kidnapped. Either way the tour was almost cancelled and the seeds of mistrust had been sown.

Its almost game time in Rio, but first theres the pageantry of the Olympic opening ceremony.Always splashy affairs, the parade of athletes this time around will take place Friday night at Maracana Stadium with a country-by-country show of fashion, along with speeches, flag-raising and the lighting of the Olympic cauldron.For now, enjoy these moments from opening ceremonies of Olympics past:---LONDON 2012First there was the green of the English countryside, then along came the queen.Queen Elizabeth II parachuted into the stadium with James Bond, the one thats Daniel Craig. Craig played himself after a fictional trip from Buckingham Palace to the stadium. The queen did not actually take flight, FYI.More slapstick ensued when Mr. Bean actor Rowan Atkinson performed the theme from Chariots of Fire with the London Symphony Orchestra.Oh, and who lit the cauldron? Not David Beckham. He bowed out after failing to make the soccer squad.---BEIJING 2008Dazzling doesnt begin to cover it.First, more than 2,000 drummers played the Fou, a traditional Chinese instrument. They were followed by 10,000 highly rehearsed performers after giant Olympic rings sprang from the floor of the stadium. In all, there were more than 18,000 performers.There were fireworks, and more fireworks, and still more fireworks, including some that were computer simulated. Lots of openers have fireworks, but they were invented in China some 2,000 years ago, so theres that.Everything from the silk road to chanting disciples of Confucius was represented in this ceremony.OK, that was more than one moment, but this was a BIG opening ceremony.---SYDNEY 2000Well, the Man from Snowy River scared his horse with the crack of a whip to open this opening ceremony, followed by a little girl who conked out in the middle of the stadium to introduce a dream sequence featuring huge jellyfish and other sea life.But the best part was the last torchbearer, who waded into water and seemingly lit a soggy, spaceship-like cauldron on fire as she stood in the center. It was then airlifted up and up on a set of tracks amid waterfalls and fireworks.Did I mention there were people on horses? Lots of them, including some who galloped into circles to form the Olympic rings.---LOS ANGELES 1984A dude arrived by jet pack. `nuf said. The Jetsons generation had been patient.---MOSCOW 1980This was the year of the U.S.-led Olympic boycott, reducing the number of participating countries to 80.It was also the year of the stackable human. Pyramids of gymnasts and dancers constructed towers, including one with participants all in white surrounded by a circle of other participants on the ground in pink.Another human construction came in yellow, with mad respect for the performers in the middle who had to lean out and hang upside down as the shape of the bodies fanned out.A childrens show featured legions of other humans dressed as brown bears dancing and prancing before even more legions of humans in white shorts danced and pranced on white-headed hobbyhorses.It wasnt real, kids, but you might want to NOT look at it on YouTube. Mike Webster Jersey . To the surprise of many, it isnt the Wolverines but their in-state rivals the Michigan State Spartans. Heath Miller Jersey . Rob Manfred, baseballs chief operating officer, testified last week during the grievance filed by the players union to overturn Rodriguezs 211-game suspension. A person familiar with the hearing, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press on Saturday that Manfred testified the sport wasnt concerned whether Bosch distributed performance-enhancing drugs to minors because MLBs interest was his relationship with players under investigation. http://www.steelerspronfl.com/Youth-Antonio-Brown-Elite-Jersey/ . JOHNS, N. Franco Harris Womens Jersey . Coach Tom Thibodeau says the former MVP will probably start travelling with the team in the next few weeks. Rose tore the meniscus in his right knee at Portland in November and was ruled out for the remainder of the season by the Bulls. Joe Gilliam Youth Jersey . During the athletes parade, the 23-strong Ukrainian team was represented by a lone flagbearer in an apparent protest at the presence of Russian troops in Ukraines Crimean peninsula. Mike Gatting v Shakoor Rana, 1987-88 Infamous wags are not just the preserve of English football. Long before Victoria Beckham, Cheryl Cole and Co, Mike Gattings finger-wagging with the Pakistani umpire Shakoor Rana caused an international incident. The catalyst was absurdly trivial - Gatting moving a fielder during the bowlers run-up - but the camels back had been weakening during a long winter and within seconds it all spilled out. Rana called Gatting a ****ing cheating ****, an observation that Gatting returned with interest. Rana refused to continue until he received a formal apology. The entire third day was lost and the tour nearly called off.Aaqib Javeds sweater, 1992 Only in a fixture with such a history of enmity could people get shirty about a jumper. As the third Test of 1992 meandered towards a draw on the fourth evening at Old Trafford, umpire Roy Palmer warned Aaqib Javed for intimidatory bowling at Devon Malcolm. Then, when Palmer handed back Aaqibs sweater with a little too much zeal - probably because it