Girlfriend spends Thanksgiving with fam
People Nov 28, 08 6:30 AM CST
(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 »
Olympic great admits
he battled nerves
before MTV awards
Baltimore Sun Sep 13, 08 5:01 PM CDT
(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 »
Foundation will promote water safety, healthy living
Today Show Sep 2, 08 2:03 PM CDT
(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 »
As starlet Lohan pesters for a date, swim star films HBO cameo, preps for MTV show
Associated Press Aug 29, 08 11:10 AM CDT
(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 »
Gold medal star makes comedy debut
as host next month
E! Online Aug 28, 08 6:41 AM CDT
(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 »
New York Post Aug 22, 08 11:15 AM CDT
(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 »
1972 Olympic champ stays gracious after record falls to Phelps
Wall Street Journal Aug 21, 08 7:37 AM CDT
(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 »
MarketWatch Aug 20, 08 8:49 PM CDT
(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 »
OLYMPICS
Sponsor Omega won't release images of
race No. 7 finish
New York Times Aug 20, 08 5:23 PM CDT
(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 »
Pop a Beijing no-show; Mike's also getting no love from Beard
New York Post Aug 20, 08 3:01 PM CDT
(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 »
ANALYSIS
Phelps' record-breaking swim is highlight of network's bonanza
Variety Aug 20, 08 2:02 PM CDT
(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 »
Swimmer mimics iconic shot of Olympian whose record he broke
New York Daily News Aug 19, 08 1:10 PM CDT
(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 »
Marketing the Olympic swimming star could bring $100M
Wall Street Journal Aug 18, 08 10:32 AM CDT
(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 »
OPINION
Swimmer inspired America to love the games again
ESPN Aug 18, 08 7:43 AM CDT
(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 »