Dein erstes Forum » winning, a playoff slot wasnt even

It was tough to tell that a world title had been won. Pankaj Advani was a picture of relief following the five-hour final, having worn down defending champion Peter Gilchrist 6-3 in the World Billiards Championship (points format) in Bengaluru on Monday.The muted celebrations could probably be ascribed to the dozen-odd world titles that line Advanis cabinet - 15 to be precise, with this being his 12th billiards crown. To think he is all of 31, a towering feat by any measure.Im extremely relieved to win this title, Pankaj said, after the match. Given that Ive played very little billiards this year and winning it at home is special. Advani had lost to Sourav Kothari in the pre-quarterfinals of the long up format last week.The points format is a shorter version of the game with players needing to score 150 points to win a frame with the final being played in a best of 11 frames.Im glad Ive come through. The shorter format of the game is more or less a lottery. Of course you need the skill and ability, but certain things dont go your way and the opponent can just run away with the match. Im glad that Ive been able to use my presence of mind which has been lacking at times because I played a lot of snooker this year and very little billiards. I gave it my all.?Getting off to a good start, Advani came agonizingly close to a century break - 98 - in the opening frame before his visit was cut short by the baulk line regulation, a factor which Advani conceded bothered him even during the latter part of the match.According to the rules, when a break is anywhere between 80-100 points, a player should bring his cue ball to cross the baulk line, or the straight line on the table behind which the cue balls are usually placed at the start of the game.I had an 86 in the seventh frame and I was thinking of the baulk line. I was troubled by it a little, he said. The Karnataka Snooker and Billiards Association (KSBA) last hosted the world billiards championship in 2008, with Advani winning the title in both the formats.A welcome sight on Monday though was the packed spectators arena, at times to the chagrin of the players during crucial breaks, as they were more than occasionally distracted by movements. Gilchrist, though, later acknowledged that the crowds reminded him of similar scenes from two decades ago in India, when he played alongside Michael Ferreira.Errors were a constant with both players and Pankaj later explained that there was a lot more than what met the eye.The table was very tricky, he said, Both of us acknowledged that it was difficult. Peter found the throw of the cushion tough while for me the balls were not splitting as much. Suddenly it came back to normal later on. In India when you talk about a damp pitch everyone understands, but when you talk about bouncy tables and split being less everyone says its simple errors. ? There could have been more centuries in match, Pankaj added. I felt I did well with my 70s, 80s, 90s as well. As long as youre keeping the scoreboard ticking, youre opponent will feel the pressure.Up 4-3, Advani gave Gilchrist little wriggle room to mount any sort of a comeback. I actually applied myself a lot in the eighth frame. I said this is the frame you need to win. Once youre 5-3 up, its not easy for any player to comeback. It paid off.A challenge for Advani has been juggling between snooker and billiards - both requiring different skill sets, practice and approach. Just ahead of this tournament, he finished with bronze in the IBSF World Snooker Championship.India is set to host the next four editions of the World Billiards Championship, a heartening and much-needed impetus for the sports sagging fortunes in the country.Doug Williams Jersey .Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres have recalled forward Kevin Porter and defenceman Chad Ruhwedel from the minors as part of a five-player roster shuffle made by the NHLs worst team. Alex Smith Youth Jersey . Q: Team Canada announces their Olympic roster three weeks from today. Who is general manager Steve Yzerman watching? LeBrun: Over the last 48 hours, hes taken in the home-and-home between the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche with Jamie Benn and Matt Duchene being the obvious targets. http://www.redskinsrookiestore.com/Redskins-Montez-Sweat-Jersey/ . Tracey comes to the Blue Bombers after spending over a decade with Queens University. Most recently he was the schools assistant football coach. Washington Redskins Jerseys . -- Ohio States Urban Meyer has never had any issue acclimating to the biggest stages in college football. Wes Martin Redskins Jersey . Dusautoir, the former World Player of the Year, sustained a torn bicep playing for Toulouse in the Heineken Cup on Saturday. The flanker, who has played 65 times for France, is expected to be out for up to four months.NORMAN, Okla. -- A wacky weekend in college football renewed Oklahomas seemingly dormant playoff hopes.Oklahoma has rallied from a rough start to the season, and losses by Clemson, Michigan, Washington, Texas A&M and Auburn last Saturday opened up the field for the Sooners to possibly claim one of the four spots in the College Football Playoff if they keep winning. The eighth-ranked Sooners (8-2, 7-0 Big 12) will travel to No. 10 West Virginia (8-1, 5-1) Saturday night with a chance to claim a share of the Big 12 title and remain alive for a second straight playoff berth.Were not looking into that, Oklahoma linebacker Jordan Evans said of the playoff. We see it. Some guys in the back of their mind, maybe. But it doesnt matter if we dont handle our business.Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said he doesnt worry too much about other results, though he enjoyed Iowas 14-13 win over Michigan. He played at Iowa and later became an assistant coach there.Im rooting for the Hawkeyes, Stoops said. Absolutely. A big congrats to them. Outside of that, Im not sitting there with my pompoms out.Oklahoma seemingly had no path back to the playoff, but since their early losses to Houston and Ohio State, they have won seven straight. In Big 12 play, the Sooners are averaging 48 points and 591.1 yards per game, both tops in the league.I think we have a ton of guys that were real with themselves, a coaching staff that was real with themselves, offensive tackle Orlando Brown said. Weve all taken it upon ourselves individually, as a group, as a team, as a university, to see what we had to get bettter at.dddddddddddd. What we were doing bad, what we were doing good -- we took them and we went from there.The Sooners beat then-No. 25 Baylor 45-24 last Saturday , and West Virginia and Oklahoma State, Oklahomas final two opponents, provide opportunities for quality wins late in the season.All that matters is what weve been doing each and every week, Stoops said. Well be our best Saturday night. Eight Eastern, seven Central, and well be ready to play our best game. Next week will be a different week.Even after the Sooners started winning, a playoff slot wasnt even a thought after the Sooners gave up 854 yards in a 66-59 win over Texas Tech .Only reason I think it (Texas Tech game) was good is we were still able to come out with a win in that game, Evans said. Weve kind of flipped our defense around. It was a good wakeup call for us.Since then, Oklahoma has allowed 51 points combined in wins over Kansas, Iowa State and Baylor. The Sooners have risen to No. 3 in the Big 12 in scoring defense and total defense, No. 2 in pass efficiency defense and No. 1 in rushing defense.It has been a complete U-turn from that game, Evans said. Our intensity, our effort -- guys are making more plays. The number one thing is guys are having more fun doing it. Guys are wanting to get back out there each and every Saturday and wanting to get to practice on Monday to get better and to keep it going.---Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CliffBruntAP ' ' '