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1B Friday February 7, 2014 Sports AP photo The Olympic Cauldron, left, is lit during a test between the Bolshoy Ice Dome, top, and the Iceberg Skating Palace, foreground, early Thursday morning in Sochi, Russia, prior to the start of the 2014 Winter Olympics. SOCHI, Russia (AP) — It's designed to celebrate a mil- lennium of Russian might and this country's modern rebound, and kick off two weeks of extraordinary human endeavors and planetary sportsmanship. But the ceremony opening the Sochi Olympics on Friday, more than anything, will be about one man: Vladimir Putin. He charmed and strong-armed his way to hosting the games at a summer beach resort that he envisioned as a win- ter paradise. He stared down terrorist threats and worldwide wrath at a scarcely veiled campaign against gays. He has shrugged off critiques that construction of the most costly games in Olympic history was both shoddy and corrupt. Ballet, man-made snow and avant-garde art will make an appearance at Sochi's opening ceremonies, though as with all past opening ceremonies, the details are under wraps. They can't really compete with the cinematic splendor of the London Olympics or the pyrotechnic extravaganza of Bei- jing, but then again, the Winter Games are usually more low- key. No matter. All Putin needs is an event that tells the world ''Russia is back.'' It's a message meant for millions around the world who will watch the show — and meant for his countrymen, too. Russians will form the bulk of the spectators in Sochi for the Olympics, a people whose forebears endured centuries of oppression, a revolution that changed the world, a Soviet experiment that built rockets and nuclear missiles but strug- gled to feed its people. Russians who sometimes embrace Putin's heavy hand because they fear uncertainty more than they crave freedom, and who, despite inhabiting the largest country in the world, feel insecure about their place in it. They're pinning especially high hopes on their athletes, once a force to be reckoned with and the pride of the nation. They were an embarrassment at the Vancouver Games in 2010, with just three gold medals and a string of doping busts. This year, Russia has cleaned up its game and is present- ing hundreds of skaters, skiers and other champions in the arenas on Sochi's seashore and in the nearby Caucasus Mountains slopes of Krasnaya Polyana. While the United States, Norway and Germany are seen as leading medal contenders, Russia will be pushing hard to bring home a bundle for the home crowd. Putin put on the pressure even as he tried to motivate them this week: ''We are all counting on you.'' If there was any doubt, it was erased on the first evening of competition, as a booming crowd of Russian shouted ''heroes'' at world champion pairs Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov as they, along with men's skater Evgeni Plushenko, pushed Russia into the early lead in the new competition of team figure skating. ''It's pressure, but this pressure helps us,'' Volosozhar said. ''They push us very hard,'' Trankov added. It was a night on which competition and the athletes final- ly took a back seat to thoughts about terrorism, but they remain not far from anyone's mind. A few hundred miles (kilometers) away lies Chechnya, the site of two wars in the past two decades. And Dagestan, childhood home to the two brothers suspected in the Boston Marathon bombings and where militants regularly mount attacks. And Volgograd, where two suicide bombs killed 34 people in December. A decade ago, extremists hid a bomb in a stadium in Chechnya during construction. Then when the Kremlin- backed Chechen president showed up for a ceremony, the bomb went off, killing him and several others. Fear of terrorism have clouded the run-up, fueled Putin's strict security agenda and brought U.S. warships to the region. And about 40,000 Russian security forces are work- ing to prevent an attack on the games, and they stand watch in all corners of Sochi and its Olympic Park on the sea and built-from-scratch mountain ski resort. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security rekindled the fears this week, warning that terrorists may try to smug- gle explosives into Russia in toothpaste tubes. Yet some air travelers heading to Sochi have defied a temporary Russian ban on all liquids in carry-on luggage, and brought tooth- paste and other toiletries on board unnoticed. The world will be watching the entire Olympic machine in Sochi, and much as it did when Soviet-era Moscow host- ed the Summer Olympics in 1980, it will use what it sees to sit in judgment of Putin's Russia, where he has suffocated political opposition and ruled overtly or covertly for 15 years. Is it a has-been superpower that can't keep the electricity on during a hockey game? Or a driver of the 21st century global economy? A diplomatic middleweight with ties to despots that wields influence only via its veto at the United Nations? Or a fairy tale of prosperous resurrection from the communist collapse and its brutal aftermath? Who sits next to Putin on the VIP balcony may provide some clue. President Barack Obama and some other West- ern leaders are staying away, upset at a law that he champi- oned barring homosexual ''propaganda'' aimed at minors that has been used to more widely discriminate against gays. But organizers say some 66 leaders — including heads of state and international organizations — are joining the games, including U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. The opening ceremonies will gloss over these ugly bits as they hand over the games to the men and women who will spend the next two weeks challenging records and the limits of human ability. Some 3,000 athletes, a record for the Winter Olympics, will come for 98 events, including the new slopestyle extreme skiing competition that began Thursday. More women will compete than ever before. Among Americans, Shaun White is skipping slopestyle to focus on winning a third-straight snowboarding gold in halfpipe. Gracie Gold and Ashley Wagner will try to out- skate South Korea's Yuna Kim. The pros of the NHL won't arrive until Monday, taking a special break in their season to hop on charter flights to Sochi and splitting off to compete against each other on behalf of their homelands. Let Putin's games begin Warriors' Curry is West's captain at All-Star game NEW YORK (AP) — Portland's Damian Lillard will become the first player to compete in three events during All- Star Saturday night in New Orleans, including a slam dunk contest that features three All-Stars for the first time in 26 years. Indiana's Paul George and Washington's John Wall also will take part in the night's marquee event Feb. 15. There haven't been three All-Stars in the dunk contest since the famed 1988 duel, when Michael Jordan beat Dominique Wilkins on his home floor in Chicago, in a field that also included Clyde Drexler. Lillard, the reigning Rookie of the Year, will play in the Rising Stars Challenge on Friday night before defending his Skills Challenge title and competing in the 3-point contest. The remainder of the dunk field is defending champion Terrence Ross of Toronto, Golden State's Harrison Barnes and rookie Ben McLemore of Sacramento. Cleveland All-Star Kyrie Irving will defend his 3-point title against a field that also includes All-Stars Stephen Curry of Golden State, Kevin Love of Minnesota and Joe Johnson of Brooklyn, plus Orlando's Arron Afflalo, Washington's Bradley Beal and San Antonio's Marco Belinelli. The events will again feature an Eastern Conference vs. Western Conference format, with the teams competing for charity. George will captain the East and Curry the West. Lillard will be paired with Utah's Trey Burke as the Skills Challenge is switching a team relay format. The other teams are: rookies Michael Carter-Williams of Philadelphia and Victor Oladipo of Orlando; All-Star DeMar DeRozan of Toronto and Giannis Antetokounmpo of Milwaukee; and Goran Dragic of Phoenix and Reggie Jackson of Oklahoma City. The teams for the shooting stars, which features a current and former NBA player teaming with a WNBA player, are: Kevin Durant, Karl Malone and Skylar Diggins; Chris Bosh, Wilkins and Swin Cash; Stephen Curry, Dell Curry and Becky Hammon; and Tim Hardaway Jr., Tim Hardaway Sr. and Elena Delle Donne. Manchester United captain to leave at season's end LONDON (AP) — Manchester United captain Nemanja Vidic says he will leave the club after eight years at the end of the season. Manager David Moyes had previously indicated he wanted Vidic to stay. ''I have decided that I will move on at the end of this season,'' the 32-year-old Serbian defender said Friday. ''I want to challenge myself again and try to make the best of myself in the coming years. I'm not considering staying in England as the only club I ever wanted to play for here is Manchester United and I was lucky enough to be part of this club for so many years.'' Inter Milan has already been suggested as a potential destination for the center back, who can now start to talk to other clubs. ''I've got a few options to move on and I will choose the right one for me and for my family,'' Vidic said. The statement, issued by United, contained no com- ments from Moyes, who is facing a tough task rebuild- ing a team that is currently seventh in a league it won by 11 points last May under Alex Ferguson. The manager retired after 26 years in charge. Another center back, 35-year-old Rio Ferdinand, also might have no future at the club beyond this season, and 40-year-old midfielder Ryan