NEWS » efully, this will put us on the right track with

Defending champion Stuart Bingham has been knocked out of the World Championship in the first round, falling to the Crucible Curse after going down 10-9 to qualifier Ali Carter in a gripping encounter. No first-time winner has ever successfully held onto their crown in Sheffield and Bingham fell at the first hurdle, albeit to a player who has twice finished runner-up in the tournament.Sixteen previous first-time world champions had tried and failed to retain the title 12 months on from their maiden triumphs, and Bingham now joins the illustrious list. Having trailed 8-5, the world No 2 claimed four frames in a row to lead 9-8, hitting the front with a 113 break.But Carter came back at him, first when making 102 to level and force the decider and then when edging over the line after both men saw match-winning opportunities slip away.Bingham missed two pinks to the middle that were to prove costly, and then a tough final red when the frame hung in the balance.Carter cut it in and added the pink to effectively end Binghams hopes.A superb yellow followed, and the man who has twice survived cancer in recent years was soon able to celebrate one of his finest victories.During his glory run last year, Bingham saw off Ronnie OSullivan, Judd Trump and Shaun Murphy in successive matches to take the title, each time as the underdog. Ali Carter claimed the deciding final in a thriller with Bingham This time the roles were different, with Bingham the favourite despite his opponents previous Crucible successes.Carter said he would be fresh as a daisy, despite having to contest three best-of-19-frame qualifying matches, the most recent on Wednesday, when he saw off Dominic Dale.But neither he nor Bingham were close to daisy-fresh when at 11.25pm, the handshake came.Im gutted to be going back home, said Bingham.I battled to 9-8 and missed a couple of chances to wrap the game up. Fair play to Ali. It just wasnt meant to be for me.It was a tough draw and I just came up short. I hope he goes on to win it now. Also See: Photos Bet ￡5 Get ￡20 free Get Sky Sports Evgenii Dadonov Jersey . Clarke was injured while practicing on the Doha Golf Club range after the pro-am on Tuesday. 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There are some early surprises in the race for the Hart Trophy, but two of the contenders are the leagues biggest stars over the past decade. There are many more players in contention for the awards than just the three that Ive named, and a good or bad week can easily alter the landscape, but through the first 20 or so games of the NHL season, this is how the awards races look to me. Florida Panthers Jerseys . Marincin has played in two NHL games so far this season with two penalty minutes. The 21-year-old has three goals, four assists and a plus-5 rating in 24 games with the American Hockey Leagues Oklahoma City Barons this season. Both teams mascots are Bulldogs, but thats where the similarities end for No. 14 Gonzaga and Bryant, who meet Friday night at McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Wash.While Gonzaga (2-0) showed it could be the best team on the west coast Monday night in a 69-48 spanking of San Diego State, Bryant (1-1) is merely trying to figure out what it can be as it starts a three-game swing into eastern Washington.Coming off an 88-61 beat-down of Division III foe Salve Regina Tuesday night, Bryant is meeting Gonzaga for only the second time ever. The first time was three years ago, when Gonzaga opened its season with a 100-76 thumping.Bryant coach Tim OShea said the win Tuesday night could boost his teams confidence.Any time you can get a win in the home opener, its a great thing, OShea said. Hopefully, this will put us on the right track with some really tough games coming up.No game Bryant plays for the remainder of the season will be tougher than this one. Gonzaga can beat you from almost any spot on the floor, and it appears more athletic than many of its last 17 teams, all of which reached the NCAA tournament.It has already exhibited the ability to play different styles in its first two games. After zipping through a 92-69 win in its season opener against Utah Valley, Gonzaga played and excelled at a slower tempo against San Diego State, overcoming 39.4 percent field goal shooting by committing just seven turnovers and playing terrific defense.Gonzaga can attack you in the post with 7-foot senior center Przemek Karnowski and 6-9 fforward Johnathan Williams, a Missouri transfer capable of a 20-10 double-double any night.dddddddddddd It can torment you from long range with California transfer Jordan Mathews, a graduate transfer who strafed San Diego State with five 3-pointers and 17 points Monday night.And for good measure, it can beat you with Washington transfer Nigel Williams-Goss, who is on the 50-man preseason watch list for the Wooden Award. Even on an off-night like Monday, where he made only 3-of-12 shots, Williams-Goss still wound up with 10 points, eight rebounds and three steals.We adapt and change every year, Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. I think we do as good a job as anybody figuring out what we got, and then we play to that.Add 7-foot freshman Zach Collins (15 points, eight rebounds in 21 minutes Monday night) and 6-10 French frosh Killian Tillie (8.5 ppg, 9.5 rebounds in two games) to this mix, and you see a team with the depth and height to challenge anyone in the lane.Its little wonder, then, that Gonzagas true measuring sticks wont be taken in December when it plays Arizona or during West Coast Conference play when it matches up twice with St. Marys and BYU. It will likely take until March to see if this team can live up to its high aspirations.We were better tonight than we were against Utah Valley, Few said after the San Diego State game. If we can keep moving it incrementally forward, thats a great sign. ' ' '