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RIO DE JANEIRO -- On a corner outside the athletes village, a soldier carrying an automatic weapon tried his best to keep from smiling as he posed for a cameraman trying to put a face on security at the Olympics.All is not quite fun and games just yet in Rio, though beleaguered organizers are hoping that changes soon. Most competitions begin Saturday and, barring a potential disaster, the discussion may actually turn from the problems of Rio to sports from badminton to basketball in an extravaganza that only the worlds biggest sporting event can bring.It will happen in a city of astonishing beauty and incredible poverty. It will happen despite worries about everything from virus-carrying mosquitoes to gun-toting criminals.And it will happen with some athletes eyeing each other carefully, not knowing if the playing field is truly level.The Rio Olympics open with a lot more at stake than gold medals and national pride. Not since Los Angeles rescued the troubled movement with a stripped-down version of the games in 1984 has there been more trepidation about the future of the massive sporting event.Some issues, like the Zika mosquitoes, were out of the control of the International Olympic Committee. Others were things they simply failed to control, like the rampant dopers who have made a mockery of the Olympic movement itself.Bowing down to Vladimir Putin and allowing Russian athletes to remain in the games may have prevented a full-blown Cold War from breaking out among Olympic nations. But it also highlighted a schism between Olympic officials and those running the World Anti-Doping Agency, bringing into question their commitment to clean sport.It also exposed the IOC as a spineless organization more bent on self-preservation than on ensuring cheaters are not allowed in any Olympic sport.Disappointing, but hardly surprising.These are the same people, you might remember, who awarded the first Olympics in South America to Rio in 2009, buying without question the promise that in seven years Rio would somehow clean up waters long polluted by raw sewage and build mass transportation systems to whisk people around town.Instead, the citys highways are a logjam and on Saturday athletes will row their way through the slimy and dangerous waters of Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon, where hastily erected barricades and garbage collection boats will be on duty so that television viewers from around the world wont have to see just how filthy the water really is.Its enough to make some of the stuffed shirts at the IOC a bit unsettled.How worried should we be? Prince Albert of Monaco asked his fellow IOC members this week.Plenty worried, though about seven years too late. Every Olympics has its issues -- few thought Athens would ever be able to pull off the 2004 Games -- but there are so many facing Rio that there will be a collective sigh of relief if everything has gone off mostly as planned when the Olympics end in just over two weeks.Indeed, IOC President Thomas Bach envisions clear sailing for the Olympic movement if that happens.If this model stands such a stress test like it had to here in Brazil, then you can see that this model is more than robust, Bach said.NBC for one isnt worried. The Olympics have long been little more than a long-running prime-time summer TV show and the network that paid $1.2 billion for the games says it will make money on this edition.Rather than cutting into ad sales, the stories about crime, Zika and Brazils economic and political woes have actually increased them. And the backdrop for these games will be a directors dream, with stunning views from venues around the city, including beach volleyball on the famed Copacabana Beach.The billions in TV revenue have padded the IOC coffers and increased its appetite for adding sports to an already bloated program that for some incomprehensible reason now includes golf. The newest for Tokyo will be sport climbing, surfing and skateboarding, efforts to lure younger viewers into the games while traditional track and field and other sports are in decline.It may turn out that Bach is right. Barring a terrorist attack or mass illness of rowers and sailors, Rio -- for all its myriad of problems -- may be remembered as a success.Proof that no matter how incompetently theyre managed, the Olympics are simply too big to fail.----Tim Dahlberg is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. 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The Colorado Avalanche were rather quiet on the player front this offseason, but made major headlines with a late coaching change.Patrick Roys unexpected resignation in August forced the Avs into the kind of coaching search no team should ever desire -- the one that comes after most of the top names had been hired.But GM Joe Sakic took a gamble he believes will pay off in elevating unheralded Jared Bednar from the minors, where he led his teams to championships both in the AHL and ECHL.The most constant and stinging criticism of Roys coaching style was that the Avs bucked the trend of puck-possession systems that have garnered much success around the league, instead playing a counterattack game that was exciting at times, but also in the long run led to too much time without the puck. Bednar promises to address that this season and change the way the Avs play with the puck.Colorado was in the playoff race last season until fading late, losing eight of its last 10 games, missing the postseason for the second straight year after the surprising Central Division title win in 2013-14, Roys first season behind the bench.The Avs return with largely the same core of players. Theyve got high-end offensive talent led by Matt Duchene and Nathan MacKinnon, but have struggled mightily defensively. Theyve got to be better there.Best new facesThe Avs acquired defensemen Fedor Tyutin and Patrick Wiercioch to help bolster the blue line, also adding forwards Joe Colborne, Rocco Grimaldi and Ben Smith. Gabriel Bourque and Rene Bourque were signed to tryout contracts.The 6-foot-5, 202-pound Wiercioch gets a second lease on life in Colorado after wearing out the patience of the Ottawa Senators. He had promising moments during his first few years but frustrated the Sens with his lack of consistency. Does a fresh start in Colorado help the 26-year-old meet his potential?Colborne, also 26, put up career highs of 19 goals and 44 points last season. The 6-foot-5 center, however, was let go by the Calgary Flames, who had to preserve salary-cap space. Perhaps a sneaky signing here by the Avs.All in all, though, nothing earth-shattering as far as player additions.As far as a newcomer to the NHL lineup, however, exciting things are ahead from forward Mikko Rantanen, the 10th overall pick in the 2015 draft. He has the potential to get into the Calder Trophy conversation.The most important new face, though, is behind the bench in Bednar, who makes his NHL debut after cutting his teeth for years in the minors.Biggest uunknownsHow will Bednar fare? He wants to play a puck-pressure game and obviously tighten up defensively, all the things you want to hear if youre an Avs fan.dddddddddddd But how will the players respond to a largely unknown coach?Is Nikita Zadorov ready to make a step this season? That would be a boon to the blue-line if the 6-foot-5 Russian turned in an impact season. Hes got the talent to be a two-way guy, but needs to show more consistency.Which Semyon Varlamov shows up this season? The Russian goalie has regressed two straight years since putting up a career-best .927 save percentage in 2013-14 in helping lead the Avs to that Central title. He brilliantly masked a lot of Colorados defensive issues that season. But since then, that save percentage has dipped to .921 in 2014-15 and then just .914 last season (to go along with a 2.81 goals-against average). Now, Varlamov could certainly use better defensive play in front of him, no question. But its the chicken and the egg here. If hes better this season, everything else flows from there.His backup, Calvin Pickard, has potential to be a No. 1. So the Avs look pretty darn solid in goal if Varlamov bounces back.Sure thingsDuchene, MacKinnon and defenseman Tyson Barrie are the offensive dynamos, while captain Gabriel Landeskogs consistent two-way game forms the core of Colorados go-to arsenal. Landeskog and Swedish countryman Carl Soderberg formed a steady pairing up front last season.MacKinnon was outstanding in the World Cup of Hockey for Team North America, while Duchene shined in a Team Canada win over Team USA. Look for both offensive stars to carry that over into strong starts. It should be noted that Duchene played through a separated shoulder, which he suffered before the tournament officially started but he didnt miss a game and the worse of it is behind him, he said.PredictionI think the Avs will do a better job of protecting the puck with Bednar, but some of the same concerns remain on defense. How Varlamov bounces back will have a huge bearing on things. Theyre in a crazy division, where a team such as the Winnipeg Jets is going to be better while contenders the Dallas Stars, Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues and improved Nashville Predators arent going away. I just cant see Colorado being any better than those teams. They will be competitive but miss out by a few points. Seventh in the Central. ' ' '