Long Beach States murderers row type of schedule on the road to start the season continues Sunday at No. 16 UCLA.After winning the season-opener at home against Cal State Los Angeles, Long Beach State embarked on an arduous road trip that has included blowout losses to Wichita State (92-55), North Carolina (93-67) and Louisville (88-56). The average margin of defeat in those three games is 28.3 points.In the last game at Louisville on Thursday, Long Beach States confidence was subdued from the start allowing an 18-0 run in a four-minute span early in the first half.We just werent able to withstand that first blow to stay in the game, said Long Beach State head coach Dan Monson. Once we got comfortable, it was too late, and the game was over. You come on these road trips to give the team some adversity, to help make them better, and I dont think we handled it any better than we did on Tuesday (against North Carolina).While Long Beach State has taken its lumps on the road, UCLA has won its first three games at Pauley Pavilion by lopsided scores. The Bruins improved to 3-0 Thursday night after defeating San Diego 88-68, which followed a 119-80 win over Pacific and 102-82 victory over Cal State Northridge.The Bruins are scoring 103 points a game with five players with at least 14 points a game, led by freshman forward T.J Leaf and senior guard Bryce Alford, both of whom are averaging 20 points. Freshman point guard Lonzo Ball is averaging close to a triple-double at 15 points, 7.7 assists and 8.3 rebounds a game.Leaf had 22 points and 15 rebounds in the opener against Pacific and tallied 26 points and 10 rebounds against San Diego. Junior center Thomas Welsh also had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.I thought TJ was really good, said UCLA coach Steve Alford, who has lauded his teams versatility to shoot from the perimeter and score in the paint. We wanted to attack inside. I thought we really started executing on offense that was geared towards getting the ball inside.It was a season-low for us in threes (5 of 22 performance against San Diego) but it was a game where our emphasis was really getting -- I thought all three of our bigs (including reserve center Gyorgy Goloman) did a really good job.Long Beach State is averaging 68.2 points a game while shooting 36.8 percent from the field and 23.8 percent from 3-point range. Only two players are averaging scoring in double figures, forward Gabe Levin (13.3 points a game) and guard Evan Payne (10.8), both of whom are Loyola Marymount transfers.Levin also leads the 49ers win rebounds with 7.5 a despite being a wing player at 6-foot-7 and 215 pounds.After the game against Long Beach State, UCLA leaves Pauley Pavilion but stays in southern California to play in the Wooden Legacy in Anaheim, Calif., on Thursday, Friday and Nov. 27. The field includes Dayton, Virginia Tech, New Mexico and Texas A&M.The 49ers difficult road trip continues with a game at Washington on Tuesday.Well get better from this, watching it, and our guys will grow, Monson said of the early-season schedule. We have to get into our league and be the best team in our league, and thats why we challenge ourselves as best as we can with this schedule.Wholesale Custom Timberwolves Shirts . McCarthy, a player who played some games in the second tier for Wigan at the start of this season, would go on to shine inside Evertons midfield, outplaying the man he was brought in to replace, on one of the grandest stages in English football. On Saturday, it was fitting that Manchester Uniteds most recent dagger into the chest was delivered by Frenchman Yohan Cabaye, a wonderfully gifted central midfielder who put on an outstanding effort for Newcastle at Old Trafford. Cheap Custom Timberwolves Jersey . The FA rejected Wilsheres appeal that the length of his punishment was "clearly excessive" and said Thursday his suspension begins with immediate effect. He will miss league matches against Chelsea on Monday and West Ham on Dec. http://www.customtimberwolvesjersey.com/ .C. -- Al Jefferson joked that he feels he can score from anywhere on the court. Kevin Garnett Jersey Large .Y. -- Jayna Hefford scored the winning goal Friday as Canada survived a scare with a 4-3 win over Sweden at the Four Nations womens hockey tournament. Cheap Timberwolves Jerseys .Y. -- Jayna Hefford scored the winning goal Friday as Canada survived a scare with a 4-3 win over Sweden at the Four Nations womens hockey tournament.Former St. Louis Blues captain David Backes said he got goosebumps thinking about joining a team that already includes centers like Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci.These guys get it, the free agent forward said Friday after signing with the Boston Bruins in the first 30 minutes of NHL free agency. They know what its going to take to win. Thats what sold me on it. ... If you have prominent players that are putting team first, the rest of the guys really have no choice.A two-time U.S. Olympian, Backes agreed to a five-year, $30 million deal with the Bruins and said he hoped to help the Original Six club return to the playoffs for the first time in three seasons. Listing off some of the players already on the roster, Backes said it was more of a retooling than a rebuilding.Some guys would have looked at it like, `Youve already got Bergeron and Krejci, where will I play? David said, `Boy, I get to play with Bergeron and Krejci, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said. These guys are going to be the leading core to get us where we want to go. The younger guys are going to have to get on board.Backes, 32, is the first major addition this offseason for a team that won the 2011 Stanley Cup and returned to the finals two years later. The team re-signed defenseman Torey Krug and bought out the contract of defenseman Dennis Seidenberg on Thursday. Free agents Loui Eriksson and Lee Stempniak agreed to deals with the Canucks and Carolina, respectively.I always thought Vancouver was a great city to play in and a great organization, Eriksson said.Also signing with Boston on the first day of free agency were defensemen Tommmy Cross and John-Michael Liles, goalie Anton Khudobin, and forwards Riley Nash, Tyler Randell and Tim Schaller.ddddddddddddheyre trying to get pieces back that will get them over the hump, Backes said. They barely missed the playoffs last year, and if they had (made it) I dont think anyone would have wanted to play them.Backes had 21 goals and 24 assists last season for the Blues. In a 10-year NHL career -- all with St. Louis -- he has 206 goals and 254 assists in 727 regular-season games.Backes, whos from Minneapolis, said it was difficult for his family to leave St. Louis, the team that selected him in the second round of the 2003 draft.It was tough in that its all Ive known, he said in a conference call with reporters. It happens a lot in this business, it hasnt happened to us. But change is good.Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said talks with his captain broke down over the length of the deal.I had no problem bringing David Backes back, and I wish we could have, he said. I wasnt comfortable with the term. It was problematic for me, personally, to (sign) out that far with players. Theres analytical data (that) shows where players play at their peak, and we wanted to try and stay within a window. We were ready to stretch that window but only to a certain level.But Backes said hes got a lot left.Im 32, not 52, he said. I think theres plenty of legs and energy left in me. I expect to still be at the top of my game.---AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno contributed to this story. ' ' '