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.Jesse Biddle Jersey .com) - The Montreal Canadiens embark on their first road trip of the season as they head out west to battle the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. Jeffrey Springs Jersey . It is a cliché dragged out by fans and pundits regularly when discussions take place around which teams are better than others. https://www.cheaprangersbaseball.com/192h-taylor-hearn-jersey-rangers.html . John Tavares, Thomas Vanek and Kyle Okposo were also being counted on to slow down sizzling Rangers forward Rick Nash. That plan didnt go so well early. Bartolo Colon Rangers Jersey . Ryan Garbutt had a goal and two assists as Dallas snapped a six-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. Vladimir Guerrero Jersey . Here are his mid-season NBA awards. MVP: (KEVIN DURANT-Thunder) - Has been sensational this season and more importantly, the most consistent player in the league. Considering that his team has been without star guard Russell Westbrook and with the free agent departure of sharpshooter Kevin Martin, hes had to carry the majority of the load to not only keep his team afloat but more importantly, at an elite level.LAS VEGAS -- Jose Aldo is an interim UFC champion. Now, about Conor McGregor.The longest-reigning titleholder in featherweight history, Aldo rebounded from a shocking 13-second knockout loss to McGregor in December by defeating Frankie Edgar in an interim championship fight at UFC 200 on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena.Aldo (26-2) expertly countered the smaller Edgar, busting him up with jabs, right hands and a beautifully timed knee up the middle. Edgar (20-5-1) kept plugging away at Aldo, but his inability to hurt Aldo with punches or get him to the floor proved to be too difficult to overcome.All three judges had it for Aldo: 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47. ESPN.com scored it 49-46 for Aldo.After the results were read, Aldo, who fights out of the Nova Uniao Academy in Rio de Janeiro, pointed toward McGregor, who was sitting in the front row.I have one goal, to beat this guy, Aldo said. Next time, I will beat him.McGregor (19-3) smiled at Aldo and waved at him after the fight concluded. The Irish star is scheduled to face?Nate Diaz?(19-10) in a welterweight fight at UFC 202 on Aug. 20. McGregor would have?to defend his featherweight title against Aldo next, or likely vacate the belt.Asked about a potential McGregor-Aldo rematch, UFC president Dana White told SportsCenter after Saturdays card, Conor made it very clear at that press conferennce [this week] hes going to go back down there and defend his title against whoever won [Saturday].ddddddddddddWeve got to see what happens in that fight with Nate Diaz -- how he comes out of that fight, is he hurt. Then we can pick the timing of that [McGregor-Aldo] fight.Saturdays fight marked the second time Aldo has defeated Edgar via unanimous decision. The two met at UFC 156 in February 2013 in Las Vegas. History repeated itself, as final scores of that fight were identical to what the judges rendered Saturday.None of the five rounds was a blowout, however, as Edgar utilized his boxing and attacked Aldos legs with kicks at the end of combinations. Aldo, 29, was in phenomenal shape, however. He bloodied Edgars right eye in the second round. In the third, Edgars face started to show swelling.Edgar tried to implement his wrestling, but Aldos takedown defense was too good. Edgar drove into Aldos hips a handful of times, but Aldo was always quick to throw him off. In the fourth round, Edgar showed a willingness to hang in the pocket a little more to force something to happen. Aldo frequently got the better of it.According to instant stats by FightMetric, Edgar came up empty on 11 takedown attempts. ' ' '