Where was ASCA and USA Swimming? Mike Saltzstein reports a swim coach with a 11-eleven last names, 3-birth dates and a felony conviction!

[February 27th: Edited to make the rhetoric less shrill.]

USA Swimming's safe sport policies failed to find this guy, or they were not applied correctly but former Vice President of USA Swimming did find out about James Pantera's multiple identities because Pantera was operating in his neighborhood. Thanks to Mike's vigilance in this matter.

The American Swimming Coaches Association (ASCA) policies are non-existant in this subject... There is no policy to screen coaches and protect kids from criminals via background checks or whatnot.  CEO, John Leonard, even bragged about that situation in a deposition as if it were a "get of a lawsuit free card." He was quoted as saying that ASCA is not a youth organization despite that ASCA certifies and trains coaches who work in and around children.

Factually speaking, USA Swimming should be embarrassed and they should declare loudly as they can what steps will be implemented to correct this miss. This loophope was not caught by the consultants USA Swimming hired but rather it was caught by Mike Saltzstein. Perhaps they should bring him in as a consultant to review policies and see what he can suggest?

As for ASCA, they are bad joke in regards to screening those they take money from. There is a Roman saying, Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? It translates to "Who watches the watchmen?" In this case USA Swimming was under-advised and ASCA who has no background check policy whatsoever was busy collecting money.

This is not a loop hole or a crack in the floor that this person with multiple identities slipped through. It was a "5-lane freeway" and he drove through right into a coaching job without proper screening. Subsequently, Mike Saltzstein should be thanked for his expertise and insight.

This "guy's" rap sheet; or whatever name he is using today, is so scary that in one state alone he was arrested for a firearms violation, has a fraud conviction, a passport fraud conviction, busted for stealing, busted for forgery, blah blah blah!

As for USA Swimming, Mike Saltzstein belongs back at USA Swimming. He is a proven asset inside and outside the oranization and he has been an authority on this subject for 13-years. The consultants they hired missed this "five lane freeway"  but a former insider caught it.

Deep Sea Creatures - Nature's Microworlds - Episode 11 Preview - BBC Four

Imagine a place so dark that it only receives 1% of the light that we see on the surface.  A place where the creatures have transparent bodies so predators can't see easily see them in night or day. A locale where a particular species of jellyfish dance around with tails that are 40-meters long.

The BBC has a documentary about them.

Found here: [Link]

ABC News: Rick Curl admitted to one count of child sex abuse and faces up to 15 years in prison when he's sentenced on May 23, 2013

Rick Curl is the little man in the center of the photo and what little of a man he is.

Rick Curl just had his head placed on the "pike" planted squarely in the foyer of USA Swimming headquarters. Placed there as a reminder that sex abuse of an athlete will have either immediate or eventual consequences.

Those responsible for implementing this success are as follows: the victim, Kelly Currin who had the courage to come forward despite the onus of a potential lawsuit. Her attorney, Robert Allard, who worked pro bono and finally, Susan Woesner, who carried this to fruition via the police and the banned list.

From ABC NEWS: 

Rick Curl, 63, from Washington, D.C.'s Virginia suburbs, admitted to one count of child sex abuse and faces up to 15 years in prison when he's sentenced on May 23. He will also be required to register as a sex offender. 

 [Link]

Memo to Rick Curl: The craven sexual abuse you perpetrated on a 14-year-old swimmer named Kelly Currin will live long after you have passed. Today's admission of the abuse you wrought upon that little girl will be your historical epitaph.

What do people in Harlem feel about white swimmers doing the "Harlem Shake?"

The most obvious aspect of the "Harlem Shake" videos was lost on me since I was wrapped up in the Lowenthal drowning. The Harlem Shake videos are are mocking a culture and more likely an ethnic group.

"That's not the Harlem Shake, That's not the Harlem Shake at all. That's humping and that's not the Harlem Shake, it ain't no Harlem..." 

"I feel like they are trying to disrespect us...." 

"It's making us look bad, it's an absolute mockery of what it was..."
"Yeah, it looks like they are making fun of it..." 

"An injustice..." 

"They are basically taking what we do, our dances, and making a joke of it..."
"Nobody in Harlem would do that..." 

"Do you know the history of Harlem?..."

WKBW: High School Swimmer Helps Saves Teammate's Life During Practice

Supervision and teammate observation is everything! The swimmer who was rescued was an experienced swimmer. That is something to keep in mind during your next workout.

USA Swimming INC - Catholicism INC: Both need a new "Pope"

Bill Keller  from the New York Times wrote an amusing Op Ed comparing the leadership position of the Pope to the leadership position of a Fortune 500 CEO.

Keller quotes business consultants and others who offered suggestions as to how the church can restore the credibility or the "Catholic brand." 

It's my opinion that the suggestions contained in Keller's Op Ed would work wonderfully for USA Swimming thereby restoring credibility and trust. Some execs have got to go, some board members have to resign. 

From the New York Times: 

"... The business world has much to teach [The Catholic Church] about surviving scandal. Michael Useem, director of the Center for Leadership and Change Management at the Wharton School, told me the church might learn from the way Warren Buffett cleaned up Salomon Brothers after a bond-trading scandal and Ed Breen revived Tyco International after its chief executive went to prison for theft. 

The remedies were bold and effective. First, a purge of those responsible for the abuses and the cover-up. (“Managing out,” as it is called in the corporate vernacular, has been a major weakness in the church, so it was heartening to hear the Vatican spokesman say that Benedict’s retirement could “open the door for a potential wave of resignations.”) Second, unstinting disclosure to investigators, waiving any privileges. Third, appointment of a compliance officer with impeccable credentials, ethical tenacity and conspicuous support at the top. At Tyco, the new leadership went on a high-profile road show of the company’s outposts to drive home the reforms.

 [Link]

Ocean Ramsey free diving and hitching a ride on a great white shark

Ocean Ramsey dives and rides like a boss with a great white shark. Thank you Go-Pro for making the cameras that you make. You have taken us places we can only dream of.

From CBS News: 

If you're in need of a little serenity as you start the work week after the holiday weekend, then have I got just the thing for you. Watch as a freediver swims alongside of a Great White Shark in the video above. Because nothing says serenity like swimming with a shark. 

[Link]

Underwater "Harlem Shake" videos! - Really? Really?

