ERST LESEN! » ing his NBA dream in the D-League and

BERKELEY, Calif. -- A one-time high school McDonalds All-American, Jabari Bird is a senior at California now, and ready to unveil the best of his game.Bird scored a career-high 25 points to lead Cal over Cal Poly 81-55 on Saturday night, and he sounded determined to keep his play at a high level.Its a waste of time to put in all that work in the summer to get ready for the season and then the lights come on and you just dont show (up), Bird said. Ive been trusting my game this year. I look to keep it going.Bird always has paired a rare combination of athleticism and 3-point shooting ability, but injuries and inconsistency have prevented him from reaching his full blossom. Cal coach Cuonzo Martin sees a change in Bird.Its his senior year, hes more settled, hes relaxed, Martin said. He understands what he wants to do as a basketball player and knows what we need from him.Bird shot 10 for 16 from the field, including 4 of 7 from 3-point distance, and eclipsed his previous best of 24 points. It was his second 20-point performance in four outings since returning from a six-game absence because of back spasms.Obviously, hes an explosive scorer, an explosive athlete, said Ivan Rabb, the Bears pre-season All-America forward, who scored 18 points before fouling out. We need him out there. He plays the game the right way. Hes not selfish. Weve got to continue to play together as a team. We did that tonight.Charlie Moore had 10 points and five assists for Cal (9-2), which shot 53 percent.Kyle Toth made four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points to lead Cal Poly (5-6). Victor Joseph and Ridge Shipley added 12 points apiece for the Mustangs, who shot just 32 percent.The Bears were sluggish offensively for stretches early and trailed 19-13 with 8:30 in the first half before outscoring the Mustangs 21-3 the rest of the period. Rabb scored on a post-up move to give Cal the lead for good at 23-22, and by halftime the Bears were up 34-22.They have NBA first-round draft picks that will be playing in the three-letter league, and I love it, said Cal Poly coach Joe Callero. I think its a great game for our players and coaches to help us continue to tweak things that we have to improve.BIG PICTURECal: The Bears nudged past a team from their glory days by winning their 27th consecutive home game at Haas Pavilion. That eclipsed the school record of 26 straight home wins, achieved by legendary former coach Pete Newells team from Dec. 27, 1958 through Dec. 16, 1960. Those Bears won the 1959 NCAA championship and lost in the 1960 national title game.Theres a lot of tradition and history at Cal. A lot of great players have come through, Martin said. We wont talk about numbers. We just fight for our home court. This Cal team has not lost at home since an 80-69 defeat to Oregon on Feb. 25, 2015.Cal Poly: The Mustangs were outrebounded for the eighth time in 10 games against Division I opponents. Cal Poly entered the game ranked 320th nationally with a minus-5.2 rebound margin, but the Mustangs actually battled well on the boards before Cal finished with a scant 39-38 advantage. It was an encouraging sign for Cal Poly, which needs to keep it up in order to compete near the top of the Big West Conference.AN EARLY ENDORSEMENTCallero saw the Bears play early in the season when both Bird and Rabb were either out or struggling with injuries. Cal is back to full strength now, he said. They really look like a team that could compete with the top four in the Pac-12. They are building an NCAA (tournament) resume.UP NEXTCalifornia gets a chance to test themselves against one of the nations elite teams when they host No. 13 Virginia on Wednesday. Cal traveled last season to Charlottesville, Virginia, falling 63-62 in overtime.Cal Poly stays in Pac-12 mode when they visit Washington on Tuesday. Cal Poly lost 96-74 at Arizona State on Nov. 13. Ben Garland Jersey . James, who turned 29 on Monday, injured his groin Friday during the Heats overtime loss at Sacramento. He sat out the following game, a 108-107 win Saturday in Portland, before coming back to help send the Nuggets to their seventh consecutive loss. Joe Staley Jersey . Bryzgalov stopped 25 shots on Saturday in the Oklahoma City Barons 4-1 victory over the Abbotsford Heat. The Oilers signed Bryzgalov to a one-year $2 million contract last Friday after shedding payroll by dealing defenceman Ladislav Smid to the Flames. http://www.custom49ersjersey.com/custom-richie-james-jersey-large-2278d.html . -- On the field, it was business as usual for Jameis Winston and No. Kevin Greene Jersey . -- Bobby Ryan helped the U. Fred Warner Jersey . The CFLs leading rusher kept adding to his gaudy numbers this season and scored the winning touchdown with just over two minutes to play. The New Westminster, B.C., native plowed three yards into the end zone for the last score of a heated, see-saw battle between the two teams with the best records in the CFL.TORONTO - Masai Ujiri knew he would have to get creative when he inherited the Raptors high-priced roster last month. Without the salary cap flexibility required to feast on the free agency buffet like many of his counterparts, Ujiri has been tasked with finding a diamond in the rough, or two. The Raptors believe they have found that in Dwight Buycks. Toronto is finalizing an agreement with the back-up point guard, according to multiple reports. Terms of the deal are not known. "Excited to be a new member of the Raptors", the 24-year-old Buycks wrote on Twitter Friday evening. Buycks (pronounced Bikes) won league MVP playing in France last season -- averaging 18.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game -- after collecting first-team all-rookie honours with the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League the year prior. He went undrafted out of Marquette in 2011. His story is one of perseverance. After several years of chasing his NBA dream in the D-League and overseas, he continued to turn heads playing for the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Orlando Summer League this past week.dddddddddddd The Milwaukee native averaged 9.5 points and 6.0 assists in four games for the undefeated Thunder team before Ujiri and the Raptors expressed interest in the point guard. Darnell Mayberry, Thunder beat writer, first reported the Raptors offer to Buycks Friday morning. Buycks will back-up Kyle Lowry, who is entering the final year of his contract with the Raptors. Free agent guard Julyan Stone, who has played just 30 NBA games as a member of the Nuggets, could also be in the mix but his signing could be put on hold due to physical issues, via The Toronto Stars Doug Smith. With a lack of experience behind him on the depth chart, the pressure would be on Lowry to not only stay healthy, but also have a breakout year in his eighth NBA season, second with the Raptors. Buycks signing could be completed as early as this weekend. ' ' '