That old maxim about defences winning championships was being spread on pretty heavily during Super Bowl week. By the Broncos, of all teams. Yes, the very same AFC champions who tore up the league with a record 606 points, 55 touchdowns coming off Peyton Mannings arm, have been touting how strong their defence has become. Measure it against Seattles unit, which allowed a very miserly 231 points and ranked first against the pass and in overall D, and the Broncos would seem to be whistling a hollow tune. But linebacker Danny Trevathan, a breakout player in his second NFL season, sees plenty of greatness in his defence, too. "Oh yeah. You are supposed to have that attitude," Trevathan said. "On defence youre not supposed to let guys push you over. You are supposed to be the aggressor on defence and you are supposed to have that attitude. I think that is what makes playing defence so passionate to me. "I think this game was meant for tough guys. You cant be soft out here." No one is soft on either of these teams, of course. On the contrary, its only the second time in 20 years that the top seed in each conference got this far. Its also that classic matchup that so excites fans, media and, yes, players. The Seahawks cant wait for the chance to test themselves against Manning, seeking his second ring in an almost-certain Hall of Fame career. "Its going to be a great challenge," middle linebacker Bobby Wagner said. "Theyre talented all across the board. They protect Peyton well and they run the ball well. Hes definitely passed the ball well. Its up to us to do our jobs and make sure that we come ready to play." Expect both sides to be very ready. Denver (15-3, No. 2 in the AP Pro32) is a 2 1-2-point favourite over Seattle (also 15-3, but top-ranked in the AP Pro32). The main reason for that spread: In the points-crazed NFL, fans who bet early dive headfirst into the offence. With their wallets open. Plus, the biggest star in this game, and pretty much any time he is in uniform, is Manning. That draws more support for the Broncos. But not here. Pro Picks sees the Seahawks quick, relentless and heady defence putting more pressure on Manning than he has seen all season. Yes, hes been sacked only 20 times, and he might not go down a whole bunch in the Jersey Meadowlands on Sunday. But he will be forced to throw before he wants to or before his four outstanding receivers -- Demaryius Thomas, Wes Welker, Eric Decker and tight end Julius Thomas -- shake free from the tight coverage of the NFLs best secondary led by All-Pros Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas. Seattle also brings the heat with the deepest rotation of linemen in the league, and some savvy, versatile linebackers. The Seahawks dont take their foot off the gas, either. For the Broncos to prosper, theyll need a huge contribution from Knowshon Moreno and the running game. It could happen, particularly if the Seahawks are overly protective of not letting Manning get on track. But hardly anyone dominates on the ground against Seattle. For those who believe the Seahawks will need to light up the scoreboard to beat the Broncos, we think a couple of touchdowns and a few field goals will do the job. Silent man Marshawn Lynch running the ball in Beast Mode, and some improvisation from quarterback Russell Wilson -- along with the best defence since the 2000 Ravens -- will be enough. Wholesale Blackhawks Jerseys . Miralem Pjanic dribbled through the defence to score an extraordinary goal in the 43rd minute at the Stadio Olimpico and Gervinho added another from a rebound in the 65th for Romas ninth straight victory — ending Milans five-match winning streak. Blackhawks Jerseys China . Clevelands manager had just watched his team lose 5-3 to Kansas City, which completed a 2-6 homestand and dropped the Indians 2 1/2 games behind Detroit in the AL Central. https://www.cheapblackhawks.com/ . "Ive got a lot of work to do on this team and the sooner that I can get back to my office and start that work, itll be better," he said straight-faced as the rest of the room erupted in laughter. Custom Chicago Blackhawks Jerseys . Pikul Khueanpet scored early in the second half and Kanjana Sungngoen made it 2-0 in the 65th minute of the playoff. Tuyet Dong narrowed the margin with goal four minutes from time. The win gave Thailand fifth place at the Asian Cup and the last of the continents qualifying spots for the 2015 Womens World Cup in Canada. Chicago Blackhawks Gear . You can see all the action on TSN2 beginning at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. Chicago won two of three games during its stay at the United Center. The club began the homestand with a 5-1 win over Pittsburgh on March 1 and