By: Aj Mansour | KFAN.com
@AjMansourKFAN

Minneapolis, MN - According to Marc Stein of ESPN.com, Timberwolves rookie forward Derrick Williams is expected to take part in the 2012 Sprite Slam Dunk Contest during All-Star Saturday night. Official announcements are expected later Thursday.

Williams will join a field of four first time dunk contest participants made up of Iman Shumpert (Knicks), Chase Budinger (Rockets) and Paul George (Pacers). Notably missing from this year's squad is the 2011 champion Blake Griffin. While Griffin will not be participating in this year's competition, he surely has left his mark on the contest for year's to come. Griffin's dunk over the hood of a car last year upped the anti for future dunkers.

This year's contest will also be missing another Slam Dunk contest staple from year's past. No longer will the sideline be graced by former NBA stars holding up scorecards to judge the contestants. This year's champion will be solely decided by the fans. The contest will include one round, with three dunks for each player. Fan voting will open after each player delivers their first dunk. Votes will be placed via Twitter, Texting and online at NBA.com.

Aj Mansour covers Minnesota Sports for KFAN.com. Feel free to leave comments and questions regarding this post in the space provided below. For Timberwolves' updates and breaking Timberwolves' news, follow Aj on Twitter. @AjMansourKFAN

Wolves Record This Week: 0-4

As promising as the last few weeks have looked, this one was a complete disaster for the team. The Love-less team started out the week falling to the Grizzlies, and followed that with full strength losses against Dallas, New York, and Orlando. The Knicks game was winnable and they should have pulled it out, but the other three games weren't even as close as the final scores indicated. On the bright side, this is still their best 29-game start since opening 2006-07 at 14-15. In any case, let's hope they have a collective short memory and look to turn things around. Until then,let's once again look back and review the rough week.

ABA Muskies Jerseys: F
After three Muskies losses, I'm ready to put the retro look back into the vault. Unfortunately it's not up to me and we're looking at three more Muskies games that are left on the schedule. What is it about a high school-esque jersey that seems to be making the team play at an inferior level? You know what -- why don't we just put this out of our minds until March 5th, when the Muskies jersey are set to return against the LA Clippers.

All Star Representation: A
Disappointing as this past week was, we did get some good news as we found out that several Wolves will be represented during All Star Weekend. Kevin Love was nominated as a reserve for the Western Conference All Star team, Ricky Rubio and Derrick Williams will be in the draft pool for the Rising Stars Challenge(the former Rookie/Sophomore Challenge), and Kevin Love will surprisingly be participating in the Three Point Shootout. Here's another thing that should, but won't happen -- Ricky Rubio in the Skills Challenge. The thing that holds most guards up in that challenge are the passing stations. I'm guessing Rubio would nail both passes on the first try, and that alone would make him a favorite for the finals. While we're at it, we should uncage the lion and put D-Will into the dunk competition! Let him get some aggression out -- why not? He has the athleticism, just usually not the open lane to drive it. Hey - I've got it! Why not Michael Beasley, Seimone Augustus, and somebody like Wally Szczerbiak in the Shooting Stars Challenge? Ok, maybe that's going too far. I'll stop.

Turnovers: D
A good reason this team lacked success this week was their general inability to win the turnover battle. That included a disastrous 28 turnovers against the Mavs(one short of the franchise record), 22 against the Knicks, and 18 in Orlando. Not only that, but a lot of the turnovers this week were born from lazy passes and general carelessness. Those turnovers are just completely maddening because they are self inflicted wounds that could be avoided by taking better care of the ball -- not throwing into double teams, being mindful of where defenders are on the court, etc.

Orlando Playing the Super Mario Underground Theme?: A
Whoa. Did I hear that right? Was Orlando really playing the Super Mario Underground theme during a defensive possession? At the Target Center they use the coin collection sound effect from the game whenever Wolves free throws are hit. That's pretty cool, but this was on the next level. Here's the theme in case you're unfamiliar with it:



I'm very much for 8-bit video game music being used on a larger scale such as this.

Wolves Music Guy(or Gal): B+
Speaking of music/sounds at games, I have to touch on the soundtrack that plays during Wolves games. Is it just me, or does it seem like they don't own an album newer than, say...2002? To be fair, Lady Gaga will sneak her way in at times, but it seems like the vast majority of songs played at the Target Center are a little older. Late 90s/early 2000s hip hop and R&B gets consistent run. The Target Center might be one of the only places where you can still hear songs by Jagged Edge or Blackstreet. Don't get me wrong -- I actually dig it, but I still find it odd.

JJ Barea: C-
JJ Barea is clearly a bit rusty while coming back from his sprained ankle/hamstring thing that he had a few weeks ago. Some rust is expected when a guy is out for a few weeks, but that little(comparatively speaking) ball of energy has attempted to come back full force and it's not quite working yet. He's still hitting some shots from time to time, but generally he seems to be trying to do too much. He also is struggling on drives more than he was before he got hurt, which leads me to believe his speed is still being hampered a little bit by not quite being 100% just yet.

