Huskers fans and Rockies fans alike can vote for one of their own to make the Major League Baseball All-Star Game as the last player selected for their league’s side. Colorado’s Todd Helton and Kansas City’s Alex Gordon are among the ten players eligible for the Final Vote on MLB.com. One player will be voted in from each league to be the 34^th and final player on their roster for next Tuesday’s All-Star Game in Phoenix. The former Husker Gordon is batting .298 with 10 homers and 46 RBI for the Royals. Helton, at 37 the oldest player eligible for the final vote, is hitting .319 with 9 dingers and 39 RBI. Voting continues until Thursday afternoon. Hear Helton and the Rockies take on the Atlanta Braves tonight on ESPN Radio 1410, with pregame coverage at 5:30 and first pitch at 6:10.

Today marks the official first day of a new era of Nebraska Husker athletics. The university became a full member of the Big Ten Conference today, over a year after the university submitted their application for membership and were unanimously approved to become the 12^thmember of the conference. The move severs a 102 year non-continuous relationship with the Big 12 Conference, which began with the founding of the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association in 1907. Nebraska will be a member of the Big Ten’s Legends Division, along with Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, and Iowa, for football purposes. The school will compete in 14 different sports within the conference. The conference’s television network, BTN, will air an entire weekend of Husker related programming this weekend.

A late lead slipped away, and in the end, so did the rubber game of the Colorado Rockies three-game series with the Chicago White Sox. The Rockies blew a 4-1 seventh inning advantage on their way to a 6-4 loss in 10 innings at Coors Field yesterday afternoon. The Rockies had taken the lead in the first inning thanks to Troy Tulowitzki’s three-run home run, his 15^th of the season. But the White Sox scored once in the seventh and twice in the eighth to tie the score, and former Rockie Juan Pierre hit a two-run single off Clayton Mortensen in the top of the 10^th to give the White Sox the eventual winning tallies. The loss puts the Rockies record at 39-42 at the official halfway point of their season. Tonight the Rockies begin a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals in Denver. ESPN Radio 1410 has game one tonight with pregame coverage at 6:30 and the first pitch at 7:10.

The Rockies have struggled to find consistent offensive and defensive production from their second basemen this season. With that in mind, the team made a trade yesterday to bring in a veteran to man the position. The Rockies acquired Mark Ellis from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for minor league relief pitcher Bruce Billings and a player to be named later. The 34-year old Ellis has hit just .217 in 62 games with the A’s this season, but is a career .265 hitter in his nine years in the majors and has been considered one of the best defensive second basemen in the game. Ellis will join the Rockies tonight, start at second base, and bat second in the order.

The North Platte First Nationals juniors split a home doubleheader against Omaha Roncalli last night at Bill Wood Field. The day started in fine fashion for the First Nationals, who brought the bats in an 11-3 victory called short after five innings due to the mercy rule. The visitors scored three runs in the top of the first inning, but Darian Allberry kept Omaha Roncalli off the board the rest of the way while the First Nationals lineup proceeded to score eleven runs on seven hits. Drew Callaghan, Luke Volz and Logan Elliott drove in two runs apiece in the victory. It turned out that North Platte used its full component of offense for the day in that first game. In the nightcap, it was Roncalli who ran away with a mercy rule victory of their own, 8-0 in six innings. The First Nationals were victimized by a six-run fourth inning.

One night after the Colorado Rockies posted a walk-off victory, the visiting Chicago White Sox turned the tables at Coors Field. The White Sox broke a tie with a run in the top of the ninth inning to defeat the Rockies 3-2 last night. AJ Pierzynski’s sacrifice fly scored Carlos Quentin with the eventual game-winning run. The Rockies got both of their runs off of solo homers. Jason Giambi left the yard in the sixth inning and Ty Wigginton went big fly in the seventh to tie the score at two. Rockies starting pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez threw seven strong innings, allowing two runs on just four hits, but did not factor in the decision. The Rockies and White Sox play the rubber game of their three-game series in Denver as a matinee today. ESPN Radio 1410 has all the action from Coors Field, with pregame coverage at 1:30 and the first pitch at 2:10.

There was no drama in Omaha last night – simply a dominant performance from the now repeat national champions. South Carolina defeated Florida 5-2 last night to sweep the College World Series and take home the first ever title contested at the new TD Ameritrade Park. Gamecocks ace Michael Roth pitched seven and two thirds innings on just three days rest, allowing two runs on five hits to earn his second win of the series. The Gamecocks opened the scoring with three runs in the third inning. After Florida closed to within 4-2 in the top of the eighth inning, South Carolina’s Scott Wingo singled in a run in the bottom of the eighth to provide extra insurance. Wingo was named the Series’ Most Outstanding Player for his heroics throughout the tournament, batting .333 and driving in four runs while making several stellar defensive plays.

Offense was the name of the game last night at Bill Wood Field in the North Platte First Nationals juniors and seniors matchups against Kearney. More specifically, Kearney had plenty of offense, and neither North Platte team had any. In the first game of the split doubleheader, the First Nationals juniors were shutout 9-0 by Kearney Post 52. The visitors broke a scoreless tie with a seven-run fourth inning. In the nightcap, visiting Kearney Runza ran their winning streak to 16 straight games with an 11-0 win in a contest shortened to five innings because of the mercy rule. The First Nationals seniors were hit hardest in a six-run fourth inning, and had only four hits of their own in the five frames. Two of those hits came from Jamie McKain. The First Nationals juniors host Omaha Roncalli today while the seniors travel to play the same opponent.

The Colorado Rockies did something last night they hadn’t done all season – celebrated a walk-off win. Troy Tulowitzki scored on Ty Wigginton’s bloop single in the bottom of the 13^th inning as the Rockies topped the Chicago White Sox 3-2 at Coors Field. It was the Rockies’ first win in five extra inning games on the season. Tulowitzki dashed home from first base on Wigginton’s two out hit to stop the Rockies three-game losing streak. Rockies reliever Rex Brothers earned his first major league win on the mound, working a scoreless inning. He and five other Rockies relievers combined for six innings of two-hit shutout ball in relief of starter Jason Hammel. Seth Smith drove in the other two Rockies runs in the winning effort. The Rockies and White Sox play game two of their series in Denver tonight. ESPN Radio 1410 has the call with pregame coverage at 7:05 and first pitch at 7:40.

The North Platte First Nationals juniors and seniors host their rivals from Kearney in a double-header tonight at Bill Wood Field. It’s the second time that North Platte and Kearney have tangled in single games at the junior and senior level following their meetings in Kearney on June 7. On that night, the First Nationals juniors topped Kearney’s Post 52 6-3 behind a complete game pitching effort from Jack Kenny, and the First Nationals seniors were shutout by Kearney Runza 7-0. The seniors are looking to bounce back from a 1-1 record over the weekend. They lost to Beatrice and defeated Gering in extra innings in home action on Saturday. Tonight the First National seniors will try and stop Kearney Runza’s 15-game winning streak. Action starts tonight with the juniors game at 5:30, with the seniors game to follow at 8.

The South Carolina Gamecocks posted their second extra inning win in a row at the College World Series last night, defeating Florida 2-1 in 11 innings to move one win shy of a repeat national championship. Trailing 1-0 in the eighth inning, South Carolina tied the score on a Scott Wingo RBI single. The teams would remain deadlock into extra frames, with the Gamecocks working out of a bases loaded, no out jam in the bottom of the ninth inning and throwing out the potential game-winning run at the plate to end the bottom of the tenth. In the top of the 11^th, South Carolina first baseman Christian Walker singled. On an attempted steal of second base, Florida committed two throwing errors on the play that allowed Walker to come all the way home with the eventual winning run. The Gamecocks can wrap up the title with a win in Game 2 of the best-of-three series tonight.