The Olympic flame was jointly lit by four Canadian sports heroes - all-time hockey great Wayne Gretzky, skier Nancy Greene, speed skater Catriona Le May Doan and basketball All-Star Steve Nash after being carried into the arena by paralympian Rick Hansen.

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The All-Star center, who grew up and played high school basketball here, missed 12 of the final 15 games of the regular season.

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Only one part of the session gave the all-star pause: when Richardson asked him to spin a basketball on his finger long enough to capture on film.

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Besides the All-Star game, the city boasts two new baseball stadiums, a new basketball arena and a role in hosting next year's Super Bowl at the new MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

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The National Basketball Association stands apart from the pack with its annual All-Star Weekend, which tipped off last night in Houston, Texas and will continue through Sunday.

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Vinroot played basketball for revered University of North Carolina coach Dean Smith -- a gold star in a state where college basketball is on almost everyone's mind all year.

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An Olympiad? (Please don't say the Pro Bowl or the NHL All-Star Game.) Every spring someone trots out the claim that the flurry of buzzer beaters in the NCAA basketball tournament makes it the most riveting event in sports, and there's always the World Cup, but what's happening in tennis feels far more intimate, close up, personal.

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