NEW ORLEANS - Jonas Valanciunas stay in The Big Easy will be a brief one. After making his All-Star debut in Fridays Rising Stars Challenge, the Raptors sophomore centre wont be sticking around for the duration of the weekends festivities, thinking about the big picture instead. Valanciunas, who scored four points in 19 minutes for the victorious Team Hill in the annual rookie-sophomore showcase, will spend two days on a beach in Mexico. How soon does he leave? "As soon as possible," he joked after Fridays game. "I want to see that sun." Scheduled to take off from New Orleans Saturday morning, Valanciunas vacation will also be short-lived. He and the rest of the team will reconvene in Washington Monday for practice but a little relaxation before that could go a long way for the Raptors young centre. "[I can] just relax my body," he said of the excursion, "have some time off to relax my mind, relax my body and be ready for the next half of the season." With 30 regular season games and - barring a complete Raptors collapse - at least a few playoff contests to go, Valanciunas should surpass his minute total from last season in the next week, hes 32 minutes shy of matching his rookie mark. After a strong eight-game stretch, averaging 15.4 points and 10.8 rebounds, to close out last month and begin February, the 21-year-old was rusty going into the break. Despite grabbing 14 boards, he connected on just one of his nine attempts, logging just 24 minutes in Wednesdays win over the Hawks. "He needs a rest," Dwane Casey said after that game. "He needs a mental rest." The stretch run will be uncharted territory for Valanciunas and the Raptors will need him at full strength, both physically and mentally. His time in New Orleans, however brief, was not especially taxing. Valanciunas four points was tied with Phoenixs Miles Plumlee for lowest in the game. In general the event is not one that lends itself to prototypical big men. Its a high-scoring, up and down display of athleticism and three-point shooting. "Everybody wants to score," he said. "Everybody wants to do some beautiful dunks, beautiful shots and my job is to bang inside." Valanciunas may have been the only one on the court looking to set screens and box out. Offensively, he was out of place, failing to convert three alley-oops, getting a hook shot blocked by the Pelicans Anthony Davis and even missing a rare three-pointer. "That was my goal the whole game," he said with a smile. "To make a three." Valanciunas team, drafted by Grant Hill, was victorious by a score of 142-136 over Team Chris Webber. Detroits Andre Drummond was awarded MVP, voted on by the fans, after scoring 30 points and grabbing 25 boards. Clevelands Dion Waiters had 31 points and the Knicks Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 36 for Team Webber. Jason Marshall Jersey .Y. -- That hangover from the Big East tournament is gone for Villanova. Anaheim Ducks Store . "Rob brings a wealth of coaching experience, having worked both in Canada and overseas in player development," Canada Soccer technical director Tony Fonseca said in a release. https://www.cheapducks.com/987c-josh-mah...-ducks.html.com) - Edmonton Oilers forward Taylor Hall left Saturdays game against the Senators in the second period with a left knee injury. Randy Ladouceur Jersey .ca NHL Power Rankings, finally overtaking the St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks, who rank second and third this week. Nicolas Deslauriers Jersey . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Darcy Kuemper, Minnesota (5): He was calm, poised, and looked comfortable all game.Steve Mason unzipped the bag and inside found zombie heads with mouths agape staring right back at him through whitewashed eyes.Mason removed his newly painted goalie helmet, the latest piece of art for his collection, and pinpointed Philadelphia Flyers teammates who have been transformed into decaying faces and rotting corpses. There was Claude Giroux, with white eyes matching the colour of the captains patch on his jersey. Wayne Simmonds and Jakub Voracek may as well have lumbered straight off the set of Michael Jacksons Thriller video.Beautiful, Mason said, rotating his helmet to eye each ghoulish character.Masons helmet does more than protect his noggin from pucks whipped in his direction on a daily basis. Its a symbol of his love for both ghouls and his teammates, a colorful sign of respect for the guys on the ice who watch his back.The helmet was made by airbrush ace Franny Drummond, one of a very few NHL helmet artists who make