Super Bowl champion
looks forward to Pro Bowl

It was just a few minutes after the biggest game of his life, and running back Cory Dillon was answering questions about how he and his New England teammates had just won the Super Bowl.

PRO BOWL SUNDAY A look at Sunday's events: 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Official Pro Bowl Tailgate Party "Magic of the Sea" at Richardson Field 2 p.m.: Pro Bowl Pregame Show at Aloha Stadium 2:30 p.m.: 2005 NFL Pro Bowl Game at Aloha Stadium

But Dillon didn't mind talking a little about his next game, a game that to most people isn't much more than a meaningless scrimmage.

Dillon's eyes lit up when asked about playing in the Pro Bowl at Aloha Stadium on Sunday.

He's been here three times before for the Pro Bowl.

But never as a member of the Super Bowl champions.

"It will be awesome. It will be quite different coming in (to the Pro Bowl) as a champion," Dillon said after helping the New England Patriots win their third Super Bowl in four years, 24-21, over the Philadelphia Eagles at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla.

He is scheduled to arrive with his teammates in time for either tomorrow's AFC practice or Thursday's, after a celebration parade in Boston today.

Dillon rushed for 75 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown to give the Patriots the lead in the fourth quarter.

Dillon was added to the AFC roster last week to replace injured Indianapolis Colts running back Edgerrin James. The other Patriots on their way here are quarterback Tom Brady, linebacker Tedy Bruschi, special teams player Larry Izzo, defensive end Richard Seymour and kicker Adam Vinatieri.

The Eagles are represented by 10 players: kicker David Akers, safeties Brian Dawkins and Michael Lewis, quarterback Donovan McNabb, wide receiver Terrell Owens, outside linebacker Ike Reese, cornerback Lito Sheppard, tackle Tra Thomas, linebacker Jeremiah Trotter and running back Brian Westbrook.

Sheppard, headed for his first Pro Bowl, was less enthusiastic than Dillon about it on Sunday, and understandably so.

"That's an individual thing," he said, when asked if going to Hawaii would take some of the sting out of the Super Bowl loss. "Our goal was to win the Super Bowl, and we came up short."

Last year, the NFC beat the AFC 55-52 as the NFC rallied from an 18-point deficit in the final 13 minutes. Rams quarterback Marc Bulger threw for a Pro Bowl-record four touchdown passes.

The biggest news about the Pro Bowl in 2004 was that a contract agreement was reached between the NFL and the State of Hawaii to keep the game here for at least five more years.

Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, coming off a record-breaking season, will be in his fifth Pro Bowl. He received a record 1,075,089 votes to lead the balloting done on NFL.com, in stadiums and via wireless text message. (The teams are selected by a combination of votes by fans, players and coaches, with each group counting one-third.)

Saint Louis School alumnus Olin Kreutz, the Chicago Bears center, was named to his fourth Pro Bowl in seven NFL seasons.

Practices at Aloha Stadium from Thursday through Saturday are open to the public, and the Pro Bowl Festival at Kapiolani Park will be held Friday and Saturday.

Pro Bowl players and numerous other NFL players will make various appearances, including youth clinics, throughout the week.

Sunday's game kicks off at 2:30 p.m.