Die Macht » died.He answered on the first ring. He was

RIO DE JANEIRO -- The Paralympic Games opened Wednesday with 4,350 athletes demonstrating first-hand their creed: The heart knows no limits; everybody has a heart.Wheelchair daredevil Aaron Wheelz showed the spirit in the opening act.As a countdown from 10 reached its end, Wheelz raced down a giant ramp and somersaulted in the air through a giant 0 on the stadium floor. That finished the countdown and shattered more stereotypes about what athletes with disabilities can do.The president of the International Paralympic Committee, Philip Craven, made a similar point with his speech. Craven, who lost the use of his legs in a rock-climbing fall at the age of 16, reminded Brazilians they have their own problems to overcome.Craven suggested Brazilians follow the lead of Paralympians.In a country which has faced major challenges of late, Paralympians will switch your focus from perceived limitations -- to a world full of possibility and endless opportunity, Craven said. They will surprise you, inspire and excite you, but most of all they will change you.Brazil is mired in its worst recession in generations. The country just removed its elected president, and these games needed a government bailout of almost $80 million to make it to the starting line.Craven also used the theme of inclusion, topical in a country often separated by the rich and poor, and black and white; a country with few provisions for wheelchairs or anyone with an impairment.Show the world that there is no them, there is only us, Craven told the capacity crowd at the opener. A world where people of all abilities, races, nationalities and sexualities can come together as one. We are all part of one world.The symbolic cauldron was lit by Brazilian swimmer and wheelchair user Clodoaldo Silva as rain fell. The six-time gold medalist faced a flight of stairs and looked perplexed about what to do next. The staircase then opened, exposing a ramp leading to the cauldron. Problem solved.Silva received the torch after a number of athletes carried it in the stadium. Among them was former Brazilian Paralympic medalist Marcia Malsar, who wobbled and fell over backward as she carried the torch across floor with aid of a cane. Malsar got back up, with some assistance, and finished her roughly 30-meter section of the relay in an effort warmly acknowledged by the crowd.The show featured a tribute to the wheel, to Brazils swirling samba rhythms, and to the beach -- a ritual gathering spot in Rio. And there was the cast applauding an imaginary sunset, another ritual in this beach town.The show also saluted Brazilian swimmer Daniel Dias, the countrys most decorated Paralympian with 10 gold medals -- and surely more to come in Rio.Organizers say tickets sales have been booming. Only 200,000 were sold a few weeks ago, but theyve now sold 1.6 million. The goal is 2.4 million. This is partly a result of the reasonable prices for many tickets, only 10 Brazilian reals ($3).A notable absentee was International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach.The IOC chief said he had to miss the ceremony to attend a state mourning ceremony in Germany for Walter Scheel, the former West Germany president.Craven told reporters its the first time since Salt Lake City in 2002 that an IOC president had missed a Paralympic opening.Patrick Hickey, a high-ranking IOC member from Ireland, was among 10 people charged by Brazilian prosecutors on Tuesday with ticket scalping, conspiracy and ambush marketing related to last months Olympics.Police investigators said they wanted to speak with Bach about email exchanges he had with Hickey related to ticket allocations for Ireland. Police had planned to summon Bach if he came for the opening ceremony, though there is no evidence he knew about the ticket scam.Also missing were 267 Russian athletes who were banned because of alleged state-sponsored doping. Officials say 159 nations were entered on Wednesday, and in addition a refugee team.Rio 2016 organizing committee chairman Carlos Arthur Nuzman, Craven and -- loudest of all Brazil President Michel Temer -- were jeered. Nuzman and Craven when they thanked the Brazil government.Temer opened the games officially and, as he was in the Olympics when he was only the acting president, was jeered by fans chanting Fora Temer -- Out Temer.Temer took over as president after Dilma Rousseff was removed from office on impeachment charges a week ago by the federal senate.---Stephen Wade on Twitter: http://twitter.com/StephenWadeAP . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/stephen-wade Cheap NFL Jerseys Shop . MORITZ, Switzerland -- Fog prevented downhill racers from getting their Olympic dress rehearsal. Wholesale Jerseys From China .