NEW ORLEANS - Something about Terrence Ross in the spotlight still seems unnatural, though he has proven that hes worthy of the attention. On Saturday night hell only take up a third of it when he aims to defend his Slam Dunk title in the new-look contest, taking place at New Orleans Smoothie King Center. A year ago, Ross defeated reigning champion and little-known Jazz forward Jeremy Evans in a fan vote, breathing some new life into a floundering competition. But does he see himself as the defending champ? "I only do that just because thats what everybody calls me or they always ask me if Im going to defend my championship," said the Raptors modest and soft-spoken sophomore, who was reluctant to re-enter the contest this season, though he felt obligated to. "I have to. I just feel like if you win a championship you have to defend it." This year hell share the court with a few more familiar faces. For the first time in 26 years, the Slam Dunk contest will feature three All-Stars, two of which compete on a team with Ross as the event takes on a controversial new format. Teaming up with a couple of Eastern Conference All-Stars in Paul George and John Wall, Ross squad will oppose All-Star Swiss Army knife Damian Lillard and the Wests Harrison Barnes and Ben McLemore. The contests first round, a 90-second freestyle showcase, will force the teams to work together and assist on each others dunks. Ross met with his teammates Thursday evening to rehearse and formulate a strategy. All three say theyre ready to go. "We got our game plan ready," said the Pacers George, an All-Star starter. "Were all going to have fun with it, were all going to be a part of one anothers dunks so itll be a fun game." In the second round the East dunkers will go head-to-head with the competitors from the West until a team of three is crowned champion. Fans will then vote for the "Dunker of the Night" from the winning team. Intended to spice up an event thats lost its luster, the twist is one that may take some getting used to, one that not everyone is on board with. The participants, as you would expect, have high hopes for the new format. "I personally like [the new format]," Ross said. "A lot of people dont like it but after they see whats going to happen, how the dunks are going to turn out everybodys going to like it." "I think it makes it more fun," Lillard agreed. "Its a little bit less pressure on each individual dunker, its a little more of a group thing and a team thing." However, not everyone is so optimistic. "I just feel like the dunk contest from back in the day has always been pretty simple and thats what made it good," said All-Star forward Blake Griffin, who won the 2011 competition after jumping over the hood of a Kia. "So I dont know how I feel about putting in a lot of extra stuff. I think it should just be get out there and let them dunk. I think theyve made it a little too rigid. Just kind of make it more free and let guys have more fun with it and I think theyll get better results out of it." Whether you love it, hate it, sit somewhere in between or are reserving judgment, the NBA will take another stab at reinventing an event that is still haunted by the memory of Vince Carters iconic performance in 2000. 14 years after that fateful night in Oakland, Carters show-stopping dunks remain a hot topic of conversation at All-Star weekend. At the time it was exactly what the dunk-off needed, problem is Carter set the bar too high. "It was almost like he made it feel like it wasnt a dunk contest," said Ross, who was just nine years old when he watched Carter make history. "It was kind of like a clinic or like a tutorial, how he just went out there and every dunk he did was like first try, done, 50. It was unreal to see because you havent seen anybody shut down a dunk contest since." No one has topped it and perhaps no one ever will. All the format changes in the world wont change that but an infusion of young talent and star power could. With Ross, the defending champ, facing off against three brand-name players, theres more excitement going into this weekends event than there has been in years past. Still, everyone is clamouring to see a certain MVP throw his hat in the ring. "LeBron (James) would make the Dunk Contest so much more exciting," Ross admitted. "He would have people hanging from the ceiling just to try to get in and watch it. The atmosphere would probably be unreal and thats something I would like to experience. If he ever does it I would sign up again for it. Hopefully one day he does it." He has a Dunk Contest trophy on his shelf and a 51-point game on his resume, yet Ross is still getting comfortable with the attention. It took him a little while to allow his excitement to build up and come out but with a new format and fresh competition, the 23-year-old finally has his game face on. Better late than never. "Thats even more incentive for me to go in now and try to do it again," he said. "Its like a new contest." Kevin De Bruyne Belgium Jersey . With a victory seemingly slipping away late in the third quarter, his quick scoring flurry helped Golden State regain control early in the fourth. Simon Mignolet Belgium Jersey .Murray has played 20 matches in five weeks, winning three titles to climb to fifth in the ATP Race.The two-time Grand Slam champion also seeks to qualify for next months ATP World Tour Finals.Murray said: I always wanted to qualify for it, but also I want to get back into the top 8 players in the world and it makes a huge difference for seedings in the major events. http://www.belgiumsoccerpro.com/Nacer-Chadli-Belgium-Jersey/. The second-ranked Jayhawks will play the Miners of Texas-El Paso at Imperial Arena in the Bahamas. The game can be seen live on TSN2 starting at 7pm et/4pm pt. Blank Belgium Jersey . Venus Williams advanced to the ASB Classic final in Auckland on a walkover when