Giggs is nearing the end of his playing career and is already on the coaching staff. Vidic played a key role in United's title triumphs. He made his debut at the start of 2006 after joining from Spartak Moscow for seven million pounds ($11 mil- lion). Vidic has won the Premier League five times as well as the Champions League and the Club World Cup. After being injured in a Champions League match in December 2011, Vidic required major knee surgery and endured extended spells on the sidelines. Tehama Tracker Today's schedule BOYS BASKETBALL Yreka at Corning, 7:30 p.m. Chester at Mercy, 7:30 p.m. GIRLS BASKETBALL Corning at Yreka, 7:30 p.m. Chester at Mercy, 6 p.m. BOYS SOCCER Enterprise at Red Bluff, 4:30 p.m. GIRLS SOCCER Red Bluff at Enterprise, 6 p.m. NHL Columbus at San Jose, 7:30 p.m. NBA Sacramento at Boston, 4:30 p.m. Sports on TV BOXING 6 p.m. ESPN2 — Middleweights, Norber- to Gonzalez (20-2-0) vs. Roberto Garcia (33-3-0), at Chicago GOLF 6 a.m. TGC — European PGA Tour, Joburg Open, second round, at Johan- nesburg (same-day tape) 9:30 a.m. TGC — Champions Tour, Allianz Championship, first round, at Boca Raton, Fla. Noon TGC — PGA Tour, Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, second round, at Peb- ble Beach, Calif. 2:30 a.m. TGC — European PGA Tour, Joburg Open, third round, at Johannes- burg MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL 4 p.m. ESPNU — Manhattan at Canisius FS1 — Seton Hall at Villanova 6 p.m. ESPNU — Detroit at Valparaiso FS1 — DePaul at Creighton MEN'S COLLEGE HOCKEY 4:30 p.m. NBCSN — Maine at Notre Dame NBA BASKETBALL 4 p.m. ESPN — Portland at Indiana 6:30 p.m. ESPN — Minnesota at New Orleans WINTER OLYMPICS At Sochi, Russia All events taped unless noted as Live NBC 7:30 p.m. Opening Ceremony NBCSN Midnight Women's Hockey - United States vs. Finland (LIVE) 2:30 a.m. Women's Cross-Country - Skiathlon Gold Medal Final (LIVE); Men's Speedskating - 5000 Gold Medal Final (LIVE) Cup organizers: Add workers at delayed stadium SAO PAULO (AP) — World Cup organizers want to increase the number of workers at the delayed stadium in Curitiba that is at risk of being dropped. A FIFA consultant and a technical team from the local World Cup orga- nizing committee made the assessment after a visit to Arena da Baixada on Thursday, an official in the southern city said. Reginaldo Cordeiro told The Asso- ciated Press the technical team was happy with the improvements made at the construction site, but advised local officials that the workforce must be increased soon to give the city a better chance of hosting its four scheduled matches in soccer's showcase event that begins in less than five months. ''It was a good visit because they saw that things progressed,'' Cordeiro, the city's urban planning secretary, said in a telephone interview. ''But at the same time it wasn't that good because they asked for an increase in the workforce to speed up the con- struction.'' FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke visited Curitiba last month and told local officials they have until Feb. 18 to show the city will be able to fin- ish the stadium in time for the World Cup. Charles Botta, who compiles regu- lar reports to FIFA's top management after visiting the World Cup stadiums, was among those who said the addi- tion of more workers would be ideal to make sure the venue can remain a host city, according to Cordeiro. State and city engineers also participated in Thursday's meeting and agreed. Dropping Curitiba as a host city would be an embarrassment to Brazil and a major headache for FIFA, which has already sold more than one million tickets for the tournament. Brazilian club Atletico Paranaense, which is building the stadium, said it can add workers only if it gets a feder- al loan, according to Cordeiro. A meet- ing is scheduled for Friday to try to guarantee the needed financing. Brazil's Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo visited Curitiba this week and said everything would be done to try to guarantee the loan. ''There is a need for more workers so there is a need for the loan,'' Cordeiro said. There were nearly 900 workers at the construction site when Valcke vis- ited, he said, and since then the number has increased to about 1,100. With the loan, it could be possible to have near- ly 1,400 on site in the next two weeks. Since Valcke's visit, the pitch instal- lation has been finalized and nearly 15,000 seats have been installed, Cordeiro said. The roof is expected to be completed in the next few weeks. The Arena da Baixada is scheduled to host Iran-Nigeria on June 16, Aus- tralia-Spain on June 23, Algeria-Rus- sia on June 26, and Honduras-Ecuador on June 30. Brazil promised to finish all 12 World Cup stadiums by the end of last year as wanted by FIFA, but five remain under construction.