RIO DE JANEIRO -- The Paralympic Games have hit the big time.Theres serious money for a few through performance and sponsorships, and wily ways to get an edge. There are also heated debates about the intricate classification system, levels of impairment and whether athletes are placed in the wrong classes.If the classification is too high, an athlete may not be able to compete fairly; too low and the athlete could gain an unfair advantage.And then, of course, theres doping.When something is competitive, there are revenues that are linked with that, Peter Van de Vliet, the medical and scientific director of the International Paralympic Committee, told The Associated Press. We have athletes with professional managers. We have athletes who make their living out of the sport. Going home with a medal can make a whole lot of difference in certain countries, in certain cultures.About 4,350 athletes are in Rios Paralympics, each with unique differences that have to be classified. Lines have to be drawn to group similar impairments, or impairments that yield similar results.Thats when the disputes begin.Tanni Grey-Thompson, an 11-time British Paralympic gold medalist, has been critical of incorrect classification with athletes trying to get an advantage by misrepresenting an impairment, which she has said amounts to cheating.An example is American swimmer Victoria Arlen, who won a gold medal and three silvers in the 2012 Paralympic Games in London. But the IPC disqualified her a year later, ruling her paralysis from the waist down was not permanent.Earlier year this she began to walk again without assistance.There are other ways of getting an edge:BOOSTING: This is a method for inducing autonomic dysreflexia , which boosts blood pressure and blood flow -- and hence performance. It is often used by athletes with upper spinal cord injuries. The IPC has outlawed the practice and monitors systolic blood pressure over 160.DOPING: Four athletes tested positive during the London Paralympics four years ago. The IPC said about two dozen more were detected in the days leading up to the games and were banned. The practice occurs mostly in powerlifting. The IPC is now storing samples for re-testing, following the lead of the IOC, and will do 1,500 blood and urine tests in Rio.INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY: In the most famous case, the 2000 Spanish basketball team was forced to return a gold medal when it was discovered that team members did not have intellectual disabilities.There are 10 impairment groups -- physical, visual and intellectual. But the 22 Paralympic sports adjust the groups to suit their sport, swelling the classifications to hundreds. Athletes complain theyre not always fair.Take the case of American Allison Jones, an eight-time Paralympic medalist in cycling and skiing. She was born without a right femur (leg), but competes in cycling against women with two legs, but who have neuromuscular diseases.Its hard for a lot of my family and friends to watch me compete against girls with two legs, she said. They dont get it. They dont see why thats fair. But the other girls have to have such neuromuscular issues -- lower body, upper body -- that puts them in my classification.She agrees there must be classes, but can dispute the logic or science behind it.At the end of the day youre stuck with whatever they classify you, she said. So at that point you either step up, or bow out.The Paralympics are more than a benign version of the Olympics. In fact, a few performances are better than the Olympics.The top four finishers in the mens 1,500 on Sunday -- in the T13 class for visually impaired -- all had better times than the Olympic champion in Rio, American Matthew Centrowitz. Abdellatif Baka of Algeria won in 3 minutes, 48.28 seconds. Centrowitz ran 3:50.00 in an admittedly slow, tactical race.German amputee long-jumper Marcus Rehm, who jumps with a carbon fiber blade, holds the Paralympic world record of 8.40 meters. This is better than the winning Olympic jump of American Jeff Henderson, at 8.38.Van de Vliet, the IPC medical director, said the largest classification disputes involve athletes with loss of function -- spinal cord injuries, spina bifida and cerebral palsy -- rather than physical impairment like missing limbs of physical deformities.No matter where a classification line is drawn, athletes nearest the top border are likely to benefit most. Teams are even known to recruit athletes in that range, and often younger athletes.If you walk in and youre missing your leg, youre missing your leg, Van de Vliet said. People tend to question this way less than one who comes in and has a problem with coordination impairment, like cerebral palsy.Television is starting to drive the coverage and revenue.British broadcaster Channel 4 is telecasting non-stop daily live coverage. Dan Brooke, the head of marketing, declined to say how much the network paid for the rights, but called it a successful commercial operation. We make money out of it.Brooke expected ratings to fall in Rio compared to the 2012 London Games, but he got a surprise.Weve been amazed to find the audiences for young people are up very slightly vs. London, he said.Gareth A. Davies, who covers the sport for Britains Daily Telegraph and Channel 4, said big money is changing the landscape with countries like China, Britain and Ukraine pouring more resources into training.Brazilian swimmer Daniel Dias has 11 sponsorships, and that could increase as he adds to the 10 gold medals he won in the last two Paralympics. Bladerunner Marlou van Rhijn has become a marketing giant in the Netherlands, the way Oscar Pistorius was in South Africa.The big sports manufacturers want to associate themselves with these stories, Davies told AP. They are about the triumph of the human spirit. So there is marketability here. Not for all of them, but for a clutch of them.Davies said the classification system is basically fair.Youll never get away from these competitive athletes trying to get an advantage to be at the top of their classification, or get into the classification below themselves, he said. There are advantages that able-bodied athletes have, too, in certain events, and there are advantages that disabled people have in certain events.---Stephen Wade on Twitter: http://twitter.com/StephenWadeAP . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/stephen-wadeWholesale NBA Jerseys Authentic . -- Mike Smith never saw his first NHL goal go in. NBA Jerseys China . 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Wholesale NBA Jerseys Free Shipping . -- Anaheim Ducks captain and leading scorer Ryan Getzlaf has been scratched from Sunday nights game against the Vancouver Canucks because of an upper-body injury.WILMINGTON, N.C. -- Chris Clemmings scored 17 points, Devontae Cacoc added 15 points and nine rebounds, and UNC Wilmington had its second best shooting performance in a 100-64 blowout win over Radford on Saturday.Cacoks 7-for-7 performance, combined with an 8-for-8 mark in a 96-75 win over Campbell on Wednesday, gives him a school-record 15 consecutive field goals over the last two games.Ambrose Mosley, who made three 3s and finished with 11 points, turned a steal into a fast-break layup to give UNC Wilmington an 11-2 lead just over two minuutes into the game, and the Seahawks extended their lead to 29-9 midway through the half.dddddddddddd Mosley and company forced 15 first-half turnovers and scored 34 points off turnovers for the game.The Seahawks (10-1) shot 67 percent from the field en route to their seventh straight win and fourth overall scoring at least 100 points.Ed Polite Jr. had 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting and 13 boards for Radford (4-6). 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