Phelps' Victory Dance: It's Evolutionary

A few celebs are also in his corner

(NEWSER) - Michael Phelps’ sponsors are supportive—so far—following his bong imbroglio, AP reports. Watchmaker Omega called the whole thing a “nonissue,” and Speedo reiterated that Phelps is a “valued member of the Speedo team.” Experts say Phelps better stick to the straight and narrow—he promised the pot incident wouldn’t happen again, but he said the same thing after a 2004 drunk-driving arrest. More»

Girlfriend spends Thanksgiving with fam

(NEWSER) - Olympic champion Michael Phelps brought his latest prize home: his girlfriend spent Thanksgiving with the family in Baltimore, People reports. The pair met in Vegas, where Phelps is practicing for the World Series of Poker and his gal pal works as a cocktail waitress. The Olympic sensation says the card game gives him an outlet for “some of my competitiveness," but he obviously has more than one focus in Sin City. More»

(NEWSER) - Sure, if Michael Phelps wins his eighth Olympic gold, as he’s expected to do in the men’s relay, all eyes will be on him. And we’ll wonder (even more) if he’s all human or part-fish. But the Olympics' "defining fabulous moment" has already passed, writes Thomas Boswell in the Washington Post. It zipped by when Phelps won his seventh race by the width of a hair. More»

Phelps, Bolt, Xiang take sport's center stage

(NEWSER) - Competing in 20 Olympic events and going for a record eight gold medals, American swimming phenom Michael Phelps is first off the block in the BBC's list of 10 to watch in Beijing. Here are some of the others:

• Natalie du Toit: This South African swimmer and Paralympic gold-medalist will make a splash as the first female amputee to compete at the Summer Games.

Galaxy of stars aims to seize golden opportunities in Beijing

(NEWSER) - With the Beijing Olympics right around the corner, Time lists the top 100 athletes to watch. A sampling of stars gunning for gold, from the court to the pool to the track:

• LeBron James, basketball: This determined athlete's golden guarantee is raising hopes for the US team, which has lost to the likes of Greece and Puerto Rico in recent years.
• Dara Torres, swimming: No swimmer has qualified a fifth Olympic run—until now. This American broke that record and may break other ones, even at age 41.