LOS ANGELES - As practice wrapped up at the Lakers facility in L.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. Air Max 90 The Starry Sky Black . According to TSN Edmonton reporter Ryan Rishaug, agent Rick Valette met with Oilers senior VP of hockey operations Scott Howson and general manager Craig MacTavish on Monday to kick off the talks. Air Max 90 Womens Clearance . Weise will have his hearing with the NHL head office over the phone, while the league has requested an in-person hearing with Kassian. Oilers centre Sam Gagner suffered a broken jaw after getting hit with a high stick from Kassian in Edmontons 5-2 win. http://www.outletairmax90cheap.com/outlet-air-max-90-black-cheap-303.html . The Pope greeted Klose at his general audience Wednesday and the pair had a long chat. Klose is German like the pope, although he was born in Poland. In Sundays derby, Lazio took the lead in the seventh minute after Maarten Stekelenburg brought down Klose, resulting in the Roma goalkeeper being sent off and a penalty that Hernanes converted. Fake Air Max 90 Essential . - Frankie (The Answer) Edgar dominated B. Fake Air Max 90 2019 . - Washington Redskins tight end Fred Davis said Wednesday hes "nodded off" during meetings, but he said its something every player does.Neither the Ottawa Senators or Minnesota Wild are happy with their efforts from Tuesday night. The clubs see a quick turnaround as they are set to square off in Ottawa tonight with a chance to get back on track. You can watch the game on TSN, tonight at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. Clarke MacArthur and Kyle Turris scored to erase a 2-0 deficit, but the Flyers responded with a pair of goals 23 seconds apart just past the midway point of the third period to seal the outcome. MacArthur assisted on Turris fifth goal of the season, while Robin Lehner faced 41 shots, coming up with 37 saves. "I thought we played a good game," said Lehner. "Its too bad that I couldnt be there for the guys today. I had a bad one today. Thats life. I had a bad outing today." Craig Anderson will get the start tonight for the Sens and is 3-6-2 with a 2.99 GAA in his career versus the Wild. The Senators will look to extend a six-game series winning streak over the Wild, having not lost to the club since March 16, 2004 in Minnesota. They have won three straight as the guest in this series since. Ottawa has eight victories and a tie in 11 all-time meetings with Minnesota. The Wild had a four-game winning streak and eight-game point streak (7-0-1) snapped with last nights 6-2 loss to the hosting Montreal Canadiens, while the Ottawa Senators lost for the third time in four games with a 5-2 setback to the Philadelphia Flyers. Minnesota didnt give itself much of a chance, giving uup the games first five goals, including the first three to Montreal forward Max Pacioretty in the second period.dddddddddddd Nino Niederreiter finally got the Wild on the board with 5:30 to play, while Dany Heatley added a late power-play goal with two seconds on the clock. One day after being named the NHLs Third Star for the week ending on Nov. 17, Josh Harding allowed three goals on 19 shots in just over 33 minutes of action. He had gone 3-0-0 with a 1.38 goals against average and .939 save percentage last week. Darcy Kuemper came on in relief and yielded three goals on nine shots. "We did not play well. They played very well and thats usually the result," said Wild head coach Mike Yeo. "Hopefully were a little ticked off. Weve been on a good stretch here, but theres no need for us to sit here and look back on that and feel too good about that. Good teams respond, so we have to make sure we respond with a good effort (Wednesday)." Yeos decision to pull Harding early likely means the goaltender will get the start tonight over Kuemper. Harding has never started versus the Senators and has faced them just once before in relief. That came back on Feb. 14, 2009 and he faced just two shots, giving up one goal. Minnesota lost the opener of a four-game road trip and fell to 3-4-2 as the guest this season compared to 10-1-2 at home. The Wild will face a Senators club that returns home after last nights setback in Philadelphia. ' ' '