NEW YORK (AP) – Tim Tebow has been traded to the Jets.

The team said Wednesday it has acquired the polarizing quarterback from the Broncos. Denver general manager Brian Xanders says the Broncos will receive fourth- and sixth-round draft picks, while New York gets a seventh-rounder – all in 2012. The trade first was reported by Fox Sports.

Denver started shopping Tebow after signing Peyton Manning. Tebow is expected to complement starter Mark Sanchez, who received a $40.5 million contract extension, with $20.5 million guaranteed, earlier this month. The Jets also had pursued Manning.

Tebow led the Broncos to the playoffs last season – along the way beating Sanchez and the Jets, who missed the postseason. But Denver executive John Elway believed Manning gave the team a better chance at winning a championship now.

(UPDATE 4:30 PM – The trade has hit a snag due to details in Tebow’s contract mandating a $5 million payout from any team acquiring Tebow via trade. The Jets evidently did not read the contract before agreeing to the deal. The Jacksonville Jaguars and St. Louis Rams may step in and try and acquire Tebow if the Jets deal falls through.)

(UPDATE 7:55 PM – ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports the deal as originally reported is back on.)

 

The surreal became reality yesterday afternoon as future Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning held up an orange jersey with his name and number 18 on the back. Manning and the Denver Broncos agreed to a five-year, $96 million contract to make the 14-year veteran the new starter in the Mile High City. Manning will be owed $18 million for the 2012 season, all of it guaranteed. Future years and dollars will be contingent on Manning passing physicals prior to each season. With a new signal-caller in town, the Broncos are reportedly shopping around their deposed starter, Tim Tebow. Several teams, including the New York Jets, Jacksonville Jaguars and Miami Dolphins, have been connected to Tebow in trade rumors. The Broncos aren’t expected to receive much more than a mid-round draft pick in return.

Tri-City Storm goaltender Adam Wilcox was named the Reebok Goaltender of the Week in the United States Hockey League for his performance in a pair of victories last weekend. Wilcox made 36 saves on 37 shots in a 5-1 Storm win over the Fargo Force in Kearney on Friday night. Saturday, he repeated the feat exactly, stopping 36 more shots in a 2-1 triumph over the Force. The honor marks the second time Wilcox has been named Goaltender of the Week this season. The wins allow the Storm to hang on to sixth place in the USHL’s Western Conference. They currently occupy the last playoff spot in the conference, one point behind fifth-place Sioux City and two points ahead of seventh-place Des Moines, who have a game in hand. The Storm host Omaha on Friday night and Dubuque on Saturday night.

The Colorado Rockies won in walk-off fashion over the Los Angeles Angels in Cactus League action in Scottsdale, Arizona yesterday. Down 3-2 entering the ninth inning, the Rockies got a game-tying sacrifice fly from Brandon Wood and an RBI single from Chris Nelson, both of whom are bidding to win a spot on the Opening Day roster, to win the game 4-3. Rockies starting pitcher Juan Nicasio continued his comeback from his broken neck last season, pitching five innings and allowing three runs on five hits. Nicasio struck out four and walked one. Carlos Gonzalez, Troy Tulowitzki, Todd Helton, and Dexter Fowler all started and had a hit for the Rockies in the game. The Rockies will face the San Diego Padres tonight. ESPN Radio 1410 will have the action live, with pregame coverage starting at 8:30 PM.

The Nebraska baseball team picked up its first ever Big Ten Conference weekly honors, as Josh Scheffert was named Big Ten Player of the Week and Pat Kelly was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week. Scheffert, a junior from Lincoln, hit a scalding .650 in six games last week for the Huskers, getting 13 hits in 20 at-bats. He hit three homers and drove in ten runs. In Saturday’s win over Louisiana Tech, Scheffert had a career-best five-hit game. Kelly went 8-for-14 in four games last week, including his first two career home runs. The Huskers went 5-1 in six games last week to improve their record to 14-7. They open a two-game series against Northern Colorado tonight and open their Big Ten Conference schedule with a three-game home set against Illinois on Friday night.

The Nebraska women’s basketball team saw their season come to an end in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last night. The sixth-seeded and seventeeth-ranked Huskers were upset by eleventh-seed Kansas 57-49 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Though four Huskers scored in double figures, the team was plagued by a poor shooting night, as they shot just 33 percent from the field. Kaitlyn Burke led the way for the Big Red with 14 points. Lindsey Moore chipped in 12 points, Jordan Hooper added 11 points, and Emily Cady scored 10 points and pulled in 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season. Nebraska, which made its tenth NCAA Tournament appearance and second in the last four years, ended its season with a 24-9 record. Kansas will play Delaware in the second round on Tuesday night.

The Nebraska baseball team was unable to secure the four-game sweep of Louisiana Tech, falling to the Bulldogs 6-5 at Hawks Field in Lincoln yesterday. Pat Kelly’s second home run of the season, a two-run blast in the fourth inning, capped a five-run rally and gave the Huskers a 5-4 lead after they had fallen behind early. But that lead would prove to be short-lived, as Husker reliever Luke Bublitz surrendered a two-run home run in the top of the fifth inning that ended up being the deciding blow in the game. Cory Burleson, Kale Kiser and Bryan Peters drove in runs for the Big Red. Kelly, Rich Sanguinetti, and Josh Scheffert each had a pair of hits. The loss snaps a five-game winning streak for the Huskers and drops them to 14-7. They host Northern Colorado in a two-game series starting Tuesday.