USA Swimming Suspends Phelps For 3 Months - Sports News Story - WTAE Pittsburgh

USA Swimming Suspends Phelps For 3 Months - Sports News Story - WTAE Pittsburgh 'There are a lot of people who have been in my shoes in other sports … and that's been a lot of help the last couple of days,' he said.

Still think it would have been great to have Santonio and Michael together in the parade on Tuesday. I would have pulled my kids out of school for that.

USA Swimming Suspends Phelps For 3 Months - Sports News Story - WTAE Pittsburgh ... the picture of the ... incident was taken during a November house party while Phelps was visiting the University of South Carolina.

Humm. I remember a November incident when at the University of South Carolina with swimmers that I was involved in. I was very happy that photos were not being taken. True story.

We swam a meet against the Gamecocks on our way to our Florida training trip. This was just before, on or after Thanksgiving. We departed our campus, Athens, Ohio -- home to the Ohio University Men's Swim Team -- in our custom green bus, the Magic Bus. The bus could sleep 24 or so in bunks. It had three types of heat, a head, roof rack, tow hitch and lots of comforts of home without any of the privacy.

Our incident didn't include any drugs nor alcohol. No way. We were not that dumb, even in the age before cameras in cell phones. I'm talking 1980 or 81, I think. Our team never had any brushes with drugs nor booze, if you don't count that time at Bush Gardens. But, that was nothing.

We all stayed in the bus, by design, over-night. The bus was parked next to the pool, plugged into the electricity via an extension from the building. The bus was our hotel while on the road. The Gamecock Natatorium was, for some, our hot tub, complete with jumps off the 10-meter tower. The campus was closed. No need for clothes. Cell phones weren't invented, thank goodness.

I stayed dry, and warm. Bundled even. No trouble came.

Moral of the story: Be on your best behavior in November in South Carolina. For some reason, that's a place where swimmers have been known to take a dip on the wild side.

From the CollegeSwimming message boards:

I thought Michael Phelps had the opportunity to bring swimming to another level, but it would appear that he is more interested in having fun with his fame rather than giving back. I don't have a problem with him wanting to do that, but wouldn't it be nice to try and grow the sport as one of the great athletes of all time.

Time will tell.