The 3-Point Shootout remained largely untouched,

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PHOENIX - When the conversation turns to Super Bowl losers, the Bills and Vikings immediately come up.Both are 0-4, Buffalo managing the feat in consecutive seasons.The Broncos were in that sinking ship until John Elway completed his Hall of Fame career with two championships.The Patriots? They own a share of the short-term success mark in Super Bowls: three in a four-year span. Theyve been back twice since their previous championship victory and failed to add to their collection.Should they lose to Seattle next Sunday, these Patriots will become three-time losers, too. Those with short memories could begin wondering where that winning touch went?Then again, a win at University of Phoenix Stadium will tie Tom Brady with the likes of two more Hall of Famers, Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw, for Super victories. It would lift Bill Belichick onto the same level as Chuck Noll, the only coaches with four Super Bowl rings.But the other side of the ledger cant be ignored: Despite their ..... run of success in their division — the admittedly mediocre AFC East — the Patriots have gone a full decade between titles.I would say the excitement is high, but its also more focused, says receiver Julian Edelman, who was on the squad that lost to the Giants three years ago.You have guys that have been to this game, guys that havent been to this game. You have guys that won the game; you have guys that havent won the game when theyve been there. Everyone is kind of just focused and trying to get ready to prepare for this team. Were playing the champs.They used to be the champs, but since beating Philadelphia in Jacksonville for the 2004 NFL crown, the Patriots have seen the Giants grab the Lombardi Trophy twice against them; seen Pittsburgh also win it two times; seen Baltimore, Green Bay, Indianapolis, New Orleans, and Seattle conclude their seasons with a championship. New England also lost twice in the Super Bowl before Belichick and Brady took over.What has happened for New England, other than dozens of wins except for one in the big game?Many factors have contributed to the streak the Patriots can end next weekend:—Slippage on defence.Yes, Belichick earned his stripes as a defensive mastermind, but ever since Brady matured into a dominant passer, New England has been an offensive team. Thats been important to remain a contender as the NFL has evolved into a high-scoring league. But in the biggest matchups, often against other potent attacks, the Patriots defence has been lacking. They havent had a true stud pass rusher or a star defensive back (until signing Darrelle Revis this season), and theyve also had some unfortunate injuries, particularly to linebacker Jerod Mayo.—Unbalanced offence.Belichick has been willing to make do with inconsistent running backs or retreads, and he also has soured on some of them, especially if they cant hold onto the football. That disorder in the backfield has put more pressure on Brady and the passing game. Fortunately for New England, Brady is an all-time great.But the changing cast behind him can be disruptive.Of course, since that most recent Super Bowl win, hes had the likes of Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Rob Gronkowski and Edelman to throw to. Any QB would like that group.Yet opponents have found in the playoffs that they rarely will be beaten by the Patriots run game, so they have loaded up on the pass rush, on coverage, and on making Brady uncomfortable.—No fear.The opposition, especially when the Patriots were winning their past two titles, often reacted to what New England was doing instead of emphasizing their own strengths. That changed altogether in the 2008 Super Bowl, when the Giants unleashed monstrous pressure on Brady, didnt make mistakes on either side of the ball, and shattered the Patriots chase of perfection.Pretty much the same thing has occurred in every post-season since, including after the 2011 schedule when the Giants beat them again for the prize. Think of how Baltimore and the Jets strutted their stuff in post-season matchups at Gillette Stadium.—Coaching.Say what? Belichick holds the record for postseason victories with 21, surpassing Tom Landry last week. But twice he was outmanoeuvred in Super Bowls by Tom Coughlin and his defensive co-ordinators. And two other times, John Harbaugh made many more correct moves in a playoff matchup.It would be foolish to think that Belichick no longer can handle the sharpest spotlight — which he ignores anyway. So it will be one of the most intriguing story lines of this Super Bowl to see how the chess match goes against Pete Carroll, perhaps the finest coach Belichick will have faced at this juncture.It would also be ill-advised to play up the recent post-season shortcomings and ignore the earlier successes. Still, should they lose, lots of people could wind up judging the Patriots more on what has happened in the past decade than what occurred in those glorious early seasons of Brady/Belichick.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL wholesale nfl jerseys china . New York Red Bulls. TSN primes Vancouver fans for the start of the 2014 season with MLS on TSN: Season Preview Special airing tonight at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt on TSN2 (encore Friday at 3:30pm et/12:30pm pt on TSN2). nfl jerseys wholesale . The 33-year-old defender has spent his entire career at Chelsea, scoring 57 goals in 621 appearances. He regained his regular starting place under Jose Mourinho in the season that ended at the weekend without Chelsea winning a trophy. http://www.wholesalejerseyschinagate.com/. Lexie Lou earned a commanding 4 1/2-length win Sunday in the $500,000 Woodbine Oaks. wholesale jerseys online . The Australian is competing in his final season in Formula One and still looking for his first win this year. He will look to end Vettels run of six straight race wins on Sunday. Webber, who is fifth in the championship, earned his second pole from the past three races and 13th of his career. wholesale jerseys free shipping . Needing to bulk up on both sides of the line, the Falcons agreed to terms with guard Jon Asamoah, defensive end Tyson Jackson and defensive tackle Paul Soliai. Asamoah and Jackson played last season with Kansas City, where Asamoah lost his starting job.NEW ORLEANS - In what has become a highlight of the NBA calendar, All-Star Saturday festivities will commence from Smoothie King Center. The night starts off with the Shooting Stars competition, followed by the Skills Challenge, the 3-Point Shootout and the main event, a showcase of athleticism known as the Slam-Dunk Contest. You can catch all of the action live starting at 8pm et/5pm pt on TSN2. Or, one could call All-Star Saturday, "Damian Lillard Day." The Portland All-Star, who competed in the Rising Stars game on Friday, is scheduled to participate in the Skills Challenge, 3-Point Shootout and Slam- Dunk Contest on Saturday. "Im happy that Im really a part of the weekend. I get to compete in all these events, and just to be in these guys company with all these stars," said Lillard. "It lets you know that the hard work is paying off." This year, much like last, Saturdays competitions are broken down into East vs. West. Paul George of the Indiana Pacers is the East captain, while Steph Curry guides the West. Both are starters in Sundays All-Star game. Saturdays happenings start at 8 p.m. ET. Up first will be the Shooting Stars, a simple enough competition where current NBAers join a legend and a WNBA star in a shooting contest from all over the floor. The first round will feature teams from the same conference against each other. The winning teams advance to the final round for the title. Each competitor will be stationed at one of the first three places, and the shot must be made before the next can be attempted. All three will chuck it up from near half-court and the team with the best time wins. Its a family affair for two of the teams as Curry will join his father Dell Curry and Becky Harmon of the San Antonio Silver Stars. On the East team, Tim Hardaway, Jr. of the New York Knicks will partner with his dad Tim and Elena Delle Donne of the Chicago Sky. Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder will pair with Karl Malone and Skylar Diggins of the Tulsa Shock. The other East team is the defending champion trio of Miamis Chris Bosh, Dominique Wilkins and Swin Cash of the Sky. The Skills Challenge underwent some changes this year. Now, there will be two two-man teams from each conference competing against each other to reach the East vs. West final. It will now be a relay format. The Eastern teams will be rookie Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks and All-Star DeMar DeRozan of the Toronto Raptors as well as rookies Michael Carter-Williams of the 76ers and Orlandos Victor Oladipo.dddddddddddd The West will be represented by Lillard and Utah Jazz first-year player Trey Burke and the tandem of Goran Dragic of the Phoenix Suns and Reggie Jackson of the Oklahoma City Thunder. The 3-Point Shootout remained largely untouched, although the East v. West format remains intact. The player from the Eastern Conference with the most points will meet the player from the Western Conference with the most points. However, there is one new wrinkle this year. Each player can make one of the five locations to a full rack of five money balls, each worth two points. Defending champion Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers anchors the East team of Orlandos Arron Afflalo, Washingtons Bradley Beal and Joe Johnson of the Brooklyn Nets. Curry and Lillard are on the West team alongside All-Star starter Kevin Love, who won the title in 2012, and San Antonio Spur Marco Belinelli. And now, its time for the main event. This years edition of the Slam-Dunk contest will see many changes, first of which is a Freestyle Round. Lets let the NBA explain: "In a significant first in the events history, the competition will tip off with a Freestyle Round where the dunkers for each conference will have 90 seconds to showcase as many dunks as they want. At the conclusion of the Freestyle Round, the panel of judges will then choose a winner by voting East or West. The winning conference will earn the advantage of deciding whether its dunkers will dunk first or second in the head-to-head battles that take place in the Battle Round." The Battle Round? "The Battle Round will feature head-to-head matchups pitting East dunkers vs. West dunkers, with the judges choosing a winner for each battle. Upon losing a head-to-head battle, that dunker is then eliminated from the competition. The first team to win three battles will win the competition and be crowned 2014 Sprite Slam Dunk champions." No individual champion? "At the conclusion of the team competition, fans will then have the opportunity to vote for the player of their choice as the Sprite Slam Dunker of the Night through SMS, Twitter, NBA.com and the NBA GameTime app." For the first time since 1988, there will be three All-Stars in the Slam-Dunk Contest. George and John Wall of the Washington Wizards team with defending champion Terrence Ross of the Toronto Raptors, and out West, Lillard, Golden States Harrison Barnes and Sacramentos Ben McLemore round out the team. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '