to open the season

NEW YORK (AP) – The NFL will open the regular season with replacement officials. Replacement refs will be on the field beginning next Wednesday night when the Cowboys visit the Giants to open the season. League executive Ray Anderson informed the 32 teams that negotiations are at a standstill between the NFL and the officials’ union.

The NFL Referees Association was locked out in early June and talks on a new collective bargaining agreement haven’t produced anything substantial. Replacements have been used throughout the preseason, with mixed results.

In other NFL news:

– Lawrence Tynes kicked a 32-yard field goal with 1:03 to play and the New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots 6-3 in the preseason finale for the teams that met in the Super Bowl in early February.

– New Washington kicker Billy Cundiff made three of four field goal attempts, making him the only first-stringer to do anything noteworthy in the Redskins’ 30-3 victory over Tampa Bay.

– The Bengals have signed center Jeff Faine to replace the injured Kyle Cook, who may miss the whole season because of a foot injury.

– Recently retired running back LaDainian Tomlinson has a new job. NFL Network and SiriusXM Radio have announced that the 2006 NFL MVP was joining the outlets as a broadcaster.

Results from Day 3

NEW YORK (AP) – The women’s top-seed at the U.S. Open has won her second match. Victoria Azarenka (ah-zah-REN’-kuh) of Belarus defeated Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium, 6-2, 6-2. The reigning Australian Open champ and world No. 1 has never advanced past the fourth round at the U.S. Open.

Defending champion Samantha Stosur moved to the third round with a 6-3, 6-love victory over Edina Gallovits-Hall of Romania.

Third-seeded Maria Sharapova needed 54 minutes to advance to the third round. The four-time Grand Slam champion beat Lourdes Dominguez Lino 6-love, 6-1.

Women’s fifth-seed Petra Kvitova was a winner as well on Day 3 at the Open as she blitzed Alize Cornet of France, 6-4, 6-3.

Three-time U.S. Open champ Kim Clijsters’ singles career ended where she wanted it to, just not the way she hoped. The four-time Grand Slam champion lost 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5) to 18-year-old Laura Robson of Britain in the second round. Clijsters will head into retirement after she finishes playing in doubles at Flushing Meadows.

On the men’s side of things, Olympic gold medalist Andy Murray reached the third round at the U.S. Open for the seventh year in a row, beating 118th-ranked Ivan Dodig of Croatia 6-2, 6-1, 6-3.

Fourth-seed David Ferrer advanced with a 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 win over Kevin Anderson of South Africa.

Other notable winners were ninth-seed John Isner and Lleyton Hewitt.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Toronto 8, N.Y. Yankees 5
Chicago White Sox 8, Baltimore 1
Oakland 8, Cleveland 4
Tampa Bay 8, Texas 4
Kansas City 1, Detroit 0
Minnesota 10, Seattle 0
L.A. Angels 10, Boston 3

NATIONAL LEAGUE
L.A. Dodgers 10, Colorado 8
Cincinnati 6, Arizona 2
San Diego 8, Atlanta 2
N.Y. Mets 3, Philadelphia 2
Pittsburgh 5, St. Louis 0
Washington 8, Miami 4
Milwaukee 3, Chicago Cubs 1
San Francisco 6, Houston 4

Tonight on ESPN Radio 1410 it’s the season debut of North Platte Bulldog volleyball. The Bulldogs trek west to Sidney to participate in a triangular. They’ll take on the host Red Raiders at 5 PM. Then at 6, it’s the first of North Platte’s three scheduled matches this season against perennial powers Ogallala. The Bulldogs bring back six starters from last year’s team and will aim to improve on that squad’s 13-19 record. Coverage of Bulldog volleyball on ESPN Radio 1410 begins at 4:45 tonight.

The North Platte Community College Lady Knights were swept in three sets by the Hastings College JV last night in Hastings. A tight first set saw the Broncos edge out a 25-23 win. The Broncos then dominated the second set 25-10 before surpassing the Lady Knights late in a 25-23 win in the third set to close out the match. Whitney Smith, a sophomore from Wallace, had six kills to lead the Lady Knights in the defeat. The Lady Knights drop to 4-2 on the season. They’ll play four matches in two days at a tournament in Colby, Kansas this Friday and Saturday.

Sophmore Brooke Henry from Loup City served consecutive aces in the opening set, and they are last night’s Play of the Game.

Henry pair of aces 8-29