RIO DE JANEIRO -- Men and women in skimpy swimsuits frolicked in the surf, sprawled out on towels or kicked around a soccer ball at Copacabana Beach. Others cooled themselves under an umbrella at one of the many open-air kiosks serving food, beer and the local sugar cane cocktail, caipirinha.Inside the Olympic beach volleyball venue, the atmosphere was only slightly less festive.With a DJ spinning a samba beat and thousands cheering on their hometown teams, the Olympics sexiest sport returned to its spiritual home on Saturday for an opening session that brought out the best the beach has to offer.Defending champion Kerri Walsh Jennings and her new partner, April Ross, easily won their opening match with a 21-14, 21-13 victory over Australia that began at 12:34 a.m. and took just 35 minutes. Fellow Americans Casey Patterson and Jake Gibb also won their opener, beating Qatar 21-16, 21-16 on a day U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry visited the venue (as did Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi).Fans sang, waved their flags and cheered on their teams for the four matches on a sun-baked morning at the temporary stadium erected on this citys signature strip of sand. (Two more were to follow in the afternoon and evening.) Players kicked up sand as they dived for the ball, celebrated points with hugs and high-fives, and invariably saluted the crowd when walking off at after their matches.I love South American fans, and I love how the people love sports, said Argentinas Georgiana Klug, who lost her opener with Ana Gallay, falling to Spain in straight sets. All the singing, dancing -- it makes me feel like home.Beach volleyball joined the Olympic program at Atlanta in 1996, but for most Summer Games the venue has been built in a park (or parking lot), with thousands of tons of sand trucked in to create the playing surface. For the first time since Sydney in 2000, the sport is returning to an actual beach.And theres none more fitting.With the party ready to start both in and outside the arena, Italian Adrian Carambula got things started with his trademark Skyball, a high and spinning serve that wanders into the path of the sunshine and wind and confounds attempts at a return. Although he typically uses it sparingly, Carambula said he was egged on by his friends to start things off with a little flair.They said they wouldnt talk to me if I didnt, he said in a post-match interview that was twice interrupted because the prime minister asked him to come over and pose for a picture.My legs were shaking before the first serve, said Carambula, who with Alex Ranghieri beat Clemens Doppler and Alexander Horst 21-14, 21-13. When I walked in I actually got a little bit emotional. I wasnt expecting it, but I embraced it and I played with it. So very special.The biggest crowd -- and the most vocal support -- was for Brazils reigning world champions Alison and Bruno, who beat Canada in a straight-set but razor-thin 21-19, 22-20 victory. In the morning sessions other match, Austria beat Costa Rica in straight sets.In the afternoon, Brazils Agatha and Barbara needed three sets to get past the Czech Republic; the Dutch men beat Russia in straight sets and the women did the same to Venezuela.In the early part of the night session, the Spanish men beat Austria and Poland beat Germany. China held off Switzerland in a match that had to resume after a challenge on match point was reversed.---Jimmy Golen has covered Olympic beach volleyball since 2008. Follow him at http://www.twitter.com/jgolen Swell Bottle Wood Cheap . Two pressure cooker bombs exploded near the finish line of the April 15 race in an area packed with fans cheering the passing runners. Three people were killed and more than 260 injured, including at least 16 who lost limbs. Swell Water Bottle Wholesale . Two pressure cooker bombs exploded near the finish line of the April 15 race in an area packed with fans cheering the passing runners. Three people were killed and more than 260 injured, including at least 16 who lost limbs. http://www.swellwaterbottlesale.com/Swell-Traveler-Bottle-Sale/ . How great will be revealed in the next couple of days at the board of governors meeting in Pebble Beach, Calif. sWell Traveler Bottle Sale 17 . The parade and rally were held to celebrate the Saskatchewan Roughriders 45-23 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Sunday in the CFLs championship game. Swell Bottles Wholesale .1 million pounds ($61.2 million) on Saturday, giving the beleaguered English Premier League champions a major lift. HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- El campeon!Daniel Suarez won the Xfinity Series season finale and title at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday, becoming the first foreign champion in a NASCAR national series.The 24-year-old Mexican bested fellow championship contenders Elliott Sadler, Justin Allgaier and Erik Jones on a botched restart with three laps to go.Its very hard to put into words, Suarez said. Im speechless right now. Im just very proud of everyone and thankful to have the family that I have, my mom, my dad. They gave me all the tools to be here right now. They put me in a car even when we didnt have the support or the racing background. They supported me, and right now we are just living a dream.Suarez thanked fans and his native country in Spanish in victory lane. His win was the first of the weekend for Joe Gibbs Racing, which has two drivers -- Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards -- vying for the Sprint Cup championship Sunday.For us, after two years, to be where we are tonight is amazing, car owner Joe Gibbs said. This is going to be a big deal for our sport. Its huge.It was just Suarezs third career victory, but the most important for obvious reasons.Sadler, who gambled by taking two tires on the final pit stop, finished third in the race and second in the standings. The former Cup driver and sentimental favorite remained without a championship at any national level in a career spanning more than two decades.This is by far the hardest because I feel like this is the best team Ive probably ever worked with, said Sadler, who drove with an interim crew chief because his usual one was suspended. We felt like we could come in here and compete, and we made a great pit call there at the end to get some clean air.Sadler asked Whitt to give him the top lane on the restart, but Whitt declined.Allgaier finished sixth, and Jones ninth. Both got stuck behind leader Cole Whitt on the final restart, and when Whitt spun his worn-outt tires, Allgaier and Jones fell way behind Suarez.dddddddddddd.Its really frustrating, Jones said. I dont mean to bag on the guy so much, but its like, `Hey, were up here racing for the championship. And maybe we dont even win it if he pits and lets us move up, but at least we would have had a fair shot at it. I feel like we kind of got robbed of at least our chance to race for it. Yeah, its just unfortunate. It just wasnt a great situation altogether.The chaos definitely benefited Suarez, who passed Sadler low and pulled away from the field. He led 133 of the 200 laps in the race.Last years top rookie in the second-tier series, Suarez began racing karts in Mexico and moved to North Carolina as a teenager to pursue a career at NASCARs national level. He had to teach himself English by watching cartoons on American television and moved through NASCARs Drive for Diversity program to land a job with JGR.Suarez is the first D4D driver to win a championship.Suarez has soared in his second season with Gibbs and benefited when teammate Jones, the pre-Chase favorite to win the title. As Jones struggled down the stretch, Suarez upped his performance. He won at Dover to move through the Round of 12 and was runner-up at Kentucky and third at Charlotte. Then, Suarez registered finishes of third (Kansas), fifth (Texas) and fifth (Phoenix) to set up his championship-clinching victory at Homestead.This will surely make him an even bigger star back home. On a return trip to Mexico with NASCAR officials last month, he was celebrated like he was Dale Earnhardt Jr.For Gibbs, it is his second driver championship in the Xfinity Series but first since Kyle Busch won in 2009.The Gibbs organization also celebrated its fifth owners championship in the Xfinity Series.---More AP auto racing: www.racing.ap.org ' ' '