Bong Owner Tried to Get $100K on eBay

(NEWSER) - In his first post-bong-photo interview, Michael Phelps says he has a sure-fire way to stay out of trouble—get back to the "normal routine" of the swimming pool. In the interview—it airs tomorrow on NBC's Today show, notes Entertainment Tonight—Matt Lauer asks Phelps if he's worried the bong photo would supplant his image as a champion. "I have no control over that," says Phelps. The only thing he can control is getting back to the pool, "where my home is," and where "I know I can't do anything wrong." More»

Swimmer hides from cameras, tints windows

(NEWSER) - It’s understandable that Michael Phelps is a little camera-shy after the fallout from his bong portrait. But he’s started “hiding out at strip clubs” to avoid having his picture taken, the New York Post reports. The Olympic champ has also tinted the windows of his Baltimore home in a bid for privacy from the paparazzi. More»

SC sheriff probed swimmer's marijuana use but found no evidence, he says

(NEWSER) - South Carolina officials won't charge Michael Phelps for smoking that bong after all, The State reports. Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said today he'd investigated Phelps' marijuana use at a November party, but came up short on evidence—even though Phelps had admitted to doing it. Legal analysts said Phelps would walk because he wasn't caught in the act and no witnesses had emerged. More»

Man who used to live in pot party house hit with possession

(AP) - Police in the county where Michael Phelps was photographed smoking a bong have been arresting people as they seek to make a case against the swimmer, a South Carolina defense lawyer says. The attorney said he has a client who was questioned about the now-infamous party Phelps attended near the University of South Carolina in November—and charged with possession of marijuana. More»

Many people could have taken bong photo

(NEWSER) - Plenty of people partied with Michael Phelps in South Carolina around the time he smoked marijuana, but the abundance of witnesses doesn't mean we'll ever know who took the picture that got the Olympian into trouble. Some fellow partiers saw iPhones out, but no one's even sure which night the photo is from, the State reports in reconstructing the events. More»