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FELIPEDANA—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Members of the Refugee Olympic Team pose for a photo in front of the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Saturday. A group of 10athletes from South Sudan, Syria, Congo and Ethiopia will compete in Rio under the Olympic flag. ByJohnLeicester TheAssociatedPress RIO DE JANEIRO Evenifonlyfortwo weeks, can "Faster-Higher-Stron- ger" overpower deadlier, scarier and bloodier? Can the Olympic Games still offer the world momentary lev- ity, distract from terror, shootings, poverty and other worries in glob- ally grim times? If not, what use is the multibillion-dollar celebration of youthful endeavor and mostly niche sports? Through no fault of their own, the athletes who will march in massed, joyful ranks behind their nations' flags in Friday night's opening cere- mony for the first Olympic Games in South America shoulder expectations beyond their own ambitions for gold, silver, bronze and personal bests. No Olympics in recent memory has opened under so many dark clouds, both within recession-bat- tered Brazil and beyond. Headliners Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps are back for more medals. But no feat of theirs, or the other 10,500 Olympi- ans, between the first medal awards on Saturday and the Aug. 21 closing ceremony will paste over recent hor- rors of 84 people murdered with a truck in Nice or the shooting massa- cre of 49 people in a Florida night- club. Sports are, and always will be, trivial compared to such atrocities that have come depressingly thick and fast of late. "The Olympics may help me take my mind off things," said Parisian lawyer Remy Durand, reflecting over lunch Thursday on the Champs-El- ysees. "But it's not going to change my overall mood lastingly, after the attacks in recent weeks and months in France." Yet Olympic organizers can't be faulted for trying, with their "To- gether we can change the world" slogan and OlympicPeace hashtag. Cold War boycotts aside, the games remain a symbol of global together- ness, even if an increasingly commer- cialized one. By putting religion and politics aside, the Olympics still can OLYMPICS RioatestforGames'appeal Athletestrytodistract fans from terror, globally grim times with sports Special to the DN REDDING This past weekend 10 swimmers from Red Bluff swim- ming with the Chico AquaJets swam to their best times at the North Valley Aquatic League Championships in Redding. This meet featured more than 500 swimmers from 16 teams in Northern California. Highlights from the week- end include Jordan Brandt win- ning first place in every event she swam in and capturing the 9-10 girls High Point Trophy. Brandt earned a new AAA in the 50-yard butterfly, going 32.75 seconds, and she also earned new AA times in the 50 freestyle, 100 free, 200 free, 50 breaststroke and 100 individ- ual medley. Jaxon Balken, 14, broke a 19-year-old NVAL record in the 100 backstroke, going 57.33, AAA, and captured first place. Balken also won the 50 free, 100 breast and 400 IM. He was named the 13-14 boys High Point winner. Emery Plemons had a record- breaking swim in the 25 back- stroke. She broke a 14-year-old record by swimming 22.22 as a 6-and-under. Plemons brought home five gold medals in the 25 free, 50 free, 100 free, 25 back and 25 breast. She also finished second in the 25 fly. Plemons was the High Point Trophy winner for girls 6 and under. Aralynn Winstead, 9, earned a SWIMMING BRANDT CLAIMS 7 GOLDS, TOP HONOR Three Red Bluff swimmers to go from NVAL finals to Western Zone Championships in Utah Ten Chico Aquajets from Red Bluff competed at the NVAL Championships in Redding this past weekend. Pictured, front from le , are Reese Plemons, Emery Plemons, Riley McKenzie, Jordan Brandt and Aralynn Winstead. Back, from le , are Jaxon Balken, Stevie McKenzie, Zinnia Balken and Julia Brandt. CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS Jordan Brandt races to a first-place finish in the 50-yard butterfly with a time of 32.75seconds. Online: For more coverage of sports in Tehama County, visit REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM/SPORTS. By Cam Inman Bay Area News Group SANTA CLARA NaVorro Bow- man was happy to hear Thurs- day how his latest contract ex- tension went over inside the San Francisco 49ers locker room. After all, several other play- ers are hoping to strike new deals, and 49ers general man- ager Trent Baalke has vowed to spend from their $49 million in salary-cap space prior to Bow- man's deal Wednesday night. "I've had several guys walk up to me and say this is motivation for them," Bowman said at train- ing camp. "It's win-win situa- tions for all of us, to show guys it's possible, but you have to put your work in and do your job." Potential starters who are en- tering their final season under contract are quarterback Blaine Gabbert, defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey, wide receiver Quinton Patton and linebacker Michael Wilhoite. Perhaps more ripe for exten- sions prior to the Sept. 12 sea- son opener is the pack of play- ers with two years left on their deals: running back Carlos Hyde, center Daniel Kilgore, wide receiver Bruce Ellington and defensive backs Eric Reid, Jimmie Ward, Tramaine Brock, Dontae Johnson, Keith Reaser and Kenneth Acker. Gabbert and Hyde might be the offense's top priority be- cause of their positions. Defen- sively, Reid stands out as a deal- in-waiting, and Baalke has said the 49ers want to indeed extend their 2013 top draft pick. What does Bowman's deal signal to Reid? "Well, that they're willing to do it, which is exciting for 49ERS TRAINING CAMP Bowman's contract good news for teammates GIANTS 3, PHILLIES 2 (10) Up next: San Francisco Giants at Washington Nationals, 4:05p.m. Friday, TV on CSN-BA. THESCORE By Andrew Baggarly Bay Area News Group PHILADELPHIA You only have one shot to make a first impression, and left-hander Matt Moore re- ceived his chance in his San Fran- cisco Giants debut Thursday af- ternoon. But when you are a leadoff hit- ter in a major league lineup, ev- ery day provides a fresh oppor- tunity to get off on the right foot. Denard Span certainly made the most of it on Thursday, collecting three hits and clubbing a home run in the 10th inning that sent the Giants to a 3-2 victory over the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Span started the road trip amid rumblings that Eduardo Núñez might bump him from his lead- off spot. He responded with his best series as a Giant, going 7 for 15 with two stolen bases and four runs scored — the last one the most significant, as it helped the Giants (62-46) avoid being swept in three games here. The Giants won for just the sec- ond time in 11 road games since the All-Star break. "I mean, it's August, so now or never," said Span, who lofted a down-and-in pitch from Sever- ino Gonzalez that curled inside the right field pole. "We needed this one. This Phillies team played us tough all year. They keep fight- ing and the first two games, we had opportunities to win. It's big to come out of here with at least one." Moore gave up a pair of one- run leads and walked six in six innings, but otherwise posted a quality start and flashed high-oc- tane stuff in his first outing since the Giants gave up a glittering pile — Matt Duffy, plus two pre- mium prospects — to acquire him from the Tampa Bay Rays. "They've been swinging the bats well, and what? Three hits off him?" Giants manager Bruce Bochy said of Moore. "Some of those pitches were close. It wasn't like he was wild-wild. But he re- grouped. He didn't let it get away from him." Neither did Santiago Casilla, who stayed in a groove and pitched the 10th to record his 13th save in his last 14 chances. And Núñez, who made two criti- cal errors in the first two games in this series, began the 10th with a sensational stop to help prevent Casilla from breaking a sweat. Prior to the game, Bochy as- sured Núñez that he would be the club's everyday third baseman for the remainder of the season. The manager also remarked on Casilla, one night after the right- hander had given the Giants two lives while prolonging an even- tual 12-inning loss. "He's trying to make a state- ment that that's his job, and he's really elevated his game," Bochy BASEBALL Span hits homer to give win to Giants SWIMMERS PAGE 2 GIANTS PAGE 2 OLYMPICS PAGE 2 49ERS PAGE 2 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Friday, August 5, 2016 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1