Sports in Brief: Nebraska to vote on Big Ten invite

Nebraska could be on its way to the Big Ten by Friday. The university's Board of Regents on Wednesday evening amended the agenda for its previously scheduled Friday meeting to include a briefing from chancellor

Harvey Perlman

and athletic director

Tom Osborne

on conference alignment. The regents then could vote on leaving the Big Twelve. Osborne declined comment when asked whether the Big Ten had formally invited Nebraska to join the league.

The university issued a statement to counter media reports that regents met informally Wednesday and had already agreed to a move to the Big Ten.

The Big Twelve reportedly has given Nebraska and Missouri a Friday deadline to affirm their commitment to the league.

The Big Ten announced last year it was considering adding at least one school, and possibly more, to allow for a lucrative league championship game in football and broaden the reach of its cable TV network.

Rutgers is No. 1 in college football, academically, that is. According to the NCAA's latest figures for "academic progress rate," the Scarlet Knights led all Football Bowl Subdivision members with a score of 992. The score tops the previous record of 986 set by Stanford in 2008. Air Force (988), Rice (987), Northwestern (986) and Duke (983) rounded out the top five in the NCAA report. The four-year APR score covered the academic years of 2005-06 through 2008-09.

On the other hand, Colorado's men's basketball and football teams, and Syracuse men's basketball team will be penalized for falling short of the APR cutline of 925. Colorado will lose one basketball scholarship and up to four football scholarships. The Buffaloes scored 920 in football and 897 in basketball. The Orange's basketball team scored 912 and could lose up to two scholarships.

The Sporting News has selected Penn State senior guard Stefen Wisniewski as a preseason all-American.

ESPN2 will broadcast the Dec. 11 SEC/Big East Invitational at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh pitting Rutgers against Auburn.

Suspended Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli was kicked off the team Wednesday, two days after a police officer cited him for marijuana possession and driving infractions.

HORSE RACING: Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra will head back to the races Saturday in the Fleur de Lis Handicap at Churchill Downs. The 11/8-mile race for fillies and mares will be Rachel Alexandra's first start since finishing second in the La Troienne Stakes at Churchill Downs on April 30. The superstar 4-year-old has struggled this year after going unbeaten in 2009 on her way to horse-of-the-year honors. She has finished second in both of her starts.

Bill Handleman, the award-winning sports and news columnist at the Asbury Park Press who championed the fight of David Goldman to bring his son home from Brazil in a long international custody battle, died in Philadelphia Wednesday after a two-year battle with cancer. He was 62.

GOLF: Brian Komline and first-round leader Bill McGuinness share the lead at the halfway point in the New Jersey State Golf Association Amateur championship in West Orange.

Playing in the second group of the day, the 36-year-old Komline shot a 2-under 68 for a 36-hole total of 1-under 139. The 50-year-old McGuinness shot par on his second trip around the Montclair Golf Club. The 72-hole event is scheduled to end Thursday with a 36-hole finale.

Tiger Woods will play his first tournament outside the United States this year in a charity 36-hole pro-am July 5-6 in Limerick, Ireland. The event will be held at Adare Manor, a former Irish Open venue, the week before the British Open at St. Andrews.

- Staff and wire reports