(Vasquez/Getty)

I read a piece, by the Wall Street Journal, last week with regards to all the dough Missy is turning down in order to live her dream of competing in NCAA swimming.

Her club coach, Todd Schmitz, was quoted as saying “She’s a better person than I am”, and he couldn’t have said it any better! If I was 16, and looking at $100K+ in cash from something I happened to do really well, I’m not sure I’d have been able to turn it down.

But, her dream to have a collegiate swimming career is great; not just for her (because striving for your dreams, no matter what, is awesome!), but also for the sport! I know I’m not the only one to hold this opinion, but it sure it great to see! NCAA swimming will definitely benefit because of her decision and I can’t wait to see where she goes, and how she does! One thing’s certain, though. She’ll love every minute of it!

P.S. Is anyone else as excited as I am that she’s booked a Vogue photoshoot? Can’t. Wait.

Tyler Perry is paying for 65 children from a Philadelphia day camp to go to Walt Disney World after reading about allegations that a suburban swim club had shunned them because of racism.

The black and Hispanic children who attend the day camp run by Creative Steps Inc. cheered Monday when they learned about the actor’s gift.

Creative Steps director Alethea Wright says she’s thrilled about the offer, especially because Perry “comes from humble beginnings” like the children in her camp.

I don’t give a damn what the Valley Club says the reason is for their actions and contradictory statements. First, it was “There was concern that a lot of kids would change the complexion … and the atmosphere of the club” and later — after public outrage — it became “a safety issue”. They tried to get the campers to come back, but they respectfully declined. The situation just makes me SMH. Karma is a mofo, so what goes around, comes around.

The 70s called.

They want their porn stache back. So, if you could go ahead and get that to them, that would be grrrrreat. Thanks.

<< This has been another Swim Aids Public Service Announcement >>

P.S. Bonus keepin’ it real points to whomever can name the movie I referenced in this post!

So, consider this post an “acknowledgment”. We don’t aim to pile on. Nothing productive will come of that.

I figured watching my usual ESPN shows today would be a little different. I was right.

First Take was the first thing I saw, upon my first visit of the day to ESPN.com.

My other usual TV viewing included Jim Rome Is Burning, Around The Horn, PTI, and celebrity entertainment shows like Extra and Access Hollywood. My brother even told me that Jay Leno made the topic part of his opening monologue.

It was interesting to see how different media outlets saw the situation and what they thought would happen. I got the impression that the celeb news magazines/shows didn’t think the situation was a big deal. The ESPN personalities and shows, which cover sports 24/7, thought it was a much bigger deal that should have far-reaching consequences. It’ll probably be somewhere in the middle, but I guess we’ll see.

Speedo and Omega will continue to support MP. Wonder who else will or won’t. Is ‘Sponsor Watch 2009′ on? Don’t ask me how I come up with these titles. And yes, I realize that I watch too much TV.

However this situation comes out, don’t expect us to put much emphasis on it on Swim Aids. We’re a goofy lot, and this was a major buzzkill to the Swim Aid mojo; which we’ve been trying to revive lately.

P.S. 10 Cool points to whomever can point out the Family Guy reference I used in this post.

Here’s the Jason Lezak video from his interview on the Ellen Degeneres Show back in September. I just know I capped it, but I can’t find it for the life of me! But, in my defense, I have over 300 GB of captured video from my TV card, so things sometimes get lost. It just sucks that it was Jason’s interview because he almost never gets tv airtime.

I’d apologize for the quality, but #1, it’s not my video (I found it on YouTube) and #2, any video is better than none, right? So enjoy!

I’ll have you all know that I do still have the Tara “What Not To Wear” video, and I know where it is! It’ll just take a little more effort to cut out the commercials because I have the attention span of a flea.

Now what was I saying again?

Do you also remember that I promised a video? I just remembered myself!

So, I’m scouring my hard drive looking for it. I capped it with my trusty Win TV PVR (Basically, it’s TIVO for a computer), so it’s around here somewhere. I think I owe y’all a video of Lezak on Ellen’s show as well. Right?

I’ll get on that ASAP! Not like I’m doing anything lately except figuring out how to run outdoors without ever being cold.

BTW, I really hope no one’s been emailing us via the contact form. You’d be better served making a comment on a post or something. I suck at life and have not even logged in there since BEFORE Trials. So yea. Any lack of a reply isn’t me being a douchebag, just really really really really lazy. My bad!

You know good and well that our Olympic Trials should be in March or April and not July. In fact, all of the team trials for internation competitions should be months in advance, not weeks. Think about the selection meets for the 2007 World Champs, Pan Ams, and WUGs. Those were done properly.

You really ought to work on this. Do the right thing and tell NBC to kiss your ass while you’re at it.

Keepin’ it real in the swimming blogosphere,

The Swim Aids

But what we do know is that NIKE hasn’t created a suit in line with TYR’s Tracer Rise or Speedo’s LZR Racer and it looks like they are openly acknowledging that fact. I will say that I was feelin’ their suits with the white band from a purely visual standpoint. That black/white combo is hot to me, just ask any of the Swim Aids!

An Associated Press piece announced that the 7 signed athletes will be allowed to compete with the Speedo suit at the upcoming Olympic Trials in 2 weeks. NIKE’s spokesman Derek Kent said the movie gives the swimmers the chance to “experiment with other products, satisfy their curiosity and compete without distractions”.

We’d been hearing that some of Team Nike has already been rockin’ the Speedo, with logo blacked out, so this doesn’t really come as that much of a surprise. (Forgot where I read that, though)

I’m just glad there will be no additional drama for Trials. These athletes don’t need to be worrying about things like that when there’s so much on the line. Kudos to Nike for doing the right thing.

Celebrity Circus” is an exciting new series that immerses today’s top stars in the breathtaking world of the circus and cirque. Antonio Sabato Jr., Blu Cantrell, Christopher Knight, Janet Evans, Jason “Wee Man” Acuna, Rachel Hunter and Stacey Dash will attempt death-defying stunts in a head-to-head competition in front of a live studio audience. Each week viewers at home will cast their votes for the best acts and determine which of the celebrities is going home. Hosted by former *NSYNC member and Emmy Red Carpet host Joey Fatone, “Celebrity Circus” brings the incredible world of the Big Top into America’s living rooms, beginning with a special 90 minute premiere on Wednesday, June 11 at 9:30 P.M. ET.

Check out a preview below: