The fall prep season at North Platte High School gets underway tonight, as the Lady Bulldog softball team takes the field for a doubleheader in Hastings. The Lady Bulldogs will meet Omaha Skutt Catholic and Omaha Gross Catholic halfway for one game against each team. North Platte went 16-17 last season with a young squad under coach BJ Songster, but the team lost no seniors and eight starters are back, meaning the goals for this year will be set much higher. Both of North Platte’s opponents have already started their seasons. The Gross Catholic Cougars are 3-0 while the Skutt Catholic Skyhawks are 1-0. ESPN Radio 1410 will have the broadcast from the Smith Softball Complex in Hastings tonight. Pregame coverage gets underway at 4:15, with the first pitch of the opening game scheduled for 4:30.

Another late rally propelled the Colorado Rockies to victory last night. Two runs in the seventh and two more in the ninth gave the Rockies a 5-3 win over the New York Mets in Queens. The Rockies again struggled offensively early in the game but broke a 1-1 tie in the seventh on a lead-off homer by Wilin Rosario, the 20^th of the season for the rookie catcher. DJ LeMaiheu drove in the second run of the inning on a suicide squeeze. In the ninth, after the Mets had cut their lead to 3-2, the Rockies got an RBI single from Chris Nelson and a pinch-hit RBI double from Josh Rutledge. The Rockies have now won eight of their last ten ballgames and have won three straight series for the first time all season. They’ll go for the four-game sweep of the Mets this afternoon. ESPN Radio 1410 has the action, with pregame coverage at 11:30 AM and the first pitch at 12:10.

The Colorado Rockies have been without the services of their best player for almost three full months. But Troy Tulowitzki is on his way back. The shortstop will begin a minor-league rehab assignment on Friday with AA Tulsa. Tulowitzki went on the disabled list on May 31 with a bizarre groin injury known as baseball pitcher syndrome. He’ll be joined on the rehab assignment by Jason Giambi, who has been out since July 24^th with a viral infection. Neither player is expected to be activated until after rosters expand on September 1.

Lincoln – University of Nebraska men’s tennis coach Kerry McDermott announced Wednesday that Fungai Tongoona (prounounced FOO’-gah-ai TOH-go-oh-nah) has been named an assistant coach with the Husker men’s tennis program.

“I feel real fortunate to have the opportunity to add Fungai Tongoona to my coaching staff,” Head Coach Kerry McDermott said. “He brings a wealth of familiarity to our program and understands the type of individual we are looking for both as a student and an athlete here at the University of Nebraska. He is a man of high integrity, has an unbelievable work ethic and very passionate about keeping Nebraska Tennis among the elite in the Big Ten and in college tennis.”

Originally from Harare, Zimbabwe, Tongoona spent four seasons (1999-2002) with the Husker program playing for Coach McDermott. A two-year captain for the Huskers, he compiled a 12-16 in singles play while going 17-12 in double action as a senior in 2001-02. He was named the men’s tennis lifter-of-the-year in 1999-2000 and was a second-team academic All-Big 12 performer in 2000. In addition, he also served on the Student-Athlete Advisory Board during his time at Nebraska and was on honored by the Big 12 for a community outreach award in 2000. He graduated with a degree in marketing and minor in French from Nebraska in 2003.

Tongoona has been a certified tennis teaching professional since 2002, serving as head professional at Southlake (Texas) Tennis Center, as well as the Woods Tennis Center in Lincoln. Most recently, he served as the teaching professional at the DFW Hilton in Grapevine, Texas, and is also certified as a personal trainer and Tennis Trainer.

Tongoona replaces Joerg Barthel, who was named head coach at Georgia State in early August.

— Seamus McKnight, Nebraska Sports Information

The Wallace Wildcats are a perennial playoff team in Class D2, having qualified nine times in the past ten seasons. But Gary Hager and his Wildcats aren’t satisfied with just getting there – they want to make some noise, and with a talented backfield and an experienced offensive line, they hope they can do just that this year. Check out what the coach has to say as the Wildcats get ready to start their season.

MILWAUKEE (AP) – The Milwaukee Brewers have released veteran left-hander Randy Wolf.

Wolf was 3-10 with a 5.69 ERA in 24 starts for Milwaukee this season. He has lost his last four decisions. Today is his 36th birthday.

His release will make room in the rotation for starter Shaun Marcum, who is expected to return soon from a rehabilitation assignment. Marcum has been on the disabled list since June 23 with a right elbow injury.

The Brewers have recalled infielder Jeff Bianchi from Triple-A Nashville.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – A lawyer for ousted Penn State President Graham Spanier is attacking the university-sanctioned report on the Jerry Sandusky sex-abuse scandal, calling it a “blundering and indefensible indictment” of his client.

Defense lawyer Timothy Lewis calls Louis Freeh, the former FBI director who led the investigation that produced the report, a “biased investigator” who piled speculation on top of innuendo to reach his conclusions.

Lewis’ remarks came at a news conference Wednesday in Philadelphia designed to address Freeh’s accusations that Spanier helped Penn State cover up complaints about Sandusky in 1998 and 2001.

Lewis says Spanier had “scant involvement” in the complaints – and had no idea either was sexual in nature.

Spanier has not been charged in the case. Sandusky awaits sentencing on 45 criminal counts involving 10 victims.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Eagles coach Andy Reid says there’s no question Michael Vick will be ready to play the season opener despite injuring his ribs again.

Vick won’t practice Wednesday after bruising his ribs and the soft tissue surrounding it during Philadelphia’s win at New England on Monday. The three-time Pro Bowl quarterback hasn’t been ruled out of Friday night’s preseason game at Cleveland, though it’s unlikely he will play.

The Eagles play the Browns again in Week 1 on Sept. 9.

Vick has missed three games because of rib injuries in each of the past two seasons. Nick Foles will start on Friday if Vick can’t play.

The starters are expected to play about one quarter.

UNDATED (AP) – The Tampa Bay Rays sit first in the AL wild card race entering this afternoon’s game against visiting Kansas City, one game better than AL East rival Baltimore. The Orioles play at Texas tonight holding a-half game lead over Oakland and a game and a-half lead over Detroit for the second wild card berth. The A’s play the Twins this afternoon in Minnesota and the Tigers host Toronto under the lights.

Seattle puts a seven-game winning streak on the line this afternoon against a visiting Cleveland club that’s dropped seven in a row.

Boston hosts the L.A. Angels this evening and the battle of division leaders continues in Chicago, where the White Sox are hunting their first home sweep of New York in more than two decades. The Yanks lead the Rays by four games in the East. The Sox are two games up on the Tigers in the Central.

The top two teams in the NL West continue their head-to-head matchup in Los Angeles tonight. The L.A. Dodgers are a game and a-half behind the San Francisco Giants, who are chasing their first three-game sweep at Dodgers Stadium in five years.

Today’s NL slate gets started with a matinee in Milwaukee featuring the Brewers and Chicago Cubs. Also this afternoon, Arizona hosts Miami for the first game of a doubleheader and San Diego is home to Pittsburgh. The Pirates are second to Atlanta in the NL wild card race, a-half game better than Los Angeles and St. Louis. The Braves will be out to avoid a three-game sweep at the hands of the NL-leading Nationals this evening in Washington while the Cardinals host Houston.

Elsewhere in the senior circuit tonight, Central leader Cincinnati is at Philadelphia and the New York Mets host Colorado.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Kansas City at Tampa Bay 12:10 p.m.
Minnesota at Oakland 2:35 p.m.
Cleveland at Seattle 2:40 p.m.
Toronto at Detroit 6:05 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.

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Chi Cubs at Milwaukee 1:10 p.m.
Miami at Arizona 2:40 p.m. (first game)
Miami at Arizona 8:40 p.m. (second game)
Pittsburgh at San Diego 5:35 p.m.
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)
Houston at St. Louis 7:15 p.m.
San Francisco at L.A. Dodgers 9:10 p.m.

Giants stretch lead… Strasburg fans 10 as Nats lead by 7

UNDATED (AP) – Tim Lincecum bounced back from consecutive home losses with his third straight road win and the San Francisco Giants defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-1. That increases the Giants’ NL West lead to one and a-half games over their division rival.

The two-time NL Cy Young winner allowed one run and five hits in 5 2-3 innings after failing to pitch past the fourth inning in his last start, a loss to Washington last week. Lincecum is 7-13.

Joe Blanton gave up four runs and 10 hits in 5 2-3 innings and fell to 8-12 with the loss. He’s 0-3 in four starts with the Dodgers since they acquired him from Philadelphia.

In the rest of the NL:

– Washington fireballer Stephen Strasburg pitched the red-hot Nationals to a 4-1 win over Atlanta. That helped the Nats increase their lead to seven games in the NL East over the Braves. Strasburg was dominant. He struck out 10 in his six innings, increasing his National League leading total to 183 strikeouts. Strasburg is 15-5 overall. He’s 4-0 with a 1.50 ERA in August.

– Cincinnati nipped the Philadelphia Phillies 5-4. Zack Cozart’s homer in the ninth gave the Reds the lead. The Reds had lost their last seven meetings with the Phils.

– St. Louis blanked Houston 7-0 on an Adam Wainwright five-hitter. Wainwright matched his career high with 12 strikeouts.

– Milwaukee beat the Chicago Cubs 5-2. Marco Estrada allowed two hits in six solid innings to win for the first time in almost a year.

– Giancarlo Stanton hit a run-scoring single with two outs in the 10th inning and the Miami Marlins rallied from an early five-run deficit to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-5.

– Chase Headley cracked a two-run homer in the 10th inning to give the San Diego Padres a 7-5 win over Pittsburgh. Garret Jones cracked two homers, including a two-run shot that tied it for the Pirates in the ninth.

Over in the AL:

– Kevin Youkilis hit a grand slam, Paul Konerko homered and Dewayne Wise had four hits as the Chicago White Sox rallied for the second straight game to beat the New York Yankees 7-3. Since joining the White Sox in a June trade with the Red Sox, Youkilis has hit 11 of his 15 homers.

– Oakland left-hander Brett Anderson pitched seven innings in his first start since undergoing elbow surgery nearly 15 months ago and the Athletics turned a triple play behind him in a 4-1 win over Minnesota.

– Felix Hernandez wasn’t perfect, but he was still dominant in Seattle’s 5-1 win over Cleveland. Hernandez allowed one run in 7 2-3 innings in the first start following his perfect game, Jesus Montero hit a three-run homer.

– Nate McLouth’s two-run home run keyed Baltimore’s four-run fifth inning and the Orioles held off the Texas Rangers 5-3. The Orioles are tied with the Rays for the two AL wild card slots.

– Eric Hosmer’s two-out single in the 10th inning drove in the only run in Kansas City’s 1-0 victory over Tampa Bay in a classic pitchers’ duel between the Royals’ Luke Hochevar (HOH’-chay-vur) and the Rays’ David Price. Price and Hochevar both pitched eight innings, giving up a combined four hits, and neither was involved in the decision. The loss snapped the Rays’ five-game winning streak.

– Mark Trumbo hit his career-high 30th homer, Ervin Santana pitched 6 1-3 solid innings and the L.A. Angels snapped a four-game losing streak with a 5-3 win over the Boston Red Sox.

– Max Scherzer struck out eight in seven impressive innings, and the Detroit Tigers took advantage of Ricky Romero’s wildness in a 5-3 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. Scherzer leads the majors with 186 strikeouts.

NL RBI leader sits out again

UNDATED (AP) – Carlos Beltran, the National League’s RBIs leader, missed his second start in three games because of a right hand injury. St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said the hand has been bothering Beltran for a while. Beltran is hitting .278 with 28 homers and 85 RBIs.

In other baseball news:

– Detroit right-hander Doug Fister has been experiencing tightness in his right groin and is not sure if he’ll make his next start. Fister is 7-8 with a 3.67 ERA.

– Roger Clemens says his return to baseball with the Sugar Land Skeeters is all about having some fun. He also says he’s not even thinking about a return to the major leagues. The 50-year-old right-hander was introduced as the newest member of the independent Atlantic League team and he is expected to start for the minor league club on Saturday at home against Bridgeport.

– Cincinnati Reds minor leaguer Billy Hamilton has set a record by stealing his 146th base of the season, breaking Vince Coleman’s minor league record. Hamilton swiped 104 bases in the first half of the season with Class A Bakersfield, then was promoted.

– Baseball players’ union head Michael Weiner is undergoing treatment for a brain tumor. The union says he began treatment on Monday. The union anticipates he will continue to work from its New York office on a daily basis.

Portis calling it quits…Colts’ Collie sits

UNDATED (AP) – Nearly two years after playing in his last NFL game, running back Clinton Portis is announcing his retirement. The Washington Redskins say that Portis and owner Dan Snyder will hold a retirement news conference Thursday.

Portis played two seasons with the Denver Broncos and then seven with the Redskins. He set a Washington franchise record in 2005 with 1,516 yards rushing.

The Redskins cut Portis after a torn groin muscle ruined his 2010 season. He was unable to find another team and ends his career 77 yards shy of 10,000, No. 27 on the NFL’s all-time list.

In other NFL news:

– After two dynamic second-half performances, rookie Russell Wilson is going to get his opportunity with the Seattle Seahawks’ starting offense. He’ll start at quarterback Friday night against Kansas City.

– Austin Collie keeps telling the Indianapolis Colts he feels well, and his teammates and coaches are praying he is. Colts coach Chuck Pagano confirmed the veteran receiver had sustained yet another concussion, and watched this afternoon’s practice from the sideline.

– The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are giving Jordan Shipley a chance to revive his NFL career just a few days after the 26-year-old wide receiver was waived by the Cincinnati Bengals.

Star Clippers guard sidelined 2 months after surgery

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul underwent surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb, an injury that occurred last month before he played for the U.S. in the London Olympics. The Clippers say their star guard will be sidelined for eight weeks.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Detroit 5 Toronto 3
Kansas City 1 Tampa Bay 0, 10 Innings
L.A. Angels 5 Boston 3
Baltimore 5 Texas 3
Chi White Sox 7 N-Y Yankees 3
Oakland 4 Minnesota 1
Seattle 5 Cleveland 1

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Washington 4 Atlanta 1
Cincinnati 5 Philadelphia 4
Colorado 6 N-Y Mets 2
Milwaukee 5 Chi Cubs 2
St. Louis 7 Houston 0
Miami 6 Arizona 5, 10 Innings
San Diego 7 Pittsburgh 5, 10 Innings
San Francisco 4 L.A. Dodgers 1

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.