destroyed some protective fencing and set fire to temporary

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. Jim Thome Jersey . "I honestly dont know," he said. 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Goose Gossage White Sox Jersey . -- Jimmie Johnson has a sixth NASCAR championship in hand and two legends within reach.SAO PAULO - The latest stadium inaugurated for the World Cup in Brazil held its first two matches without major glitches on Sunday, a day after demonstrators across Brazil protested against the tournament. The Arena das Dunas in the northeastern city of Natal sustained minor damage during the protests, but demonstrators stayed away on Sunday and officials said the stadium passed its first test, with only minor adjustments needed going forward. Work was being done until the final moments before the inaugural match, but the doubleheader between local clubs in front of tens of thousands of fans was not affected. Before the matches, local media reported that police arrested two men accused of firing shots at a group of rival fans a few kilometres from the stadium. No one was injured. Demonstrators complaining about the costs of the World Cup destroyed some protective fencing and set fire to temporary tents outside the Arena das Dunas late Saturday. Local media reported security guards fired shots into the air to disperse the crowd. The Tribuna do Norte newspaper said 19 people were detained. The protest was part of a nationwide movement by those oopposed the level of spending on the World Cup.dddddddddddd. About 1,000 people protested in Sao Paulo and smaller demonstrations took place in several other cities. Demonstrators attacked an empty police vehicle, torched a small car and smashed the windows of banks in Sao Paulo. Authorities responded with tear gas and rubber bullets and detained more than 100 people in South Americas biggest city. On its Facebook page, the Anonymous Rio protest group billed "Operation Stop the World Cup" as this years first act against the football tournament. The Confederations Cup was marked by violent protests last year and more are expected during the World Cup. The Arena das Dunas was the seventh World Cup stadium to be completed, with five still being worked on less than five months before the opening game on June 12. Those stadiums are mostly expected to be ready in time, but there is doubt about whether Curitiba will remain a host city as the stadium there is running well behind schedule. Brazil had promised to hand over all 12 World Cup stadiums by the end of 2013. Six of them were ready for the Confederations Cup last year. ' ' '