to the backdrop of another passionately sung rendition

LIVERPOOL, England -- With their title dreams extinguished, Liverpools players circled the pitch inside Anfield Stadium, heads bowed, to the backdrop of another passionately sung rendition of club anthem "Youll Never Walk Alone." The final match of the Reds season could have been a celebration of the most unlikely championship triumph in Premier League history. It ended up being a tale of what might have been. Liverpool came up short Sunday in its bid for a first league title in 24 years, finishing two points behind champion Manchester City despite a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Newcastle. Brendan Rodgers team did their part on what proved to be an anticlimactic last day, passing the 100-goal mark for the league campaign after near-identical strikes in the space of two second-half minutes by Daniel Agger and Daniel Sturridge. That clinched a club-record 26th league victory. But Liverpool was also relying on a favour from West Ham at Etihad Stadium, which was always unlikely to happen. City won 2-0, keeping the trophy out of Liverpools grasp. "Im devastated for the fans," Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard said. "Although weve made them dream, Im devastated we didnt go that one step more." If there was any frustration inside Rodgers after the final whistle, he hid it well. For Liverpool had the destiny of the title in its hands just three weeks ago, when it beat Norwich 3-2 for an 11th straight win. Then came a decisive nine days when Rodgers side lost 2-0 at home to Chelsea before conceding three goals in the final 11 minutes to draw 3-3 at Crystal Palace. It meant there was more hope than expectation heading into the Newcastle match. "We finished the season winning 12 games out of 14," Rodgers said. "So the players have shown incredible level of consistency and quality in that period ... wed prefer to finish top, but its a great mark of progress this season." Anfield has seen previous last-game drama, with Arsenal winning 2-0 here in 1989 thanks to an injury-time goal from Michael Thomas to snatch the title from Liverpool. Twenty-five years on, Journeys famous song "Dont Stop Believin" blared out before kickoff. But all hope among Liverpool fans was gone by halftime, with their team 1-0 down thanks to Martin Skrtels own goal in the 20th minute and City having virtually guaranteed finishing first by going 1-0 up against West Ham. After a poor first half, Liverpool steeled itself to finish the season on a high, with Gerrard crossing for Agger to volley in after 63 minutes and then producing a similar delivery for Sturridge to tap in at the far post. It was all in vain. "When we went in front and there was no roar from the crowd, I realized the story was elsewhere," Rodgers said. Having started so positively, Newcastle imploded after the break in conceding two quick goals and then seeing Shola Ameobi and Paul Dummett both sent off. Ameobi received two yellow cards in 10 seconds for dissent as he argued with the referee about fouls in the build-up to Liverpools goals, before Dummett departed after a high challenge on Luis Suarez. Sunday was all about Liverpool, though, not Newcastle. From a seventh-place finish last season, Liverpool almost achieved what many considered impossible. "The word now is belief -- belief that we can be up there challenging," said Rodgers, who read out to his squad before the match a letter from a young fan called Ben -- sent before the start of the season -- which urged the players to believe they could win the title. "Probably at the time, the players and maybe the staff all thought the letter was maybe far-fetched," Rodgers added. "But I truly believe we could progress. "For us, its been a wonderful campaign of growth and development." The Premier League remains elusive to the 33-year-old Gerrard, who sees hope for the future. "I thought my days of title races had gone," he said, "but having played with this group of players this year the dream is back. Although Ive only got a couple of years left I still believe I can get there." Ashley Williams Jersey .ca. Kerry, I hope you address Ron MacLeans comment during the second intermission of Game 4 in Montreal-Tampa series. Basically, he suggested that the NHL should not have used a referee from Quebec, following the Game 3 disputed non-goal, because the referee could be biased towards Montreal. Aaron Ramsey Wales Jersey . Fourteen players were suspended last summer by Major League Baseball as part of the Biogenesis drug scandal, ranging from All-Stars to also-rans. http://www.soccerwalesstore.com/aaron-ramsey-wales-UEFA-EURO-jersey/ . The Missouri Tigers Defensive End and SEC Defensive player of the year is eligible for