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 Juan Thornhill Jersey . -- Devin Hester is done returning kicks in Chicago. Kansas City Chiefs Jerseys . Anthony Calvillo, through 20 CFL seasons, was frequently invincible and largely stoic in the heat of competition. But underneath the professional exterior he was, and is, compellingly human. http://www.prochiefsauthentic.com/Youth-Anthony-Sherman-Elite-Jersey/ . -- For the first time in two months, an opponent was standing up to Alabama. Larry Johnson Youth Jersey . -- Stanford squashed Oregons national championship hopes again, schooling the Ducks in power football. Mecole Hardman Jersey .ca NBA Power Rankings, ahead of the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs. This post contains spoilers.This weeks episode of Pitch was not an easy watch. Much of the show has been built on feel-good high-points, rather than possibly-stressful lows.Thats not to say there werent tense moments.For instance, when Ginny Baker (Kylie Bunbury) was waiting to see if the Cardinals reliever (nicknamed The Mountain) was going to throw at her during episode 3?-- that happened to be a scene that was rife with uneasiness. However, we werent prepared to see our girl emotionally unravel before our eyes.Episode 5, which aired on Thursday night, was that tough spot where things got real.The looming trade deadline put everyone on edge, including Baker who had previously proven to be difficult to rattle. The prospect of Blip Sanders -- her closest friend on the team -- being traded, sends her into a tailspin like we havent seen thus far. While on set in August, executive producer and showrunner Kevin Falls and others talked about the trade deadline storyline. Falls even went as far as to call it, the closest thing to life and death we have on a baseball team.Seeing Baker flung so far off her game was jarring, but it reminded me of something executive producer and co-creator Rick Singer said in August. Shes so strong and so driven, but at the same time shes very stunted, Singer said. [Baker] has lived a very sheltered existence in a lot of ways. Shes dealt with the attention, though not on this scale. Shes also ill-equipped to deal with all of the things that come with being a young woman out on her own for the first time.Up until now, Baker has primarily been portrayed as a well-adjusted adult. She has made mistakes, but largely she has behaved with grace and maturity rather than stunted as Singer suggested.We were all reminded that she is only 23 as soon as she marched into Padres general manager Oscar Arguellos (Mark Consuelos) office to demand they not trade Sanders.It was not her finest moment and a bad decision built upon anxiety, insecurities and illl advice (looking your way Amelia -- her agent, played by Ali Later).dddddddddddd As an aside, having a non-sports agent hasnt hurt Baker much in the earlier episodes, but it did here. And it will be interesting to see if that continues to be a theme.Her meltdown at the thought of losing her friend is certainly relatable, and it sets up another potentially bad decision (cough, Mike Lawson, cough). It allows the audience to understand that shes not infallible (though shes still pretty badass). And to be fair, we understand why she responded to the trade deadline in such an aggressive manner.You see, Baker didnt grow up with many friends. We got at peak at her high school struggles in episode 4. Her only pre-MLB friend and former classmate, Jordan Collins, helped her develop socially. He introduced her to 1990s-era sketch comedy series?In Living Color, and platonically loved her without the awkwardness of being a guy who wasnt as good at baseball as his female teammate.His father was also the drunk driver that killed Bakers father. Its unclear if they ever talked about it, and then he moved away.The prospect of losing Sanders unearthed all of that pain for Baker, and she kind of freaked out. Baker isnt just strong; her whole existence is not solely described by the weight on her shoulders, and thats not news. We know that shes complicated and has the capacity to be vulnerable.What we havent seen as much of is Baker messing up. There havent been an abundance of moments where viewers are screaming at their TVs for her to not do what we think shes about to. Universally, weve rooted for her, until, perhaps, that moment she entered Arguellas office.Everyone makes mistakes, and that includes Ginny Baker. To quote Kylie Bunbury, the actress who plays Baker, Shes just a regular girl.Now if only someone would let us know where her brother is... ' ' '