Ronnie OSullivans quest for a sixth World Snooker Championship is under threat after in-form Barry Hawkins edged the first sessi

Ronnie OSullivans quest for a sixth World Snooker Championship is under threat after in-form Barry Hawkins edged the first session of their quarter-final. Nike Air Force One Mid Top . Hawkins, beaten by OSullivan in the 2013 final, will take a 5-3 advantage into Sunday afternoons resumption after a high-quality opening which included three centuries.OSullivan dropped the first frame, but bounced back with a superb 139 total clearance and went on to raise early hopes of a maximum in frame three, but after firing 25 and splitting the reds beautifully, he missed a black off the spot. And if OSullivan ever doubted he had a battle on his hands, the size of his task was underlined as Hawkins calmly responded by clearing up with a 102 to take a 2-1 lead.Back-to-back breaks of 88 and 102 nudged OSullivan back in front, but Hawkins got the better of each of the last three, more attritional frames of the session to establish his two-frame overnight lead. Alan McManus overcame Ali Carter 13-11 in the second round Elsewhere, World Snooker confirmed it will bring forward a scheduled replacement of cloth and cushions at the Crucible following complaints by players.Ali Carter criticised what he called the worst conditions of his career after letting slip a 9-7 overnight lead to lose his second-round match 13-11 to Alan McManus in the morning session.Carter, a two-time Crucible runner-up, said: The conditions were absolutely horrific - there were kicks every other shot and big bounces.I dont think Ive played on a table that bad in my career. Its the same for both players but its how it affects you mentally. Mark Selby was taken to 24 frames by Sam Baird The 36-year-old lost the first four frames of the morning session to hand the initiative to McManus, who duly booked his last eight place for the second time in three years at the age of 45.The evening session saw Mark Selby squeeze past Sam Baird 13-11 in a late-night thriller. Selby had looked on course to coast into the last eight when consecutive breaks of 134 and 84 helped him ease into an 11-7 advantage at the start of their evening session.But Baird rattled off four frames of his own only for Selby to edge two scrappy frames and inch into the last eight, where he will face either Mark Allen or Kyren Wilson. Also See: Fu through to last eight Trump survives scare Robertson falls in Sheffield Nike Tn Trainers . Scotlands Greg Laidlaw made one of two penalty kicks and all three conversions, and Stuart Hogg added a try in the second half. "The most important thing to come out of the game is that we did not get scored against," Laidlaw said. Nike Air Max 97 Mens Trainers . The Irish golfer, whose father Patrick died from cancer, says he underwent surgery for sun spots. The 42-year-old Harrington told Irish radio station Today FM: "Ive had a number of skin cancers removed off my face. http://www.fundfdr.org/air-max-97-for-sale/air-max-97-gold.html . Canada wasnt in the game from the outset. Head coach Dan Church left Calgary in the morning without addressing the players. He told The Canadian Press he felt the organization lacked confidence in his ability to defend the Olympic gold medal in February.ST. PAUL, Minn – The clock lingered for what seemed like an interminable two minutes and 51 seconds before Mark Fraser finally escaped to the bench during a wildly one-sided first period of an eventual loss to Boston. "I couldnt believe when I heard after the game thats how long it was," said Fraser, in conversation with the Leaf Report, minutes before the team departed for Minnesota. "It actually didnt feel that long because that seems so unfathomable. None of us were able to move." He and his teammates would later sustain a similar bit of pressure themselves, hammering the Bruins with wave upon wave of pressure in a second period that was arguably their best this season. It was that style, that relentlessness, that enthusiasm that Randy Carlyle would like to see from his team on a more consistent basis. "I just think that the good teams in the league, they have a template and they play to it," said Carlyle, ahead of a Wednesday date with the thriving Wild. "They put the puck in and go to work. And we have to gain more of that type of an attitude from our group. Thats whats necessary to have success in the NHL and you have to do it day in, day out." Despite an 11-6-0 record that ranks third in the Atlantic Division, the Leafs have, to this point, only seen hints of the team they would like to resemble this season. Theyve not managed to impose the edge, force or speed which defined their attack with surprising success last season. Carlyle has harped often on the need for that to change. Bits of improvement were seen in a 2-1 shootout win over New Jersey last week, further signs of hope emerging in the loss to the Bruins over the weekend. "I think that weve been preaching that for a long time," said Carlyle. "There is an understanding that we have to play a certain way. And when you see signs of it happening, thats encouraging but its got to happen more often and thats what were going to ask of them." What Carlyle is looking for specifically is improvement at even strength. Though they boast a positive goal differential – because of terrific goaltending – the Leafs have only managed 29 goals in five-on-five situations, which ranks 20th this season. In the past three games, theyve scored only once at even strength. More alarmingly, theyve been outshot by a margin of 455-322 in such situations; attempting the fewest shots of any team in the league (611) while yielding the seventh most against (850), as per extraskater.com. "We need to be a better five-on-five team," said Fraser. "So far, our specialty teams have been pretty good for us, but itd be nicer to win more games in the five-on-five play and not have to rely on those which wont always be there for you." A source of much of the clubs success – in addition to goaltending – Toronto special teams, dominant in the very early stages this season, have predictably cooled in recent days. Air Max 97 Gold. Now ranked 13th overall, the penalty kill allowed a pair for the first time all season against the Bruins, the power-play empty in three opportunities and now 1-15 over the past five games. Special Teams Last 5 Games First 11 Games Power play 1-15 – 7% 12-45 – 27% Penalty kill 17-21 – 81% 40-47 – 85% What the Leafs did so well amid an impressive and yet all too rare stretch of 20 minutes at TD Garden on Saturday was pressure and pressure with persistence and grit. They outshot the Bruins 18-8 at even strength in the period, scoring their lone goal in an eventual 3-1 defeat. "The first thing we did is we dumped the puck effectively and we were able to get it back off our forecheck," said Carlyle. "And then we moved off the puck; we moved the puck and moved ourselves. Those are the things that are easy to talk about, but sometimes theyre a lot harder to duplicate." A tactic they employed with success against Boston in the playoffs last May, the Leafs used their speed and tenacity to wear down the Bruins defence. As a result, they sustained possession deep in the offensive zone while fatiguing their opponent. "Once we had them hemmed in, it was to the point where we werent allowing them to change," Fraser said of the game on Saturday. Hardly in line with the preference of the coaching staff, most of the clubs offence at even strength this season has relied on quick strikes and marksman-like accuracy (the Leafs boast the fourth-best shooting percentage as per extraskater.com). Only in very small doses has the club sustained possession and pressure in the opposition end. Often careless with the puck, theyve often spent far more time defending than attacking. Notably, the Leafs have yielded more shots than anyone but the Ottawa Senators (36.5 per game). "It hasnt changed in our minds," said Fraser of the desired template, "but perhaps just in our execution of it." The challenge has been demanding and attaining such execution while the team continues to win in manners that are unlikely to be sustained. Its for that reason that Carlyle has preached for improvement all year long, even when the wins piled up early. "Weve been recognizing it perhaps a bit more and just collectively trying to get back to where we were, which was a hard-working team that was initiating our style instead of receiving the other teams [style]," Fraser said. "Its hard to know when youre kind of sneaking away some victories." ' ' '