导出博客文章RIO DE JANEIRO -- To hear Ryan Lochte tell the story, at least the first time, he unflinchingly stared down the barrel of a gun during a holdup while his teammates cowered on the ground.
Custom NBA Shirts Outlet . By the time he was done with the retelling, the fake cops and the gun pointed at his head were gone, and the scene of the crime was a gas station instead of a taxi.Now that hes safely back in the United States, shopping and no doubt working on a third version of the story while the teammates he left behind are facing Rio officials wrath, he sounds a lot more stupid than brave.Lochte has 12 medals, but barely an ounce of sense. Its no coincidence his short-lived stab at reality TV was canceled after just eight episodes.Anyone who watched even a few minutes of What Would Ryan Lochte Do ...? on the E! network would have answered the question posed in the title with one or more of their own:Besides swim? Ummm, nothing?It was a series of ever-taller tales, after all, that turned a disagreement over a dented door at a gas station into an international incident.And its far from over.At a news conference Thursday afternoon, Civil Police Chief Fernando Veloso said there was no robbery nor were the swimmers victims of the crimes they claimed. ... It would be noble and worthy of them to apologize. TMZ live-streamed the event.For all that, the gold-medal for overkill by a responsible official had already been awarded.It went to International Olympic Committee spokesman Mario Andrada, who appeared at the organizations daily press briefing and delivered a pitiful, rambling leniency plea for Lyin Ryan.They are magnificent athletes. Lochte is one of the best swimmers of all time, Andrada said. They had fun, they made a mistake, its part of life, life goes on, lets go.All this amounts to little more than peering down the rabbit hole and normally, wed be inclined to take Andradas advice and let it go.No one was seriously hurt, even if two security guards at the gas station briefly flashed guns at Lochte and his bros, B-team swimmers Jack Conger, Gunnar Bentz and James Feigen, at the end of a night out partying. And if the reports are correct, whether the $53 the trio handed over was to repair the door or simply a shakedown, its hardly enough to justify all the hubbub.But heres whats seriously wrong with the whole thing: Lochte is supposed to be the adult in the group.Hes 32, a three-time Olympian and a veteran of the party circuit (remember reports of him swigging $800-bottle vodka during the 2012 London Games). On the other hand, Bentz is 20, Conger, 21, and Feigen, 26. Theyre here to swim a leg for the relays in preliminary races so stars like Lochte can seal the deal when medals are on the line.Of course, theyre going to follow Lochtes lead. And his idea of leadership, after a self-serving first version about him being the only one to resist the fake cops, is to bolt Brazil and go shopping for a new wallet back home, leaving his mates behind to bear the brunt of officials wrath.After a judge ordered all four of the swimmers passports confiscated, Conger and Bentz were pulled off a plane. Feigen, who is still in Rio, promised to cooperate with authorities.The swimmers could still be charged with filing a false police report as well as face punishment from USA Swimming. A violation of the teams code of conduct can draw penalties ranging from probation and a fine to suspension and expulsion.No doubt a suspension or expulsion would get Lochtes attention, since the moment Michael Phelps announced his own retirement, Lochte raced to the first open microphone he could find and announced he was staying. Some surprise.Think back to in 2013, when some TV executive was so mesmerized by Lochtes smile and his custom-made American flag dental grill that he green-lighted a show. As part of a promotional tour, he turned up on Good Day Philadelphia and stumbled so badly in a light-hearted interview that one of the hosts wound up the segment by saying, How are they going to put together 13 weeks of programming?The answer: They couldnt.Swimming might be the only thing Lochte can do well, maybe because its the only thing he can do well with his mouth shut.---Jim Litke is the national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jlitke(at)ap.org or
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Cheap Custom NBA Shirts China. "It was tough to get a feel for the breaking ball, Cole said when asked about the effect of extra rest. "I threw some good one but there were others where I wasnt totally committed to trusting it would break." Having more days off is something Ive got to attack, though. Its going to happen again. Its something Im going to have to get used to." Starling Marte and Andrew McCutchen had two hits each for Pittsburgh. Brandon McCarthy (2-7) lost his fourth straight decision, giving up four runs and seven hits in 5 2-3 innings with three walks and five strikeouts. "The whole thing felt like I was in a fight," McCarthy said. "I was able to command my sinker, but that was about it. My cutter was as bad as I can remember it in a long time." Martin Prado had two of Arizonas five hits. Pittsburgh broke a 2-all tie and moved in front for good with a two-run fifth. Marte doubled with one out and scored on Neil Walkers double. McCutchen then singled in Walker to make it 4-2. Pedro Alvarezs two-run single put the Pirates ahead 2-0 in the third. The hit scored Walker, who had walked, and McCutchen, who had doubled. Arizona answered with two runs in the fourth. Cole walked Paul Goldschmidt and Aaron Hill with one out, and they scored on singles by Prado and A.J. Pollock. After winning three straight games against Baltimore in their final at-bat, the Diamondbacks didnt have the same magic as Jeanmar Gomez and Mark Melancon combined for three scoreless innings of relief. "Cole threw the ball good, moved the ball in and out very good, had good velocity, the ball was moving," Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson. NOTES: RHP Trevor Cahill (3-10, 4.66 ERA) is expected to be activated from the disabled list and start Saturdays game against Pittsburgh LHP Jeff Locke (9-3, 2.43). Cahill has been out since July 1 with a bruised right hip. ... Diamondbacks SS Didi Gregorius did not start after going 8 for 47 (.170) in his previous 14 games. Cliff Pennington took his place. ... Pittsburgh signed RHP Kyle Farnsworth to a minor league contract as a free agent and assigned him to Triple-A Indianapolis. The 15-year veteran was released Aug. 9 by Tampa Bay. ' ' '