was caught in his belt (Wisden) - Aaqib and his captain, Javed Miandad, took serious umbrage at the umpire, seeing Palmers gesture as insulting and disrespectful. Aaqib was fined half his match fee and any chance of a peaceful series had gone.Ian Bothams mother-in-law, 1983-84 In the 1980s, Ian Botham was usually the dominant figure in an England Test series, even when he was not playing. In 1983-84, after flying home from Englands tour of Pakistan with a knee injury, Botham said that Pakistan was the kind of place to send your mother-in-law for a month, all expenses paid. It was a throwaway comment but he was fined and forced to apologise, and then, eight years later, when dismissed for 0 in the World Cup final against Pakistan, Aamer Sohail asked: Whos coming in next? Your mother-in-law?David Constant, 1982 A decade of endless moaning about home umpires from both sides began because of David Constants error in the deciding Test at Headingley, when his appalling decision to give Sikander Bakht out caught off the pad arguably cost Pakistan the series. On their next tour five years later Pakistan asked that Constant not stand in the Tests. The then TCCB not only refused the request but leaked it to the press. After an inevitable controversy at The Oval involving Constant, Imran Khan and Mudassar Nazar, the Pakistan tour manager, Haseeb Ahsan, called Constant a disgraceful man.Chris Broad, 1987-88 The most controversial of all England-Pakistan series really came to life when, having been wrongly given out caught behind in the first Test by Shakeel Khan, Chris Broad simply refused to leave. He loitered at the crease for around a minute - it was almost a surprise the new batsman was not timed out - before Graham Gooch persuaded him to go. On reflection I should have left him there, said Gooch later. Then we could all have gone home.Allegations of ball-tampering, 1992 The English cricket community could not shut up about Pakistans ability to make the ball talk during the summer of 1992. Most gabbled excitedly about the genius of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, who ran riot with their unprecedented reverse swing; others muttered about bottle tops, fingernails and ball-tampering. Matters came to a hhead during the fourth ODI at Lords, when the ball was changed at lunchtime during Englands innings.dddddddddddd With speculation about ball-tampering, the ICC - fearing the sort of rumpus that was to occur 14 years later - refused to reveal any information about why the ball had been changed.Moin Khan, 2000-01 The prospect of becoming the first Pakistan captain to lose a Test at the National Stadium in Karachi and the first to lose a series at home to England for 39 years was too much for Moin Khan, who tried to fight fate with absurd delaying tactics as England moved unexpectedly to victory on the final day. The over rate was down to nine an hour but the umpire, Steve Bucknor, ensured justice was done by playing on in near-darkness. Thanks to Bucknors common sense, this became the controversy that never was.Bob Willis v Iqbal Qasim, 1978 A night-watchman lingering like a bad smell precipitated a major row in 1978, when, in pre-helmet days, Bob Willis felled Iqbal Qasim with a nasty short ball, forcing him to retire hurt. The playing conditions of the day stated: Captains must instruct their players that the fast, short-pitched ball should at no time be directed at non-recognised batsmen. The England captain, Mike Brearley, tried to play down the incident, but the TCCB reminded him of his responsibilities and said it bitterly regretted what had occurred. Wisden described Englands tactics as unnecessarily ruthless. Shahid Afridi, 2005-06 After a few relatively harmonious series normal service was resumed in the second Test. First Steve Harmison controversially ran out Inzamam-ul-Haq - who was taking evasive action and so should not have been given out. Then, while everyone was distracted by the explosion of a gas canister in a soft-drinks machine, Shahid Afridi decided to practise his Saturday Night Fever moves on a good length. As plans go, it was more Baldrickian than Machiavellian: he was caught on camera and banned for one Test and two ODIs.Darrell Hair v Pakistan, 2006 So much for neutral umpires being the answer to the problems in this rivalry. When Darrell Hair punished Pakistan for ball-tampering on the fourth day they refused to reappear after tea. Hair and Billy Doctrove decided the match had been forfeited - the first in 1814 Tests and 129 years - but the end of the match was the start of a row. Eventually Pakistan were acquitted of ball-tampering and Hair, who had offered to resign from the Elite Panel in exchange for $500,000 compensation, was banned from umpiring international matches, although he did briefly return to Test cricket two years later.Idris Begh, 1955-56 A rivalry that has been habitually in need of cooling down came to life precisely because of a bucket of cold water. In 1955-56, Donald Carrs MCC side toured Pakistan and were unhappy with the umpiring of Idris Begh. During the third Test, Begh was taken back to the MCC hotel and drenched by a bucket of cold water. The MCC players said it was a prank and that Begh had come of his own accord. He said he had been kidnapped. Either way the tour was almost cancelled and the seeds of mistrust had been sown.