NEWS » eekend in a series that includes the first ESPN Sunday

OAKLAND, Calif. Rocky Colavito Jersey . - Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry was driving in a car with his wife, Ayesha, over the summer when they put on a song by a popular rapper that everybody had been telling them to play.Been Steph Curry with the shot, Drake called out in the song 0 to 100.The stunned couple looked at each other, smiled and broke out in laughter.It was pretty cool, Curry said.Sure, fans voted him into the All-Star Game as a starter, media selected him second-team All-NBA and a major car insurance company created a fictional twin for a popular commercial series last season. But the shoutout from a renowned recording artist might have been the moment Curry realized he had truly made it big.As his stardom continues to rise, Curry is still surprised by the celebrity treatment — even though nobody else is.Coaches, players and executives have taken notice of the growth in Currys game by strategizing everything they do around him. Marketers in the NBA league office and sponsors across the country have, too, putting his boyish face on national television and social media advertisements to promote their brands.And with the Warriors (23-4) atop the NBA standings, Currys case for MVP is starting to echo around the league as loud as the chants do nightly at rowdy Oracle Arena.Another chance to showcase his skills comes Thursday night, when Curry and the Warriors visit Chris Paul and the rival Los Angeles Clippers on Christmas for what might be the best game on the biggest day of the NBA regular season.Theres big moments throughout the course of the season that you enjoy, Curry said, and you have fun showing what you can do.This is one of them.Paul, the lead man in those commercials, has been considered among the best point guards for years. Curry, long labeled just a shooter, has added to his repertoire — and stayed healthy — each of the past three seasons to enter the debate alongside Tony Parker, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Mike Conley and others.While the qualifying criteria might be a matter of preference, this much is indisputable: nobody is running the show the way Curry is for the Warriors now.In a game dominated by big men and played by some of the worlds greatest athletes, the 6-foot-3, 190-pound Curry controls the flow without physically overpowering defenders. His shooting stroke can seem unstoppable at times, and when he gets going, nobody can seem to slow him down.His range is unlimited. Like, literally, when he crosses half court — 30, 35 footers are like layups, Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks said before Curry had 34 points, nine assists and seven rebounds in a 114-109 win over the Thunder last week.Clevelands LeBron James and reigning NBA MVP Kevin Durant are among those who already have called Curry the best shooter of their generation. In the next breath, they also credit Curry for improving his all-around game.The process began when Curry returned for his senior season at tiny Davidson College. He has gone from a shooting guard who dazzled during the NCAA tournament to a polished professional point guard who can dribble and distribute with the best of them.Even before Currys evolution, first-year Warriors coach Steve Kerr saw the potential. As general manager of the Phoenix Suns, Kerr tried to orchestrate a draft-night trade in 2009 to acquire Curry from Golden State.We were watching Steve Nash every night in Phoenix as a 6-1 point guard who could shoot and pass, and Steph looked like another version of Steve, Kerr said. Theyre different. Stephs more offensive-minded. Steve was more of a playmaker first. But the skillset is very similar, just the incredible hand-eye co-ordination and the ability to beat you with the pass, the dribble and the shot is a pretty rare combination.Nearly three years since the Warriors sent combo guard Monta Ellis to Milwaukee for centre Andrew Bogut, Curry has blossomed with Klay Thompson to form arguably the NBAs best backcourt.Curry is averaging 23.4 points, 7.7 assists, 5.0 rebounds and two steals this season. Hes also becoming a pest for Golden States smothering defence after being challenged by Kerr to guard his position — a major shift from the past few years under former coach Mark Jackson, who usually used Thompson to defend elite point guards.Hes awesome to play alongside with, he knows when to pass and take the big shots, said Thompson, who teamed with Curry to help the U.S. win gold at the FIBA World Cup in Spain this summer. He should definitely be mentioned in the MVP talks with the way he has been playing.Getting to that level often requires attention away from the court, and Curry is starting to get his share of it.He left shoe giant Nike for a lucrative deal with Under Armour in 2013. He moved into the top five of the NBAs most-sold jerseys at the end of last season. And in November, Sports Illustrated named Curry one of the top 100 sports figures to follow on Twitter.Henry Schafer, executive vice-president of The Q Scores