Im gutted to be going back home, said Bingham. | Forum

RIO DE JANEIRO -- There was a calm, relaxed atmosphere at the final practice for the U. KWaun Williams Jersey .S. womens basketball team.Maybe its because injured guard Sue Bird was able to participate. Or maybe because many of the players have been in this position before -- a win away from another Olympic title.I understand its a gold medal game, weve approached it like any other game, said Bird, who has helped the U.S. win the last three golds at the Olympics. At the start of this entire month, every single practice and game we approached it like it was a gold medal game. Todays no different.The Americans will play Spain on Saturday in search of a sixth consecutive gold. Spain has already guaranteed itself of a first-ever Olympic medal in womens basketball.It looks like the U.S. will have Bird back for the title tilt. She missed the semifinal win over France as she was recovering from a sprained right knee capsule. She said she felt much better Friday and it showed. After taking part in practice, Bird went through a hard workout when it was finished to test the right knee.She stopped short of saying she definitely would play Saturday.I cant give you an answer for tomorrow, Bird said smiling. I can be happy with the way things have been going. Long term is great, short term is getting better.Bird said the pain is down to about a one or two out of 10. But she isnt going to push it if she doesnt feel comfortable and has the utmost confidence in her teammates if she cant play.Im not going to be dumb about it. Our team isnt built around one person, its built around 12, she said. As they showed yesterday it doesnt matter whos out there we have a really good team. Im not going to do anything stupid.Coach Geno Auriemma, who has worked with Bird for four years at UConn and now eight with USA Basketball, said the decision is up to Bird whether she plays.Shell wake up tomorrow morning and tell us how she feels and well go with that, he said. Whatever Sue says, just having her on the floor, regardless the amount of time we can call on her, believe me the comfort level with our team and coaches went up 100 percent.The U.S. dominated Spain in the preliminary round, beating the Spaniards by 40 points. The Americans also beat Spain in the 2014 world championship title game. Still, the U.S. isnt taking anything for granted.They are really, really good, Diana Taurasi said. Its going to be a hard fought battle and they have been playing really well since we beat them.The test for Spain will be to do what no team has been able to do in Rio: put together a full game against the U.S.France trailed by four at the half on Thursday and still lost by 19. This version of the U.S. womens Olympic team has been simply incredible. Theyve kept the streak started by the 1996 team going and now the Americans have won 48 consecutive contests. Theyve won the seven games in the Olympics by an average of nearly 40 points and are putting up 102.3 points a contest -- just a hair behind the record set by the `96 squad.Saturdays contest will be the last Olympic game for Tamika Catchings, who is retiring at the end of the WNBA season next month. Bird and Diana Taurasi have also hinted this will probably be their Olympic finale as well.Thats the elephant in the room that no one is talking about, Taurasi said. Were really focused on the game at hand and not what lies ahead after that.---Online:AP Summer Games website: http://summergames.ap.org/---Follow Doug on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/dougfeinberg Joe Montana Jersey . The next step is a better finish. Bae played bogey-free Friday on another gorgeous day at Riviera for a 5-under 66, giving him a one-shot lead over Aaron Baddeley and Robert Garrigus going into the weekend. Alfred Morris Jersey . Olli Jokinen, Mark Scheifele, and Bryan Little each had a goal and an assist as Winnipeg won 5-2, handing Calgary its record-setting seventh consecutive loss on home ice. http://www.cheap49ersjerseyssale.com/ . The news was first reported on Gonzalezs Twitter account and confirmed by the Rockies. Gonzalez has a six-week window before position players have their first workout at spring training in Arizona.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 lasst year, Bingham saw off Ronnie OSullivan, Judd Trump and Shaun Murphy in successive matches to take the title, each time as the underdog. Mike McGlinchey Jersey. 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. 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