NEW ORLEANS - When DeMar DeRozan found out he had made his first NBA All-Star Game two weeks ago, receiving the news on the team plane upon landing in Denver, he wasnt surprised but instead described the feeling as a surreal one. Cheap Buffalo Bills Jerseys . Now - 48 hours before the main event - the Raptors leading scorer is soaking it all in, still a little starry-eyed, mindful of how far he has come and what its taken to get him to this point. "Its starting to become real now," he told TSN.ca Friday afternoon, as the All-Star participants gathered in the cavernous ballroom of a New Orleans hotel for their annual media day circus.  "I think when I really go out there, put the jersey on and head to the arena Sunday evening [it will really hit me]." The 24-year-old DeRozan does not have to look very far to find mementos of his NBA journey, the closest one will be sitting adjacent to him on the Eastern Conference teams bench when the game tips off on Sunday. Heat forward and fellow All-Star reserve Chris Bosh was one of the first to pull DeRozan aside upon arrival in New Orleans this weekend. Bosh - the Raptors last representative in the All-Star Game, four years ago - left for Miami following DeRozans rookie season. He, as much as anyone, can attest to DeRozans growth as a player and the message he had for his former teammate was just that. "Im proud of you," he told the Raptors guard. "It means a lot," DeRozan said of Boshs kind words. "We were just laughing because I remember being the only rookie, 19-years-old on the Raptors, him being a star and seeing all the things he was going through when he was [in Toronto] and how he had to carry the team on his back." "After he left I had to step up and learn. Its just crazy, we were laughing at how fast time flies. It seems like yesterday I was that rookie who wouldnt shoot the ball and passed it to Chris every time." There was pressure on DeRozan to contribute right out of the gate, starting 65 games - most of them alongside Bosh - as a rookie in Toronto. He was, to his own admission, a deer in the NBA headlights. He attempted fewer than seven shots per game - which more than doubled in his second year, without Bosh in the lineup - yet averaged less than an assist in over 21 minutes a night. At the time, becoming an All-Star was not even on his radar, his focus was self-preservation and proving his worth as an NBA player. "Youre always stuck in the moment," he remembered. "You stay on course with your everyday tasks and you work towards something like this, you just work every single day. I knew if I just stay consistent, stay focused and didnt get down on myself too much I knew I had a chance." Five seasons later - one year removed from signing a long-term contract extension - his work ethic has not wavered, if anything its gotten stronger, more relentless. "Im proud of DeMar," said Terrence Ross, who has become a protégé of DeRozans. "Hes put in so much work. To see him here is like, man, I wish we could give him more for all hes done. Im just happy hes here getting a chance to prove to the world what he can do." Now that hes here, now that hes come this far he knows not to take it for granted. DeRozan - who is tied for fourth in the league in minutes played, also nursing an ankle injury - could have used the time off but youll never get him to admit it. Hes honoured to be representing the third-place, division-leading Raptors on the world stage. He was caught off guard when his agent called to deliver the leagues invitation to participate in Saturdays Skills Challenge, an event usually reserved for point guards, one thats out of his comfort zone. Originally he declined but it didnt take much prodding to convince him to change his mind. "Everybody doesnt get a chance to be a part of All-Star Weekend," he said when he was announced as a participant last week. "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." DeRozans attitude is a refreshing change of pace from many of todays star players who decline invitations to participate in All-Star Saturday Night each year to preserve their energy, prevent injury or simply because they feel like theyve graduated from it. Sure, LeBron still wont dunk but perhaps times are changing after all. For the first time since 1988 three All-Stars will compete in the Slam Dunk contest, one of them, Damian Lillard will participate in all five major events this weekend. His rationale is on par with DeRozans. "Im happy Im really a part of the weekend," said Lillard, another first-time All-Star. "Ive gotten great reception from the fans. Fans are excited about having someone who is participating in the All-Star Game being in all the events." DeRozan is considered a long shot to defeat Lillard, the reigning champion, in Saturdays Skills Challenge but hes not putting too much pressure on himself. For him, the weekend is all about embracing a new opportunity, his first real All-Star opportunity. Cheap Bills Jerseys China .com) - Willie Cauley-Stein and Karl-Anthony Towns each scored 