NEW ORLEANS - Shortly after hoisting his second Slam Dunk trophy, this one hell have to share, Terrence Ross was stunned to hear that the contests format change was not especially well received. "It was one of the best shows ever," said the Raptors guard, disagreeing with the critics. "Its really what people wanted to see. You couldnt see those dunks without three players on the court so it worked out for the best I think." The Slam Dunk Contest - the pride and joy of All-Star Saturday Night - adopted a team concept this year, pitting the three participants from the East against the Wests trio in a two-round showcase. It was, for all intents and purposes, a bust. In the final round, a head-to-head session, the team from the East - consisting of Ross, John Wall and Paul George - defeated the West in a clean sweep. It was an unorthodox victory for Ross, who only threw down one dunk, outside of the initial freestyle round. "Hey, a wins a win," the sophomore said, elated after the competition came to an end, not unlike most in attendance and watching from home. "Im gonna take it either way. Ive never lost a dunk contest at this point so Im happy." The real champion, assuming anyone can really be considered a winner after that performance, was John Wall, who was awarded the fan vote for Dunker of the Night. Wall capped off an anticlimactic evening with the only real jaw-dropping dunk, leaping over Wizards mascot G-Man, taking the ball out of his hands and completing a two-hand reverse jam to seal the Easts victory. Off the top, each team had 90 seconds to work together and complete as many dunks as they could. The team dynamic, allowed the dunkers to collaborate and be creative in their attempts. Ross and the East took advantage, while the West - with Damian Lillard, Harrison Barnes and Ben McLemore - ate up nearly a third of their allotted time before converting a notable slam. To call it organized chaos would be putting it mildly. Mostly, it was a disjointed mess with an occasional highlight, a couple from Ross, who put down a reverse to open the contest. The battle round had promise but lacked any semblance of rhythm or flow, as actual dunks were few and far between. Just as it started to come around, it ended abruptly. Lillard led off the proceedings - competing in his third event of the night - facing Ross, who brought along a friend and colleague for assistance. With last years trophy in hand, Raptors global ambassador Drake accompanied Ross on the floor to the tune of Started from the Bottom. Ross, wearing a boxing robe as he entered, would miss his first two attempts before eventually taking the ball from Drake, putting it through his legs and throwing it down with the opposite hand. As it turns out, Drake was a late substitution for Ross teammate and original assistant. "At first I knew the dunk I wanted to do and then I was like, DeMar (DeRozan) is going to do it," said the Raptors sophomore. "And then I was like, let me ask Drake because that would be a little better fit with him being the global ambassador, so I said that might work. I had fun with it, he was willing to help in any way he could." In the end, Ross was happy with the format change and embraced the chance to team up rather than go at it alone. "We got to throw off the shot clock, the backboard, bounce it off the ground," he said. "It was fun, everybody loved it." Ross maintained the team concept allows participants to be more creative, giving each of them a greater opportunity to come up and execute something new. For that reason, he believes the format should be here to stay. "It was fun, just coming up with certain things. I was trying to see if we could throw it off the jumbotron and see if we could do something like that but they said that would probably break it." Format changes encapsulated the entire night, certainly not what the league was going for. The Skills Challenge also had participants competing in teams for the first time. DeRozan - who was paired with Bucks rookie Giannis Antetokounmpo - more than held his own, sinking the chest pass on his first attempts and nailing the jump shot from the top of the key in two tries. His partner needed three tries to complete the pass and as a result, they were eliminated in the opening round, bested by Michael Carter-Williams and Victor Oladipo by 1.7 seconds. That pair would go on to lose to Lillard and Trey Burke by a tenth of a second in the finals. Former Raptor Marco Belinelli, the eventual winner of the Three-Point Contest, would not have made it past the first round if not for a new twist which allowed for one entire rack filled with money balls. He went on to defeat Wizards guard Bradley Beal in a tie-breaking round. http://www.officialraidersgear.com/Raiders-Howie-Long-Draft-Jersey/ . Mickelson shot a 2-under 70 after opening with a 77 -- his worst score of the season -- on TPC San Antonios AT&T Oaks Course. Lefty was 11 strokes behind leader Steven Bowditch, the Australian who had a 67 to reach 8-under 136. Rashaan Melvin