BERKELEY, Calif. -- Jabari Bird realizes the scrutiny surrounding the California program for the way last season ended.It became impossible to ignore given the embarrassing finish on several fronts -- the basketball on the court, and what was transpiring off it.Cal lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Hawaii. There were distractions before the Golden Bears even took the court in Spokane, Washington , however.Last years end of the season was extremely motivational. It didnt end the way we wanted it to end, Bird said. We had some unfortunate circumstances.The university reviewed whether coach Cuonzo Martin properly handled sexual harassment allegations against former assistant coach Yann Hufnagel , now at Nevada. An administrative review showed that all department employees -- including Martin -- responded properly. The coach received a contract extension Tuesday taking him through 2020-21.Now, Bird and sophomore forward Ivan Rabb are the two returning regular starters from last season, while point guard Sam Singer played regularly during the absences of injured star Tyrone Wallace.Here are some things to watch for with the Bears:RABBS RETURN: After discussing it with his family, Rabb opted to stick around and extend his college career right at home in the Bay Area -- and thats a big boost for the Bears. A surprise to many as well.Rabb averaged 12.5 points and 8.6 rebounds during his freshman season, helping Cal get back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013. He had been projected as a first-round draft pick.Its great to have him back. Ive said it before, one of the best guys Ive ever been around as a basketball player, as a young man, and student-athlete, Martin said. He has all the parts to be successful in life, whether hes playing basketball or not. ... He takes pride in going to class and being successful. Not just going, but he wants to be good. He wants to get a degree. He represents the Bay Area. He takes a tremendous amount of pride in that.ONE AND DONE: Jaylen Brown bid farewell to Berkeley after one season to make the NBA leap.Now, Cal will count on big contributions from 7-footers Kingsley Okoroh and Kameron Rooks.Martin realizes some players will only stay for one year, and he accepts that.I recruit young men that I like to be around, he said. I dont care if theyre rough around the edges, they come from East St. Louis, like I come from, wherever they come from, I just want to be a part of a young mans life to put him in a position to be successful in life.SWITCHING SHOOTERS: When guard Jordan Mathews unexpectedly decided to transfer to Gonzaga, the Bears needed another shooter. They landed Grant Mullins, a graduate transfer from Columbia who will certainly be called upon to help pick up a chunk of the scoring load in his one season for the Bears.TOP FRESHMAN: Freshman Charlie Moore, a 5-11 guard from Chicago, was considered a top recruit out of Illinois and should make an immediate impact. His teammates have been impressed with his speed and maturity adjusting to the college demands.Moore averaged 28 points, seven assists, five steals and four rebounds during his senior high school season at Morgan Park.Hes dynamic, Bird said. Super talented for a kid that young to come in. He hasnt really hit a bump yet as far as Ive seen so far in practice where he couldnt have handled it.THE SCHEDULE: The Bears went a school-record 18-0 at home in Haas Pavilion, where Cal will be tested with most of its early games on the schedule in Berkeley and a date with powerhouse Virginia on Dec. 21 before Arizona visits Dec. 30 to open Pac-12 Conference play. 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LONDON -- Serena Williams and Viktor Troicki were fined $10,000 apiece on Saturday at Wimbledon for unsportsmanlike conduct.The biggest amount deducted from a players paycheck was the $12,000 for Britains Heather Watson, also for unsportsmanlike conduct.Williams fine was from her second-round victory over Christina McHale at Centre Court on Friday.The No. 1 seed?smashed her racket repeatedly against the turf while sitting in her sideline chair after dropping the first set, then flung the piece of equipment so far behind her that it landed in the lap of a TV cameraman.Afterward, Williams said she knew she would lose some money and joked about having not yet met her quota for harming rackets this season.Ive cracked a number of rackets throughout my career. Ive gotten fined a number of times for cracking rackets. In fact, I look at it like I didnt crack one at the French Open or Rome, so I was doing really good, Williams said. I dont want to go too long without cracking a racket. You know, Im on track. I try to crack a certain amount a year. Im a little behind this year, so it was good.Troicki, seeded 25th, was punished for his tirade against chair umpire Damiano Torella at the end of a five-set loss in the second round on Thursday.Worst umpire ever in the world! What are you doing? Did you see the ball? the Serb screamed, also telling Torella, Youre horrible!The outburst waas prompted by a call as Troickis opponent, Albert Ramos-Vinolas, served for the match at 5-3 in the final set.dddddddddddd. At 30-all, Ramos-Vinolas hit a serve that initially was called out by a linesman behind Troicki. It was not clear, exactly, who changed that ruling, but Torella announced the score had become 40-30, crediting Ramos-Vinolas with an ace and pushing him to match point.Later, speaking to a small group of reporters, Troicki said about Torella: He has no experience, no knowledge about anything. Hes just sitting there, calling the score, not trying to watch the ball.The umpire gave Troicki a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct. When play resumed, Ramos-Vinolas hit a serve that Troicki returned long with a backhand to end the match.After the two players met at the net for a handshake, Troicki approached Torella again, waving a hand at him and saying: Do you know what you did? three times.Troicki carried on, then headed directly from Court 17 to the tournament referees office to express his displeasure.He should be also fined, if you ask me, Troicki said about the chair umpire. He should be the one whos fined. Im not saying he cost me the match, but he cost me an important point, which could have changed the outcome of the match. ' ' '
