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. Delanie Walker 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." Jurrell Casey Jersey . The 36-year-old announced his retirement on Friday after having played in Montreal, Los Angeles, Edmonton, Pittsburgh, Columbus and Tampa Bay. Black Nate Washington Elite Jersey . Canadas strong showing throughout the World Cup season has qualified it for the maximum number of spots in every short-track speedskating event at the Sochi Games in February. "With the beginning to the season that Ive had, beginning with the Canadian trials in August, I have nothing to doubt in myself.DETROIT -- Gustav Nyquist made the most of his return from the minors. Niklas Kronwall was credited with the tie-breaking goal in the third period, Nyquist had 2 goals and the Detroit Red Wings broke a seven-game game losing streak with a 4-3 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night. Nyquist was recalled from the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League earlier in the day. He wasnt there because he wasnt good enough to make the team out of training camp, but due to salary cap reasons. He was one of Detroits best forwards in training camp and during the exhibition season after playing a key role for the Red Wings on the third line during last seasons playoffs. Only a shoulder separation to defenceman Danny Dekeyser in Tuesday nights 2-0 loss to Nashville, which put him on the long-term injured list, gave Detroit the cap space to bring Nyquist back. "Well see, well see what happens here," Nyquist said after the game. "Obviously this is where I want to play and I want to be a part of this team and hopefully well be able to work that out." He scored his first goal just 17 seconds into the game by putting in a loose puck from the bottom of the right circle. "It was a lucky bounce there, but it for sure was nice to get a quick one so that felt great," Nyquist said. Henrik Zetterberg assisted on both Nyquists tallies and Darren Helm added a goal for Detroit. Jonas Gustavsson made 24 saves. "We needed to win and it was a good win for us. I thought our team played well. We had lots of opportunities," Red Wings coach Mike Bab**** said. "We made it closer than we needed to, for sure. I thought we really carried territorial play. Our specialty teams were outstanding." Andrej Sekera scored twice and Brett Bellemore got his first NHL goal for Carolina. Justin Peters stopped 43 shots. "Theyre a good hockey team and they played well. . They owned the puck," Sekera said. Kronwall was credited with the 5-on-3 power-play goal that broke a 2-2 tie 8:29 into the third period when Hurricanes captain Eric Staal accidentally kicked the puck into his own net. Nyquist scored on a breakaway with 4:02 left. Sekera got his second goal with a short-handed effort in the last minute. Detroit killed off a 1:36 two-man disadvantage late in the second period and early in the third. "We were right there in the third period. We had a 5-on-3 that we had the chance to go up," Sekera said. "We didnt score and they scoredd on theirs. Jake Locker Jersey. " Sekera tied the game at 2 with 7:09 left in the middle period with his first goal. He made a move past the Red Wings Todd Bertuzzi and then beat Gustavsson with a wrist shot from the slot off the rush. It was Sekeras third goal. Bellemore put Carolina on the board 5:49 into the middle period, making it 2-1 by completing a give-and-go with right wing Radek Dvorak and whipping a one-timer from the bottom of the right circle past Gustavsson. Helm gave Detroit a 2-0 lead 2:37 into the second period. He also beat Peters with a shot from the bottom of the right circle for his third goal. NOTE: Hurricanes LW Jeff Skinner returned after missing 11 games with an upper-body injury. . Carolina RW Alexander Semin missed his second game with a concussion. . The Red Wings played their first complete game without rookie D Danny DeKeyser, who will miss three-to-six weeks with a separated left shoulder. He was put on long-term IR. . Hurricanes D Tim Gleason, LW Nathan Gerbe and LW Drayson Bowman are all from Michigan. . Detroit RW Daniel Alfredsson (groin) missed his fourth game and Red Wings C Stephen Weiss (groin) missed his sixth. . Carolina D Jay Harrison missed his second game with an illness. . Brendan Shanahan, the NHLs vice-president of hockey and business development and director of player safety was honoured before the game for his recent Hall of Fame induction. He played for Detroit in 1996-97 and 2005-06. . Detroit D Brian Lashoff left the game in the second period due to the flu. NOTE: Hurricanes LW Jeff Skinner returned after missing 11 games with an upper-body injury. . Carolina RW Alexander Semin missed his second game with a concussion. . The Red Wings played their first complete game without rookie D Danny DeKeyser, who will miss three-to-six weeks with a separated left shoulder. He was put on long-term IR. . Hurricanes D Tim Gleason, LW Nathan Gerbe and LW Drayson Bowman are all from Michigan. . Detroit RW Daniel Alfredsson (groin) missed his fourth game and Red Wings C Stephen Weiss (groin) missed his sixth. . Carolina D Jay Harrison missed his second game with an illness. . Brendan Shanahan, the NHLs vice-president of hockey and business development and director of player safety was honoured before the game for his recent Hall of Fame induction. He played for Detroit in 1996-97 and 2005-06. . Detroit D Brian Lashoff left the game in the second period due to the flu. ' ' '
