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PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Penguins never stopped believing they could beat the Philadelphia Flyers. Stevan Ridley Jersey . Not when the Flyers won the first three games of their Eastern Conference quarterfinals series. Not when the Flyers raced to a quick lead in Game 4. Not even in the waning moments of Game 6, when an unlikely comeback died in a surprisingly one-sided 5-1 loss. The Penguins began the playoffs eyeing a second Stanley Cup title in four years. The journey ended before it barely began. Again. A year ago, the Penguins had excuses when they fell to Tampa Bay in seven games in the opening round. Stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin were out. Lightning goaltender Dwayne Roloson played the series of his life. Pittsburgh was worn down after grinding for months without their two superstars in the lineup. Not this time. Pittsburgh started the playoffs at full strength only to get outplayed and -- even worse -- outclassed by the Flyers. Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was erratic, the special teams were abysmal and the resolve Pittsburgh showed while winning 51 games during the season missing for long stretches. "We put ourselves in a pretty big hole," Crosby said. "We pretty much had to play perfect hockey to get back in the series and did a pretty good job until today .... Just, when you put yourself three-zero, its pretty tough to get back in." Pittsburgh never could. Theres a reason only three teams in post-season history have climbed out of 3-0 deficits to win a series. Its tough to win four straight games during the regular season, much less against your arch rival in the playoffs. As the Flyers celebrated on Sunday afternoon, the Penguins filed slowly to the dressing room to ponder another spring that ended far too early. The NHLs highest scoring team pumped in plenty of goals against Philadelphia. Pittsburgh found the back of the net 26 times in six games. In most series, thats plenty. Not this one, where traditional playoff hockey sometimes took a backseat to the kind of offensive explosion normally reserved for the All-Star game. Philadelphia scored 12 power-play goals in the series, a franchise playoff record. No matter how many defencemen the Penguins dressed or how many adjustments coach Dan Bylsma made, the Flyers had an answer. "Its not a good feeling and the guys are definitely going to remember this feeling," Pittsburgh centre Jordan Staal said. "Hopefully we can take something positive out of it and really do what we can next year." Staals sentiments were a familiar refrain throughout the dressing room of a franchise that looked like a burgeoning dynasty not so long ago. Pittsburgh made consecutive Cup finals in 2008 and 2009, winning it all three years ago behind the spectacular play of Malkin and Fleury. Three straight springs have produced dismal results. Two years ago, the Penguins fell to unheralded Montreal in the conference semifinals. Last year, the Lightning stormed back from 3-1 down. This time the Penguins ever had the advantage after squandering an early three-goal lead in Game 1. Now the question becomes how much longer the core will remain intact. Crosby and Staal can become free agents after next season. Though its a near certainty the Penguins will do what they can to keep Crosby, they may not be able to afford Staal, who had six goals and three assists against the Flyers and was easily Pittsburghs best player in the series. Staal is hardly ready to look too far down the road. "I love the guys in this room and I believe in every one of the guys in the room," he said. "I think we have the character in this room to not give up. We didnt give up in the series and it was too bad we still came up short." Something that wasnt supposed to happen for one of the NHLs marquee franchises. Any major off-season moves will likely focus on shoring up a defence that floundered late in the year and was totally exposed by the Flyers. Either way, the Penguins will have to wait 12 long months to get another shot and spend the next six weeks watching the chase to this years Cup carry on without them. "Thats hockey sometimes," Crosby said. "You dont always get to achieve the stuff you want to and theres a lot of other teams that want the same thing. Its not a good feeling, but that being said, weve got to find some way to learn from this and be better for it." Brandon Spikes Elite Jersey . The Roughriders (8-7) host the East-leading Montreal Alouettes (9-6) on Saturday, and can claim at least a cross-over playoff berth with a win or a Hamilton loss to Calgary. Vince Wilfork Camo Jersey . "It was awesome," Kubel said. "He was cruising along, and it was a lot of fun to watch." Miley held the Miami Marlins hitless until the sixth inning Sunday, and Kubel drove in three runs to lead Arizona to an 8-4 victory. http://www.newenglandpatriotsgears.com/wes-welker-jersey/ . The leagues management council and the players union determined that Seattle violated the collective bargaining agreements off-season workout rules by having live contact during one of the clubs organized team activities (OTAs). Wes Welker Camo Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. Tom Brady Camo Jersey . -- The Oakland Athletics have optioned pitcher Graham Godfrey to Triple-A Sacramento, one day after the right-hander lost his third consecutive start.OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- Former Houston Texans wide receiver Jacoby Jones has agreed to terms with the Baltimore Ravens on a two-year contract. Jones was cut by the Texans last week. He caught 31 passes for 512 yards and two touchdowns last season, but he also fumbled twice in Houstons playoff loss to the Ravens. The 27-year-old Jones gives depth to Baltimores group of receivers. The Ravens have two established starrters in Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith, but have no proven option at the third receiver spot. Tom Brady Jersey. Jones has 127 catches for 1,741 yards and 11 touchdowns over five NFL seasons, all of them with the Texans. Jones also provides an option to cornerback Lardarius Webb as a punt returner. Jones has three career punt returns for touchdowns and averages 23.3 yards on kickoff returns. ' ' '