The Nebraska defense got good news yesterday as middle linebacker Will Compton returned to practice. Compton injured his ankle in Saturday’s season-opening win over Chattanooga. Defensive coordinator Carl Pelini is optimistic that Compton will be able to play this Saturday against Fresno State, saying it will come down to how much Compton is able to tolerate the pain and work this week in practice. Pelini also spoke after practice about his expectations about the growth of his defense. “I’m very pleased with them, and how the young guys played last week,” Pelini said. “We expect them to be better. From your first game experience to your second game experience, we always feel as a team and an individual, that’s where you make your biggest stride. So you really expect week two to see huge improvements for all the young guys.” Nebraska allowed 230 total yards in their week one win.

The Colorado Rockies used a seven-run eighth inning to rally past the Arizona Diamondbacks 8-3 in Denver last night, snapping a six-game losing streak against the NL West Division leaders. Troy Tulowitzki had the biggest blow in the rally, a three-run home run that put the Rockies in front for the first time in the game. Seth Smith had three hits, including two triples, and drove in a run in the eighth inning. Rookie Jordan Pacheco had two hits and two RBI in his major league debut, and Carlos Gonzalez and Dexter Fowler also drove in runs. Matt Belisle earned his 10th win of the season in relief, the second Rockies pitcher to reach that number this season. The Rockies and Diamondbacks play the rubber game of their series tonight at Coors Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7:40.

The Nebraska football team returned to practice yesterday for the first time since last Saturday’s 40-7 victory over Chattanooga. While the Husker offense did post 364 total yards in the opener, offensive coordinator Tim Beck still sees a lot of improvement to be made after the first game in his new system. “We made a lot of mental mistakes,” Beck said. “We did a lot of things that we haven’t done since last spring. It blows my mind. We just made a lot of mistakes.” Nebraska welcomes Fresno State to Memorial Stadium on Saturday night. The Bulldogs are 0-1 after a 36-21 loss to Cal in their opener last week. The two programs have never met in their history.

The Colorado Rockies dropped the opening game of their three-game home series against the NL West leading Arizona Diamondbacks by a 10-7 score. A four-run rally in the ninth inning fell short as Arizona had built their big lead on the strength of a five run sixth. Justin Upton and Geoff Blum homered to lead Arizona’s offensive attack in the win. For the Rockies, Dexter Fowler hit a pair of home runs, and Mark Ellis and Troy Tulowitzki also homered. Tulo’s three-run dinger in the ninth brought his RBI total for the season to 100, the first time he’s reached that milestone in his career. The Rockies have now lost seven of their last ten games. They’ll try again against the D-Backs tonight in Denver, with Jason Hammel getting the start for the Rox against Josh Collmenter. First pitch is at 7:40.