Jersey . Louis Cardinals pitcher Jaime Garcia will have surgery on his left shoulder this week and is expected to miss the rest of the season. http://www.officialraidersgear.com/Raiders-Al-Davis-Draft-Jersey/ . In Europe, top teams seem to be largely happy with their squads after spending nearly $1 billion in the off-season. And although English league clubs are unlikely to splash cash in January, Arsenal and Chelsea could be tempted to strengthen their squads with new strikers. Dave Casper Jersey . The 19-year-old from Westmount, Que., was edged 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-3 by third-seeded Alize Cornet of France. Cornet broke Bouchard twice in the last set and saved six break points in the three-hour match. http://www.officialraidersgear.com/Raiders-Fred-Biletnikoff-Draft-Jersey/ . Claude Noel will be the man behind the bench when the team hits the ice of the MTS Centre to begin its inaugural season.INDIANAPOLIS -- Michigan coach John Beilein had watched his team blow almost all of a 15-point lead, and he was sure he knew how Tennessee would try to take the lead. With 6 seconds left and trailing 72-71, Cuonzo Martin would probably send the ball into Jarnell Stokes, who would try to back into the post or drive. Beilein urged his defenders to buckle down and keep Stokes away from the rim. Jordan Morgan, who scored 15 points, heeded his coachs advice and stood his ground until Stokes lowered his shoulder. The senior forward immediately crashed to the floor -- perhaps embellishing the contact -- but drawing the call that saved the game for Michigan and infuriated Tennessees "Rocky Top" contingent. Big Ten player of the year Nik Stauskas of Mississauga, Ont., made a late free throw and nobody was more relieved than Beilein when Jordan McRaes 70-foot heave fell harmlessly to the floor as the buzzer sounded on a 73-71 Michigan victory. "We got just enough stops," Beilein said. Tennessee thought they got one stop unfairly. "With the magnitude of this game, I dont think you could call a charge at that point," McRae said dejectedly after scoring 24 points. But the officials did call it, allowing Michigan to reach a second straight regional final. The Wolverines (28-8) have won 10 of their last 11, none as tenuous or excruciating as this one to set up a Sunday showdown against eighth-seeded Kentucky, the 2012 national champion. The Wildcats won 74-69 over fourth-seeded Louisville, which beat Michigan in last years national championship game. Tennessee almost pulled off one of the most stunning comebacks in recent regional memory. With 10:55 to go, Spike Albrechts layup gave Michigan a seemingly insurmountable 60-45 lead. When Stauskas made the last of his three 3-pointers with 3:40 to go, the Wolverines still led 70-60. Stauskas finished with 14 points. For some reason, Michigan went into panic mode and, just two weeks after nearly blowing two big leads in the Big Ten tournament, they nearly threw this one away. The VVolunteers staunch defence limited Michigan to just one basket over the final 3:40 and forced four turnovers in the final 97 seconds to give themselves a chance in the closing seconds.dddddddddddd "I dont think I fouled him," said Stokes, who had 11 points and six rebounds after two straight double-doubles. "But it was a smart play for him to try to take the charge. He pretty much anticipated it." Just as Beilein had predicted. For most of the night, Michigan relied on its shooting stars to stay in control against a defence that had allowed just 54.0 points in its previous eight games. The Wolverines took a 13-point lead in the first half and still led 45-34 at halftime because they were shooting 61.5 per cent from the field and made 7 of 9 on 3-pointers. Michigan didnt slow down early in the second half, either, taking the biggest lead of the game at 60-45. But somehow Tennessee played itself right back into the game. The 11th-seeeded Vols, who had a first-round game in overtime at Dayton, Ohio, just to start their surprising post-season run, cut the deficit to 62-56 with 6:45 left. They got within 72-67 when McRae completed a three-point play with 1:56 to go. They made it 72-69 when Josh Richardson scored the last of his 19 points on a layup with 24.6 seconds left. McRaes layup following another Michigan turnover made it 72-71 with 10.8 seconds remaining. So when the officials ruled Michigans Caris LeVert caught the ball with one foot on the baseline and 9.6 seconds left, Martin made the smart call by giving Stokes a chance to win it with a basket or draw the foul. "We got the ball to Jarnell. Jordan set a screen for him to get him right to isolate him, attack him in the middle," Martin explained. "Obviously we got the ball where we wanted." However, the call went against them. "We heard all week about they had mismatches and how we couldnt guard them inside," Morgan said after letting out a scream at the end. "Were not really soft around here. Thats not who we are." 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