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December 1, 2008 11:06:22 AM CST


Michael Phelps

Michael Phelps news stories

1 - 20 of 39 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

 Phelps' Gal Pal Meets Mom 

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 »

More about:  2008 Beijing Olympics Las Vegas Michael Phelps swimming Thanksgiving Olympics US Olympic athletes poker World Series of Poker

Phelps Jittery Over SNL Appearance

Olympic great admits
he battled nerves
before MTV awards

(Newser) - Winning gold medals was easy, but appearing on Saturday Night Live? “Oh gosh, this is going to be tough,” Michael Phelps told Jay Leno this week. Phelps is enjoying a burst of post-Olympic celebrity, the Baltimore Sun reports, but public speaking is a new sport for the 23-year-old. Phelps says he battled a major bout of nerves before the MTV video music awards, but he’s calmer about appearing on SNL tonight. More »

More about:  Saturday Night Live Jay Leno Michael Phelps swimming

 Phelps Gives 
 $1M to Young Swimmers 

Foundation will promote water safety, healthy living

(Newser) - Michael Phelps says he'll use the $1 million bonus from his sponsor Speedo for tying Mark Spitz's seven gold medals to encourage youth swimmers and water safety. The 23-year-old is starting a foundation "to really help to grow the sport," Phelps told the Today Show. The first initiative will be an eight-city tour to teach children about healthy living beyond swimming and personal responsibility. More »

More about:  Michael Phelps swimming Speedo

 Phelps' Agenda: VMAs, 
 Entourage ... LiLo? 

As starlet Lohan pesters for a date, swim star films HBO cameo, preps for MTV show

(Newser) - Michael Phelps is getting more Hollywood by the day, AP reports: The swimming star yesterday filmed a cameo spot for the show-biz-centric HBO series Entourage , and will be a presenter at MTV’s Video Music Awards on Sept. 7 (six days before he hosts Saturday Night Live ). And, the Daily Mirror adds, starlet Lindsay Lohan has been calling and texting the Olympian with requests for a date. More »

More about:  Los Angeles Lindsay Lohan MTV Michael Phelps HBO Entourage

 Phelps
 to Kick Off
 SNL
Opener

Gold medal star makes comedy debut
as host next month

(Newser) - Super swimmer Michael Phelps will be trying his hand at making comedy gold as host of the season premier of Saturday Night Live , E! Online reports. The 23-year-old Olympic champ will be making his acting debut when the program's 34th season kicks off September 13. The swimmer will be joined by musical guest Lil' Wayne. More »

More about:  television 2008 Beijing Olympics comedy Saturday Night Live Michael Phelps USA Swimming Olympians gold medalist

(Newser) - Michael Phelps hasn't exactly rested since his eighth medal triumph Saturday night: The swimming sensation not only signed a $1-million deal to pen a behind-the-scenes book on his training regimen and bought a $1.7 million Baltimore condo, he was caught in a steamy make-out session with Australian swimmer Stephanie Rice, reports the New York Post . More »

More about:  celebrity 2008 Beijing Olympics book real estate Michael Phelps

 Spitz Starts Life
 as Second-Greatest

1972 Olympic champ stays gracious after record falls to Phelps

(Newser) - Outspoken and prickly in the best of times, Mark Spitz is slowly adjusting to being the second -greatest Olympian of all time, the Wall Street Journal reports. Mustering a little grace for the occasion, Spitz says he's relieved at the downgrade. "He's got the burden of inspiring the youth as they go forward," Spitz says. "That is a relief." More »

More about:  2008 Beijing Olympics swimming Michael Phelps world record USA Swimming Olympians Mark Spitz

(Newser) - Michael Phelps’ eight Olympic golds may be priceless, but they're not worth that much to a commodities trader, MarketWatch notes. This year's gold medals are made mostly of silver and coated with less than a quarter-ounce of gold, putting their value around $215. But people are, of course, willing to shell out much more for a piece of Olympic history. More »

More about:  2008 Beijing Olympics Michael Phelps gold medal metal prices commodity prices silver

OLYMPICS

Phelps' Ties
to Timekeeper Raise Doubts

Sponsor Omega won't release images of
race No. 7 finish

(Newser) - Michael Phelps' razor-thin victory in his seventh race is raising sticky ethical questions because the Olympics' official timekeeper is also one of Phelps' sponsors, the New York Times reports. Making matters worse, the timekeeper, Omega, and swimming's governing body won't break with protocol and release underwater images of the finish. They insist there's "absolutely no doubt" Phelps won and note that Serbia dropped its protest after seeing the images. More »

More about:  2008 Beijing Olympics Michael Phelps gold medal USA Swimming gold medalist

Phelps' Bond With Dad
Hardly Golden

Pop a Beijing no-show; Mike's also getting no love from Beard

(Newser) - Michael Phelps’ estranged dad, who’s had a peripheral role in the swimming sensation’s life since divorcing his mom when the boy was 9, has not contacted his son once during the Olympics, Fred Phelps tells the New York Post . "He's so busy, I'm sure not even his agent can get a hold of him," says Fred, who says he's watched his son "every night on TV." More »

More about:  celebrity 2008 Beijing Olympics Michael Phelps Fred Phelps Amanda Beard

ANALYSIS

 NBC's
 Olympic
 Ratings:
 Gold

Phelps' record-breaking swim is highlight of network's bonanza

(Newser) - NBC’s Olympic coverage smashed the competition last week, in what Variety suggests could be the most decisive rout in television history. Viewership was buoyed by Michael Phelps’ record-breaking gold-medal performance Saturday; in addition, NBC’s various networks reached a staggering 83% of the US. The margins were the biggest in Nielsen ratings history. More »

More about:  2008 Beijing Olympics NBC Michael Phelps demographics TV ratings Nielsen Ratings viewership

Phelps Pulls a Spitz on Sports Illustrated Cover

Swimmer mimics iconic shot of Olympian whose record he broke

(Newser) - Michael Phelps now has "the picture" to match his record Olympic medal haul, the New York Daily News reports. Sports Illustrated features a grinning, medal-clad, bare-chested Phelps on the cover of its issue out tomorrow, a shot that mimics the mag's iconic 1972 photo of Mark Spitz. "This is about Michael going forward," said an editor. "This is an image that our readers and others will remember." More »

More about:  2008 Beijing Olympics Michael Phelps world record Mark Spitz Sports Illustrated

Phelps' Quest for the Gold Is
Just Beginning

Marketing the Olympic swimming star could bring $100M

(Newser) - Even before Michael Phelps dove into the pool in pursuit of his eighth gold medal, another epic task had begun: Turning the swimming star into a marketing icon . By the time he’d collected his final piece of gold—along with a $1 million bonus from Speedo—the 23-year-old was well on his way to an Olympic-sized payday, reports the Wall Street Journal . More »

More about:  2008 Beijing Olympics endorsement Michael Phelps gold medal Nike Speedo

OPINION

 How Phelps Saved the Games

Swimmer inspired America to love the games again

(Newser) - If the Chinese invented organized sports 6,000 years ago, writes Pat Forde on ESPN.com, then how appropriate that Michael Phelps came to Beijing to prove he was “the apotheosis of the athlete.” And America knows it. In a year when the Olympics had become “passe,” tens of millions of enthusiastic Americans rooted for Phelps in a way not seen since the Miracle on Ice. He “single-handedly saved the Olympics,” Forde writes. More »

More about:  2008 Beijing Olympics Michael Phelps swimming gold medal world record USA Swimming Mark Spitz