fell to Colorado on Tuesday before posting another blowout win in Thursdays tilt against Columbus.NEW YORK -- Another win for the New York Knicks, in another game they mightve lost last month. Carmelo Anthony had 29 points and 16 rebounds, and the Knicks held the Phoenix Suns without a field goal in overtime to win 98-96 on Monday night for their fifth straight victory. Anthony scored four of the Knicks six points in the extra session, and New York allowed only four free throws while forcing the Suns to miss all seven shots. The Knicks pulled it out after their 14-point lead turned into a five-point deficit late in regulation. "I think now as a team, I think mentally were a different type of team," Anthony said. "I think now were starting to believe that when we do get down, we still have a chance to win the basketball game." Raymond Felton added 19 points for the Knicks (15-22), who climbed into a tie with Brooklyn for eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Goran Dragic had 28 points and eight rebounds for the Suns, who dropped their third straight. Leandro Barbosa scored 21 in his best game since rejoining his old team on a 10-day contract. But the Suns endured dreadful games from starters Gerald Green (2 of 16) and Channing Frye (3 of 12), ending their road trip with a 1-4 record. "For the fifth game in seven nights against a team thats playing well, I thought they gave a heck of an effort," Phoenix coach Jeff Hornacek said. "We didnt make shots. Dont know if its because its the end of the trip." Playing their fourth straight game without Tyson Chandler because of bronchitis, the Knicks beat a Western Conference team at home for the first time in seven chances and improved to 7-12 overall at Madison Square Garden. Despite their miserable start to the season, they can continue climbing the rest of January, as they open an eight-game homestand on Friday. "The game is not over until the clock hits zero," Knicks forward Kenyon Martin said. "We lost some close games early on, so (were) just learning from the mistakes that we made early, just trying to build on what weve been doing." The Suns ran off nine straight points midway through the fourth quarter to open an 88-83 lead on Barbosas jumper with 4:50 remaining. The Knicks recovered to regain the lead on Feltons 3-pointer from the corner with 53 seconds to play, and after Gerald Green and Anthony traaded misses, the Suns had one final chance.dddddddddddd Though Martin appeared to have his hand on some of the ball, a foul was called and Barbosa sank both free throws with 1.2 seconds left. J.R. Smith, who beat the Suns on a jumper at the buzzer last season, was long on a chance to do it again. Martin found Anthony for a basket to open the scoring in overtime, then dunked a missed shot to make it 96-92. The Knicks could only manage Anthonys turnaround jumper with 2:41 remaining from there, but it didnt matter because the Suns couldnt get anything going. Phoenix compounded its problems when Frye made the second of two free throws with 2.5 seconds left, leaving the Suns down 98-96 without a timeout left and unable to get another possession. With Eric Bledsoe lost to right knee surgery, the Suns just didnt have enough to support Dragic, who had been starting alongside him. "Its a little bit harder now with Eric out. Its much easier when youre playing together and you have two ballhandlers. But it is what it is and I have to keep my head up," Dragic said. The Knicks built a big early lead in the first half, when the highlight was when the Suns Markief Morris was ejected for picking up his second technical foul for shoving Smith after he was fouled. Because Morris was scheduled to shoot, the Knicks were allowed to pick someone off the Phoenix bench to do it. Coach Mike Woodson went all the way across midcourt to tab Slava Kravtsov, a second-year Ukranian centre who had attempted just six free throws all year, making three. With fans howling, Kravtsov went 1 for 2. But the Suns opened the third quarter with an 11-2 spurt to tie it at 54. The Knicks quickly regrouped and rebuilt a double-digit lead, and were ahead 75-68 heading to the fourth. Barbosa, the Sixth Man of the Year in Phoenix in 2007 who just returned to the NBA last week, scored eight straight Phoenix points to trim it to 78-76. The Suns eventually pulled ahead when Barbosa blew by his defender on consecutive trips for layups, one of them while getting fouled, to make it 84-83 with 5:51 to play. NOTES: Chandler worked out before the game and said he hopes to play Tuesday in Charlotte so he can get some minutes before facing Indiana centre Roy Hibbert on Thursday. ... Anthony was the Eastern Conference player of the week last week. ' ' '