Anthony Randolph: DNP - CD
Poor Anthony just can't seem to find a spot in the rotation lately. He's only played once so far in February, and it was actually against the Grizzlies this week. Unfortunately, he immediately went back to what probably got him benched in the first place -- not playing within the offense and struggling on the defensive end. There was one play in particular that personified his current problem. Late against the Grizzlies, Randolph got the ball in the left corner near the three point line. Most center-types will pass the ball out and attempt to get in a better position near the painted area. Not Anthony. He pump-faked and attempted this aggressive baseline drive and attempted some athletic but awkward layup over two defenders. Granted he got completely hacked on his shot attempt, but AR -- that's not your strong suit! I wouldn't be surprised if the refs just refused to call a foul simply because of what he did. Similarly, before his benching I can recall a situation in which he grabbed a rebound and tried to run the length of the court with it, and was subsequently stripped shortly after getting past the half court line. He'd be a lot better served to play within his position and simply leave the playground style on the playground.

3 Point Shooting: D-
When the Wolves were winning games a few weeks ago, a lot of thanks could be given to the 3-ball. Not anymore. Where have all the shooters gone? This week they shot a poor 26% from beyond the arc while seeing their opponents shoot nearly 40% over that same stretch. Lately they're often forcing 3s when they probably should be trying to get to the free throw line. Shooting is cyclical though, so this cold stretch won't last forever. It won't, right?

Kevin Love: A-
Perhaps motivated by his two game suspension, and perhaps motivated by his All-Star selection, Kevin Love came back to the lineup like a man on a mission, averaging 27 points and 16 rebounds, including his 30/20 performance of the season. Unfortunately that mission didn't result in any wins. Even though he didn't seem to have a problem scoring, he struggled from behind the arc, hitting only 2 of his 11 attempts. Side note about K-Love -- I don't want to play the homer card, but Love isn't getting much love from refs lately. He is constantly hacked near the basket and doesn't get calls nearly as much as he should be. He has been more of a complainer this year, but it doesn't seem to be doing much to help his cause.

Timberwolves Dancer of the Week:
Continuing the rookie dancer trend, this week's honor goes to Samantha. Just like Camille last week, Samantha is also a big fan of Ricky Rubio: "My favorite Wolves player is Ricky Rubio. He always plays the game to win it and is a true team player. He is pure entertainment to watch on the court and I've enjoyed seeing how personable he is when interacting with fans. I think it is impressive how he has come from another country, but seems to have totally embraced Minnesota as his home."


Image Courtesy of the Timberwolves Dancers via Facebook

Wolves Twitter Photo of the Week:
There weren't a lot of great pics to choose from this week, but I had to go with Malcolm Lee(@leezy3) who provides a glimpse at what could be the future of jerseys, if the social media world we live in continues to ramp up in the way that it has: 


Image Courtesy of Malcolm Lee via Twitter

Stick with me every week throughout the season as we look back on the Wolves Week that was. Comments, criticisms, etc? Please drop me an email at jab@kfan.com with your thoughts. Or discuss it with me on Rube Chat here.

Make sure you're following The FAN on Twitter for the latest news and notes, and follow our guy AJ on Twitter for the latest on the Wolves and more.

This article was written by jab. You can normally find him meandering around Rube Chat. Or feel free to email him at jab@kfan.com.

By: Aj Mansour | KFAN.com
@AjMansourKFAN

Minneapolis, MN - It was a different scene and a different feeling this year, but for the second straight season, Minnesota Timberwolves power forward Kevin Love has been named to the NBA All-Star game's Western Conference roster.

Last year, Love and the Timberwolves were holed up in a downtown Toronto hotel when Kevin received a phone call from the commissioner's office telling him he would be filling in as an injured reserve for the hampered Yao Ming.

"I was using some of my roaming minutes up there so my bill was pretty expensive," Love said.

Kevin spent much of the evening talking to his family and friends who were back home sharing in his excitement.

This year, the announcement was a little less dramatic but as Love says, it means even more.

"Yeah, it definitely feels different [being selected by the coaches]," Love said. "Coming out this year our team obviously playing a lot better had a lot to do with it. Last year I felt like I was having a great year and might have warranted a coaches decision. Now that we’re playing better...I feel like my respect has come from the coaches and I feel great about it."

Love, who will be returning to the court Friday night following his two-game suspension for kicking Luis Scola, plans to use today's announcement as motivation coming off what was surely a forgettable week.

"This is a good way, if there is a good way, to end a suspension," Love continued. "I’m excited to be back on the court tomorrow with my teammates."

While the NBA made their big announcement earlier in the evening, Kevin Love made one of his own during a conference call with the media.

After delivering his opening statements, Love told me that he plans to take part in the 3-point shootout taking place the Saturday night of All-Star Weekend.

"I think I’ve got a good shot at anything I do," Love said of his odds in the contest. "I’m a pretty competitive guy and I’m going to go out there and try to win it. I’m going to enjoy it, but I’m going to go out there and bust my ass."

In response to Roger Goodell's recent criticism over the low level of effort exerted during the NFL's Pro-Bowl, Love also mentioned that he is pleased with the level of competitiveness in the NBA's showcase weekend.

"It’s for the fans," Love said. "If they enjoy it I think we’re doing the right job."

Although overall pleased witht the product, Love also told me that he would mind seeing added incentives of money and home field advantage added into the outcome of the All-Star Game itself.

"I think if you were to do something like that guys would go out there and play harder," Love said. "It would be kind of like the old school games in the 70s, 80s, early 90s."

Kevin Love will not be starting in this year's All-Star game but will most likely be one of the first off of the bench. All-Star weekend begins Friday, February 24th and will be live from the Amway Center in Orlando, FL.

Aj Mansour covers Minnesota Sports for KFAN.com. Feel free to leave comments and questions regarding this post in the space provided below. For Timberwolves' updates and breaking Timberwolves' news, follow Aj on Twitter. @AjMansourKFAN