NEWS » drive that ended with Bell sprinting around left end for his thir

ALAMEDA, Calif. Mike Soroka Braves Jersey . -- For a franchise with a frustrating history of post-season flops, the latest collapse sent the San Jose Sharks to a new low. The Sharks became the fourth team in NHL history to lose a best-of-seven series after winning the first three games, getting overwhelmed at home in a 5-1 loss in Game 7 on Wednesday night to start a pivotal off-season for a team looking to shed the label of playoff underachievers. "We obviously dont want to hear that kind of stuff, but what are we going to say? We were on the wrong side of history tonight," defenceman Brad Stuart said. "Its tough for us to argue with anything thats said. We let ourselves down, we let the fans down, we let everybody in our organization down. Its not a good feeling. Theres not really much else you can say about it." San Jose has the second most regular-season wins in the NHL the past 10 seasons but has never made it past the conference finals. There was the first-round loss to Anaheim in 2009 after posting the best record in the league in the regular season, second-round losses to inferior teams like Edmonton in 2006 and Dallas two years later, and three defeats in the conference final when that elusive Stanley Cup seemed so close. Yet this might have been the most bitter of all, considering it came against a fierce rival and after the Sharks looked so strong in taking a 3-0 series lead. "Every year you lose is pretty low, but this one is a type of series that will rip your heart out," forward Logan Couture said. "It hurts. Its going to be a long summer thinking about this one and what we let slip away." San Jose outscored the Kings 17-8 to win the first three games but was barely competitive in the final four contests. The Sharks were outscored 16-3 over the final 3 1/2 games to join Detroit (1942), Pittsburgh (1975) and Boston (2010) as the only teams to blow a 3-0 series lead. The only bright side might be that Detroit and Boston both won it all the year after their collapses. "Its just so disappointing that we were able to go up 3-0 and not find a way to have that killer instinct, to find a way to scrape and claw and win games like they did," Couture said. "Its tough saying it, but I think the better team won the series. They were better than us." The Sharks took the day off Thursday to regroup before going through the annual routine of exit meetings and cleanup on Friday where they will start looking for answers for why they fell short once again. Defenceman Dan Boyle might leave as a free agent and forward Marty Havlat could have the final year of his contract bought out. But the biggest questions will be about the status of coach Todd McLellan and general manager Doug Wilson. While the Sharks did a good job dealing with injuries to finish tied for the fourth-most points in the regular season, they couldnt get it done in the playoffs. "Im in charge, Im responsible for the group that performs on the ice," McLellan said. "I have to accept that responsibility. When we break down the series, Im not going to throw any individuals or group of individuals under the bus, because we lost it collectively. But Im responsible for that group." The biggest issue was the lack of production from the top players in the final four games. Captain Joe Thornton, linemate Brent Burns and Couture had no points in the final four games and Patrick Marleau and Joe Pavelski didnt have a goal or an assist in the last three. The power-play went 0-for-15 in the final three games, including four blown chances in the second period of Game 7 when the Sharks were either ahead or tied. It added up to a second straight Game 7 loss to the Kings. "We were a lot closer last year than we were this year," McLellan said. "Were kidding ourselves if we think we were closer this year, just because it went seven games. ... It wasnt even close. We had a core group of individuals that didnt get on the score sheet. Last year was a lot closer than it was this year." Braves Jerseys China . A knee to the thigh might have stung him the most, but his sixth straight double-double made up for the brief burst of pain. Fake Braves Jerseys .Y. -- The New York Islanders were seeking a positive finish to a frustrating season on home ice. https://www.cheapbraves.com/2853o-darren-oday-jersey-braves.html . The 49ers announced the deal Tuesday. San Francisco selected Lloyd in the fourth round of the 2003 draft.PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Good. Bad. Sharp. Sloppy. The Pittsburgh Steelers cant seem to figure out who or what they are on a given week.And time is running out.Pittsburghs