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NFL • Broncos center Dan Koppen is out for the season after tearing his left ACL on Sunday in 9-on-7 drills, less than six weeks after rejoining Denver following J.D. Walton's setback in his comeback from ankle surgery.

Koppen, an 11-year veteran who played his first nine seasons with the Patriots, was caught in a pile early in the workout and was carted off the field and taken for an MRI.

Manny Ramirez, who took most of the snaps at center during Denver's offseason practices, stepped in for Koppen, whose teams have gone 108-28 in games he has started. Later in the day, the Broncos signed free-agent center Steve Vallos, pending a physical. Vallos is a six-year veteran who has played in Seattle, Cleveland, Philadelphia and Jacksonville with nine career starts.

Koppen's injury is the latest setback to Peyton Manning's patched-up pocket of protection.

Left guard and ex-Ute Zane Beadles was the only starting lineman to come out of last season unscathed.

Ex-Penn St. leader to appear in court

College Athletics • A former Penn State president and two former top administrators are set to appear in court on charges they failed to tell police about a sexual abuse allegation involving assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky and then tried to cover up what they knew.

Monday's preliminary hearing for ex-President Graham Spanier, former vice president Gary Schultz and ex-athletic director Tim Curley will determine whether prosecutors have enough evidence to warrant a trial on the charges against them.

The men say they're innocent and weren't aware of the allegation against Sandusky in 2001. They say they had believed that Sandusky and the boy were engaged in nothing more than horseplay in a university locker room shower.

Sandusky was convicted last year of 45 counts of child sexual abuse.

Franklin off to solid start at worlds

Swimming • Missy Franklin captured gold in the first of her eight events in Barcelona at the world championships, though it took a brilliant anchor leg by Megan Romano to pull out a victory in the women's 400-meter freestyle relay Sunday evening.

No swimmer — not even Michael Phelps — has ever won eight golds at the world championships.

The Associated Press