NEW YORK -- Jason Collins has been warmly received in his historic return to the NBA. Now its time for his own fans to welcome him back. More than a week after becoming the leagues first openly gay player, Collins will finally get to play a home game Monday night when the Brooklyn Nets host the Chicago Bulls. "It will be a lot of fun," Collins said. "I have some family and friends coming to the game. Im looking forward to seeing them and obviously the first home game." He has played hundreds in a Nets uniform, though it was a white, red and blue one, and the home games were in New Jersey. Plenty of fans and employees of the organization remain from when Collins played there from 2001-08, so he will likely be greeted by a loud ovation if he gets into the game. "Ive always said Im not worried about the reaction," said Nets coach Jason Kidd, who played with Collins when the franchise reached consecutive NBA Finals in 2003-03. "I think they will always support a Net. Hes been a Net before. I think theyll be excited to have him, but the big thing is him being able to help us defensively." Collins and the Nets have kept the focus as much on basketball as possible. They all view him as a big man who will willingly defend and foul -- he has racked up 10 of them already in four games -- who can help pass along 12 years of NBA experience to younger teammates such as Mason Plumlee and Andray Blatche. The fact that hes gay makes him much more than that outside the Nets locker room, but he thinks that story line will die down soon enough. "Theres only so many ways you can write the story, or tell the story, and then it will just be about basketball," he said during the middle of last week. Collins thought it had already reached that point, mistakenly believing that Saturdays victory in Milwaukee would be the first time reporters didnt want to talk to him after the game. Not quite yet. Collins may just be a 14th man on the roster to the Nets, but hes still far more than that to the fans he inspired from the moment he decided to come out in a Sports Illustrated article last April. "I think it is a big deal. Hes showing a lot of courage. Youre talking to a guy who was around when Jackie Robinson came in. Whats the difference? Its just as groundbreaking. I just hope hes judged as a basketball player," said Butch Pye, 69, of Castle Rock, Colo., who attended the Nets victory in Denver on Thursday. Collins debut is currently his only guaranteed home game. Hes nearing the end of the 10-day contract he signed on Feb. 23 before facing the Los Angeles Lakers. NBA rules allow teams to sign players to two 10-day deals, then have to sign them for the rest of the year if they want to keep them. There are plenty of reasons to retain Collins. He has brought plenty of positive attention and is making an impact in the gay and lesbian community, with the NBA pledging to donate at least $100,000 from sales of his No. 98 jersey to the Matthew Shepard Foundation and the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network. But those having nothing to do with basketball, and the Nets stressed in the press release announcing Collins signing that the move was a basketball decision. He can still do enough to make it a wise one, even with just one basket so far. With Brook Lopez lost for the season and Kevin Garnetts minutes being monitored, Kidd needs a big man he trusts to fill in for a few minutes. And a guy like Collins can help even when hes not in the game. He has defended Shaquille ONeal and Tim Duncan in the NBA Finals, so knows what it takes to guard even the biggest stars, even if hes rarely the one doing it. "When I was a younger guy, I learned from Dikembe Mutombo and Alonzo Mourning. Its a cycle," Collins said. "Now that Im that old man at the end of the bench, that veteran, even though I may not be playing minutes, there definitely are ways I can help the team win." Jerseys Cheap Paypal . With his new coach and six-time Grand Slam singles champion Boris Becker watching him during an official match for the first time, Djokovic appeared tentative early against the Slovakian player, who often appeared content to keep the ball in play. Jerseys Cheap NBA . "Were just throwing s--- at the wall hoping something sticks," said Tortorella about the possible line combinations for Fridays game against Columbus. The Canucks have lost five straight games and six of their last seven, leaving them in a logjam in the Pacific Division, currently sitting fifth - good for ninth in the Western Conference. http://www.jerseyscheapwholesale.u... . There are some early surprises in the race for the Hart Trophy, but two of the contenders are the leagues biggest stars over the past decade. There are many more players in contention for the awards than just the three that Ive named, and a good or bad week can easily alter the landscape, but through the first 20 or so games of the NHL season, this is how the awards races look to me. [url=http://www.jerseyscheapwholesale.us.com/]Jerseys Cheap Basketball . Varlamov made 33 saves and Ryan OReilly had a goal and scored in the shootout as