baffling season made another abrupt U-turn in Sundays 35-32 loss to New Orleans. A rested and healthy defence gave up five touchdown passes to Drew Brees. An offence that has hummed efficiently for the better part of two months turned it over twice and sputtered in scoring range.Now a resume that already includes puzzling upset losses to Tampa Bay and the New York Jets can add another unwanted line: a one-sided defeat to a team that began the day with four wins.Its got to stop, Steelers defensive end Cam Heyward said. Everybody. Top to bottom. Weve got to stop doing this. Were shooting ourselves in the foot and weve got too many good guys, too many good players to not win these games.Pittsburgh (7-5) believed the return of veterans Ike Taylor and Troy Polamalu from injury would provide the jolt necessary to help propel it through December and beyond. While the Steelers remain very much in the picture in the muddled AFC North, they hardly looked like post-season material while Brees turned an early deficit into a borderline blowout before a pair of late scores made the final closer than the reality.Every game is a playoff game from here on out, safety Mike Mitchell said. We needed to have a sense of urgency for this game and just came up short.Way short.Though Ben Roethlisberger passed for 435 yards and two touchdowns, he also tossed a pair of picks the Saints converted into scores. LeVeon Bell racked up 254 total yards — 159 receiving, 95 rushing — and Antonio Brown caught eight passes for 97 yards and two scores, but both of them came in the final 3 minutes with the Steelers hopelessly behind.Roethlisberger grappled with his accuracy, completing 32 of 58 passes but failed to blame his issues on a bum right hand. He favoured the hand at times in the first half after slamming it on the helmet of New Orleans linebacker Curtis Lofton.It was just one of those days that the balls were coming out high, Roethlisberger said. They tipped a lot of balls, more than usual. I have to make throws early on that I didnt make today and I usually do.While Roethlisberger struggled, Brees soared. Pittsburgh kept New Orleans tight end Jimmy Graham without a catch but it hardly mattered. Brees spread his 19 completions to nine different players.Kenny Stillss caught five passes for a career-high 162 yards and a score as the Saints (5-7) ended a three-game losing streak by restoring a little bit of respectability and a sense of order to the NFC South. Mike Soroka Jersey. Ben Watson, Marques Colston, Erik Loring and Nick Toon hauled in touchdowns as New Orleans romped.When you play inconsistent, thats what happens, starting with myself, said Taylor in his first game back since breaking his right forearm in Week 3. Going against a future Hall of Fame quarterback like Drew Brees, youve got to be on your Ps and Qs every game.New Orleans hardly resembled the team that slouched its way through a three-game skid at home, including a 34-27 loss to Baltimore on Monday night. Six days later and 1,100 miles north, the Saints looked reborn.Mark Ingram ran for 122 yards as New Orleans effectively counterpunched with touchdowns while the Steelers piled up field goals.Signs of life from one of the leagues most maligned defences helped. New Orleans forced Roethlisberger into a series of uncharacteristic mistakes. The Pittsburgh quarterback hardly looked like the player who tossed a combined 12 touchdowns in his last two home starts.The passes that zipped so crisply to open receivers during his record-breaking run sailed high and out of reach and occasionally into the arms of Saints defenders.New Orleans led 14-6 in the third quarter when defensive end Cameron Jordan tipped a pass by Roethlisberger and caught it for his first career interception to give the Saints the ball at the Pittsburgh 15. It took Brees two plays to hit Toon for an 11-yard score. The Steelers responded with a 13-play, 83-yard drive that ended with Bell sprinting around left end for his third score of the year.Pittsburghs momentum lasted 2:31, or the time it took New Orleans to go 89 yards. Stills covered the last 69 alone, badly beating Taylor on a double move. He raced across the goal line to make it 28-16 and Brees completed his best day of the season with a 3-yard lob to Colston early in the fourth quarter.NOTES: Steelers DE Brett Keisel left in the third quarter with a triceps injury and did not return. ... Graham was also held without a catch in a Week 7 loss to Detroit. ... Pittsburgh fell to 6-2 after its bye week under coach Mike Tomlin. ... The Saints host Carolina next Sunday while the Steelers travel to Cincinnati.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '