Shaq is always good for entertainment. There is absolutely no disputing that. To further his case, he will begin filming on a new reality TV project titled “Shaq Vs.” this week. The show will feature Shaq challenging other elite athletes to competition in their respective sports.

Each episode is to include preliminary challenges, banter from news conferences, interaction with needy kids, and O’Neal and his rival negotiating a handicap. The laughs come from “trash talking,” but “when it comes to competing, there is no joking,” O’Neal says.

Athletes confirmed to tape episodes are Ben Roethlisberger (football), Oscar De La Hoya (boxing), Albert Pujols (baseball), Serena Williams (tennis), Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh (beach volleyball), and swimming’s own Michael Phelps.

I’m already laughing at the thought of seeing The Big Shaqtus in a LZR Racer! It will definitely bring the LOLZ!

The series debut airs August 18th at 9 PM (ET/PT) on ABC. I can’t wait!

Anyway, the love hasn’t really left, so it will be openly expressed right here on our Swim Aid shrine, just like it originally was, pre-domain.

I’m bringing it back with a congratulatory post. Michigan junior Chris Brady was recently named to the 2010 Order of Angell class.

Because I’m not that “in the know”, with regards to clubs and societies in the greater Michigan community, I’ll simply direct everyone to Wikipedia for further explanation.

Make no mistake. This is a big friggin’ deal!

Swim Aid favorite, PVK, is also a member of this select group of Michigan Men, as is one of my all-time favorite football players, Mike Hart.

At last month’s NCAA Championships in College Station, TX, Chris earned 4 All-America honors in the 400-yard medley relay (8th), 200-yard medley relay (7th), 100-yard butterfly (4th), and 400-yard freestyle relay (6th).

It’s only been a short while since we revived the Austin Staab Fan Club and here comes news that Austin has claimed the NCAA record — and his first individual title — in addition to bettering his own brand new American Record set at the recent Pac-10 Championships. The new record stands at 44.18.

It’s been an eventful month for Austin, and it’s nice to see him continue to excel! The Fan Club is impressed.

Thanks to my local newspaper, the Columbus Dispatch, I finally have learned that Austin was M.I.A. last Spring/Summer due to shoulder surgery. Yay for the internet research!

In the media section, we had some wonderful people around us (from Do Tell Productions). They had been following/promoting her for a while, and let us know that we should keep an eye on Lia because she was going to do big things!

ESPN just published a wonderful Q&A with Lia that we recommend everyone check out. (LINK) I don’t know about y’all, but I was nowhere near that level-headed when I was in the 8th grade!

It’s going to be a pleasure to watch Lia grow up and make waves in the sport. We’re still impressed and will routinely give Miss Lia shout-outs here on the Swim Aids website.

P.S. We took some pictures of Lia, at Trials, that would have been perfect to use in this story. But again, kiwi has all of them and won’t mail them to me

See, what had happened was…

#1. He completely fell off our radar last Spring/Summer after NCAAs. And, to our knowledge, did not compete at the Olympic Trials.

#2. Our West Coast Correspondent left the Bay Area, in favor of SoCal, and no longer can make a short 20 minute trip to Stanford to check in on young Austin.

I’m from his hometown, but it’s not like he competes for WAC anymore. So, our bad!

Anyway….this post is to congratulate Austin on that bad ass 100y Fly he swam Friday at the Pac-10 Championships. He turned in a 44.69 to establish not only a new Pac-10 and Stanford Record, but also American Record that previously belonged to teh Crockah. You may now refer to Sir Staab as ‘American Record Holder Austin Staab’. Bad. Ass.

It does have a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?

Not much news has been going on in the swimming world, as you may know. But we Swim Aids can still find stuff to blab about! It’s a gift.

Well, this isn’t a “swimming update” post per se. It’s more like a shout out. A shout out to the current reigning Miss South Dakota. “Why?” you ask. I give you three reasons:

• She’s an accomplished swimmer, holding numerous titles

• She goes to the same school I do, South Dakota State University (I was gonna say SDSU, but let’s not confuse my SD with Kiwi’s SD)

• And well, because we can!

Recently, Alexandra represented South Dakota in Las Vegas, placing in the top fifteen in the Miss America competition. She’s the first person in sixteen years to win Miss SDSU and Miss South Dakota! Girl’s breaking records in AND out of the pool.

So let me introduce you to Miss South Dakota, Alexandra Hoffman:

Height: 6’2
From: Eureka, South Dakota
Trains: During season, about 7,000-10,000 yards/day
Birth date: November 10, 1987
Club:  Eureka Area Swim Team
High School: Eureka High School
College: South Dakota State University
Platform: Don’t Risk It: Keep Sports Healthy

1. When did you start swimming?
I started swimming competitively when I was 6 years old, but have always loved the water since I was a baby.

2. Do you have any swimming rituals, like a certain meal that you eat before a meet?
The only ritual that I have is that I listen to my IPod before I swim. I don’t like to be distracted before I compete, so to help me focus I will usually listen to music & visualize my races.

