ough stretches to provide key performances later on. Their will to win impressed forward Jared Sullinger when the Raptors cam

Less than 24 hours after the close of the Rio Olympics, Ryan Lochte took a major financial hit Monday for a drunken incident he initially tried to pass off as an armed robbery.In quick succession, four sponsors announced they were dumping the swimmer, who has since apologized and conceded that he embellished what happened during a now-infamous stop at a Rio gas station.Swimsuit company Speedo USA, clothing giant Ralph Lauren and skin-care firm Syneron-Candela issued statements less than three hours apart, all with the same message: Lochte is out. Before the day was done, Japanese mattress maker airweave followed suit, essentially wiping out Lochtes income away from the pool.In addition, Speedo USA said $50,000 that wouldve gone to the 12-time Olympic medalist was being donated to Save The Children to benefit needy youngsters in Brazil.While we have enjoyed a winning relationship with Ryan for over a decade and he has been an important member of the Speedo team, we cannot condone behavior that is counter to the values this brand has long stood for, the prominent swimsuit company said. We appreciate his many achievements and hope he moves forward and learns from this experience.Ralph Lauren, which provided the Polo-branded attire worn by the U.S. team at the opening and closing ceremonies, said it would not be renewing the contract that provided Lochte with financial support leading up to Rio. The statement from airweave said it had a similar arrangement with the swimmer. Both stressed they would continue their support of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic teams.Syneron-Candela offers a line of skin-treatment products that deal with issues such as wrinkle reduction.We hold our employees to high standards, and we expect the same of our business partners, the company said.Lochte issued a statement through his public relations firm thanking Speedo USA for its long support. He did not immediately address the other companies dropping their endorsements.I respect Speedos decision and am grateful for the opportunities that our partnership has afforded me over the years, Lochte said.Initially, Lochte said he and three teammates -- Jack Conger, Gunnar Bentz and Jimmy Feigen -- were robbed after their taxi was pulled over by armed men posing as police just hours after the swimming competition ended in Rio de Janeiro.That version quickly unraveled when police said the swimmers, who had attended a late-night party, never reported the incident to authorities and there was scant evidence of a robbery. Video surveillance emerged showing the athletes getting into a confrontation with armed security guards over alleged vandalism at the gas station when their taxi pulled over to let them use the restroom.While there have been conflicting versions over whether the guards pulled their weapons on the swimmers, Lochte has since acknowledged he was highly intoxicated and that his behavior led to the confrontation, which resulted in the swimmers paying some $50 in U.S. and Brazilian currency before they were allowed to leave. The incident caused a furor in Rio, where street crime was a major issue heading into the games.Paul Swangard, managing director of the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the University of Oregon, said he wasnt surprised by the decision since most of Lochtes marketing value was tied to campaigns prior to the Olympics.I would think it was an easy decision to cut ties now, Swangard said. For someone like Lochte, hes really destroyed almost all of his short-term marketability. Brands can easily seek out other athletes for the next Olympic cycle.The financial costs of losing Speedo and Ralph Lauren are likely to be only the first sanctions that await Lochte, whose antics tarnished a powerful showing by the American team and dominating news away from the stadiums and arenas in the final days of the Rio Games.Both the U.S. Olympic Committee and USA Swimming have indicated that Lochte will be punished, perhaps endangering the 32-year-olds hopes of competing in a fifth Olympics at Tokyo in 2020. He could also face criminal charges in Brazil, where the other swimmers were initially barred from leaving the country until they were interviewed by authorities.Feigen wound up donating just under $11,000 to a Brazilian nonprofit sports organization to settle any potential legal action. Bentz issued a statement saying Lochte tore a sign off a wall at the gas station and got into a heated exchange with the security officers, though Bentz denied the swimmers did any damage to a locked bathroom as authorities alleged.In the last of three interviews with NBC that included ever-changing accounts of the incident, Lochte apologized and acknowledged he over-exaggerated the story. He made a similar mea culpa to Brazils main broadcaster, Globo.Long one of the most popular U.S. athletes, the laid-back swimmer is known for his trademark saying Jeah! and such antics as wearing diamond grillz on the medal stand and dying his hair a silvery color before the Rio Games. Lochte also starred in a short-lived reality television show after the 2012 Olympics.For these games, he qualified in only one individual event, finishing fifth in the 200-meter individual medley, far behind longtime rival Michael Phelps. Lochte did help Phelps and the Americans win gold in the 4x200 freestyle relay.---AP business writers Mae Anderson and Candice Choi in New York and editor Amy Finkelstein in Chicago contributed to this report.---Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/paul-newberry .Custom Boston Red Sox Jerseys .C. -- When North Carolina freshman Ryan Switzer reported to training camp in August he was a little miffed to learn he was third on the depth chart at punt returner. Custom Belgium Soccer Jerseys . According to a report from the Winnipeg Free Press, the Bombers will name Acting GM Kyle Walters to the post full time. https://www.cheapcustomjerseysonline.com/custom-nigeria-soccer-jerseys/ . -- Yogi Ferrell orchestrates pretty much everything in Indianas offence. Custom Colorado Avalanche Jerseys . -- Sergey Tolchinksy scored his second goal of the game 3:56 into overtime as the Sault Ste. Custom Memphis Grizzlies Jerseys . Only three players drafted by NHL clubs were included on the Czech selection camp roster on Wednesday. Those players were Dallas Stars 2012 first-rounder Radek Faksa, Winnipeg Jets 2013 fourth-rounder Jan Kostalek and Phoenix Coyotes 2012 seventh-rounder Marek Langhamer.TORONTO -- With their run to Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals last spring, Raptors guards DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry received a detailed education in playoff basketball. En route to gold at the Summer Olympics in Rio, Torontos All-Star teammates got what coach Dwane Casey considers the best graduate course they could take.Now, as a new season approaches, DeRozan and Lowry hope theyll get a shot to finish at the top of the NBA heap and earn that coveted class ring.Me personally, I think its time, Lowry said as Toronto opened training camp Monday. I want a ring, I want to win a championship.Five years after going 22-60, the Raptors won a franchise-record 56 games last season and captured their third straight Atlantic Division title. They advanced in the playoffs for the first time since 2001 with a Game 7 victory over Indiana, then pushed past Miami in another Game 7 to reach the conference finals, winning Games 3 and 4 at home to even things up with eventual champion Cleveland.It taught us a lot about our basketball abilities, Lowry said of the deepest postseason run in Raptors history. It taught us the mental capacity we have to have, the physical strength and the body maintenance we have to have. It taught us a whole lot and it definitely prepared us for the upcoming season. Rio actually helped us even more. I know (DeMar) feels really good about his game and the level hes playing at, and I feel good about the level Im playing at.Its never being satisfied with `OK, we did this. Whats next? Weve got to find it. Weve got to figure out whats next and get to that next level.Besides his gold medal, DeRozan earned further riches with the five-year, $139 million deal he signed to stay in Toronto without testing the free-agent market. But all summer long, armed with his new understanding of the playoff blueprint, DeRozan burned to get back to work in Toronto.Ass crazy as it sounds, even during the Olympics as we were playing and practicing, at the same time I was working toward this season, understanding what I need to do to get better, DeRozan said.dddddddddddd. Working on my body, working on everything that needs to be done for me to be able to withstand another long season and get back to the point we were at. It was great having my teammate there at the same time and being able to talk about what we need to do to be better.Casey, who received a three-year, $18 million extension this offseason, continues to be impressed with the maturation of his two main stars.Theyre growing up, Casey said. Theyre men now. I can just see the confidence over the past few years, not just last year, of them establishing themselves as two of the top players in the league, establishing this team. No longer do they have to go out and prove that theyre two of the top players.Both Lowry and DeRozan struggled offensively at times during the playoffs, but each battled through tough stretches to provide key performances later on. Their will to win impressed forward Jared Sullinger when the Raptors came calling in free agency.These guys didnt care about stats, said Sullinger, who left Boston for a one-year deal with Toronto. What they cared about was winning and they found a way to win every freaking night. Thats what separates them from a lot of the teams that went out and tried to get me.Raptors president Masai Ujiri, who signed off on Torontos summer spending, considered it necessary after watching several conference rivals swap stars and restock rosters.The East got better, Ujiri said. People talk about the West and talk about the West. Well, the East is creeping up now. We recognize that its going to be harder. ' ' '