Company, said Currys popularity stacks up with the NBAs most notable names.Q Scores measure awareness and likability, assigning an overall value that provides a gauge for marketers who are seeking celebrity endorsers. In the latest figures taken this year, Curry had a 53 per cent awareness among sports fans and a 26 Q Score, Schafer said.Only Durant and San Antonios Tim Duncan had a higher Q Score (29) for an NBA player. James had the highest awareness at 82 per cent among sports fans with a 25 Q Score.Curry also had a 21 per cent awareness rating and a 19 Q Score among the general population, Schafer said. The average general Q Score is 15 for sports personalities.What that signals is as his awareness grows in and out of the sport, Schafer said, he looks like he has the potential to become more of an athlete thats transcending basketball.___Antonio Gonzalez can be reached at: www.twitter.com/agonzalezAP Victor Martinez Jersey .A. remained bitter for Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers on the long flight back home to New York. Willie Horton Jersey . The post-season, Pierce said repeatedly, is no time to panic. And the Heat, apparently, are nothing to fear. https://www.cheaptigers.com/1299z-jake-rogers-jersey-tigers.html . Inter moved five points behind fourth-place Fiorentina and eight points behind third-place Napoli, which visits relegation-threatened Sassuolo on Sunday.PITTSBURGH, Pa. - As the game went on, Gerrit Coles fastball got faster, and the San Francisco Giants couldnt catch up. Cole won for the first time in nearly a month, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat San Francisco 4-3 Wednesday for their second straight win over the Giants. Cole (3-2) beat Tim Lincecum for the second time in his 11-month major league career, allowing three runs and seven hits in eight innings with seven strikeouts and a walk. The No. 1 pick in the 2011 amateur draft, Cole had a fastball clocked at 95-96 mph to begin the game and was 97-98 over his final two innings. "Really solid, solid effort for him," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "Pushing through the eighth inning, the middle of the order, was very impressive. Hes capable of a lot of things out there. You saw the velocity stay at a much higher level today throughout the game, and actually his velocity played bigger later than it did earlier." Fill-in closer Mark Melancon worked a perfect ninth for his second save in three chances. Centerfielder Andrew McCutchen made a diving catch of Brandon Crawfords soft liner to left-centre for the second out. Pittsburgh has won four of six after a 1-7 slide, taking two of three in the series. San Francisco had won 10 of 11 before the Pirates replay-aided walkoff win Tuesday. Pittsburgh scored all its runs over the first two innings Wednesday. "Were starting to click on all cylinders now," said Pirates catcher Chris Stewart, who had two hits. "The pitching is starting to come around, and were starting to get those hits in those big situations that we werent before". Ike Davis had three hits for the Pirates. Brandon Belt hit his ninth home run and drove in all three runs for San Francisco. Cole had been 0-2 in four starts since winning his first two outings. He pitchedd eight innings for the second time this season, throwing 107 pitches, one shy of his season high. Detroit Tigers Pro Shop. Cole, who went 1 for 3 to maintain a .333 batting average, won his major league debut at home last June 11 against Lincecum, a two-time NL Cy Young Award winner. Lincecum (2-2) allowed four runs, eight hits and two walks in four innings. Opponents are hitting .329 against him. "I wasnt finishing my pitches, especially my secondary pitches," he said. "When I got ahead in the count, the secondary pitchers were just rolling up there and had no bite on them. Im the type of guy whos going to have to get guys to chase pitches, but I cant do that when Im leaving balls up in the strike zone that are so hittable." McCutchen had a run-scoring single in the first and came around on Starling Martes double. Travis Snider made it 4-1 with a two-run single in the second. Belt homered on the first pitch he saw with two outs in the first, then hit a two-run double with two outs in the fifth. But Belt was thrown out at third on the play, ending the threat. "That was a mistake," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. NOTES: 3B Pablo Sandoval was not in the starting lineup after sustaining what Bochy termed a sprain of his hand or thumb during the final play of Tuesday nights game. He pinch hit for Lincecum in the fifth and singled. ... Neil Walker had a second-inning single has has reached safely in all 15 home games hes played against San Francisco ... The Giants headed to Los Angeles for a four-game series against the Dodgers that starts Thursday. San Franciscos starter in the opener, RHP Ryan Vogelsong, has allowed one earned run over 13 innings in his past two starts. ... The Pirates host St. Louis this weekend in a series that includes the first ESPN Sunday night game in PNC Parks 14-year history. ' ' '