GLASGOW -- The Loch Ness Monster, tartan-clad bagpipers and giant pieces of shortbread took the place of footballers on the Celtic Park pitch as the Commonwealth Games began with a celebration of Scottish mythology and exports on Wednesday. Scotland is hosting the 20th edition of the games for former British colonies as its own future as part of Britain could be coming to an end. With an independence referendum coming on Sept. 18, the issue of Scotlands national identity is in sharp focus, and organizers made light of perceptions of the country with a self-deprecating start to the games opened by Queen Elizabeth II. There was singing on whiskey barrels, the giant rubber Loch Ness Monster and a giant haggis on the pitch during the rapid, often chaotic "Kingdom of the Scots" opening sequence. After rock star Rod Stewart performed at the home of his beloved football club, Scottish champion Celtic, there was a rendition of "Mull of Kintyre" from Susan Boyle, the church volunteer whose soaring voice turned her into an overnight reality TV star. But after the athletes from the 71 Commonwealth countries and territories completed their parade onto the pitch, the ceremony took on a sombre tone as the stadium fell silent to mark the Malaysian Airlines crash. Around a third of the 298 victims were from the Commonwealth. Malaysian athletes also donned black armbands to remember their 44 compatriots who died when the jet was shot down over Ukraine. The games was officially opened by the Queen after cycling great Chris Hoy, Britains most decorated Olympian, handed over the baton which has travelled throughout the Commonwealth since starting a relay at Buckingham Palace last year. The 88-year-old monarch showed her lighter side when Hoy and Prince Tunku Imran, president of the Commonwealth Games Federation, struggled to retrieve the message from the baton she left in it. When the note was finally recovered, the queen flashed a smile and held her arms out aloft before revealing its contents. The Queen, who is facing the breakup of Britain if Scots vote in favour of independence, reminded the Commonwealth of "our shared ideals and ambitions as a diverse, resourceful and cohesive family." "Together, you all play a part in strengthening our friendships in this modern and vibrant association of nations," she added. The ceremony used the power of the Commonwealth to appeal to the philanthropy of its members by promoting UNICEF inside the stadium and on the global TV feed. The childrens charity raised more than $4 million in donations through text messages within an hour from U.K. text messages alone. Canadas flag bearer Susan Nattrass, a seven-time world champion in trap shooting, waved the Maple Leaf as she marched, clad in a kilt, ahead of her teammates. The Canadians, wearing red and white jackets over red plaid pants, entered Celtic Park to Arcade Fires "Rebellion (Lies)" and a loud roar from the fans. Canada is fielding a team of 265 athletes -- its largest team for a non-home Commonwealth Games -- and it hopes to climb back onto the overall podium after finishing fourth at the Games four years ago in New Delhi, India. Chantal Petitclerc, former Paralympic star and Canadas chef de mission at the Games, was one of six athletes who carried in the Commonwealth Games flag. The others were Kenyan runner Kip Keino, Jamaican sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Scottish judoka Graeme Randall, Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe and Malaysian squash player Nicol David. Cheap Basketball College Jerseys . 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Wholesale NCAA Jerseys China . - Kyle Wood and Barclay Goodrow scored second period power-play goals to provide all of the scoring for the North Bay Battalion in a 2-0 victory over the Erie Otters in Ontario Hockey League action on Thursday.KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Bruce Chen put a stop to a bad string of starts for the Kansas City Royals. Chen picked up the Royals beleaguered rotation with seven solid innings, pitching Kansas City past the Detroit Tigers 5-2 Sunday. Chen (7-2), who moved into the rotation on July 12 after 19 relief appearances, limited the AL Central leaders to five hits and two runs. He earned the first victory for a Royals starter on their seven-game homestand. "I was pounding the strike zone, mixing in all my pitches, throwing different angles," Chen said. Eric Hosmer had three hits, including a three-run homer in the fifth inning. The Royals stayed close in the wild-card chase, taking the final two games of the series after losing 16-2 Friday. "After that game, it was a bad feeling," Hosmer said. "They just flat out beat us that day. Just to forget it as a team and bounce back like that shows a lot about the character on the team and pitching staff." The Kansas City starters had an 8.00 ERA in the first six games of the homestand, allowing 24 runs on 41 hits and 16 walks in 27 innings. The other four starters had a 9.43 ERA in that span and had failed to make it beyond 4 1-3 innings in four starts. Hosmer homered off Doug Fister after Alex Gordon and Emilio Bonifacio singled with two outs. Fister (12-8) allowed five runs on eight hits in 6 1-3 innings. Chen kept the Tigers hitters off-balance all afternoon. "We hit a lot of lazy fly balls," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "The credit goes to Chen. He changes speeds and got us out in front a lot. You know what youre going to get with him. He changed speeds and got us out in front and mixed his pitches. He was very effective." Greg Holland allowed Prince Fielders double with two out in the ninth, but collected his 40th save in 43 chances. Joakim Soria, Jeff Montgomery and Dan Quisenberry are the only other Royals relievers to earn 40 saves in a season. Jose Iglesias, who had not played since leaving the game Weddnesday with shin splints, homered in the third inning after Alex Avila had singled, giving the Tigers a 2-0 lead.dddddddddddd "Chen pitched how he always pitches," Avila said. "You can look back at any game hes pitched and its always the same. He mixes a lot of pitches, works in and out, changes speeds, and never gives in. "After he gets you out, you go back to the dugout saying, Man, how did I get out?" Iglesias hit his second home run since the Tigers acquired him in a July 30 trade with Boston. "After that pitch, Chen was locked in the entire day," Hosmer said. "We knew if could get a lead and hand it off to the bullpen, wed be in a good spot." The Royals got a run in the fourth when Billy Butler grounded a single. Jarrod Dyson led off the Royals seventh with a triple into the left-field corner and scored when Gordon dunked a fly ball into shallow right over a drawn-in Tigers infield for a single. Chen pitched out of trouble in the sixth. Austin Jackson led off with a double and Miguel Cabrera came up -- he had five career home runs off Chen in 36 at-bats. This time Cabrera hit a comebacker and Chen threw out Jackson at third. Chen fell behind 3-0 to Fielder, who then looked at the next three pitches -- all strikes. "It was a huge play with Miguel," Chen said. "We have a two-run lead and the first pitch, he hits a groundball to me." NOTES: Fielder played in his 486th consecutive game, the longest active streak in the majors. ... C Salvador Perez, who hit a two-run homer Saturday night, was not in the Royals lineup Sunday. Manager Ned Yost said he decided to rest Perez with temperatures reaching 100 degrees and the Royals in a stretch of 44 games in 44 days. ... Leyland said OF Nick Castellanos would start again Monday after making his first major league start Saturday. "Hes got a feel for hitting," Leyland said. "Hes a confident kid in the batters box. He looks natural in the batters box." ' ' '