NEW YORK -- Jason Collins has been warmly received in his historic return to the NBA. Danilo Jersey . 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." Casemiro Jersey . PAUL, Minn. Kiko Casilla Jersey . -- Edwin Encarnacion hit a three-run homer, Colby Rasmus drove in two runs and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Detroit Tigers 9-4 on Saturday. http://www.realmadridfcprohop.us/Marcelo-Real-Madrid-Jersey/ . 28 with a Vancouver entry for the first time in 10 years and a novel new collective bargaining agreement.CALGARY -- Pittsburgh was held to two goals on Saturday night but, against a struggling Calgary offence that set a record for being shutout at home, it was enough. Marc-Andre Fleury made 27 saves to backstop the Penguins to a 2-1 victory over the Flames, handing Calgary its team record sixth consecutive home regulation loss. "It was just nice today, to have a close, low scoring game," said Fleury, who improved to 26-10-1. "It felt nice. The last few games were a little crazy so its definitely nice and it was a good battle." It looked for the longest time like Fleury was going to become the sixth goaltender in the last eight games to shut out the Flames before Mikael Backlund cut into a 2-0 deficit with a goal with 8:31 left in the third period. "Its a relief. Its hard when you chase and chase and you get scoring chances and the puck doesnt go in," Backlund said. "It gets in your head a little bit. It shouldnt but its natural. But as soon as you score one, everybody settles down a little bit and you feel better." Ending a goalless stretch at the Scotiabank Saddledome at a team record 196 minutes 59 seconds, Backlund outbattled Kris Letang for the puck and scored on a wicked slapshot from 40 feet out. "Obviously it was nice to get a goal since we havent had too many at home here, lately, but were very disappointed that we didnt win the game," Backlund said. Chris Kunitz and Matt Niskanen scored for Pittsburgh (33-12-2). The Penguins pick up five-of-six points on its three-game road trip that included a win in Vancouver and an overtime loss in Edmonton on Friday. "The Western Canada swing, its always a hype-up for these games," said Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma. "With Sidney in the building, it seems like we get the best from other teams." Calgary (15-24-6) is next in action Monday in Carolina as they begin a short two-game road trip that sees them also play Tuesday in Nashville. "On the mental side, its good but its another loss," said Flames coach Bob Hartley, relieved that his team scored but not pleased with the end result. "But I cant fault the effort. Tonight was by far one of our best games lately." After the Backlund goal, with the roaring sell-out crowd of 19,289 suddenly back in the game and momentum seemingly on their side, Calgary could not get the tying goal as Pittsburgh didnt give the Flames much to work with. That was different than how Fridays loss played out in Edmonton when the Penguins blew a third-perriod lead and lost in overtime. Cristiano Ronaldo Jersey. "After a disappointing third period for us last night, for us it was a much better team game," said Niskanen. "We got the 2-0 lead, same situation we were in last night and thats something we want to get better at, playing with the lead." Pittsburgh took a 1-0 lead at 16:34 of the first period on a laser of a shot from Kunitz that beat Reto Berra over his shoulder and just under the cross bar. The Penguins made it 2-0 at 6:42 of the second when Niskanens shot through a crowd in front squeaked through the pads of Berra. The Flames 27-year-old goaltender had 24 saves including two stellar stops against Sidney Crosby less than 30 seconds apart in the first period. With the game scoreless, first Crosby broke in from off the left wing but had his snap shot smothered. Later that shift, Kunitzs pass sprung Crosby on a breakaway from the blue-line but again Berra showed good reflexes in stopping the close wrist shot. Crosby also hit a goal post in seeing his seven-game points streak snapped. Down 2-0 seven minutes into the third period, the Flames had a chance to try to get the game back to even when they got a five-minute power play after Pittsburgh defenceman Robert Bortuzzo was given a match penalty for head contact for a heavy hit along the side boards on Calgary captain Mark Giordano. But the Flames could not click on the major, which was cut short when Mike Cammalleri took a cross-checking penalty during it. Calgary is now 1 for 26 with the man advantage in the last eight games. "If we could have scored a couple power-play goals, we could have won the game. That was the difference," Backlund said. "We had a few power-play opportunities and we didnt score and its been like that for a while and its been costing us some games." Notes: The old mark for Calgarys regulation losses at home was five, which happened in March 2000 ... Calgary has scored just 12 goals in Berras last 11 starts. ... Backlunds goal ended the Flames overall shutout streak at 174:59, short of the team record of 182:42 set in November 2002 ... Calgary RW David Jones (eye) missed his fourth game ... C Joe Vitale (upper body) did not play for Pittsburgh ... Pittsburgh lost centre Brian Gibbons to a lower-body injury in the first period ... Pittsburgh has won seven games in a row against the Flames including the last four at the Scotiabank Saddledome ... The Penguins improved to 10-2-1 against the West. Calgary is 7-8-4 against the East. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '