SOCHI, Russia -- A Russia in search of global vindication kicked off the Sochi Olympics looking more like a Russia that likes to party, with a pulse-raising
opening ceremony about fun and sports instead of terrorism, coddling despots and
gay rights.
Tommy McNamara New York City Jersey . And thats just the way Vladimir Putin wants these Winter Games to be. The worlds
premier athletes on ice and snow have more to worry about than geopolitics as
they plunge into the biggest challenges of their lives on the mountain slopes of
the Caucasus and in the wet-paint-fresh arenas on the shores of the Black Sea.
But watch out for those Russians on their home turf. A raucous group of Russian
athletes had a message for their nearly 3,000 rivals in Sochi, marching through
Fisht Stadium singing that theyre "not gonna get us!" Superlatives abounded and
the mood soared as Tchaikovsky met pseudo-lesbian pop duo Tatu. Russian TV
presenter Yana Churikova shouted: "Welcome to the centre of the universe!" Yet
no amount of cheering could drown out the real world. Fears of terrorism, which
have dogged these Games since Putin won them amid controversy seven years ago,
were stoked during the ceremony itself. A passenger aboard a flight bound for
Istanbul said there was a bomb on board and tried to divert the plane to Sochi.
Authorities said the plane landed safely in Turkey. The show opened with an
embarrassing hiccup, as one of five snowflakes failed to unfurl as planned into
the Olympic rings, forcing organizers to jettison a fireworks display and
disrupting one of the most symbolic moments in an opening ceremony. Some world
leaders purposely stayed away, but U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and dozens
of others were in Sochi for the ceremony. He didnt mention the very real anger
over a Russian law banning gay "propaganda" aimed at minors that is being used
to discriminate against gay people. But IOC President Thomas Bach won cheers for
addressing it Friday, telling the crowd its possible to hold Olympics "with
tolerance and without any form of discrimination for whatever reason." Also
missing from the show: Putins repression of dissent, and inconsistent security
measures at the Olympics, which will take place just a few hundred kilometres
away from the sites of a long-running insurgency and routine militant violence.
And the poorly paid migrant workers who helped build up the Sochi site from
scratch, the disregard for local residents, the environmental abuse during
construction, the pressure on activists, and the huge amounts of Sochi
construction money that disappeared to corruption. For all the criticism, there
was no shortage of pride at the ceremony in what Russia has achieved with these
Games. The head of the Sochi organizing committee, Dmitry Chernyshenko, captured
the mood of many Russians present when he said, "Were now at the heart of that
dream that became reality." "The Games in Sochi are our chance to show the whole
world the best of what Russia is proud of," he said. "Our hospitality, our
achievements, our Russia!" The ceremony presented Putins version of todays
Russia: a country with a rich and complex history emerging confidently from a
rocky two decades and now capable of putting on a major international sports
event. Putin himself was front and centre, declaring the Games open from his box
high above the stadium floor. Earlier, he looked down as the real stars of the
Games -- those athletes, dressed in winter wear of so many national colours to
ward off the evening chill and a light dusting of man-made snow -- walked onto a
satellite image of the earth projected on the floor, the map shifting so the
athletes appeared to emerge from their own country. As always, Greece -- the
birthplace of Olympic competition -- came first in the parade of nations. Five
new teams, all from warm weather climates, joined the Winter Olympics for the
first time. Togos flagbearer looked dumbstruck with wonder, but those veterans
from the Cayman Islands had the style to arrive in shorts. Canada entered midway
through the march. Womens hockey star Hayley Wickenheiser carried the Maple Leaf
to lead representatives from Canadas 220-athlete team. Its Canadas biggest team
ever assembled for a Winter Games. "To represent the best of Canada is such an
honour, its chilling," Wickenheiser said. "There is so much excitement." Canada
looked sharp in outfits designed by Hudsons Bay, featuring a red coat with
toggle style buttons and a black stripe adorning the hip line. The women in the
Canadian contingent wore black mock turtlenecks and wool V-neck sweaters, while
the men sported a tailored white dress shirt, wool cardigan and red and white
striped ties. Black bottoms rounded out the ensembles "I wish our Olympians the
best of luck as they take on the world in Sochi," Prime Minister Stephen Harper
posted on his Twitter account. Canadas target is to finish first overall in the
medal count after finishing third with 26 medals at home in 2010. Not all of
Canadas athletes marched into Fisht Olympic Stadium. The mens hockey team hasnt
arrived yet, figure skaters are in the middle of the team competition and skiers
and sliders are staying too far away from the host city. The smallest teams
often earned the biggest cheers from the crowd of 40,000, with an enthusiastic
three-person Venezuelan team winning roars of approval as flag bearer and alpine
skier Antonio Pardo danced and jumped along to the electronic music. Only
neighbouring Ukraine, scene of a tense and ongoing standoff between a
pro-Russian president and Western-leaning protesters, could compete with those
cheers. That is, until the Russians arrived. Walking in last to a thundering
bass line that struggled to overcome the ovations from the hometown crowd, the
Russians reveled in all the attention. Their feeling could perhaps best be
summed up by Russian singers Tatu, whose hit "Not Gonna Get Us" accompanied them
to their seats. Russians place huge significance in the Olympics, carefully
watching the medal count -- their dismal performance in Vancouver four years ago
is on the minds of many. These Games are particularly important, as many
Russians are still insecure about their place in the world after the end of the
Cold War and the years since that have seen dominance of the United States and
China. International politics were never far beneath the surface. One member of
the VIP crowd carrying the Olympic flag was Anastasia Popova, a young televison
reporter with the state-owned Rossiya TV channel, best known for her reporting
in Syria. Putin and Russian state media have stood strongly behind Syrian
President Bashar Assad, and Popovas coverage laid the blame for the Syrian civil
war squarely on Syrian rebels. But back to that Russian pride. As Churikova
rallied the crowd to scream "louder than ever," she told the fans in their cool
blue seats their keepsakes from the night would last 1,000 years. When
explaining the show would be hosted in English, French and Russian, she joked
that it didnt matter, because in Sochi, everyone "speaks every language in the
world." The moment of high pride came at the end, when Russian hockey great
Vladislav Tretiak and three-time gold medallist Irina Rodnina joined hands to
light the Olympic cauldron. Hes often called the greatest goaltender of all time
by those who saw him play, she won 10 world pairs figure skating titles in a
row. That was how it ended. At the top, the show -- and the Games -- easily
avoided talking about prickly issues even when the women in Tatu took the stage.
The duo, who put on a lesbian act that is largely seen as an attention-getting
gimmick, merely held hands during their performance on this night, stopping
short of the groping and kissing of their past performances. This time? Their
lead-in act was the Red Army Choir MVD singing Daft Punks Grammy-winning "Get
Lucky."
Mehdi Ballouchy Jersey .com) - Marc Gasol and the Grizzlies withstood 18 Dallas 3-pointers, as Memphis took control in the
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Mehdi Ballouchy New York City Jersey .5 million contract. Cammalleri spent the past two-and-a-half seasons with the
Calgary Flames with prior stints in Los Angeles and Montreal. He is coming off a
five-year contract that paid him an average annual value of $5 million.COLUMBUS,
Ohio -- After a forgettable weekend, Anton Khudobin helped the Carolina
Hurricanes get a much-needed victory on Tuesday night. Khudobin made a
career-high 46 saves and Andrei Loktionov and Patrick Dwyer each had a goal and
an assist to send Carolina past the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-1. Nathan Gerbe also
scored, and Jay Harrison added two assists for the Hurricanes, who were
criticized by coach Kirk Muller after weekend losses to Boston and Edmonton. "In
the neutral zone we did a better job of getting speed and getting on the
forecheck," Carolinas Jordan Staal said. Boone Jenner scored for Columbus, which
outshot the Hurricanes 19-0 in the third period. Carolina jumped ahead at 3:41
on its first shot. Gerbe grabbed a loose puck that defenceman Fedor Tyutin
couldnt handle and on an odd-man rush and scored his 15th of the season from the
right circle. "When you score first its always important and gives you a little
confidence," Khudobin said. "Im happy with the win. I would probably be more
happy if I didnt get scored on with like a minute left. But we got the result,
we won. Thats most important for me." The Hurricanes were close to a playoff
spot on Feb. 7, but they entered the game having lost nine of 12 and are likely
to miss the post-season again. The Blue Jackets are in a tight race in the
Eastern Conference playoff race. They dropped a rare one at home where they are
10-3-1 in their past 14. "It seemed we had some pretty good quality chances,"
Columbus coach Todd Richards said. "We hit a couple posts (during the game). We
had our opportunities. I think we were doing some things to create offence. We
just werent able to finish." Sergei Bobrovsky allowed three goals on 20 shots.
Jeb Brovsky Jersey. . He was replaced by Curtis McElhinney to start the third period. Early in the second period,
Loktionov poked home his fifth to make it 2-0 on the power play -- and Carolinas
eighth shot -- with Jenner in the box for delay of game. Bobrovksy stopped
Harrisons point shot -- that broke the stick of Columbus Derek MacKenzie
propelling the blade into the slot -- but defenceman Jack Johnson couldnt stop
Loktionov. "I think the second period we picked it up and basically we scored at
the right time with timely goals," Muller said. Columbus had chances the rest of
the period, but couldnt beat Khudobin, who made a nice stop on R.J. Umberger.
The Blue Jackets took two more penalties in the period that tempered their
momentum. Then with room down the right side, Dwyer scored his seventh at 17:20
on a slap shot from the right circle that beat Bobrovsky near side. In the third
period, Khudobin turned aside one shot after another until Jenner scored his
13th on a redirection with 50 seconds left. "Its funny, weve been on the other
end so many times this year outshooting teams and coming up short," Muller said.
"Change it around tonight and your goalie wins the hockey game. I guess it
balances it out." Notes: The 47 shots for Columbus were a season high. ...The
Hurricanes last won in Columbus on March 8, 2004, a span of four games. ... Blue
Jackets LW Blake Comeau knocked Hurricanes D Ryan Murphy from the game in the
first period with a hit into the glass. It was Comeaus first game since a
two-game suspension for boarding Red Wings defenceman Brendan Smith. ...
Hurricanes C Elias Lindholm and D Justin Faulk fell ill and were late scratches.
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