"Busy man" reads my icon...

[3pronged_spear]

An old French say goes "no news is good news"...

Well, almost...

This is what I've just gacked off and copy pasted from Blog re Michael Phelps (菲比斯/ 菲尔普斯) http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/M-Phelps

"At that time I just assumed Michael Phelps would swim at the Austin Grand Prix, a 3-

Comments

[radrluv69]

To be fair (even though I'm a bit confuzzled myself), Phelps was never actually confirmed that he was going to swim in Austin, but that Bowman and Phelps were "pointing towards" the Grand Prix in Austin. As amkf had pointed out, he's been out of the pool so long that after a few weeks of training, he and Bowman would probably reassess if he was in shape to swim @ that point and make the determination from there.

Not that I don't understand your frustration, though. I've got my "WTF" face on as well. Makes you wonder if there's some kind of "tug-of-war" going on between Octagon & Bowman over Phelps's priorities. Maybe Carlisle needs a good smack in the head to make him remember that swimming was the reason his client became so bankable in the first place.

[sisterruth]

I understand what they're doing, though. This isn't a big deal. They're prioritizing at the moment. Phelps is most bankable in the 12 month period after the Olympics, so they're taking advantage of any opportunity that they can. World Champs isn't that important in the grand scheme of things. It's a barometer for how he'll do at the Olympics. Frankly, I think people are forgetting about how many Olympic athletes are completely skipping the Rome championships. Natalie Coughlin, Libby Trickett, Brendan Hanson, Ian Crocker, Kosuke Kitajima, just to name a few.

[3pronged_spear]

I really get your point, amkf. This shouldn't be a big deal. At all.
Actually I am glad Phelps is in the position of making bigger bucks than others in swimming. Seriously.

All I am having trouble with is the double language. And nothing is going to make me change my enduring gut feeling, I am afraid, something isn't completely right here.

You said it, many Olympic athletes are completely skipping Rome. And I think Michael should state it. Now.

[sisterruth]

I don't see any double language. He's starting to train again with the goal of going to Rome, and he's also doing business, just like they've said. I don't see anything wrong with evaluating his conditioning as they go along. Maybe he won't make the team, maybe he'll just swim on a relay, maybe he'll only swim a couple events. It's impossible for them to state unequivocally what he's going to do in July because people get into shape at different rates, and a marginally out of shape Michael Phelps still might be able to make the team.

[nancykerrigan]

Wow. Guess he might not make it after all. MP should really talk to his agent about rescheduling his public appearances if he cares about competing again anytime soon. I understand that now that he's uber famous everyone wants a piece of him, but this is getting insane.

[meganrenee323]

Whoa. Not gonna lie, I'm *really* disappointed. I understand why he's taking these speaking engagements, but I...I...dammit. I'm a little upset.

[sisterruth]

I'm sorry, but people need to take a chill pill. I don't understand why anyone's disappointed, upset, or furious.

[meganrenee323]

I just want the swimmer back. That's all. Call me selfish I don't care, but I'm ready for him to be back in the pool. I know, I know...he'll get there soon enough. Still, that doesn't change my gut reaction.

[sisterruth]

But he is back in the pool.

[meganrenee323]

I mean in a structured way. In a routine. He thrives on that and he hasn't had that in some time. I don't think I'd mind as much if he (or his people, whatever...) said that he wouldn't be back in Baltimore training. Yes, technically this is true and he is training, BUT there's an awful lot of distractions, ie: speaking engagements, that are detracting from that core structure and routine needed for training at an elite level.

[gumbypee]

hmmm interesting. I just hope we know for sure whether he will be in Austin or not. Not gonna lie, HE is the reason I would make the road trip to go to the swim meet. Now, if it was actually here in Houston, I would probably still go to see Lochte and some others but it has to be Phelps for me to do the road trip thing. :)

[3pronged_spear]

There are always "exceptional" exceptions, for sure, but when Phelspie says he's gonna go somewhere, he never pulls off... Right?

[sisterruth]

He never actually said that he'd go, though. Just that he and Bowman were "pointing towards" that meet.

[3pronged_spear]

yeah, i know... some are counting him, though, like gumbypee for instance and maybe the event organization, sponsors, media too...