It seems that the only times TMZ picks up and posts stories about swimmers not named Phelps is when a lawsuit is involved.

The last time I recall was the Penta Water issue, which also involved Mr. Aaron Peirsol.

This time around, a ‘marketing company’ has been using Aaron’s image, without permission. Big no, no. He appears in swimwear ads that have run in popular swim mags such as Swimming World and USMS.

Aaron doesn’t like when shady people seek to profit from his image. It makes him sad. We can show you what his face would look like in such a situation:

Classic, right? This picture will forever be in the Swim Aids Hall of Fame.

We’d like to send a special lil’ shout out to the Swim Aids visitor with the coolest name in the world. Don’t even front like you don’t know who I’m talking about.

Facebook stalked Spindrift Beck for me and informed me that she has committed to the Texas Longhorns.

So, on behalf of all the Swim Aids, I’d like to extend another “Congrats!”

Suddenly I wish I was on 6th St. with those awesome people who do double dutch without the jump rope. Don’t try to understand that comment. There were only a couple of Swim Aids with me when that happened, and, to be perfectly honest, the rest of that night is blurry. But this is part of the reason why we like meets that take place in Austin so much!

P.S. I totally would have used one of the pictures from Trials that I’m pretty sure one of us took, but kiwi has ALLLLLL of the pictures still. So no can do!

We all know Erika has a thing for guys who rock the “retro” swim caps. So now we share with you this delightful picture of Ian Crocker from the Encore Swim meet in Austin.

So Erika, now that Crocker has thrown his cap into the ring, so to speak, does that mean he is now your new #1?

Inquiring minds would like to know.

Because I rarely pay attention to splits of relay teams I’m not directly covering for Swim Stars or MGoSwim, I completely missed the newest World Record-setting swim that took place at the All-American Long Course Champs in Austin last night.

Because of that omission, I’m going to give this swim chick her due right now. Miss Hayley McGregory swam the lead-off leg of Longhorn Aquatics’ women’s 200 Medley Relay last night and her 50 back split established a new World Record! She also became the 2nd American woman to break a minute in the 100 Back. She joins some elite company; with the event’s World Record-holder. Get it, girl!

Nearly a year ago it was Leilz Vaziri who shocked the world with her own 50 back World Record.

The US backstroking swim chicks are making a loud statement! Trials is gonna be bananas y’all!

So, congrats to Hayley and keep up the awesome work!

O/T: IIRC, Jenny is in Austin right now. I’m guessing she saw this awesome race and will be able to share more!

ETA: Watch Hayley’s WR swim, courtesy of the embattled FloSwimming, here.

Looks like the Associated Press made a little error. Normally, a small mistake is easily correted, but not when you have a wire set up and your error is spread out to hundreds of other media outlets. That turns it into a HUGE one!

Anyway, in a recent article on Worlds, AP attributed a quote Brendan Hansen made last week to Ian Crocker.

Oopsie!

Wouldn’t it be funny if Ian were the breaststroker and Brendan the flyer? Sometimes when I’m bored I think about things like this. Sorry for the randomness

As I told y’all last week, the Ian song is online and ready to be downloaded!

Oylmpian Ian Crocker speaks with ex British international swimmer James Hickman to share some insight into life both in and out of the water. He also treats fans to a special musical performance, picking up his guitar to play a favorite jazz piece. Ian also talks about his life in Austin and other hobbies.

www.speedo.com/podcasts and via iTunes

EDIT: Speedo is going to send me the full audio of just Ian’s performance!

Yes, I said performance. And no, I do not mean in the pool.

Next week, we are all going to be treated to a live performance (vocals and guitar) from Mr. Ian Crocker and I’m told everyone involved is really excited to share it with us as it will blow us away!

I don’t know about y’all, but I can’t wait!