From there, it was catch-up time for Brady and the Pats

ST. LOUIS -- After returning from Triple-A Memphis a day earlier, Shane Robinson didnt take long to make his presence felt with the big club. Robinson was given a start and made the most of it by going 3 for 4 with two RBIs and a run scored and the St. Louis Cardinals completed a three-game sweep of Arizona by beating the Diamondbacks 4-2 Thursday night. "It was a good feeling to be able to get in there and help out the club and get a win tonight," Robinson said. "Im just feeling blessed to be up here." Allen Craig drove in the go-ahead run with a two-out double in the seventh inning. Craig was 2 for 4 and also scored a run. The sweep was the first of a three-game series this season for St. Louis, which has won seven of eight. Pat Neshek (1-0) pitched scoreless seventh and eighth innings to pick up his first win as a Cardinal. "You try to throw strikes and keep the game within reach and maybe our hitters will score," Neshek said. "Tonight, they did." Trevor Rosenthal retired Arizona in order in the ninth for his 14th save in 16 chances. Arizonas Paul Goldschmidt had an RBI single and Aaron Hill drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. Diamondbacks starter Wade Miley (3-5) lasted 6 2-3 innings and allowed three runs and seven hits and four walks with three strikeouts. Miley seemed poised to get through seven innings as he retired Matt Carpenter and Peter Bourjos on groundouts to start that inning. But he walked Matt Holiday, and Craig hit his next pitch into the gap in right-centre to score Holliday and give St. Louis a 3-2 lead. "He was trying to hit the ball the other way in that situation and get back on track," Miley said of Craig. "I make a better pitch and its a different situation." Matt Carpenter gave the Cardinals some insurance with a two-out RBI single off Arizona reliever Joe Thatcher in the eighth. Arizona manager Kirk Gibson credited the Cardinals for their ability to extend innings. "They scored two-out runs on us this whole series," Gibson said. "Theyre very good at that." The Diamondbacks jumped on St. Louis starter Lance Lynn early. Gerardo Parra led off the game with a single to right and went to second on a walk to Martin Prado. Goldschmidt singled to right to score Parra and move Prado to third. Hill then made Arizonas first out, but it was a productive one as his sacrifice fly to right made it 2-0. But those were all the runs that Lynn allowed. He lasted six innings and allowed seven hits and a walk while striking out six. "I stopped throwing the ball down the middle," Lynn said. "I left a few balls up in the first. I was able to regroup." St. Louis scored twice in the sixth to tie it at 2-2. With one out, Craig reached on an infield single to second. One out later, Craig moved to third on Jhonny Peraltas double down the line in left. Robinson then scored both of them when he followed Peralta with a double to the gap in left-centre to tie it 2-2. "My swing feels pretty good right now," Robinson said. "I had a chance to work on it down there (at Memphis) I think it helped getting in right away." NOTES: Holliday has reached base safely in all 21 home games. ... Chase Anderson (2-0, 5.06 ERA) takes on Bartolo Colon (3-5) when the Diamondbacks open a three-game series at the New York Mets on Friday. ... Shelby Miller (6-2) will seek to win his seventh straight decision when he opposes the Reds Homer Bailey in the opener of a three-game series in Cincinnati on Friday. ... Goldschmidt has driven in 17 runs in his past 21 games. Cheap Lakers Jerseys . Spieth again showed game well beyond his 20 years with a 9-under 63 on the North Course, giving him a one-shot lead over Stewart Cink going into the weekend at the Farmers Insurance Open. Rajon Rondo Lakers Jersey . Wilson hit Schenn from behind during Tuesday nights game in Philadelphia, earning a five-minute major for charging and a game misconduct. He has a phone hearing with the department of player safety, which limits any potential suspension to five or fewer games. https://www.lakersjerseycheap.com/1041j-...sey-lakers.html. The victory strengthened Liverpools position in the top four after Tottenham lost 1-0 at Norwich in the days late kickoff, cutting the north London club six points adrift of fourth place and the final Champions League slot for next season. Avery Bradley Lakers Jersey .J. -- The New Jersey Devils are so bad in shootouts, coach Pete DeBoer doesnt mind seeing his team take chances in the five-minute overtime. Metta World Peace Jersey . The Swede became the first golfer to win the PGA Tours FedEx Cup and European Tours Race to Dubai in the same season. "It is still taking a little time to sink in what Ive achieved this week as was the case when I won the FedEx Cup but then it just kept getting better and better as the days went on and I am sure this will be the same," he said. DENVER -- Peyton Manning stuffed the football into his helmet and handed it to an equipment man for safekeeping. The connection: Flawless, as usual. The keepsake: Certainly one hell want to hang on to. The Broncos quarterback had an answer for everyone Sunday -- from Tom Brady to the New England defence to anyone who thought he couldnt win the big one. Manning is taking the Broncos on a trip to New York for the Super Bowl after another of his impeccably crafted victories -- this time, a 26-16 win over the Patriots on Sunday in the AFC title game. "Being in my 16th season, going to my third Super Bowl, I know how hard it is to get there," Manning said. Especially this time. Only three years ago, he could barely grip a football as he started the long comeback from surgeries that ravaged his neck and nerve endings. And only 53 weeks ago, he suffered a devastating loss to Baltimore in the divisional playoffs that derailed what looked like a Super Bowl trip in his comeback season. But Manning will get his chance for a second Super Bowl ring, after all. Hell try to become the first starting quarterback to win one with two different teams, at the Meadowlands on Feb. 2 against the Seattle Seahawks, who beat San Francisco 23-17 in the NFC title game. "Hes been remarkable," said Broncos coach John Fox, off to his second Super Bowl as a head coach. "Its unprecedented what he did." After packing away his football, Manning ran to the 30-yard line to shake hands with Brady. A bit later in the locker room, he celebrated with his father, Archie, and brothers Cooper and Eli, the Giants quarterback who surprised Peyton much the way Peyton surprised him by showing up at the NFC title game two years ago. The Indy-turned-Denver quarterback improved to 5-10 lifetime against Brady, but is now 2-1 in AFC title games. "I have a lot of respect for him," Brady said. "Certainly, hes a great player and he played great today." Though Manning threw for 400 yards, it was more dink-and-dunk than a fireworks show in this, the 15th installment between the NFLs two best quarterbacks of a generation. Manning set up four field goals by Matt Prater and put his stamp on this one with a pair of long, meticulous and mistake-free touchdown drives in which nothing came cheap. He geared down the no-huddle, hurry-up offence that helped him set records for touchdown passes and yardage this season and made the Broncos the highest-scoring team in history. The result: 93- and 80-yard touchdown drives that each lasted more than seven minutes; they were the two longest, time-wise, of the season for the Broncos (15-3). The Broncos held the ball for 35:44. They were 7 for 13 on third-down conversions. "To keep Tom Brady on the sideline is a good thing," Manning said. "Thats something you try to do when youre playing the Patriots." Manning capped the second long drive with a 3-yard pass to Demaryius Thomas, who got inside the overmatched Alfonzo Dennard and left his feet to make the catch. It gave Denver a 20-3 lead midway through the third quarter. From there, it was catch-up time for Brady and the Pats (13-5), and they are not built for that -- at least not this year. "We got in a hole there," Brady said. "It was just too much to dig our way out." A team that averaged more than 200 yards on the ground the last three games didnt have much quick-strike capability. Brady, who threw for most of his 277 yards in comeback mode, actually led the Patriots to a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns. But they were a pair of time-consuming, 80-yard drives. The second cut the deficit to 26-16 with 3:07 left, but the Broncos stopped Shane Vereen on the 2-point conversion and the celebration was on in Denver. "Losing is never easy," Patriotss defensive lineman Rob Ninkovich said.dddddddddddd "But when you have somebody as talented as (Manning), who puts in as much work and effort, and has done it for so long, its a little bit easier to swallow." The trip to New York, where it figures to be at least a tad cooler than Sundays 63-degree reading at kickoff, will come 15 years after John Elway rode off into the sunset with his second straight Super Bowl victory. The Broncos have had one close call since -- when they lost at home to Pittsburgh in the 2005 seasons AFC title game -- but what it really took was Elways return to the franchise in 2011. He slammed the door on the Tim Tebow experiment and signed Manning to a contract, knowing there were risks involved in bringing to town a thirty-something quarterback coming off multiple operations to resurrect his career. Even without Von Miller on the field, Elway put enough pieces in place around Manning to move within a game of the championship. Thomas. Wes Welker (four catches, 38 yards). Eric Decker (5-73). Tight end Julius Thomas (8-85). "Its been a terrific group," Elway said as he hoisted the AFC championship trophy. "They worked their tail off all year." Manning knows how to make the most of all the options hes been given. This game started getting out of hand at about the same time Patriots cornerback Aqib Talib went out with a knee injury. Nobody else could cover Thomas, and Manning, who finds mismatches even under the toughest of circumstances, found this one quickly. "Talibs an excellent player," Manning said, "but Demaryius was going to be a big part of the game plan, either way." Thomas finished with seven catches for 134 yards, including receptions of 26 and 27 yards that set up a field goal for a 13-3 lead before the half. Denver got the ball to start the third quarter and Manning hit Thomas for 15 and 4 yards as part of the 80-yard, 7:08 touchdown drive that gave Denver the 17-point lead. It was 23-3 before Brady began the comeback that came up short. "Peyton Manning is Peyton Manning," Patriots defensive end Andre Carter said. "Hes a smart player and able to make adjustments when he needs to." New England came up a win short of the Super Bowl for the second straight year. The thought this week was that Bill Belichicks team was playing with house money, having well exceeded expectations for a team that lost a number of stars -- Aaron Hernandez, Wes Welker, Rob Gronkowski -- and has been plagued by injuries all year. But a loss is a loss and facts are facts. Belichick is stuck on three titles and hasnt won one since the NFL busted him for the Spygate videotaping scandal. "There were a lot of opportunities in the game that, if we were able to coach better, play better, execute better in any of those areas, it would have given us a chance," Belichick said. Manning said Belichick is the best coach hes ever had to go against. The quarterback insisted this weeks showdown against Brady was more Broncos vs. Patriots than Manning vs. Brady. He lets others decide whos the greatest at this or that. But he earned a chance to improve on his already-sterling legacy -- one that figures to leave him holding his fifth MVP trophy come Super Bowl week. A win at MetLife Stadium in two weeks would put him in the same company brother Eli, along with Elway, Roger Staubach and a few others as a two-time Super Bowl winner. Two weeks for Manning to prepare might feel like a lifetime. At times, his long, difficult comeback has felt like a lifetime, too. "Weve definitely come a long way in two years," Manning said. "And bouncing back from last years playoff loss to put ourselves in this position, it definitely feels very gratifying." ' ' '