In Brief

PRO FOOTBALL

No. 1 pick Luck signs four-year,
$22.1 million pact with Colts

The Indianapolis Colts signed Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft, to a four-year, $22.1 million deal Thursday.

The deal is similar to the one signed by Cam Newton a year ago and the one signed this week by Robert Griffin III. Newton, last year's top pick, got a four-year, $22 million deal with the Carolina Panthers, and Griffin, who went No. 2 behind Luck, signed a four-year contract with the Washington Redskins worth $21.1 million guaranteed, with a club option for a fifth year.

Luck threw for 35 touchdowns last season - breaking his school record of 32 in 2010 - and eclipsed John Elway's career record (77) at Stanford with 80 touchdown passes in only three seasons. He finished with 3,170 yards passing, a 70 percent completion percentage and nine interceptions in 2011. He was the Heisman Trophy runner-up twice.

Luck will be replacing Peyton Manning, the future Hall of Famer who missed last season with a neck injury, was released after the season and signed with the Denver Broncos. With Manning on the sideline, the Colts went 2-14.

Also: St. Louis Rams defensive end Robert Quinn was charged with drunken driving in suburban St. Louis. Quinn, the Rams' first-round draft pick in 2011, was involved in a one-car accident on an exit ramp along Interstate 270 on July 10. He played in 15 games last season and had 23 tackles and five sacks.

The New England Patriots signed first-round draft choice Dont'a Hightower to a four-year contract. The All-America linebacker for Alabama was the 25th overall selection in the NFL Draft.

CYCLING

Wiggins keeps lead, nears first
Tour de France win for Britain

Britain's Bradley Wiggins overcame the mountains and challengers to retain the yellow jersey in the Tour de France, while Spain's Alejandro Valverde won the 17th stage in Bagneres-De-Luchon, France.

After the last hard ascent, Bradley maintained his overall lead and said he sensed "that it was pretty much over" with three days left. He leads Sky teammate Christopher Froome, who is second, by 2 minutes, 5 seconds in his quest to become the first Briton to win cycling's biggest race.

Wiggins faces one last test - the individual time trial, his specialty - on Saturday. Flat stages await Wiggins today and Sunday, which features the ride to the finish on the Champs-Elysees in Paris. Those stages aren't expected to alter the standings.

Wiggins also would become the first Olympic track champion to win the Tour. He took the yellow jersey in Stage 7 and hasn't let go of it since. No rider has done that since France's Bernard Hinault had a lead from the same stage in 1981 to the finish.

Valverde, the Movistar leader who returned from a two-year doping ban this year, won his third stage in a breakaway. Froome was second and Wiggins third, both 19 seconds back.

Also: USA Cycling will reward gold medalists at the London Games with up to $100,000 in bonus money, creating the richest known Olympics financial incentive program offered by any cycling organization in the world.

The new program, called the "London 100K Challenge," will be officially announced in the coming days. It includes up to $75,000 for silver medalists and up to $50,000 for bronze through funding from the U.S. Olympic Committee, USA Cycling and the USA Cycling Development Foundation.

MISCELLANEOUS

Weber signs offer sheet with
Flyers for 14 years, $110 million

Restricted free agent Shea Weber signed an offer sheet for 14 years worth $110 million with the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Nashville Predators, Weber's current team, have seven days to match the offer or let the star defenseman go. Before the free-agency period began, the Predators had said they would match any offer for Weber.

Weber, 26, is Nashville's captain and played on a $7.5 million arbitrator's award last season, when he had 19 goals, 49 points and a career-best plus-21 rating. He is a three-time All Star who helped Canada win the gold medal in the 2010 Olympics.

Also: Steve Garban, the former chairman of the Penn State board of trustees, became the first board member to resign in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child sex-abuse scandal. Garban, a 1959 Penn State graduate who worked at the university for 33 years, was harshly criticized over his handling of the crisis after Sandusky's arrest in November.

Faith Lutheran High School golfer Anne Freman was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Girls Junior Amateur in Daly City, Calif. Freman, who will be a senior this year, lost to Casie Cathrea of Livermore, Calif., 6 and 4. Freman had advanced with a 19-hole victory over Alice Jeong of Gardena, Calif., in a second-round match Thursday morning.

Jason Bohn shot 8-under-par 64 in the first round to take a one-stroke lead in the rain-suspended PGA Tour's True South Classic in Madison, Miss.