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." Wholesale Steph Curry Shoes . "I could have been equipment manager but nooooo" from Lisa on Ice. Season 6, Episode 8. Steph Curry Shoes Deals . Poti played in 824 regular NHL games with four teams in his career; the Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers, New York Islanders and the Washington Capitals. https://www.stephencurryshoescheap.com/. The Raptors have been outscored 88-66 in the opening quarter over a three-game span to begin the month of February. Their most recent loss, 109-101 in Sacramento on Wednesday, was eerily similar to Saturdays defeat at the hands of the Trail Blazers. Clearance Steph Curry Shoes . The matchup will be made up in Minnesota at a later date. The arena was evacuated about 45 minutes before the scheduled 9:30 p.m. EST tipoff when a generator malfunction outside the arena sent smoke pouring into the building, according to NBA spokeswoman Sharon Lima. Steph Curry Shoes Free Shipping . Ferrer was unable to find his rhythm in losing 6-4, 6-2 to Teymuraz Gabashvili in his opening match while Nadal struggled past fellow Spanish player Albert Ramos 7-6 (2), 6-4. Nadal eventually overcame his 103rd-ranked opponent to reach the third round, rebounding from a surprise loss to Ferrer in the Monte Carlo Masters quarterfinals.KATMANDU, Nepal - Nepals powerful parliamentary committee accused the long-time chief of the national football association of embezzling millions and ordered government agencies to investigate, file a case in court, and suspend him.Ramhari Khatiwada of parliaments public accounts committee said on Tuesday they have ordered the government to immediately begin the investigation and suspend Ganesh Thapa as president of the All Nepal Football Association.Thapa has been accused by the committee of embezzling 582 million rupees (about $6 million) during his 19-year tenure in the office.There are no proper records or audit reports of where much of the funds received from FIFA or AFC for development of football in Nepal have gone. We believe that all these funds have been misused by Ganesh Thapa and people in the association close to him, Khatiwada said.The committee has ordered the governments sports ministry to suspend Thapa, and the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority to investigate him, Khatiwada said.The parliament committee cannot file a case in court but the anti-graft commission can.It is unlikely that the suspension order would come soon, as offices in Nepal are closed until next week for the long Hindu festival.Thapa is a powerful figure in Nepaals sports scene.dddddddddddd He was a popular football player who became the head of the association in 1994. He is a vice-president of the Asian Football Confederation, and a member of the FIFA Under-20 World Cup committee.FIFA said in a statement it asked the Nepalese FA in order to get more detailed information about the case.Footballs world governing body has strict rules protecting elected officials from government interference in how the sport is run.However, FIFAs independent ethics committee can intervene and open cases if football officials are suspected of unethical behaviour.Thapa was recently nominated as a member of the parliament by his brother Kamal Thapa, who heads the Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal. The party is the fourth largest in Nepal, and able to appoint members in the parliament.This is not the first time that Thapa has been drawn into controversy.It was revealed in 2012 that Thapas son took $100,000 from Mohamed bin Hammam, the Qatari who, while heading the AFC, was alleged to have enriched himself and handed out hundreds of thousands of dollars to friends and relatives.Thapa accepted his son took the money, but said it was a personal loan from bin Hammam.Nepals sport authorities did not take any action against Thapa. ' ' '