Sure looks like it! But at least she didn’t have to cover herself with a tent…

One’s wedding day is so special and memorable. Well, it’s supposed to be. I wouldn’t know, because honestly, I’m on track to be that “old lady with the cats”.

Anyway, the lovely Natalie Coughlin married her longtime boyfriend, Ethan, on Saturday in NorCal. Leading up to the big day, she shared tidbits from her planning of the wedding on her Twitter account. So cute!

Pictures from her special day have made their way onto the internet. They came from Flynet Pictures, a notorious paparazzi agency. I don’t claim to know more about Natalie than anyone else, but I don’t think I’d be going out on a “limb” to say that I’m pretty sure she did not invite or hire Flynet as her wedding photography company. Just a WILD guess!

Anyway, no clue how she feels about the apparent invasion of privacy, because she’s off on her honeymoon. And I’m sure I’m not helping matters eithers, but isn’t that what non-serious bloggers do? If you’re curious about the location, scenery, and wedding itself, you should click right here.

What can I say, I’m just as nosy as the rest of you!

Congrats to the newlyweds!

It’s no secret that my love for all things Michigan swimming took a hit when RegFly stole my mgoswim.com domain away from me. Don’t you worry, though. Every night, I bust out my RegFly voo-doo doll. They’ll get theirs!

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 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.

(This post is like two months in the making…thanks crappy SD State internet!)

Not gonna lie, Ryk Neethling’s book is pretty much the shit.  It’s in my top 5 of athlete books – and that’s quite the list, mind you.  It’s really opened my eyes to what swimmers have to go through to get their justice.  And it really showed me how good US swimmers have it!  But I think the number one reason I love this book is from what the previous owner left for me:

Awesome, no?

Whenever someone here brings up Phelps, my response is, and like any Swim Aid, “uh!” and an eye roll.  Then I get the obligatory response: “Why are you judging him?  You don’t know him!”  Oh how wrong you are!

So I would just like to thank the previous owner of Chasing the Dream for backing the Swim Aids. You, whomever and where ever you may be, you have a place here with us!

Seriously, I laughed so hard water  came out of my nose!  And that hasn’t happened since the fourth grade when my friend Sarah “accidentally” tripped one of our teachers.

P.S. Sorry for the not so great picture quality – my camera doesn’t like to read!