warum » h 5:34 left in the period. It was Chicagos first first-pe

SAN DIEGO - Philip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers twice had their playoff destiny in their own hands. They still ended up missing the post-season for the fourth time in five seasons.Losing at home to New England and Denver on consecutive weeks was one thing, although it proved the Chargers couldnt hang in there with the AFCs elite teams.Getting handled by the division rival Kansas City Chiefs on the final day of the regular season was another thing, because all the Chargers (9-7) had to do was win and they would have been in the post-season.What we have is a pretty good team, star tight end Antonio Gates said. We are a playoff team. Everybody knows that. Teams that had an opportunity to play against us, they know. Denver knows. Those games are coming down to one or two plays. Weve just got to be able to make those plays. Weve got to be a better situational football team.The Chargers final stretch was at times riveting and at times illustrated how much work they still have to do.Rivers brought the Chargers back from a 10-point deficit in the final six minutes for a win at Baltimore. He rallied the Bolts to an overtime win at San Francisco after the Chargers fell behind by 21 points in a dismal first half.In between, though, were the home losses to Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. The Chargers scored only one offensive touchdown in each of those games, as they did in the 19-7 loss at Kansas City that saw the Bolts fail to repeat the playoff trip they made last year.Its tough, because youve got to constantly build on what you have, Gates said. We have a great foundation, great players, great coaching staff. Its just up to us to build on it. Obviously this year didnt go the way we liked. We were one game away from making the post-season. Ive got all the confidence in the world that the foundation has been put in place and will eventually succeed in due time.Earlier, the Chargers won five straight games, including against defending Super Bowl champion Seattle. They then lost three straight, including a 37-0 pratfall at Miami.It was a heck of a year in a lot of ways, Rivers said. A lot of highs, some lows, and ultimately it ends on a low, and thats disappointing. But we fought like crazy. At the end it wasnt good enough. But the effort and fight and togetherness and the team was there every Sunday.Here are some things to remember about the Chargers season:RIVERS: The QB played through chest and back injuries. As usual, coach Mike McCoy bristled whenever asked about them, and Rivers declined to divulge much information. Rivers didnt rule out needing off-season surgery on his back injury, although he said reports he had a bulging disc in his back were not exactly accurate. Rivers said discussing his injuries would be self-serving, and then added: My injuries had nothing to do with whether I threw it good or threw it bad. Still, Rivers threw seven interceptions in the final three games, including two in the loss at Kansas City, when he also lost a fumble. He finished the season with 4,286 yards, 31 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. He had seven more interceptions than during his bounceback season of 2013.BEST QB-TE COMBO EVER: Gates caught 12 touchdown passes from Rivers, giving the duo 72, the most in NFL history between a quarterback and tight end.NOT MUCH RUNNING BY RYAN: Oft-injured Ryan Mathews, among the big-name Chargers who will be eligible for free agency, was limited by knee and ankle injuries to only six games, his fewest in five seasons with the Bolts. He had 330 yards, second on the team to Branden Oliver, an undrafted rookie who ran for 582 yards and three scores. Due to his lack of durability, Mathews likely will be allowed to leave as a free agent.CENTERS: Due to injuries, the Chargers started five different centres. Veteran Nick Hardwick was knocked out of the opener with a season-ending stinger. Rich Ohrnberger started seven of the next nine games before he went on IR with a back injury. Doug Legursky started two games before going on IR with a knee injury. Rookie Chris Watt started five games before getting knocked out with a calf injury and Trevor Robinson started the season finale.DWIGHT FREENEY: If this was the last season of Freeneys stellar career, at least he went out with a sack in the loss at Kansas City. Freeney, who turns 35 in February, finished his second season with the Chargers and is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent. He played in all 16 games after having his 2013 season cut short by injury after just four games. He had 3 1/2 sacks this season, giving him 111 1/2 for his career.___Follow Bernie Wilson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/berniewilson___Online: http://pro32.ap.org/poll and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL Jrue Holiday Jersey . Cilic cruised to victory, beating the seventh-seeded Seppi 6-1, 6-3 in just 72 minutes. He faced only one break point, winning 24 out of 29 points played on the first serve. Anthony Davis Jersey . Those cheers seemed more special this time because the captains run on Broadway could soon be over. The adoration surely sounded much nicer to Callahan than all the recent trade talk. http://www.shoppelicansonline.com/Authentic-Jrue-Holiday-Pelicans-Jersey/ . New York then missed its next six shots and scored only two points the rest of the night. The Los Angeles Clippers defence and the Knicks general ineptitude both played a role in the unsurprising finish to a meeting of two teams headed in opposite directions. Jahlil Okafor Pelicans Jersey . The Americans, skipped by John Shuster, seized the advantage in the eighth end by scoring five points for a 7-3 lead. The Czechs pulled two back in the ninth, but Shusters team of third Jeff Isaacson, second Jared Zezel and lead John Landsteiner ended with another point to secure the last Olympic berth on offer. Custom New Orleans Pelicans Jerseys . - Steve Stricker usually doesnt show up at a tournament on Sunday.CHICAGO -- Marian Hossa celebrated his 35th birthday by picking his teammates after an unlucky break. Hossa had a power-play goal and an assist, and the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Edmonton Oilers 5-3 on Sunday night to end a three-game losing streak. Hossas 17th goal came during a 5-on-3 advantage in Chicagos dominant second period, and just 29 seconds after teammate Patrick Kane inadvertently bounced a pass off the boards and into an empty net during a delayed penalty call. Edmontons Boyd Gordon was credited with a fluke short-handed goal that tied it at 2. No problem for Hossa, who helped his team move on by quickly regaining the moment for the Blackhawks. "That type of thing happens once in a while, and we did a good job of bouncing back," Hossa said. "We got a big one the next shift." Ben Smith, Andrew Shaw, Jonathan Toews and Brent Seabrook also scored for Chicago, which had 15 goals in a three-game sweep of the season series against Edmonton. The Blackhawks picked up their play after a slow start and outshot Edmonton 41-21. Chicagos Antti Raanta made 18 saves in just his second start since No. 1 goalie Corey Crawford returned from a lower-body injury on Jan. 2. Ales Hemsky and Taylor Hall also scored for Edmonton, and Devan Dubnyk blocked 36 shots. The Blackhawks grabbed control with a three-goal second that gave them a 4-2 lead. Chicago outshot Edmonton 19-5 in the period. "The second period again," Oilers coach Dallas Eakins said. "Its a little mind-boggling." "I thought we caught a great break on that crazy second goal," he added. "And then we went out and we couldnt kill that 5-on-3 and now youre chasing it against a good team again. Youre very rarely going to fare well doing that." Shaw struck first, converting a high screened shot from the left circle at 2:36 of the second. Shaws 12th goal came moments after a turnover by Edmontons Nail Yakupov at centre ice. After Gordons unusual score tied it at 2, Hossa scored on a screened shot from 35 feet aaway in the slot.dddddddddddd "I thought we had a better purpose in our game," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said, praising his teams response to its recent slide. "We were first to a lot of pucks, had better layers in our zones." Toews completed a 2-on-1 break with Patrick Sharp with 2:28 left in the second to extend Chicagos lead to 4-2. After taking Sharps feed, Toews tucked a backhander under Dubnyks pad. Hall got one back for Edmonton when he one-timed a pass from Schultz past Raanta at 5:17 of the third, but Seabrook restored Chicagos two-goal advantage with 5:41 left. Hemsky opened the scoring at 6:08 of the first. He got past Blackhawks defenceman Duncan Keith on the right wing, cut alone across the top of the crease and slipped a low backhand shot past Raanta. The Blackhawks tied it at 1 on Smiths deflection with 5:34 left in the period. It was Chicagos first first-period goal since Dec. 30, a span of six games. The NHLs most potent offence helped make up for an unlucky break in the second. The Blackhawks already were on a 5-on-4 power play and buzzing in the Oilers zone when Dubnyk hacked Shaw and was assessed a delayed penalty for slashing. Raanta vacated his net and headed to the bench as Chicago sent out an extra attacker. From the right corner, Kane bounced a pass off the boards toward the right point. But no Blackhawk was there and the puck slid the length of the ice and into the net. "I thought the point man was there and it seemed to keep catching speed and found the net," Kane said. "It was good that we got it right back, especially on the 5-on-3. That made it a little bit better." NOTES: The Blackhawks three-game losing streak matched their season-longest slide. ... The Oilers started a four-game road trip and now move on to Dallas, Minnesota and Winnipeg. ... Chicago has won four straight against Edmonton, dating to last season. ... Kane had two assists, but following a career-high 14-game point streak (eight goals, 17 assists), the Blackhawks leading scorer has just three assists in his last seven. ' ' '