Michael Phelps and a bong? Is there any truth to this?

I only have one question - Was the weed any good? :confused: Considering the fallout, I'm pretty sure it was a harsh toke. I've been impressed by how many masters swimmers are recovering alcoholics, or admit to partying hard in their younger, wilder days, even while swimming at a pretty high level (not a pun, really). Many I've met have swapped the partying addiction for swimming, and appear to pursue it with the same fervor previously reserved for getting high. I'm wondering if swimming in particular attracts addictive personalities. All I know about Mike is that he got a DUII a while back, appears to know his way around a bong, and in the possibly apocryphal legend, swam every day for years to become the fastest swimmer in the world. It wouldn't surprise me that he has an addictive personality. Which is a long way of saying he might someday make a fine masters swimmer. Al Gore was supposedly a complete stoner in college, although somehow I doubt he'd be much of a swimmer. As an aside, was it George Carlin who said he'd never heard of a guy getting really stoned and starting a bar fight? I might use Mike's strokes as an example for my two kids to try and emulate. I might use the fact that he stands up and admits when he messes up -- twice now -- to try and instill in my youngsters the importance of accepting responsibility for their actions. I remember feeling the same way when Brian Griese, who was at the time the Denver Broncos QB, took his lumps for a DUII. But role model? I don't know enough about him, except that he's the fastest swimmer ever. And that's not enough for me, and if I have anything to say about it (realize that I may not, at least when they get a little older), for my kids. Did he get a good education at Ann Arbor, which is a fine school? What are his long-term plans post swimming? Is he a decent, kind, thoughtful, well-rounded, intelligent citizen of the world? Choosing role models blindly, or based on performance in one, limited arena, is both short-sighted and a virtual guarantee of disappointment down the road. Charles Barkley had it right. Choosing role models on strength of character and intellect gives at least even odds of lasting positive impact.

I only have one question - Was the weed any good? :confused: Considering the fallout, I'm pretty sure it was a harsh toke. I've been impressed by how many masters swimmers are recovering alcoholics, or admit to partying hard in their younger, wilder days, even while swimming at a pretty high level (not a pun, really). Many I've met have swapped the partying addiction for swimming, and appear to pursue it with the same fervor previously reserved for getting high. I'm wondering if swimming in particular attracts addictive personalities. All I know about Mike is that he got a DUII a while back, appears to know his way around a bong, and in the possibly apocryphal legend, swam every day for years to become the fastest swimmer in the world. It wouldn't surprise me that he has an addictive personality. Which is a long way of saying he might someday make a fine masters swimmer. Al Gore was supposedly a complete stoner in college, although somehow I doubt he'd be much of a swimmer. As an aside, was it George Carlin who said he'd never heard of a guy getting really stoned and starting a bar fight? I might use Mike's strokes as an example for my two kids to try and emulate. I might use the fact that he stands up and admits when he messes up -- twice now -- to try and instill in my youngsters the importance of accepting responsibility for their actions. I remember feeling the same way when Brian Griese, who was at the time the Denver Broncos QB, took his lumps for a DUII. But role model? I don't know enough about him, except that he's the fastest swimmer ever. And that's not enough for me, and if I have anything to say about it (realize that I may not, at least when they get a little older), for my kids. Did he get a good education at Ann Arbor, which is a fine school? What are his long-term plans post swimming? Is he a decent, kind, thoughtful, well-rounded, intelligent citizen of the world? Choosing role models blindly, or based on performance in one, limited arena, is both short-sighted and a virtual guarantee of disappointment down the road. Charles Barkley had it right. Choosing role models on strength of character and intellect gives at least even odds of lasting positive impact.