3. What is your favorite thing about swimming?  Least favorite?
My favorite thing about swimming is that I can pretty much eat whatever I want during the season & never gain weight because we train so hard. I also love the fact that I am able to meet so many people through swimming. My two least favorite things about swimming are actually pretty funny – cold water & dry skin! =)

4. In your swimming career, is there a certain title you’re most proud of? Do you still hold any currently?
There are currently five titles I am very proud of. I hold five school records at South Dakota State University, which is a Division I University in Brookings, SD. I still hold a couple backstroke records from when I was 8 years old. That is pretty remarkable.

5. After college, do you plan to keep swimming at a competitive level?
I have two years left of eligibility at SDSU, & to be honest I don’t know right now what I will do after college. I will probably join a masters team & stay active in the water as much as I can.

6. What are your plans after college?
As of now, I am thinking about going to law school. I will make that decision very soon.

7. Has swimming influenced you with pageants?
And in contrast, has entering in pageants helped you in swimming? Swimming has definetely made me comfortable in my body. When you spend hours a day in a little bathing suit, you learn to become comfortable in your own skin. This has helped me immensely onstage in front of a live audience. In contrast, pageants has really helped me develop that inner ‘sense of self’. I have learned to always give 100% in anything that I am doing, pageants or swimming, and that way you can always look back & say you did your best.

8. You were featured in “Swimming World Magazine” about swimming while living in a rural town – what was that like for you?
Being able to represent swimmers in rural communities was quite an honor. I felt like I really got a chance to share my experience of growing up in a very small community on a small swim team & how the challenges we faced growing up shaped who we are today.

9. Through everything you’ve done, what have you learned about yourself?
I have learned that I am extremely competitive. I think that most of the time it is very healthy to be competitive because it always pushes me to perform at my best.

10. What’s a hobby outside the pool (and stage) you have that not many people are aware of, or something you want to learn or get into once you have more time?
I have always wanted to learn how to play the guitar. I love to sing & play the piano, but I would really love to learn how to play the guitar so I could write songs & perform them. Someday I will!

11. What advice do you have for kids either starting swimming lessons or entering a pageant?
Never give up. Life might sometimes throw you a curve-ball, but you  just have to keep swinging away. I also stress to enjoy what you are doing. If you are not enjoying every single minute of every day, then that is a minute wasted. Life is too short to not enjoy every second!

THIS OR THAT
Pepsi or Coke? Neither! I like Sierra Mist
Scary or Comedy? Definitely a comedy!
Night or Morning? If it isn’t too awful early, usually the morning.
Run or Walk? Run, a walk is too slow for me!
Chocolate or Vanilla? MMM….that’s a tough one. Probably vanilla
Cats or Dogs? I love them both. Dogs are usually more responsive & playful
Rain or Snow? Rain, rain, rain! I am so sick of snow!
Hamburgers or Hot dogs? Hamburger, preferably with Angus beef,tomato, lettuce, onion, & ketchup/mustard
Pen or Pencil? LOL, I would say a pen.

So, shout out to Alex! Way to be a role model in and out of the pool.

P.S. Does anyone else besides me feel so unaccomplished?

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!

Anyway, I was looking through some recent posts and came across this one from earlier today.

YBF gave props to Cullen and showed a pic of him at one of his Diversity Tour stops. And judging from the comments, there look to be some newly created CJ fans. Never a bad thing, huh?

The Today Show website put the spotlight on Cullen’s efforts to raise swimming awareness in the black community.

If you’re a long time reader of the Swim Aids, then you know I make my fair share of stereotypical jokes about black people swimming. I would like to say, again, that I can swim; I just don’t, unless I have to. Nawmean? However, I will continue to make jokes. It’s just too irresistable; the joke pool is so full!

The feature also calls attention to Cullen and Maritza Correia’s joint documentary (glad those two are back on, being one of our fave swim couples and all) about the trails black swimmers blaze on their way to the top of the sport.

All in all, nice read. Don’t take my word for it, though. Read for yourself.

My fellow Swim Aids informed me last week that Kaitlin Sandeno and Brendan Hansen were supposed to appear on the Today Show tomorrow (err, today), Tuesday’s show. No confirmation of that just yet, but that’s what led me to the Today Show website in the first place, where I was greeted with the CJ feature.

See, putzing around on the internet actually can be productive!

If Miss Kaitlin and B-Han really are on the show, video will be forthcoming.

Anyway, imagine my surprise when I was flipping through the June issue — with Mrs. Nick Cannon on the cover — and saw Cullen Jones. This was a very pleasnt surprise!

I sometimes forget that this is an Olympic year and I should expect to see more swimmers turn up in magazines. After seeing them get ignored most of the time, I’m not sure this will ever be something I get used to seeing. That won’t detract from the act of turning a page and grinning at the sight of a swimmer, though!

And because sharing is caring, I’ve scanned the 2 pages for y’all. You caught me in a good mood!

ETA: Visit Cullen’s official site, which I designed, at cullenjones.com.