fellow American Jamie Hampton withdrew from their semifinal Friday with a right hip injury. Toby Alderweireld Jersey . The Union looked to have grabbed a big win in the 88th minute when Amobi Okugo finally put the hosts in front. But a terrible giveaway by Union goalkeeper Rais Mbolhi handed Earnshaw the equalizer in the second minute of stoppage time, keeping the Union two points back of fifth-place Red Bull New York for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Clippers chose not to speak publicly about owner Donald Sterling before they faced the Golden State Warriors for Game 4 of their first-round series Sunday. Instead, they made a silent protest to generate attention. In response to Sterlings purported comments urging a woman to not bring black people to his teams games, the Clippers let their uniforms become a show of solidarity. They ran out of the tunnel wearing their usual warmups. Then they huddled at centre court and tossed the outer layer of their warmups to the ground, going through their pregame routine with their red Clippers shirts on inside out to hide the teams logo. Players also wore black wristbands or armbands during the game, which they lost 118-97. They also donned black socks with their normal jerseys. "Its just us, only us. Were all we got," Clippers point guard Chris Paul could be heard shouting to teammates before they ran out. The Warriors announced sellout crowd of 19,596, decked out in gold shirts, booed the Clippers -- as they always do -- during team introductions. Sterlings wife was sitting courtside across from the Clippers bench. Commissioner Adam Silver had said Donald Sterling would not be at the game. Clippers coach Doc Rivers said prior to the game that he would remain the only one to speak for the team on the issue because players wanted to remain focused on basketball. Afterward, Rivers said he knew what his players had planned but didnt voice his opinion. Rivers said he wasnt thrilled about the demonstration, though he didnt elaborate why. Even he, though, acknowledged that staying focused has not been easy since TMZ released the alleged recording of Sterling. "Our message is to play," Rivers said. "Our message is that were going to let no one and nothing stop us from what we want to do. And I think thats a good message. I really do. I think thats the message were trying to send. And if we can pull this off all the way, I think that would be a terrific message." In an overcrowded postgame locker room, most of the Clippers players deflected comment or refused to answer questions related to Sterling -- other than to say they remain united and focused on basketball. Shooting guard J.J. Redick, who is white, said the controversy has impacted everybody on the team and around the league. He also admitted it might have affected their preparation. "Maybe our focus wasnt in the right place would be the easiest way to say it," Redick said. "I didnt get the sense that we couldnt function. I thought we competed, but give them a lot of credit as well. It wasnt just the distraction of everything that has happened in the last 24 hours. Golden SState played a great basketball game, lets keep that in mind.dddddddddddd." While the Clippers wanted to let their play do the talking, other NBA players continued to speak out on the subject. Some talked about the hurt Sterlings alleged words caused. Others urged Silver to take an aggressive stance against Sterling, who has a history of alleged discrimination. Most of them hoped Sterling would be removed as the teams owner someday soon. Miami Heat star LeBron James said Silver needed to take action, going so far as to suggest "there is no room for Donald Sterling in our league." Lakers star Kobe Bryant wrote on his Twitter page that he couldnt play for Sterling. Warriors coach Mark Jackson, who played for the Clippers from 1992-94, said he could forgive Sterling but couldnt play for him right now, either. Asked if he needed to hear something from the league or Sterling to return as coach next year, Rivers said he didnt know and that he was just concentrating on the playoff series. At the Trail Blazers playoff game against the Houston Rockets on Sunday night, Portland players all wore black socks in solidarity with the Clippers players. "I wanted to do something to support our brothers," Blazers All-Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge said before the game in Portland. The players union, still without an executive director since firing Billy Hunter in February 2013, is following the situation closely. The union has asked former NBA All-Star and current Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson to take a leading role on the players behalf to address the Sterling matter. Johnson and Silver attended the game Sunday. Johnson said he called an emergency phone meeting of every player representative to the union Saturday night and spoke with Silver before the game. He said this is a "defining moment" for the NBA and for Silver. Johnson said players trust that the commissioner will meet their demands, which include: Sterling not attend any NBA games for the rest of the playoffs; a full account of past allegations of discrimination by Sterling and why the league never sanctioned him; the range of options that the league can penalize Sterling, including the maximum penalty, which players want if the audio recording is validated; assurance that the NBA and the union will be partners in the investigation; and an immediate and decisive ruling, hopefully before the Clippers host the Warriors for Game 5 on Tuesday night in Los Angeles. Johnson also said there will be no league-wide protest by players or a boycott because theres enough attention on the issue already and that players "trust Adam Silver. They trust that Adam Silver will do the right thing." 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