the Avalanche beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 on Thursday night. Jerseys Cheap Online . Jane Virtanen scored two, and Alex Roach and Elliott Peterson rounded out the offence for the Hitmen (40-15-6). Brady Brassart chipped in with three assists. Colton McCarthy scored twice, Brayden Point had a goal and two assists, and Jack Rodewald also scored for the Warriors (15-35-9), who were 2 for 5 on the power play.CHICAGO -- The St. Louis Blues are considered to be one of the teams to challenge defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago at the top of the Central Division. So far, the Blues are living up to the praise. T.J. Oshie scored the lone goal in the shootout, Jaroslav Halak stopped all three Chicago shooters in the extra session and St. Louis defeated the Blackhawks 3-2 on Thursday night. David Backes scored a power-play goal for St. Louis, while Alexander Steen was credited with an even-strength score in regulation in the Blues first road game. The Blues are 2-0 against the Blackhawks so far, also having beaten Chicago with two late goals in a game in St. Louis on Oct. 9. "Its huge." Oshie said. "And tonight, we played a good team game. We have a couple breakdowns, but for the full 65 minutes and the shootout as a team we played pretty solid. "Were getting to a stage now that theyre where we want to be. That makes you play a little bit harder when you play against them because of what theyve accomplished and what we want to accomplish." The Blues (5-1-0) started the season with five straight home games, and won the first four before losing 6-2 to San Jose on Tuesday. They bounced back strong on Thursday. "There was intensity," Backes said. "Mistakes were magnified, just like the playoffs. These are two teams that bring out the best in each other, hard fought, could of gone either way when you get to a shootout." Chicagos Marian Hossa scored on a breakaway and set up Brandon Pirris first NHL goal in regulation. All but one of the Blackhawks (4-1-2) first seven games have been decided by one goal. Chicago is struggling to score despite a lineup loaded with offensive stars. The Blackhawks have just 20 goals in their first seven games and only 14 in six games following a season-opening 6-4 win over Washington. The Blackhawks were second only to Pittsburgh in goal scoring last season, but coach Joel Quenneville didnt like his teams effort or output on Thursday. "I didnt like our pace," he said. "I didnt like that we were turning pucks over. "We didnt get any pucks to the net. We didnt generate any offence after the first period. Quenneville said his team needs to find a higher gear. "Weve been getting points outside to the one game, so werre OK there," Quenneville said.dddddddddddd "But we dont have a lot of production. Well look at our lines. We need some offence. And I dont like coaching offensively." Chicagos Corey Crawford made 26 saves and Halak had 27. Both goalies made a handful of tough stops early before Pirri opened the scoring at 7:42 of the first. After taking Hossas perfect pass, Pirri sent a one-timer from the left circle that ticked off the post and into the upper left corner of the net. Backes power-play goal at 10:14 of the first tied it at 1. He was parked in front of Crawford and deflected in Jay Bouwmeesters wrist shot from the left point. The Blues dominated early in the second period. Any momentum was broken when St. Louis Barret Jackman hit Chicago star Patrick Kane hard from behind and was sent off for boarding at 7:18. Hossa put Chicago ahead 2-1 with 2:38 left in the second on a breakaway. After the puck slipped past the Blues defence, both Hossa and Patrick Sharp skated in alone, and Hossa fired a shot past Halak on the stick side. Steen was credited with a goal 51 seconds later that was inadvertently knocked in by Chicago defenceman Duncan Keith and tied it at 2. Steen was 30 feet out in the slot, and deflected Bouwmeesters shot from the point. The puck slid to the right side of the crease where Keith was trying to tie up Backes, but Keith swept the puck on goal and past Crawford. Crawford made a tough close-in save on Alex Pietrangelo with just over seven minutes left to keep it tied. Halak made an alert save on Brandon Saad 33 seconds into overtime with Jonathan Toews closing in for a rebound. Jackmans shot hit the post 3:17 into the extra period. Notes: Pirri, who played in his ninth NHL game, led the AHL with 75 points in 76 games last season while with Rockford. ... Backes played his 500th game and Jackman played his 650th. ... The Blues have played the Blackhawks 288 times, more than any other team. ... St. Louis F Maxim Lapierre, who knocked San Jose D Dan Boyle out a game on Tuesday with a blow to the head, did not dress. Lapierre is scheduled for a hearing with the NHL on Friday. ... The Blackhawks had the NHLs third-best penalty killing last season en route to winning the Stanley Cup, but have allowed six power-play goals in 21 chances so far. cheap custom jerseys wholesale jerseys store cheap jerseys Cheap Jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '