PHOENIX - A year ago, Pete Carroll stood at a podium in a New York City hotel, less than 12 hours after his Seattle Seahawks beat the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl. [url=http://www.philliesrookiestore.com/Phillies-Pete-Rose-Kids-Jersey/] Pete Rose Jersey[/url] . He spoke about what would happen nex

PHOENIX - A year ago, Pete Carroll stood at a podium in a New York City hotel, less than 12 hours after his Seattle Seahawks beat the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl. Pete Rose Jersey . He spoke about what would happen next.The first meeting that well have, Carroll said, will be tomorrow.Sounded a bit over the top, even from the ever-enthusiastic coach. A moment later, he continued the theme, insisting: We really have an eye on whats coming, and we dont dwell on what just happened. Well take this in stride.Turns out he knew what he was talking about. Fast forward to Sunday, when Carrolls Seahawks will face Bill Belichicks New England Patriots in the Super Bowl with a chance to do something that, for many reasons, was thought to be too tall a task in todays NFL: win a second consecutive championship.Its tough to win it once. Thats the hard part. Winning twice doesnt happen (anymore), said Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, whose team went back-to-back 10 years ago, making for the longest drought without a repeat champion in the nearly half-century of Super Bowls.The NFL is built for parity — the way the draft is set up, the way the schedule plays out, the hard salary cap. All those things trying to level the playing field, Brady said. Its hard to get here. Its tough to win it. Its certainly tough to win it two times in a row.It has happened only eight times in league history but used to be a semi-regular occurrence. Indeed, the first two Super Bowls — well, it wasnt called that back then — were both won by the Green Bay Packers.Then the Miami Dolphins won consecutive trophies five years later, followed by the Pittsburgh Steelers (who did it twice), the San Francisco 49ers, the Dallas Cowboys, the Broncos and the Patriots.The hardest thing in terms of repeating is not the focus of repeating, said Seattles Russell Wilson, who can become the first starting quarterback to win a pair of Super Bowls within his first three seasons. Its: How do you get to the Super Bowl in general?There are all the ways mentioned by Brady that the NFL legislates competitiveness.And there are other factors. Reigning Super Bowl champions have a shorter off-season. Successful teams lose players and assistant coaches (Seattles top receiver, Golden Tate, left as a free agent, as did defensive lineman Red Bryant, for example). Champions often are filled with veterans who might feel satisfied.Last seasons Seahawks, though, had the fourth-youngest roster for a Super Bowl winner, with an average age of 26 years, 175 days, according to STATS. The Steelers who won the 1975 Super Bowl were the youngest champions, and they followed that up by earning rings again a year later.Its always hard to match the intensity ... of every opponent, especially after youve won one Super Bowl, said Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Irvin, a wide receiver on Dallas 1993 and 1994 Super Bowl champions. After you win the Super Bowl, you need to go play 16 more Super Bowls the following season, and then go through the playoffs to get back to the Super Bowl. So its a tough go.As if setting out to prove that point, the Seahawks did not start this season particularly well.The pressure was there early in the season, defensive end Cliff Avril said, but then we just forgot about it ... and I think thats what let us take the next step to be able to get here — not thinking about it.Seattles record was 3-3 in mid-October, then 6-4 after a loss at Kansas City in mid-November. Thats when Carroll held a meeting with a dozen players to air out a few things.It was a huge impact, for us to be in a room together and openly and freely express our concerns about the team and not hold anything back, receiver Doug Baldwin said. I thought that was crucial for our growth as a team.That also happens to be when middle linebacker Bobby Wagner returned from injury.Seattle has not lost since.Theyve dominated the NFC the last two seasons, so well be playing the best team, Patriots safety Devin McCourty said.As for how much motivation New England derives from trying to prevent Seattle from winning another Super Bowl, McCourty added: Leading into it, it doesnt matter what they did last year. It doesnt really affect us. But if we stop them, then its a cool story to talk about.___Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich___Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/AP_NFL Tommy Joseph Jersey . -- New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has no concerns about the health of shortstop Derek Jeter, who was limited to 17 games last season due to leg injuries. Robin Roberts Jersey .C. Now hes squarely in the U.S. capital and helping the Washington Wizards playoff drive. John Wall scored 33 points, Gooden got 11 of his 21 in the final quarter and the Wizards overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit for a 101-94 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night. http://www.philliesrookiestore.com/Phillies-Jake-Arrieta-Kids-Jersey/ . - The Cleveland Indians will place centerfielder Michael Bourn on the disabled list before their opener at Oakland on March 31. SAN DIEGO -- Ian Kennedy has the luxury of pitching in spacious Petco Park. One would think, anyway. "All my wins have been on the road," Kennedy said. "That is how it works sometimes." Kennedy earned his first home victory of the season on Sunday, pitching the San Diego Padres past the Chicago Cubs 4-3. Kennedy (3-6) allowed one run and two hits with six strikeouts. He walked two in earning his first win in five starts. Huston Street got his 14th save in as many chances despite giving up Starlin Castros two-run homer in the ninth inning. The Cubs, who had four hits, were trying to win their first series since Sept. 9-11 in Cincinnati. The Padres backed Kennedy with some rare run support. "He deserved that one," Padres manager Bud Black said. "Hes been a victim of not a lot of runs and if you look across the board at his numbers, all that stuff, hes been good. We just havent scored for him and Im glad we got it done in the bottom half of the sixth." It appeared Kennedy was headed for another tough-luck loss. He was trailing 1-0 when he left for a pinch-hitter in the sixth. The Padres scored four times in the inning, surprising Chicago starter Jason Hammel (5-3). "I felt in complete command," Hammel said. "I felt like I was going to go complete-game shutout. Everything was working." Chase Headley tied it with a sacrifice fly and the Padres went ahead 2-1 Carlos Quentins pinch-hit single off reliever James Russell. Two walks by Hammel helped extend the inning. For Quentin, it was his third pinch-hit RBI in two games after a two-run, homer in Saturdays loss. "We were going to stay away a little bit from Quentin," Cubs manager Rick Renteria said. "The ball just came back out over the plate." Jedd Gyorko added an RBI double and when centre fielder Emilio Bonifacio misplayed the ball for an error, pinch-runner Tyson Ross also scored for a 4-1 lead. Ross, a pitcher, ran for Quentin and scored a run for the firstt time in the majors. Dave Cash Jersey. He slid home, although there was no throw to the plate. "I figured better safe than sorry," Ross said. A sixth-inning home run by Junior Lake gave the Cubs a brief lead, although it took a little while for him to celebrate. Lake hit an arching drive to left field and Seth Smith appeared as if he caught the ball before it reached the seats. A disappointed Lake nearly veered off the basepaths, but he resumed his trot third when umpire Greg Gibson gave the home run signal. Hammel retired 11 straight before Yonder Alonso lined a single in the fifth inning for the Padres first hit. Alonso stole second and advanced to third on Cameron Maybins one-out infield single. But Maybin was picked off first by Hammel and Rene Rivera struck out to end the threat. The Cubs didnt have much luck against Kennedy early. Castro got into scoring position in the second inning after a leadoff single and a walk, but Kennedy got the next three batters. Hammel pitched 5 2-3 innings, allowing three runs on three hits and two walks, with five strikeouts. But this day belonged to Kennedy, and that it came at Petco Park made all the better. "Its always great to see runs scored like that," Kennedy said, "whether youre pitching or not." NOTES: The Padres are encouraged with the progress RHP Andrew Cashner is making with his sore right elbow. Cashner will throw again on Monday after playing catch on Saturday. ... Padres LHP Robbie Erlin, on the DL with a sore throwing elbow, is scheduled to throw next weekend ... Quentin is expected to start on Monday against the Diamondbacks. Quentin had missed four games with a groin injury. ... Luis Valbuenas eight-game hitting streak for the Cubs, which tied a career high, was snapped. ... Cubs RHP Jeff Samardzija (0-4, 1.96) faces Giants RHP Yusmeiro Petit (3-1, 4.76) on Monday. It will be Samardzijas 200th career game. ... Ross (5-4, 2.64) goes against Arizona RHP Brandon McCarthy (1-6, 4.67) on Monday. 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