the upcoming NFL draft in May. Joe Ledley Wales Jersey . With just under five seconds remaining - the Raptors having clawed back from a 19-point deficit and pulled within one - DeRozan took the handoff from Chuck Hayes. Ashley Williams Wales Jersey .cas NHL Play of the Year showdown continues today with a man whos spent most of his career on highlight reels and a goalie actually "reaching back" for a save.DALLAS -- Vince Carter knew right away the exact date of the last time he had a buzzer-beating try in a playoff game -- 13 years ago. Its seared in the memory of the 16-year veteran because he missed that one. He was on target Saturday. Carter hit a double-pump 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Dallas Mavericks a 109-108 victory in Game 3 and a first-round series lead over the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs. With 1.7 seconds left, Carter took an inbound pass from Jose Calderon in the left corner. After a quick pump fake got Manu Ginobili in the air -- moments after the Argentine guard had given the Spurs the lead -- Carter released the ball just in time. He strutted stone-faced toward Dirk Nowitzki, who was waving his arms wildly as he jumped on Carter. Mavericks owner Mark Cuban joined the celebration on the court before the automatic review confirmed the obvious: The shot was good. And its one Carter said he practiced. "May 20th, Game 7," said Carter, referring to an 88-87 loss to Philadelphia in the 2001 Eastern Conference finals when he was he was the dunking sensation known as "Vinsanity" with Toronto. Carter had graduated from North Carolina earlier that day before flying on a private plane to Philadelphia. "I dont mind taking the game-winning shot," said Carter, who otherwise had a rough day before finishing with 11 points. "I dont mind missing them, and dealing with it. So I think having that mentality helps me." Monta Ellis kept the eighth-seeded Mavericks close in the fourth quarter and finished with 29 points. Tim Duncan led the Spurs with 22 points. Game 4 is Monday night in Dallas. Ginobili, who scored 12 points, dribbled out most of the last 24 seconds before going around Duncan and scoring over Samuel Dalembert for a 108-106 lead. His go-ahead shot spun around the rim and almost came out before falling in. "You never think its over, especially in here," Ginobili said. "Weve got experience on that. As long as you dont see zero zero over there, its not over." The Mavericks kept the home-court advantage they earned by taking Game 2 in San Antonio to snap a 10-game losing streak agaiinst the Spurs.dddddddddddd And Dallas won despite the Spurs holding Nowitzki under 20 points in a third straight playoff game for the first time since they did it to him in his first post-season in 2001. The big German finished with 18. Dallas still had a chance in the closing seconds because of Ellis, who had a playoff career high that included 12 fourth-quarter points. He tied the score twice in the final 1:10, first with a three-point play on a floater after he was fouled by Boris Diaw. After Diaw put the Spurs back in front with a baseline jumper, Ellis hit another high floater in the lane with 24.9 seconds left, setting up Ginobilis dramatic shot. Tony Parker had 19 points, but just two after halftime for the Spurs. Tiago Splitter had 14 points and 13 rebounds and Kawhi Leonard awoke from a series-long slumber with 17 points, including a big 3-pointer in the fourth quarter. "In the second half, I didnt play," Parker said. "They were doing the same thing." Dalembert did most of his damage in the first half but still made his presence felt after halftime, finished 13 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks and making two free throws for a 104-all tie after rebounding a Nowitzki miss. The 32-year-old journeyman centre dove for a loose ball to get the crowd on its feet, and then knocked Leonard to the floor when the San Antonio forward was driving for a dunk. After the play, he shook his head as if to say "dont bring that in here." Referees originally called Dalembert for a flagrant foul, but reversed it on replay. Leonard missed both free throws. "When his activity is like this, hes rebounding it and hes got a presence at the rim it makes such a big difference for us," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. Calderon had 16 points, including 10 during a fast Dallas start in the first quarter. He also had nine assists. NOTES: Marion went to Chicago immediately after Dallas Game 2 win in San Antonio for the birth of his first child, a boy. He celebrated a little early with 20 points against the Spurs, the most for him in the playoffs since the 2011 NBA Finals. ... Splitters double-double was the first of his playoff career. ' ' '