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Nov 21 '16, 06:21AM
Stuart Bingham sees it as a privilege to be in the position to try and break the curse of the Crucible, where no first time world champion has ever successfully defended their title. Larry Doby Authentic Jersey . Bingham, 39, returns to the scene of his unexpected triumph on Saturday when he faces Ali Carter in the opening round of this years World Championship.The Basildon-player arrives in Sheffield hoping to break with tradition and achieve what many of the greatest snooker stars in history have so far failed to do. Since the tournament moved to the Crucible in 1977, as many as 16 first-time champions have failed in their bid to claim back-to-back titles, including Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry, John Higgins and Ronnie OSullivan.Over the past 39 years, only two first-time winners have reached the final when defending - these are Joe Johnson (1987) and Ken Doherty (1998).Regarding the curse, Bingham said: Its an honour to have the Crucible curse tagged on me this year.A lot of people havent experienced what Ive had in the last year, so to have that chance to break the curse is going to be great.Nobodys ever done it, so the odds are stacked against me. Im looking forward now to Saturday and kicking it all off.And he faces a difficult opener against Carter who may be the world No 31 but is a two-time runner-up - losing both of his finals against OSullivan.Theres been a bit more pressure, mainly pressure on myself to try to play like a world champion, added Bingham.It took me near enough 10 months to get used to it. The last couple of months have been pretty good. Life has been fantastic.Ive been on things like A Question of Sport and other TV shows, and Ive been to places Id never dream of going, so its been fantastic really.I wouldnt change it for the world. I remember when people like Shaun Murphy and John Higgins were world champion, and youd definitely raise your game by 10 per-cent when you played those type of players to try to beat them and make a name for yourself.I knew that was going to happen to me but I thought Id be good enough to handle it but, for a while, obviously that wasnt the case.Manny Ramirez Indians Jersey Carlos Santana Jersey . General manager Jarmo Kekalainen told Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch on Friday that he wants to see Gaboriks contributions go beyond the scoresheet before considering a long-term deal for the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent.http:///...hall-indians-jersey/ . Argentina winger Ezequiel Lavezzi and France midfielder Blaise Matuidi scored, with star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic setting up both despite having a poor game by his high standards. Forward Eduardo gave Ajaccio the lead in the sixth minute after being set up by right winger Benjamin Andre, and the Corsican side looked comfortable in the first half, with the lively Johan Cavalli causing problems with his probing runs from midfield.SHERBROOKE, Que. -- Nearly a year ago Nicholas Tweel thought he would miss the Canada Summer Games. Tweel had hoped to play soccer for Prince Edward Island at the Games, but surgery in September to repair torn ligaments in his right ankle ended his chances. Instead, he threw himself into swimming, a sport hed only participated in to keep up his fitness. "With the soccer ending in September I thought, Well, might as well try to swim," said Tweel on Sunday. "They wanted more people, because we wanted to get a full team here at the Canada Games, so I said, Ive been swimming most of my life, might as well focus on that now because its good exercise." Tweel did more than try. He steadily trained for months while his ankle healed, earning his way on to P.E.I.s swim team and qualifying for the 50, 100 and 200-metre breaststroke races at the Games. It wasnt easy for the 17-year-old from Charlottetown. Training for competitive swimming exhausted him mentally and physically. "After my surgery, when I started to swim again for the Canada Games, I wasnt getting faster right away. I knew it was because of my ankle, but I was just getting frustrated anyway and I really wanted to make the team," said Tweel. "We had 13 guys qualify and they could take 12. It was really stressful to get the (standard) times and get as high as I could in the FINA rankings." Tweel added: "When I started I was just off the crutches, so it was pretty painful. I did nothing but pull for the whole practice. I remember the first practice that year I couldnt even get out of bed. I was just dead." He also tried to cut fast food out of his diet to help him increase his fitness, but struggled sticking to his new regime. "I tried to. It wasnt necessary for us to do, but I tried," said Tweel. "Thats all I can say. I didnt do very well, but I tried." That effort didnt go unnoticed by P.E.I. swim team coach William Calhoun. "He was pretty much one of those athletes for me that did exactly what I asked him to do, even if it was not something that he had traditionally been good at," said Calhoun. "Hes been pretty much, in every single event this year, 100 per cent best times throughout the season since he got his leg back to where it needed to be." Calhoun may have been impressed with Tweels work ethic, but the swimmer still needed to beat out the competition in the pool to qualify for the Games. Although he was hitting personal bests almost every time he swam, there was no room for error until hed guaranteed himself a spot at a meet in Saint John in May. "That meet pushed him up over the lip," said Calhoun. Tweels performance iin the water was impressive for an athlete considered one of P. Trevor Bauer Jersey. E.I.s best young soccer players. "Nick was a very strong soccer player. I mean, obviously, being involved in our provincial program shows a high level of soccer," said Jonathan Vos, technical director for the P.E.I. Soccer Association. "He was also selected to Team Atlantic one year. He wouldve been one of four Islanders selected for that team which then goes to nationals to compete against Quebec, Ontario, B.C., and Alberta. "Thats quite a high standard to make. At that age group thats the highest you can go to besides the national team." Tweel comes from an athletic family. His sister Madeline is sailing for P.E.I. at the Canada Summer Games, with his mother and all three of his siblings heavily involved in Charlottetowns Bluephins Aquatics Club. Calhoun believes that without that connection Tweel wouldve given up on swimming. But his family kept him around the pool, swimming in meets when his soccer schedule allowed. "I think after soccer stopped for me I couldnt focus in school a lot because I needed the exercise. I was too wired all the time," said Tweel, who missed out on the 2009 Games in the 50 breaststroke by just a few tenths of a second, despite never training seriously for the event. "I know that Id missed the time for Canada Games last time by a tiny, tiny bit, so I was like Might as well keep going." After talking to his parents about shifting his focus to competitive swimming, Tweel went to Calhoun in October and told him he wanted to make the provincial swim team. "We had a provincial swimming competition that he got selected for -- it was a Canada Games pre-competition event in December -- but because he injured himself, he wasnt able to go to that," said Calhoun. "But, he didnt want it to be deemed as, Well, I just dont want to go, so he trained just as hard as everybody else, up to that point, and really started to shine with his training once everything calmed down with his leg. "From January right up until yesterday hes been pretty much 100 per cent committed and worked really, really well within the training structure." Still, Tweel has one more goal after the Games are done. "I want to go back (to soccer)," said Tweel. "I kind of want to stay with swimming too. I dont want to be as far away as I used to be with it." Added Tweel: "I did talk to my club coach a month ago and he wanted me as soon as Canada Games was done right to soccer. I said, Whoa whoa whoa, I need to slow down a little bit, maybe Ill come back, but I need to take it easy for the first little while." Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '
