Help w/ Astronomical question

[Mutualcode at aol.com]

Can anyone answer this question and provide a reference?
It has been bugging me for awhile:

It would seem logical that as the earth revolves around the
sun, it rotates in the same direction, i.e., that part of the
earth which is experiencing night- turned away from the sun-
at any given time is spinning in the same direction as the 
direction of revolution. This is purely an assumption, and however
logical it may seem, the earth could be rotating so that the
side experiencing day is rotating in the same direction as direction
of revolution. Which is the reality?

Thanks.