the designs come to life. He zombified several Flyers for Masons latest helmet, creating perhaps the most frightening mask this side of Jason Voorhees.I just think it looks cool on a helmet, Mason said. Ever since I was a young goaltender, I always thought the scary-looking helmets were the coolest ones.The 41-year-old Drummond littered his desk with pictures of the Flyers he used as a template for his work. Drummond then picked up his Iwata airbrush loaded with orange clear-coat automotive paint — picked because of its durability, not its $400 a gallon price tag — and held it a pinch away from his sanded white helmet and went to work with a surgeons precession.Its not the most exciting thing, Drummond said, but when its finished it gets exciting. You have to wait for it to all come together.Drummond creates the kind of helmet art that had one collector paying $4,000 for a one-of-a-kind Winter Classic-themed piece.He has created masks for NHL goalies including Bostons Tuukka Rask, Brian Boucher and Montreal Canadiens prospect Mike Condon. Condons helmet has state troopers painted on one side in honour of his father and Band of Brothers on the other for his favourite TV show. Canadiens and Princeton logos are both on helmet, as well as Condons family crest.Drummond, a former goalie who still plays in adult hockey leagues, had his art displayed in the NHL equivalent of the Louvre when Boucher and Michael Leighton both wore his helmets in the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs.He has built a business by airbrushing just about any type of object, from a bus for a radio host to motorcycles, welders masks and walls. He worked for a time on the show Extreme Makeover, and recalled frantically putting the finishing touches on bedrooms while host Ty Pennington yelled Move that bus! as the show neared its finale.ddddddddddddDrummond studied at Miami International University of Art & Design and custom painted in his PaintZoo shop for 18 years.Hes a Flyers fanatic, and became involved with the organization when he created artwork for a former Flyer for a charity event. He was introduced to Flyers equipment manager Derek Settlemyre and that led to his first helmet for Ray Emery in the 2010 Winter Classic. The mask was decorated as a tribute to former team goalies Ron Hextall, Bernie Parent and Pelle Lindbergh.Boucher liked what he saw and became his next client. Drummonds work soon caught the attention of Bauer, one of the leading hockey equipment manufacturers. Drummond signed with Bauer and became a certified painter for the NHL helmet kings.The helmets range from $400 a mask for youth hockey players up to about $2,000 for the adult versions.Drummond is one of seven artists used by Bauer, most notably Swedish artist Dave Gunnarsson, who paints about 65 per cent of NHL helmets.Whenever theres a third party involved, weve learned the process gets ruined a little bit, said Lee Britt, custom goalie manager at Bauer. Weve learned over time its best for the player and artist figure out what the design is going to be. Sometimes the teams will have a little bit of input.Drummonds masterpieces occasionally go bust. He worked for about 10 days on Ilya Bryzgalovs helmet for the 2012 Winter Classic, only for the Flyers goalie to get benched for the big game. And he sent Star Wars nerds into a frenzy when he painted Yodas lightsaber Flyers orange instead of green.Drummond has been Masons personal artist for two years.Id put his work up against anyone elses in the world, Mason said. Ive seen a lot of goaltenders masks through the years, and seeing his up close and personal, the amount of detail he puts in there, its second to none.Mason was razzed last season when his helmet failed to include any defencemen. Nicklas Grossmann and Luke Schenn made the cut this week and so did some members of the teams equipment staff. He had asked for the new helmet to change his mojo after an 0-4-1 start to the season, and he also needed a darker cage because the brightness of the new state-of-the-art lighting system at Philadelphias Wells Fargo Center has made it tougher to see the puck during a game.The helmet wasnt unveiled until Monday. Mason broke in the helmet at practice and it made its NHL debut Tuesday night against Edmonton. Mason made 35 saves to earn his first win of the season as Philadelphia beat the Oilers 4-1.Mason uses two to three masks per season and keeps a shrine of them, a timeline of his career that is capped by Drummonds glittering pieces.These are more than helmets, Drummond said, theyre keepsakes. ' ' '