The first leg of their West Coast swing was a disaster. The Colorado Rockies hope for better luck on the second leg this weekend. The Rockies open a three-game series in San Diego tonight against the Padres. Colorado swept the Padres at Coors Field last weekend but couldn’t carry that momentum to San Francisco, where they dropped three straight to open the trip. Jon Garland takes the mound for the Rockies tonight, facing San Diego’s Tyson Ross. ESPN Radio 1410 will have the action, with pregame coverage at 8:30 and the first pitch at 9:10.

The Husker baseball team is ready for a return to the diamond after their midweek game with Creighton was snowed out. The Big Red opens up a three-game Big Ten conference series with Ohio State at Hawks Field. A 7-2 start to league play sees the Huskers just a game back of first place in the Big Ten. They face a Buckeye team that is 5-4 in the conference. Today’s first pitch has been moved up to 4:05 in anticipation of inclement weather. Saturday’s game starts at 2:05 and Sunday’s game begins at 1:05.

The Denver Nuggets are hoping to make some history tonight as they take on the Dallas Mavericks in Dallas. A victory would give the Nuggets 55 wins on the season, which would set a new franchise record. The Nuggets currently hold a one-game lead over Memphis for the third seed in the Western Conference playoffs with four games left. They’ve beaten Dallas twice in two meetings this season. Tip-off tonight is set for 7:30.

Old school Husker basketball fans will smile when they look out on to the court at Pinnacle Bank Arena this coming season. The floor design plan was released yesterday, and in a call-back to the Danny Nee era, an outline of the state of Nebraska will surround the familiar big red N at center court. The state outline was on the floor of the Devaney Center from 1986 to 1996. Ironically, First National Bank will have their logo on the floor in the new arena named for one of their competitors.

Nebraska’s men’s basketball coaching staff may be losing a member. Reports out of Minnesota are that Ben Johnson, who just finished his first season at Nebraska, will be returning to his alma mater and serving alongside newly-hired Richard Pitino on the Golden Gopher sideline. Tim Miles would not comment on the possibility that his staff might shrink. Johnson came to Nebraska after being an assistant at Northern Iowa for four years.

Braylon Heard has found a home for the remainder of his college football career. The former Husker will be transferring to Kentucky, according to ESPN’s Joe Schad. Heard decided to depart Lincoln following this past season. The sophomore averaged 6.7 yards per carry in limited duty. A native of Youngstown, Ohio, Heard would be reuniting with former Husker graduate assistant Vince Marrow, who also left Nebraska for Kentucky.