12 points in the top-ranked Kentucky Wildcats 70-55 victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide. Cheap Shareece Wright Jersey . -- The Phoenix Coyotes have won three in a row for the first time in 4 1/2 months, and theyve done it just in time for the stretch run to the playoffs.PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- The PGA Tour rescinded the two-shot penalty given to Justin Rose before his final round Sunday in The Players Championship, changing its mind to say sophisticated TV technology was the only way to determine the violation. Rose was given a reprieve by an addition in January to the "Decisions on the Rules of Golf" that waives a penalty if the slightest movement of a golf ball can only be detected by enhanced technology. It was the first time Decision 18/4 was used. "I didnt know that this new recall was in place," Rose said after closing with a 3-under 69. Rose was penalized after the third round when he addressed a chip shot off the 18th green, and suddenly backed away. Rose said he didnt think the ball had moved from its original position, even after consulting with playing partner Sergio Garcia and seeing a replay on the video board. Only after his round, when he met with officials and watched a third television angle zoom in on the ball, was it clear that it moved ever so slightly. He was penalized under Rule 18-2b -- one shot for the ball moving at address, another for returning it to its original position. His 71 was changed to a 73, and he went left the course seven shots out of the lead. About an hour before he teed off Sunday, he was back to where he was. Because it was too late to adjust the tee times, Rose started his final round more than an hour before the other players on the same score of 7-under 209. Rose was within two shots of the leaders at the turn until three straight bogeys. Rose closed with back-to-back birdies and finished at 10-under 278. "We feel like we did the right thing here," said Mark Russell, vice-president of competition for the PGA Tour. The PGA Tour said in a statement the incident had been reviewed because Decision 18/4 had never been used. "The Rules Committee reopened the incident and focused on how much the use of sophisticated technology played a part in making the original ruling," the statement said. "After that review, it was determined that the only way to confirm whether and how much the ball in fact changed position was to utilize sophisticated technology." Russell said the tour consulted Grant Moir from the Royal & Ancient and Thomas Pagel of the USGA before deciding to apply the new decision. Decision 18/4 waives the penalty if a ball movement is noot "reasonably discernible to the naked eye at the time" and required enhanced technology, such as HDTV. Cheap Bills Jerseys Authentic. The example often cited by rules officials is when Peter Hanson had a double-hit that could not be detected except through HD in super slow-motion. One reason cited for penalizing him in the first place was the way Rose backed away from the shot, aware that there might have been movement. Rose maintained he did not think the ball moved until seeing the close-up view that he said was magnified so much "the golf ball looked like a Lego ball." "I was willing to accept the way things played out last night, and under 50 times magnification, you could argue that there was a tiny bit of a roll toward the toe (of the club)," Rose said. "Im talking a hair or a millimeter or a quarter dimple or whatever it might be." Russell did not made clear what triggered their decision to review a ruling that had already been made. He described sophisticated technology as "HD zoomed in." "It was such a slight move that it was not discernible by the naked eye," Russell said. "He didnt know. He knew something happened when he grounded his club and felt like he pressed the grass down. And it came right back. Everything went down and then the grass went down and the ball came back up. He knew something happened, he backed away from that, but it took something really zoomed in that was not seen on regular television to determine if the ball did indeed move. And it did." Rose said it was "interesting" that Decision 18/4 was not mentioned Saturday night as he met with officials. He said he only learned about it through comments he was getting on Twitter, and when he saw the decision, it sounded exactly like what had happened to him. "We have never had this tool before that we could apply," Russell said. "We asked for this and we feel like that this is the first time this has ever been used and we feel like this is exactly why this decision is in there. ... I think he deserved exactly what he received under the rules." Rose said he wasnt going to argue with the officials Saturday night that he would happily go along with whatever they decided. "Im certainly surprised its overturned," he said. "Very rarely is that ever the case. Never, ever the case. Im not sure." Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '