JERSEY CITY, N. Greg Holland Jersey .J. - Wes Welker swears he doesnt dwell on his costly drop in the Super Bowl two years ago that could have sealed New Englands win over the New York Giants and made up for losing to them four years earlier. "You know what? I dont even think about it," Welker said as he prepared for his third Super Bowl, his first with the Denver Broncos. "The past is the past, what happened, happened, and Im just looking forward to this one and going out there and playing my best game and doing what I can to help my team win." Welker said getting to the big game and coming up short two times is what drives him. "I think its the reason I get up in the morning in the off-season and even now," he said after helping the Broncos beat his old team for the AFC title, securing a showdown with the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night at MetLife Stadium. Welker tied a Super Bowl record with 11 receptions for 103 yards six years ago but the Patriots perfect season ended when Eli Manning threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress with 35 seconds left to give the Giants a 17-14 win. The teams met again four years later in Indianapolis and Welker caught seven passes for 60 yards and ran twice for 21 more, but it was the catch he didnt make that haunts Patriots fans to this day. The Patriots led 17-15 with four minutes left and were on the Giants 44 when Tom Brady found Welker wide open 23 yards downfield. The pass, however, was high and slightly behind Welker, who got both hands on the ball but couldnt make the catch. The Giants got the ball back and drove for the winning touchdown. "Sure, I mean it motivates you during the off-season. It motivates you when youre working out, it motivates you through the year," Welker said. "Just that feeling of losing that game, I mean its heartbreaking. It takes a few weeks just to get over it. It definitely sticks with you and motivates you for the future and definitely blessed to have this opportunity again." Welker joined Peyton Manning in Denver in the off-season after six seasons with Brady and was Denvers leading receiver until missing the final 3 1/2 games after sustaining his second concussion in a three-week span. He still ended up with 778 yards on 73 catches and a career-high 10 touchdowns. Wearing a bigger helmet to protect against further head injury, hes caught 10 passes for 76 yards and a TD in the playoffs. He had four catches for 38 yards against New England in the AFC Championship and his hard hit took out Patriots top cornerback Aqib Talib on a pick play at the line of scrimmage. The next day, Patriots coach Bill Belichick suggested Welker deliberately tried to hurt Talib and complained to the league about it. The NFL said no infraction had occurred. Welkers teammates said Belichick was just using Welker as a smoke screen and a scapegoat to hide deficiencies in his teams defence and the fact that Welkers replacement in New England, Danny Amendola, dropped the only pass thrown to him in the title game. Welker stayed above the fray, saying he was just happy to be back in the Super Bowl. "Im very blessed to have this opportunity again and thats all you really ask for," he said. "Its all you work for during the off-season is to get to this point and now you just want to finish it." Billy Butler Authentic Jersey . -- The Erie Otters won their eighth straight game with a four-goal outburst in the third en route to an 8-4 win over the Sarnia Sting in Ontario Hockey League play Saturday. Salvador Perez Jersey . Johns IceCaps dominated the Portland Pirates 5-1 on Wednesday in American Hockey League play.NEW ORLEANS -- When Pelicans 7-footer Jason Smith stepped outside for the type of mid-range jumper he hits routinely, Oklahoma Citys Serge Ibaka sprang out to the perimeter and blocked the shot. While the Thunder can usually rely on plenty of scoring from Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, it was a concerted defensive effort in the second half that helped them build and keep a comfortable lead down the stretch in a 109-95 victory over New Orleans on Friday night. "Everybody did a great job helping each other on defence and there was more communication," said Ibaka, who had 17 points, 13 rebounds and three of the Thunders 11 blocks. "Our focus was to contest every shot and make them make tough shots. Some nights they will make them but I think tonight we did a great job and that was the key." Durant scored 29 points and Westbrook added 25 as Oklahoma City beat New Orleans for the ninth straight time and 14th in 15 meetings. Most of those games occurred when New Orleans team was called the Hornets. Ryan Anderson scored 18 for the Pelicans, who lost their second straight at home while playing their third full game without power forward Anthony Davis, sidelined by a broken left hand. New Orleans also lost guard Tyreke Evans to a left ankle sprain late in the third quarter, and soon afterward Oklahoma City built a 15-point lead. "I hate to say we didnt play well. We just missed so many shots in the paint," Pelicans coach Monty Williams said. "Whether they blocked the shot or distracted us, or we threw it up there and just didnt make it, I thought that messed with us a little." New Orleans raced to an early double-digit lead, only to fall behind 58-52 by halftime after Westbrook pulled up for a quick 3-pointer with 31 seconds left in the quarter and Reggie Jackson hit another with 2.7 seconds left. Westbrook said he was just trying to assure his team two possessions inside the last 38 seconds. "It worked out ffor us," he said. Eric Hosmer Royals Jersey. "We got two 3s out of it. They got nothing." Durant, who also had three blocks, opened the second half with a 3 to make it a nine-point game and the Thunder led the entire second half -- rather comfortably throughout the fourth quarter, going up by as many as 20. It was precisely the type of second-half effort the Thunder sought after giving up 35 third-quarter points in a loss at Portland two nights earlier. "We were really disappointed in how we lost last game and wanted to be better," Durant said. "Were a really good team after losses." Jackson scored 15 for Oklahoma City, which shot 50.6 per cent (39 of 77) and rarely allowed its lead to slip below double digits after Thabo Sefoloshas driving dunk made it 74-64 in the middle of the third quarter. Jrue Holiday and Eric Gordon each scored 16 for New Orleans, which shot 37.5 per cent (33 of 88) and hurt itself by going 3 of 16 from 3-point range. Evans had 11 before his injury and Anthony Morrow 10. Oklahoma City shot nearly 59 per cent in the opening half, when Durant (19 points) and Westbrook (17) combined for 36 points. New Orleans had the largest lead of the half when Holidays reverse layup made it 22-11 halfway through the opening quarter. But the Thunder chipped away, regaining the lead early in the second. The game was tied at 52 after Gordons fast-break layup. Then came the back-to-back 3s by Westbrook and Jackson in the final half-minute of the second quarter, and the Thunder never trailed again. NOTES: Oklahoma City, which is 9-0 at home, improved to 5-4 on the road. ... New Orleans outrebounded Oklahoma City 49-41. Smith grabbed 12 rebounds for the Pelicans and Al-Farouq Aminu had 10. ... Oklahoma City turned 16 New Orleans turnovers into 24 points and outscored the Pelicans in fast-break points 17-10. ... New Orleans might have lost the game by an even wider margin if not for 19 offensive rebounds and 20 second-chance points. cheap jerseys from china cheap jerseys ' ' '