In light of the Louis Lowenthal drowning, I am surprised that the owners, coaches and administrators of the pools used in the underwater versions of these videos allowed these stunts to take place let alone appear on YouTube.

The autopsy report on North Baltimore Aquatic Club swimmer Louis Lowenthal has been released!

[EDITED: I wrote the original letter in one sitting. I have edited some of the poor grammar and typos.]

I was sent the autopsy report by Irv Muchnick and this is an edited excerpt of my email back to him - Warning the description of the cause of death is very macabre - this was a very painful passing as are all drownings or near drownings and this description is graphic:

"... Good God!

Here is my interpretation: The most important aspect of this autopsy report is that there was no heart defect nor circulation problems. This boy was fit and the specialist doing the autopsy was impressed with his state of health. Louis stood at nearly 6-feet-tall, was 14-year-old, and weighed 157-pounds. As you predicted he was healthy.

When Louis went into oxygen debt his brain began to bleed in the most most critical part of the organ, the ventricle area where the brain creates and circulates Cerebral Spinal Fluid. (CSF). The purpose of CSF is to cradle our brain, help circulate blood, and provide immunological protection.  This fluid circulates up and down the spine and flushes itself out about four-times-a-day. The portion of the brain that creates this fluid is called the Choroid Plexus region. (Choroid is Greek for the "membrane that encloses the fetus" - Plexus means network) This area of the brain creates massive amounts CSF so it is always fresh, clean, and pure .

As I suspected from the summary you mentioned on the phone on Tuesday, brain bleeding within the core of the brain led to immediate Hydrocephalus (brain swelling - water on the brain). The pathway the CSF circulates through from brain to spine is called the "Sylvius Aquaduct" and the report says it was "obliterated." That is a strong sentence! His third ventricle was elongated meaning that severe blood clots were jamming the pathway for Cerebral Spinal Fluid (CSF) to circulate.  This caused the Hydrocephalus to expand the ventricle and cause the subsequent obliteration of the Sylvius Aquaduct . When a blockage occurs it like a fire hydrant going off in a weather balloon but the fluid can only stretch the balloon so far before destruction or "obliteration." Thus when the blockage occurs the ventricles dilated and his brain got squished.

His tonsils were bleeding perhaps due to being on the ventilator or having the ventilator tube shoved down his throat to keep him alive. Autolysis was occurring meaning the brain cells were pretty much digesting themselves or committing suicide en masse.  As a result his frontal cortex, that portion where our "selves or souls" may reside pretty much died screaming!

Drowning is not a "peaceful" way to pass.  I hope he was so utterly unconscious that he had no physical feeling whatsoever as to what was going on for this was a cruel death. Herniated tonsils, ventricle bleeding, sinus thrombosis meaning swelling and blood. OH MY GOD!

I am told that Meadowbrook only had one lifeguard on duty that day despite a slew of kids swimming. Louis was one of those healthy kids who needed supervision and the Meadowbrook pool and the coaches at North Baltimore Aquatic Club  failed him.

If NBAC shows up to the pool and there are not enough lifeguards there for the amount of swimmers they bring then it is incumbent on NBAC to demand lifeguards be present, provide them, or cancel the workout.


Tony ..."

For more details follow Irv Muchnick's coverage of the autopsy report:  [Link]

Personal experience: Swimming in a hot pool drops more pounds but be careful!

A few months ago I broke my nose... Well, actually somebody broke it for me. One week after that I had to have it broken again to set it back in place. The bad news was I was out of the water for 7-weeks total and during at time I was told not to raise my blood pressure with sports or physical activity.

When my 7-week sentence was up I got the flu and was now out of water for another 5-weeks. This had been the longest period of time I had been out of the water last in 7-years. During this period I gained 12-pounds or a pound-a-week because I was medicating myself with hot chocolates, chocolate croissants, and lots of drawing.

Now I am healthy and back in the water again but I can't believe how out of shape I am. It amazes me how one can swim for 7-years regularly and then lose it all within weeks. I have been doing SCAQ  workouts about twice-a-week so far; (three this week), but in between SCAQ workouts I have been swimming on my own at L.A. Fitness.

The pools at L.A. Fitness are extraordinarily warm, low to middle 80s. Swimming 200s demands longer breaks to recover and swimming only a 1,000 meters feels like your have swam a metric mile. I also find that I am losing more weight with back-to-back "hot tub" swimming than I am swimming twice the yardage in a cooler pool. I am losing 1-to-2-pounds a week.

The upside to this is that when I get inside an 80-degree-pool, the first 1,500-yards is quite doable at a reasonable interval as well. After that I am suffering and paying close attention to my heart rate.

Pope Benedict XVI to resign! - Why is this swimming related?

If you noticed I have been somewhat impressed by USA Swimming's response to child abuse reports but why is this blog post regarding Pope Benedict XVI swimming related?

Short answer:  Because the "national governing body" for the Catholic church, known as the papacy, is making management changes so as to reboot and allow the "cement to dry" in regards to the sexual abuse reforms that the church has implemented.

In modern times Catholic Popes' have chosen to remain in office till death do they part so as to resonate their pro-life position and demonstrate that it is God's will as to when they are "retired."  It has been that way for about 600-years.

Pope Benedict XVI was deemed Pope for the Catholic Church in 2005 after the passing of Pope John Paul the II. Soon thereafter Pope Benedict was engulfed in a sea of sex abuse scandals which he reacted by enacting reforms and making easier to defrock priests [1]

However, parishioners in several cities such as Los Angeles are still enraged because new details have come to light. Details that illustrate cover-ups and misdirection by Cardinals and their underlings which have caused untold hurt and suffering. Though the Catholic church instituted reforms and made strict child abuse prevention policies it is hard for the parishioners to trust that these policies can or would be implemented by the same people who let it grow out of control in the first place. With Pope Benedict's resignation the church reboots and the sex scandals become the last Pope's problems. Let's hope he takes some Cardinals with him.

From USA Today: 

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Benedict XVI announced Monday that he will retire from his 8-year papal reign, citing age and declining health for becoming the first pope in 600 years to resign the post. [...] 

The last pope to resign was Pope Gregory XII, who stepped down in 1415 in a deal to end the Great Western Schism among competing papal claimants. 

[Link]

This resignation will allow new reforms to "cement in place." It will allow a new Papacy team some breathing room so as to take decisive actions to get the church back on track in the eyes of the parishioner. The USA swimming board should take note and put their scandals behind them by doing likewise.

[1] Wall Street Journal February 11, 2013, 10:49 a.m. ET

Did something stupid: Swam a 1,000-meters moderately hard in 84-degree water

Did an experiment with Fran Crippen in mind. I went to L.A. Fitness and did a moderately hard 1,000-meters in a very warm pool. The result was ugly. During the whole swim I felt like I was swimming at higher altitude and my heart zoomed 20% faster than normal. When I finished the set my heart rate was 160-BPM and took much longer than usual to slow down. It has hovered around 92-beats a minutes for the past hour.

At the 500-meter mark the water inside my cap felt hot. My goggles were fogging badly and on my last 100-meters, which was a build into a sprint, I felt as if I had swam 3,000-meters.

This experiment was conducted at an indoor pool with an ambient air-temp in the low 70s.  Fran Crippen was swimming in water that near 90-degrees Fahrenheit with 100-plus-degree air temps. All I can say is that the only people who can appreciate how dangerous open water swimming in hot water is are the open water swimmers and they seemingly have had no say on where and in what conditions they swim.

Heart rate is now 90-beats-a-minute some one-hour-and-twenty-minutes later and I am mot happy.

Rebecca Adlington announces retirement from swimming Feb 2013

UK Swimming is in such disarray. Funding cuts, apathy, and no more inspiring talent to encourage the youth of the country to get wet.

Adlington was a superstar who beat Katie Hoff in 2008 via discipline and professionalism. A moment every Brit was proud of; I am sad to see her go.

Sir, no running around the pool with a gun in your hand!

Even the President of United States has to follow the pool rules!

The Vendeé Globe makes the Ironman look like a "10k-run" - An English channel swim look like a "swim workout" and a marathon as difficult as a beginners "yoga class!"

The world record in the Vendeé Globe was soundly beaten today. The first contestant to cross the finish line took only 78-days, 16-hours to finish. More will be coming in this week.

What is the Vendeé Globe and what makes it so tough?

From Wikipedia:

The Vendée Globe is a round-the-world single-handed yacht race, sailed non-stop and without assistance.[1] The race was founded by Philippe Jeantot in 1989, and since 1992 has taken place every four years. The 2012-2013 edition started Saturday, November 10, 2012

Go to  the Vendeé Globe website for a real look at what it is. There is lots of media and photos and it does a great job explaining how arduous and challenging this race is.

One can call it the greatest open water race of all. Solo competitors, obviously without a crew, sail a racing yacht from France down to the Cape of Good Hope or more acurately, Cape Agulhas. Next, they sail through the roaring forties and the furious fifties where they then make left-hand turn at Cape Horn, that place where the Pacific ocean and Atlantic ocean settle their "arguments." Many a sailor show got between them while they were settling their differences did not fair to well. Finally they sail back to France or more accurately hopefully they make it back to France.

The word record is 84-days. Today that record was broken by Frenchman, Francois Gabart. More evidence that France, Australia, New Zealand produce the best sailors in the world.  Sigh, If only the United States would step up. I suppose sailing is just another area of expertise that we are failing behind in.

From The BBC:

"... Samantha Davies, the third British entrant in this edition of the event, saw her race ended on day five by a broken mast. 

Of the 20 boats that set off on 10 November, only 12 remained on Sunday after a course that rounded the Cape of Good Hope, Australia, New Zealand and Cape Horn before navigating back up the Atlantic Ocean to France. 

French sailors have won every Vendee Globe since the first edition in 1989/90 when Titouan Lamazou was the winner in 109 days. ..."

[Link]

Mark Schubert over promised Kate Ziegler and Dagny Knudsen but USA Swimming had to pay!

Click on the above scans to read them...

If these scanned letters are correct then Mark Schubert not only threw Ariana Kukors "under the bus" but Dagny Knudson and Kate Ziegler as well, but unlike Arianna, Dagny and Kate make USA Swimming take responsibility for Mark Schubert's actions.

Here's how: Dagny and Kate got a lawyer named Richard Foster to go to USA Swimming and say, "Hey, your boy Mark Schubert made promises to us he didn't keep and now you got to pay because he was speaking for you!" Quietly, and I suspect with complete exasperation that Schubert over promised, USA Swimming paid up.

Attorney Richard Foster, pops up again but this time he is defending Mark Schubert in his wrongful termination lawsuit filed by Dia Rianda! There is a load of ... err... irony her!

This suggests to my wild imagination that Foster is checking his "soul" at the door when he takes on a new client for how can you represent your client as a "devil" one day and then the next as a "saint?"

Here is a guy that went to USA Swimming criticizing what Schubert did to Dagny and Kate; (over promising tuition and such), but now he is defending the same guy stating that he did not over promise Dia Rianda.

More on Mark Schubert spying on Sean Hutchison and Arriana Kukors

In a wrongful termination suit filed by Dia Rianda against Mark Schubert and the Golden West Swim Club (GWSC), both Mark Schubert and Bill Jewell; (executive coaches for GWSC), were forced to tell the truth under oath their involvement in what I believe is a serious invasion of Sean Hutchison and Arriana Kukors' privacy.

Back in the day when Schubert was still USA Swimming's National team coach making hundreds-of thousands-of-dollars-a-year, Schubert organized a swim program near his home in Ranchos Palos Verdes called thee Fullerton Aquatics Sports Team (FAST).

Bill Jewell was hired as a lead coach at FAST and later brought in to the GWSC by Schubert. When the program closed it's doors many swimmers were "thrown under the bus" and to their credit never complained openly. As for Arriana Kukors, she was thrown under a "tank" and she probably lost economic opportunities as a result.

One has to asked why Mark Schubert was involved in hiring a paid detective to spy on Sean Hutchison and Arriana Kukors?  Both were adults, both nationally recognized as a coach and a swimmer respectively yet what could these two have been doing to justify thousands-of-dollars in detective fees to fine out?

Well, in 2010 Sean Huthison resigned from his duties at the FAST and soon he disappeared. However much drama ensued before it happened!

For more drama info see this post: [Link]

I suspect the motives on Bill Jewel and Mark Schubert's part were sinister in nature and these two people should be shamed big timed. I think it would be both truly poetic and ironic if Sean Hutchison and Arianna Kukors hired the same attorney that Dia Rianda is using to recoup their lost reputations and rehabilitate their good names.

From the Orange County Register:

Schubert said in his deposition that he was involved in hiring a private investigator to follow Hutchison, according to the letter to USA Swimming. Schubert said at least one photograph taken by the investigator and shown to him by his wife depicted the cars of Hutchison and Ariana Kukors, then 21 and a 2009 world champion swimmer who trained under Hutchison at the USA Swimming/FAST training group, parked close to each other outside Hutchison's apartment around 5 a.m. Schubert's wife works for a private investigation firm. 

[Link]

Mark Schubert essentially tried to tear down Sean Hutchison and Ariana Kukors!

Mark Schubert & Bill Jewell essentially tried to tear Sean Hutchison to pieces and Ariana Kukors was simply going to be nothing short of collateral damage.

Both Kukors and Hutchison should be quite cross about that too. I stand by that statement and so does Irv Muchnik who printed the following:

From Concussion Inc:

"... The acknowledgment by Schubert that he gave the name of a private investigator to Bill Jewell, who at the time was CEO of FAST, and that the Jewell-hired investigator proceeded to follow Hutchison and Kukors, emerged in a deposition by Schubert in a lawsuit against him and his Huntington Beach-based Golden West Swim Club by Dia Rianda, a coach and major USA Swimming fundraiser and philanthropist. ..." 

[Link]

I will spell it out further... The PI actually found himself at Hutchison's address at 5:00 AM and began snapped a photo of their automobiles parked near each other. What other photos did he take and then ask yourself this, why was a detective there at 5:00 AM? Was he there all night?

Now, Ariana Kukors who is and was an adult at the time of this fiasco now has her tied to this whole mess or more accurately her name forever tied to scandal.

Finally this line really struck me right between the eyes: "...The acknowledgment by Schubert that he gave the name of a private investigator to Bill Jewell. ..." So, Mark Schubert actually knows and can recommend a private detective that can follow people and take photos of their cars;  (or otherwise) at 5:00 AM?

Disgraceful!

Deformed dolphin accepted into a large pod of sperm whales

The dolphin obviously rejected by his/her former pod  is adopted by a pod of sperm whales. What is touching about this video is that these mammals display affection for one another which to me declares signs of compassion, intelligence and emotion.

From the Atlantic:

In 2011, the behavioral ecologists Alexander Wilson and Jens Krause set out to observe sperm whales off the island of Pico, in the Azores. But as they began their research, they saw something unexpected: a dolphin -- adult, male, bottlenose -- hanging out with the pod of larger, flat-nosed cetaceans. And not just swimming with them ... but rubbing against them and nuzzling up to them and generally making very, very friendly with the much larger mammals. Who tolerated -- and in some cases reciprocated -- the apparent affection. "It really looked like they had accepted the dolphin for whatever reason," Wilson told Science magazine. " 

[Link]

New Swim Drill: Wet folding with a snorkel

Origami underwater - Some of the best origamis are wet-folded

Live from Golgotha: The Crucifixion of Lance Armstrong is still under way.

The cross is on the ground and the Roman executioners are readying the nails and hammer. Roman soldiers have been taunting Armstrong shouting phrases like "doper, doper, doper." 

Quietly, one Roman Centurion named, O. Winprey, has been rumored to have offered Armstrong "wine and gall" or a mixture of sour wine and a poison so as to put him out of his misery and offer him safe passage once he is nailed to the cross. Armstorng declined the drink.

Being crucified next to Armstrong are two thieves. On the left of Armstrong  who the spectators are calling the "good thief"  is Tiger Woods. To the right side of  him are what most in the audience are calling the "bad thief" who is known as O.J. Simpson.

We spoke with a woman named Mary who refuses to give out her last name due to privacy issues and/or reprisals. She had the following statement:

"How come we don't hold our Roman politicians to same standards that we do our athletes and by that I mean all the lying, stealing and cheating? 

Why is it that we allow the Roman Department of Justice to push a Jewish programmer to suicide with aggressive intimidation tactics yet not one Wall Street banker is prosecuted for giving out bad mortgages so they could resell them to some other sucker later on? Are they "to big too jail?"

Why is it that a Roman Senator can receive bribes to vote either right or left and suffer no consequences? 

Why is it that a Roman Senator can execute insider trades on the Roman stock market whereas the public would go to jail if they did likewise? 

Why is it that Caesar can wiretap our phones, kill, or imprison a citizen without a judge, jury or a lawyer reviewing the charges? 

Why is Armstrong so important and why is he the first one on the list for crucification?

We asked  several participants about the Senate councils or National Sports Bodies but most of those questioned would not answer out of fear of blow back.

Pontius Pilate of the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) did return our calls and had this statement:
"...We strongly urge Lance Armstrong to testify to an independent Roman Commission established to investigate the allegations made against the Roman International Cycling Union (UCI). - Let's just see how dirty they are."

Congratulations to Dana Volmer - her photo for ESPN is up for a noted Hasselblad award!

Ric Frazier took a wonderful "fish eye view" of a flip-turn sequence by Dana Volmer for ESPN.

This was a photo we talked about here on the blog. It has now made it into the finals of a prestigious award sponsored by the 'Hasselblad' company. If you enjoyed the photo and you enjoy Dana Volmer's work, go vote here:  [Link]  

Blown Away: 'VESTAS Sailrocket 2' truly destroys world speed sailing record!

Took eleven-years to build and the speed it generated was incomprehensible for a sail boat.

Concussion Inc: A Statement to Michael Phelps and His Mother, From the Mother of the North Baltimore Aquatic Club Sex Assault Victim

In my opinion this is a heart wrenching plea and I am dumb with astonishment as to how slow the investigation of this assault case is going.

The police have interviewed the victim, they have all the back-and-forth emails which include admissions of guilt and knowledge of the events by the coaches at large. They have a third party witness endorsing the victim's point of view and yet the police are moving incredibly slow.

I think this says a lot about Baltimore. It's as if they run their town like the imaginary TV suburb of  "Pleasantville" (see the movie trailer above for a de facto example).

 As for USA Swimming, they are seemingly waiting for the police investigation to run it's course before taking action. I am getting hints from other sources that if nothing comes from the police investigation then USA Swimming will still approach the subject.

Snippet from her statement at Concussion Inc: 

"...I hope that Michael will not be unduly influenced by the NBAC leadership, and will remember that he was bullied and have empathy for my son, who was not only harassed, but assaulted sexually, which to see in print repulses me and has caused my son and our family an abundance of suffering since we first learned of the assault late last February. Not a day has gone by from that day to this, that I do not think about these shameful acts. ..." 

[Link]

Read the rest at Concussion Inc.

Dinosaurs swam laps together - I kid you not!

His hips are high in the water but I am not loving that kick or that breaststroke pull!

 From Live Science: 

"... a group of small dinosaurs trying to escape a massive carnivore, the fossils may reveal an ancient dinosaur "superhighway" or river crossing, said study co-author Anthony Romilio, a paleontologist at the University of Queensland in Australia. .." 

[Link]

Concussion INC: Teammate of NBAC Sex Abuse Victim Confronted Coach Over Continued Harassment — Coach Threatened to Throw Him Off Team!

I originally reported these sexual abuse incidence at NBAC to USA Swimming and subsequently turned everything I knew to journalist Irv Muchnik at Concussion INC. He is a pro and he has sunk his teeth into this like pit bull.

Now it has been confirmed that hate speech was included in some cyber-bullying of the victim by another member of NBAC which included gay slurs and crass insults. This has got end.

I am considering speaking with some associates at GLAAD (Gay Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) since hate speech was involved in the cyber bullying of the victim. This has been directly confirmed by a former NBAC teammate Peyton Bailey.

I am going to wait another week and see what happens.

From Concussion Inc:

"... Three years ago, Bailey was so eager to swim for NBAC that his mother moved with him and his younger brother to the Baltimore area. (His father stayed behind at the family home in Virginia.) But their NBAC experience ended sourly last year.

Peyton said he did not witness the sexual assault incident itself last February. But he was all too familiar with the general pattern of verbal harassment and bullying of a particular 18-year-old teammate in the Challenge program.

After the victim’s two assailants’ team discipline began and ended with writing vague apologies for having suggestively and repeatedly bumped the victim, and stuck fingers into his anus, in the practice pool, the victim took a hiatus from swimming. He returned in March — whereupon lower-level harassment and humiliation resumed without missing a beat. Bailey recalls seeing two other teammates, not the February sexual assailants, taunting the victim loudly and mercilessly, calling him a "faggot" and an "asshole." ..." 

[Link]

SCAQ blog gets offered $80 to create a post about Michael Phelps playing poker! - SCAQ Blogger declines and posts their emails!

As I write this, The Atlantic magazine online, just got spanked HARD after being outed for accepting paid content from the Church of Scientology and then moderating the comments of the article.

The page went down in flames but a quasi-apology has been put in it's place. [Link]

Subsequently I decided to publish an email exchange of a request I got today requesting me to strategically do a post on Michael Phelps that includes the word Olympian and the subject of poker within the post as well.

I get offers for free stuff and/or cash in exchange for posts all the time and I decline them

--

On Mon, Jan 14, 2013 at 3:39 AM,"Name deleted" wrote: 

Hi there,

My name is "Name deleted" of "deleted-interactive.com" - an online marketing agency. I would like to know if you are still open to advertising proposal related to news about Michael Phelps. I would like to discuss with you my idea if you'd be interested. Please let me know.

Have a great day!

Best,

"Name deleted"

--

On Mon, Jan 14, 2013 at 7:12 AM, Tony Austin wrote: 

Hi "Name Deleted",

I will consider it.

Tony

[I was never open to advertising - I claimed I was because I wanted to know what the Michael Phelps story was all about.]

--

On Mon, Jan 14, 2013 at 10:12 PM,"Name deleted" wrote:

Hi Tony,

It's great to hear that! Actually this won't take too much of your time cause I am not referring to a major advertising campaign that involves banners, images and stuff. Our client prefer it to be simple and informative at the same time. One of our reputable clients has an article that talk about the latest news about the olympian Michael Phelps. You can read the whole story here on www.pokerlistings.com/olympian-michael-phelps-plays-10k-poker-tournament-photos-51245

I would like to know if it's possible to include my keyword "Olympian Michael Phelps" linking to my client's article on your future post. A one time payment of 80USD will be sent via paypal if you consider my idea. Let me know your thoughts.

Have a great day!

"Name Deleted"


--

On Mon, Jan 14, 2013 at 11:25 PM, Tony Austin wrote:

Hello "Name Deleted,"

I thank you for the offer but I will decline. For me to accept payment for strategically wording this post and including it on my blog would place me in a situation both ethically and legally to disclose the details of that payment with my readers per Federal Trade Commission laws: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/10/endortest.shtm

Consequently I would be selling my credibility for $80.00 which would not only disappoint my thousands of readers but would summarily erase all the good will they have shared with me.

Thank you for the offer, go try SwimSwam.com

Tony

--

Final word: Ironically I would have posted his content for free if I bumped into it on my own. I am glad I did not do such a thing.

We live in a digital world where people we trust are paid to manipulate us. I just deleted 638-trackers using a browser plugin called "Ghostery." Four trackers which were installed in my browser after going to the Speedo.com website. I virtually see no banners or receive website trackers when I surf the web now.

Julian Assange once called Facebook the greatest spy machine ever produced; he is 100% correct. Did you know that many professional organizations on Facebook can buy "friends" wholesale by the thousands so as to make their organization look more credible?

We now live in a world where our friends and trusted sources of news and commentary are paid to manipulate us. It won't happen here.

A Jellyfish piece I made this afternoon among other aquatic related stuff

The first one is a Jellyfish. The second is an oyster's pearl. The final piece are two deep sea fish.

What watch is Michael Phelps wearing? - What watch are you wearing or watch should you wear?

So I see these "post breakup" party photos and article of Michael Phelps in my newsfeed from the British Tabloid, the Daily Mail but the first thing I notice is his watch. My interest was what sort of watch was he wearing? I am not sure but I suspect it is an Omega De Ville, Co-Axial Rattrapante.

For those outside of horological circles a rattrapante chronograph is defined as: a watch featuring the addition of a second hand to measure split times; (or small seconds), but it can be called a split-second chronograph. I prefer the latter phrase for the word, "rattrapante," reads as "rat-trap-ante" to those outside watch circles thereby devaluing the engineering.

The De Ville Rattrapante retails for for $12,700 and it is a very fine watch and definitely a watch to aspire to, however, it's not military grade. For open water swimmers, swimmers on deck, even timers on a swim meet, a $12.50 Casio F91W is more accurate, more durable and is considered "military grade" by the Pentagon.

In fact, if you are local in Afghanistan and the American military sees you wearing one, you are a suspect and may be sent to Guantanamo Bay. I kid you not - here are their names:  [Link]

The De Ville Rattrapante has a mechanical automatic movement and is not a digital watch. There is no battery in this watch. It is a self winding watch that self-winds with your body motion. The gears, springs, and screws are barely measurable to the naked eye which probably drove the designer nearly blind as he calculated each piece and how it related to the others.

Michael Phelps' watch is meant to be an artifact from the industrial age meant to be admired by others and marveled at by the wearer For swimmers on deck a quartz crystal Casio F91W mentioned above provides more accurate timing, sells for 1000-times less and is way more durable. The Casio brand is a watch that police officers, pilots, fire fighters and army personell wear. Those in the army wear the Casio G-Shock as do rappers and hip-hop artists but perfect timing is not the reason why men wear $12,700 watches. That topic is for another blog.

Finally for open water swimmers I recommend the G-Shock G-Rescue: It features day, time, splits, moon phase, tidal graph for your local beach, water resistant to 200m, time zones for 48-cities, and more. The down side? They look profoundly garish and loud. G-Shock specs: [Link]

I don't wear a sports watch yet. I want one with all of the G-Shock specs but with GPS as well. For now I will gladly settle for my Omega Seamaster De Ville Automatic circa 1964.

Natalie Coughlin Bus Shelter poster up for sale on eBay - Is she swimming in coffee?

It boggles my mid how they could make somebody so lovely look so stupid!  They made it look like Beyonce and Beyonce is very good looking woman, Natalie is better.

Graphically speaking she is not centered in the poster, she does not look part of the water and she obviously isn't wet. Just simply a lazy rendition of an Olympian!

I wanted to buy but it is just too hard to at when you know what she really looks like and you know a sophomore in a junior college art program can build a better poster.

[Link]

"They see me rollin' - they hatin'..." - Audi will equip the IOC’s "fleet" in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The cheapest Audi they sell in America is nearly $35,000. The average price for an Audi is $50,000. The most expensive is $210,000. That care is the R8 GT Spyder.

So, how "gangsta" is that? I guess pimping athletes to multinationals and media conglomerates has garnered the International Olympic Committee some really sweet rides for their "fleet."

I can hear Jacques Rogge now as he swaggers towards his Swiss Blond secretary:

"... Hey baby, let's take the R8 GT Spyder to Cafe de Grancy. I am in the mood for their smoked duck breast and foie gras. Let's talk about business so we can use the company gold card... Let's take the silver one, the red one is just too... garish, don't you think?"

From Olympic.org:

Audi will equip the IOC’s fleet in Lausanne and various international IOC events, such as the 125th IOC Session in Buenos Aires, with a range of vehicles. The agreement also includes plans to jointly develop environmental, humanitarian and social projects.

"The IOC is delighted to have Audi, a world renowned company, as its official automobile supplier, and we look forward to developing further social responsibility initiatives with them in the near future as part of this agreement," said IOC Director General Christophe De Kepper.

[Link]

Dolphin Stampede down in Orange County captured on video!

Happened to me once surfing at Staircase which is a break just south of County Line and it was terrifying. I thought I was going get slammed hard and often.

Three bids have been submitted to the IOC for the 2020 Olympics!

In my opinion the IOC was very generous in awarding the 2016 games to Brazil.  With a 2.4-trillion-dollar economy Brazil has the potential to host a successful Olympic games but still the IOC has taken a bit of a risk on Rio.

The venues are behind schedule and both scandal and protest are nipping at their heels. Hence, I feel the 2020 Olympic Games should be held in a country with a robust economy and proven infrastructure.

The competing host cities, Istanbul, Turkey and Madrid, Spain are very fine countries but I am not impressed with size of their economies. Hosting the Olympic games is expensive. Though Turkey is an emerging nation it Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is still half that of Mexico. Spain which has a more affluent economy than Turkey has a GDP that is five-times smaller than the GDP of Japan.

I believe an established nation or a nation with the creativity and the economic wherewithal to host these games should receive the honor. I hope they choose Tokyo, Japan.

From France 24:

Istanbul, Madrid and Tokyo will all be sending high profile delegations to hand over their dossiers which have been painstakingly put together and will be hoping the details meet with the approval of the majority of the 100 plus IOC members when they vote in eight months' time.

With IOC members visits a thing of the past, since the reforms brought in following the Salt Lake City bribes for votes scandal, the dossier will be carefully studied before the all-important visit of the IOC Evaluation Commission, headed by IOC Vice-president Craig Reedie, to the three cities for four day visits in March.

[Link]

Japanese sushi chain Kiyomura paid a record $1.76 million for a single bluefin tuna at an auction in Tokyo on Friday

Bluefin tuna populations are dwindling and while the Japanese eat 80% of the blue fin tuna caught the United States and Europe are catching on.

Environmentalists are requesting stricter ocean laws of bluefin harvesting but who is going to enforce them? Worst of all the bluefin could be just another natural resource that could lead to hostilities between Japan and China:

This snippet from Quartz, a site I read twice a day for I fine it better than the Wall Street Journal and contains more analysis:

Kimura’s Kiyomura ultimately outbid a rival sushi chain, Itamae Sushi Japan, which is owned by Taste of Japan Group, based in Hong Kong. Itamae said its highest bid for the tuna was 151 million yen. The Tokyo-Hong Kong competition was viewed in the context of heightened tension between China and Japan over control of islands near Taiwan.  

“There are some political difficulties, but Japanese customers and Chinese customers come to our restaurant, and what we want is for everyone to enjoy our sushi,” Kimura told reporters. 

[Link]

How to gain 30-minutes or lose 30 minutes of life every day

When you look at the graphic, realize that 1-microlife is consider 30-minutes. So, in the above graphic if you workout for one-hour, you gain 1.5-hours-of-life a day. If you are stupid enough to be a smoker then you lose 1.5-hours-of life a day. WOW! That works out to be 2-days-of-life for each month or about a months worth of life a year.

From Scientific American:  [Link]

Australian swimmer Chloë McCardel has announced that she plans to try to swim from Havana, Cuba to Key West, Florida in June.

I think this swim is possible and I suspect she is capable physically and mentally to do it. Comparing this swim to the first Mt Everest climb by Sir Edmond Hillary would not be hyperbole.

However, unlike Mt. Everest I don't think this swim will ever be easily reproducible without a technology assist.

I suspect anybody who successfully crosses this channel will have to have some serious good luck; (or more accurately), miraculous timing to make this happen. It's a two-to-four-day swim and a lot of variables are involved.

Mt. Everest is a technology assisted climb: From Oxygen bottles, to rubberized fabrics that keep you warm and let your skin breathe. Guides have essentially made a trail that if you are strong, capable, and have good body control a guide; (or sherpa), can walk you all the way to the top. Still, the weather is extraordinarily hazardous. It's cold beyond belief, the footing is slippery, and even with Oxygen people get loopy and out of sorts but more"climbers" make it to the summit than don't.

The challenges that Chloë McCardel will face will far exceed those of Mt. Everest and she will have no technology asist. She will have weather, swells, tides, shipping lanes and dangerously warm water to swim in. There could be sharks, jellyfish, wound infections, and more. When compared to Mt. Everest, that infamous mountain has no predators and climbers are able to get some sleep breaks in between pushes towards the summit. Chloë will have to remain awake for a very long time.

Here is a link to her very inspirational blog:  [Link]

Polar Bear Swims 2013

Welcome to Coney Island - A cardboard robot takes a dip.

When you are standing on Bradford Beach in Milwaukee on January 1st ready to take a dip, What better attire than to wear to a polar bear outfit.

Time magazine has seven more images from around the globe: [Link]

Irv Muchnick's summation of the NBAC sexual abuse accusations are an accurate chronology and summation of what I presented to USA Swimming.

When I heard of the allegations of abuse at NBAC, I spent a week-and-a-half  gather the emails and statements, putting them together and sending them off to Susan Woesner at USA Swimming. The response was sincerely positive and I am impressed.

I then sent it off to journalists so as to ensure there would be some sunlight on NBAC and I detail my motives here: [Link]

Here is a summation from the victim's family point of view of what sort of justice they would like see rendered:

From Concussion Inc:

Three officials of NBAC “need to be censured and sanctioned,” the mother believes. “They should not be in positions of authority or guardians of safety for children.” The three are Bob Bowman, the head coach and CEO; John Cadigan, the director of operations; and Erik Posegay, a coach of the High Performance and Challenge groups. (Bowman, Cadigan, and Posegay have not responded to my inquiries. [...]

In addition, the complainant asserted to USA Swimming, members of the NBAC board who had knowledge of the ensuing cover-up should be removed. Also, “Our son should receive a public apology from the aforementioned people, to be published with our son’s name redacted to protect his privacy.” Finally, the assailant swimmers should receive sanctions of their own, the victim’s mother said, adding: “It is our hope that they get into counseling.”

[Link]

President Obama body-surfing a Hawaiian wave with good form and a smile.

Our President photographed by Alex Brandon body surfing a 4-foot Hawaiian wave with good form and a big smile! Take note people of color, the President can swim and so should the 60% of you that need to learn. C'mon, look how much fun he is having.

See these minority swimming statistics at USA Swimming: [Link]

Michael Phelps featured on Google Zeitgeist Year in Review for 2012

Michael Phelps featured at the 1:30 mark on searches for inspiration.

Ric Frazier photographs Dana Vollmer in a flip turn cycle for ESPN

Ric Frazier is my favorite underwater photographer; I hope to do some work with him someday.

In the photo above Dana Vollmer executes a flip turn in captured steps or frames.

Lovin' her suit too.

Ric has an amazing portfolio that even includes the Nirvana baby all grown up. Check it out here: [Link]

EVAN MORGENSTEIN: "when the thieves at FINA made a decision that they were going to get rid of the techsuits. What they did was they almost bankrupted several of the swimwear companies"

Natahn Jendrick does an amazing interview for Swimming World with sports agent, Evan Morgenstein. This is an insiders view as to how the industry conducts swim business and how terrible swimmers have it.

The techsuits were once criticized for being so cost prohibitive for poor families that they were an uworkable choice for swimmers. I wrote that this was a red herring so as to obfuscate the truth - most swim families are affluent and a simple rule to disallow techsuits at the junior level was quite acceptable on moral grounds. But some five years later a pair a jammers are actually costs more than the techsuits back in the day. (See that Speedo system cost that went nowhere. The costs therein were stratospheric)

Michael Phelps is gone, long live MichaelPhelps, blah, blah,blah: It is now time for techsuits to return from their exile and grow this sport. It's time that swimming not be dominated by one or two players but that the playing field is leveled just like the over sized tennis rackets leveled the playing field in tennis. Other sports have done much the same thing via technology to grow their ranks and bring in investment and so should swimming.

A snippet of what Evan had to say:

Evan: Oh it is terrible. I mean if you were a swimmer looking to make this a career. There could be a worse time to do it. You know unfortunately when the thieves at FINA made a decision that they were going to get rid of the techsuits. What they did was they almost bankrupted several of the swimwear companies and they have never recovered from that because they were so vested in that, but they actually hurt the sport and hurt the popularity of the sport. People love Olympics sports like swimming because of world records and although there were a couple of world records broken in London comparative to Beijing there was virtually no records broken and that is a shame. Technology changes in every other sport.

You know I noticed people don't want go back to the 1950s they love going to you know drive-in movies and you know the past is great, but the fact is when it comes to technology you can't stop, you have to keep moving forward and this isn't cheating right, you know the Lance Armstrong's of the world, this is technology and technology and shoes rackets whatever changes in every sport. Yet FINA singularly changed the sport and then once that happened the apparel companies had millions of dollars of inventory they couldn't sell.