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. http://www.wholesalechinajerseys.net/ . -- Yogi Ferrell orchestrates pretty much everything in Indianas offence. Supply NFL Jerseys . "Hes going to have hip surgery on Jan. 7, and hell be expected to rehabilitate for four to six months beyond that," Canucks general manager Mike Gillis said Friday in an interview. Wholesale Jerseys Authenitc . - Connor McDavid scored 53 seconds into overtime as the Erie Otters came from behind to defeat the visiting Guelph Storm 4-3 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. LATROBE, Pa. -- A farewell to the King turned somber when Jack Nicklaus, his voice cracking as a large tear formed in his left eye, urged the elite and the everyman to remember how Arnold Palmer touched their lives and please dont forget why.I hurt like you hurt, Nicklaus said. You dont lose a friend of 60 years and dont feel an enormous loss.The service Tuesday at Saint Vincent College in Palmers hometown was filled with just as much laughter and warmth from stories of the most significant figure in modern golf. Nearly 1,000 golf dignitaries from around the world, referred to by former LPGA Commissioner Charlie Mechem as the elite battalion of Arnies Army, crammed into the basilica.Some 4,000 others headed to remote sites across the college to watch. Long lines of traffic formed two hours before the service began.Palmer died Sept. 25 in Pittsburgh at age 87 as he was preparing for heart surgery. His family had a private funeral Thursday and asked that a public service be held after the Ryder Cup so no one would be left out.We were looking down at the air strip and the fog just suddenly lifted, Ernie Els said after landing in one of several private jets that descended on Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Latrobe. This is a beautiful day. Weve all met different people in life. He was a man who didnt change. It didnt matter if you cut the grass or you were a president. He was the same with everybody. He was just ... he was the man.Palmer won 62 times on the PGA Tour, including seven major championships. He inspired the modern version of the Grand Slam by going over to the British Open and making it important in the eyes of Americans again. He was a captain twice in the Ryder Cup, and the gold trophy the Americans won Sunday at Hazeltine sat on a table for guests to see as they took their seats.But this service was more about the lives Palmer touched than the tournaments he won.In the large portrait at the front of the stage, Palmer wasnt holding a golf club or a trophy. It was just the King and that insouciant grin that made everyone feel like they were friends, even if they had never met.Have there been better golfers? Perhaps, but not many. Has anyone done more for the game? No one has come even close, former R&A chief Peter Dawson said. Is there a finer human being? I havent met one yet.Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III, Phil Mickelson and a few other members of the U.S. team were there. So was the generation before them, Tom Watson and Curtis Strange, Lee Trevino and Mark OMeara. Dozens of others were there, along with the heads of every major golf organization. All of them alternately smiled and wiped away the occasional tear.ddddddddddddPGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem said he had known Palmer since 1957 -- Finchem was 10 that year -- because when you saw him play, it was the same thing as meeting him. He said Palmer brought so many people to golf because of his attacking style, his television appeal and how he carried himself.He had this other thing, Finchem said. It was the incredible ability to make you feel good -- not just about him, but about yourself. I was amazed by how people reacted to him. He took energy from that and turned right around and gave it back.Mechem, the former LPGA commissioner who became one of Palmers closest advisers, set the tone for the service by asking the crowd to remember the image of Palmer walking up the 18th fairway, hitching up his pants and giving a thumbs-up. Still, a touch of sadness was inevitable.Theres an old saying that there are no irreplaceable people, Mechem said, his voice cracking toward the end of the ceremony. Whoever made that line didnt know Arnold Palmer. There will never be another.Among the more poignant tributes was Palmers grandson, Sam Saunders, who plays on the PGA Tour.There wasnt a big difference between the man you saw on TV and the man we knew at home, Saunders said.Saunders grew up calling him Dumpy because thats what his older sister said when trying to call him Grumpy. The name stuck. Thats how Saunders had Palmer listed in his phone, and he used that number more times than he could remember.The last call was a week ago Sunday at 4:10 p.m., shortly before Palmer died.He answered on the first ring. He was in the hospital preparing for surgery the next morning, Saunders said. He told me to take care of my babies, my entire family. I intend to do that and make him proud. I told him I loved him. He told me he loved me back. That was the last thing we said to each other, and I will cherish that the rest of my life. And Ill take the best piece of advice he gave me, to talk less and listen more.Palmers co-pilot, Pete Luster, flew Palmers plane over Saint Vincent College for nearly an hour before the service. The crowd gathered outside the basilica when it was over to watch Luster fly overhead and tip the wing.He made one more pass in the plane -- tail number N1AP -- and then soared upward until it disappeared behind a large, white cloud.Higher. Faster. Thats how Palmer used to fly, thats how he used to play. Thats how he lived.He was the king of our sport, Nicklaus said. And he always will be. ' ' '