LOS ANGELES - As practice wrapped up at the Lakers facility in L. Ryan McDonagh Jersey .A. on Thursday, Terrence Ross hung around to work on his aerial acrobatics with the assistance of teammate DeMar DeRozan. DeRozan threw the Raptors sophomore and reigning NBA Slam Dunk champion lobs off the side of the backboard, he tossed bounce passes and threw alley-oops. Ross experimented with a variation of finishes. As it turns out, they could both use the practice. The Raptors duo will take part in State Farm All-Star Saturday Night - taking place in New Orleans on Feb. 15 - as Ross returns to defend his title in the Sprite Slam Dunk competition and DeRozan will make an unexpected appearance in the Taco Bell Skills Challenge. After edging out Jeremy Evans to win last years contest in Houston, Ross will have his work cut out for him this time around. For the first time since 1988, three all-stars - Pacers forward Paul George, Wizards guard John Wall and Blazers guard Damian Lillard - will compete in the event. Rounding out the field is Warriors forward Harrison Barnes and Kings rookie guard Ben McLemore. "Everybodys kind of a threat," Ross said of this years competition. "Its going to be fun, everybody wants to win." What will Ross do for an encore? The 23-year-old says hes still searching for ideas, scouring YouTube, Twitter and even using video games to brainstorm. "Everybodys done everything," he continued. "I dont know, its like how many times can you do the same dunk before people get tired of it? So its hard to find new dunks but at the same time you always find something a little different." The one thing he could say with certainty is he will not be using props. While Ross has expected to defend his crown since last season, DeRozans debut in the Skills Challenge comes as a surprise, even to him. "I kind of got peer pressure into doing it," said the first-time all-star, who will also be assisting Ross in the dunk-off. DeRozan initially declined the invitation but his agent twisted his arm and eventually he came around. "I changed my mind. I said Ill try it, why not." "I thought it would be fun," he said of the event, which is usually exclusive for point guards but DeRozan hopes to start a new era of shooting guards entering and conquering the ball handling/passing obstacle course. "Everybody doesnt get a chance to be a part of All-Star Weekend and the big thing for me is to go out there and have fun. I think it will be cool to go out there and represent my team as much as I can and you never know, I might mess around and win it." Along with DeRozan, the participants will consists of Lillard, Goran Dragic, Reggie Jackson and rookies Giannis Antetokounmpo, Michael Carter-Williams, Victor Oladipo and Trey Burke. DeRozan, who has previously competed in the Slam Dunk contest on two separate occasions, will be the first Raptor to appear in the Skills Challenge. Although he wouldnt tip his hand, his strategy centres on speed over precision. "I look at it like, a lot of players go out there and try to do it cool," said the fifth-year guard. "I always used to say, you can go a little faster. So Ive got my whole mindset to try and win it." The format in both events will be tweaked this season. The Skills Challenge will feature four teams of two players each competing in a two-round timed relay-style course. The fastest team from each conference will advance to the second and final round, where the winning pair will be crowned. The Dunk Contest participants will also compete in teams, divided by conference. The competition will tip off with a "freestyle round" where the dunkers for each the East and the West will have 90 seconds to showcase as many dunks as they choose. At the conclusion of the opening round, the panel of judges will vote for a winning conference. The winning conference will decide whether its competitors will dunk first or second in the following round, a head-to-head "battle round". In the battle round dunkers from opposing conferences will face off against each other, with the judges choosing a winner in each battle. The first team to win three battles will win the competition. Fans will then vote on the "Dunker of the Night" from the winning team. Ross is the fifth Raptor to participate in the event, joining DeRozan, Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady and Jamario Moon. Tampa Bay Lightning Jerseys .Balotelli uploaded on Instagram a picture of the video-game character Super Mario, with whom the Italy international shares a nickname, with text around the image including jumps like a black man and grabs coins like a Jew. Martin St. Louis Jersey . Still, Encarnacion felt a sense of relief. He felt a pop just before crumpling to the ground after running out a groundball in the first inning of Saturdays game. It could have been worse. “Its going to take maybe two weeks,” said Encarnacion. “It depends how Im going to be and how Im going to be day after day, feeling better or not. http://www.hockeylightning.com/customized/ . -- Jesse Lussier scored 8:24 into overtime as the Halifax Mooseheads erased a four-goal deficit to beat the host Val-dOr Foreurs 6-5 on Tuesday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoff action.Lexington, KY (SportsNetwork.com) - Kentucky shot 1-for-12 from 3-point range and was outrebounded 42-31 on its home floor. But Willie Cauley-Stein and the No. 1 Wildcats still found a way past sixth- ranked Texas, 63-51, in their first real test of the season. Cauley-Steins best game as a college player couldnt have come at a better time for the Wildcats, who struggled to score all night but got it done on the defensive end. The 7-footer was dominant on D while also posting a career-high 21 points. He finished with 12 rebounds, five steals and three blocked shots. Dakari Johnson scored 11 points, Karl-Anthony Towns netted 10, and Alex Poythress chipped in eight for the unbeaten Wildcats (8-0). Open looks were at a premium for Texas (7-1), which finished just 14-of-47 from the floor and 4-for-20 from behind the arc. Jonathan Holmes paced the Longhorns with 14 points and Demarcus Holland had 10 with a game-high five assists. After a balanced first half, Kentucky asserted its dominance out of the break. Trey Lyles and Johnson both scored a pair of field goals and Cauley-Stein made two free throws during a 10-0 run to open the second half. Prince Ibeh broke the seal for Texas with a dunk on a feed from Holland, but the Wildcats scored the next eight to build a comfortable 16-point lead. Cauley-Steins alley-oop in transition from Aaron Harrison, which accounted for the 39th and 40th points, nearly brought the roof off of Rupp Arena. Twwo Texas runs of 7-0 and 6-0 later in the half had the Longhorns within striking distance. Vincent Lecavalier Jersey. It was 53-47 with under three minutes to go when Cauley-Stein intercepted an entry pass from Connor Lammert and Andrew Harrison hit Kentuckys first 3- pointer at the other end. In poetic fashion, Cauley-Stein put an exclamation mark on the win with another alley-oop from Andrew Harrison with less than a minute to play. He left the court to a rousing ovation moments later. The Longhorns turned it over seven times in the first eight minutes of the game, but they still led 10-9 at the second media timeout following Kendal Yancys putback layup. It was 20-14 when Kentucky finally got going. Towns drew a flagrant 1 foul on Holmes and made both free throws, then knocked down a jumper from the nail. Tyler Ulis scored in transition following Yancys missed jumper, and just like that, the game was tied. Out of a timeout, Cauley-Stein went to a righty jump hook to put Kentucky in front, 22-20. Texas then scored six of the next eight points and Cauley- Stein made another hook shot to send the two teams into halftime tied at 26. Game Notes This was Kentuckys lowest margin of victory this season ... Texas fell to 0-8 all-time against No. 1 ranked teams ... Kentucky forced 22 turnovers while coughing it up just eight times ... There were seven ties and eight lead changes. 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