[Link]

Nathan Jendrik: U.S. author, lecturer, model, photographer and celebrity personal trainer. Jendrick has written several books, although never attending college, primarily with/for celebrities and notable personalities. His first book, Dunks, Doubles, Doping was a USA Book News Award finalist. His literary properties were for a time represented by Mollie Glick at the Jean Naggar Literary Agency in New York, NY. In December 2004, Jendrick married Olympian Megan Jendrick.

Colder than that swim at the North Pole: Russian swimmers swim outdoors in -20C temperatures

Russians go hard! No doubt about it. Definitely the best "polar bears" in the world.

Colder than that swim at the North Pole I believe - Russian swimmers swim outdoors in -20C temperatures

Russians go hard! No doubt about it. Definitely the best "polar bears" in the world.

I reported an accusation of sexual molestation that occurred at the North Baltimore Aquatics Club to USA Swimming and Child Protective Services.

I have been critical of those individuals who heard rumors of sexual abuse and did nothing. This inaction is likely due to ignorance, confusion or the monetary fear of a defamation lawsuit.

I was contacted two weeks ago about a sex abuse situation that occurred in February 2012 at the North Baltimore Aquatics Club (NBAC). When fully informed regarding what exactly happened I told the person who emailed me the information that I was reporting it.

After gathering as much information as I good, which took about a week-and-a-half, I assembled a 1,200 word report with digital evidence, scanned notes and hastily sent them off to USA Swimming, Irvin Muchnick and another reporting outlet I won't name.   

Reporting the incident to USA Swimming was absolutely painless. After I had sent my detailed report on a late Sunday afternoon, I received a reply at 7:38 AM PST the following Monday morning stating that it was going to be investigated. Subsequently all my emails to USA Swimming have been quickly acknowledged and all of them have been both cordial and professional. Within hours USA Swimming staff contacted Ms T. Blue at Child Services in Baltimore and the investigation is in motion.

I chose sending the reports to Irv Muchnick and another press outlet so as to put some sunshine on this incident and to ensure that no politics; (or what I call "poolitics") would interfere with a thorough investigation.

A recognized coach once told me that NBAC can arguably be considered "America's Premiere club" primarily because of the success of Michael Phelps...  However when you look at this club over the last 12-months this club has had a seriously bad year if you exclude the Olympics.

The cold, stark, truth is that NBAC has proven over the last 12-months that supervision of their younger athletes is sorely lacking. Examples include the shallow water drowning death of Louis Lowenthal, the abuse that happened in February and the mysterious firing of a founding member some months ago.

These events are scarlet-red flags and they need addressing.

For details about these events and my reasons for not blogging it and publishing see Irv Muchnick's site Concussion Inc:

Irv Muchnik at Concussion.net:

Last week a former NBAC employee filed papers about the incident with state Child Protective Services. In addition, California swimmer-blogger Tony Austin -- who, along with ConcussionInc.net, was given copies of the file -- forwarded email texts and other documents to Susan Woessner, the athlete protection officer of USA Swimming in Colorado, the sport's U.S. Olympic Committee-authorized national governing body.

The victim's direct account, along with the two assailants' vaguely worded confessions and a resolving email by NBAC's chief executive officer and head coach, Bob Bowman, cast grave questions on whether NBAC coaches and executives observed both state law and the safe sport policies of USA Swimming. ..." 

[Link]

Yes, Bob Bowman's email was shrill, vaguely threatening to kick the victim off the team and just plain ugly. There is a snippet of the email at ConcussionInc.net.

Sing along: On the second day of Swim-mas the SCAQ Blog gave to me...

On the second day of Swim-mas the SCAQ Blog gave to me;

Two Swimming Caps and...

A stopwatch on a starting block

- See first day of Swim-mas artwork here -

CBS: Denise Stapley outplayed, outwitted and outlasted 17 players to win the $1 million prize and honor of being named sole Survivor

Yeah, US Masters swimmers are pretty awesome, huh? But wait, though registered she never competed in a USMS meet.

From Swimming World:

Stapley was not the only "Survivor" contestant with Masters swimming credentials. Roberta Saint-Amour, who was eliminated on the October 31 episode, competed in Masters meets in 2008 and 2009, posting a couple of No. 1 times in freestyle and backstroke.

[Link]

Sport England threatens Swimming and Tennis programs!

British swimming funding is in trouble along with tennis. Participations numbers have to increase or millions of English pounds are going to be spent on triathlons, cycling, and get this, netball! - Netball? (A scaled down version of basketball with no dribbling or backboard behind the basket.)

Is it that bad for for swimming and tennis that a sport called netball gets their funding?

From the Guardian:

"... But the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) and the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) were among six governing bodies effectively put on probation. The money devoted to developing talent at the top of their sports is protected, but grassroots funding is only guaranteed for one year.

Price said that the ASA had endured a "tough time" and its new plan was unproven, while the LTA's "simply wasn't good enough". While it has delivered on the "talent" part of its remit, developing promising junior players at the elite end of the sport, it has failed to grow the grassroots. "Its thinking has been some distance behind other governing bodies. We hope they're starting to turn the corner now. They are right at the beginning of this journey. We need to give them a year to step up their game and prove they can deliver it," she said. ..."

[Link]

Sing along: On the first day of Swim-mas the SCAQ Blog gave to me...

On the first day of Swim-mas the SCAQ Blog gave to me;

A stopwatch on a starting block

- Another one tomorrow! -

Griffith Institute for Educational Research: Swimmers are Smarter! - And I don't think so!

Can swimming make kids smarter? A study from Australia thinks so and I feel the results are incredulous.

From the Washington Times:

The study found that the younger the child began swimming lessons and the longer they continued, the greater the benefits. Benefits come not only in the form of reaching physical developmental milestones early, but also those involving language and mathematics. Swimming helps with coordination and visual motor-skill development, but also with more intellectual skills, like counting or following verbal instructions.

[Link]

I suspect soccer, ballet, T-ball may have the same effect for any stimulation is going to help but I wonder if affluence is also the key?

Kids born to affluent families, those parents that can afford and can provide good nutritional delivery, understand homework assignments or can afford tutors do really well and that to me is the real "brain effect" happening here.

Swimming is expensive to learn and I suspect most swim families are doing pretty good. I also suspect swimming is just one part of the puzzle of raising an "above average kid."

Also this study was conducted in Australia which is not exactly a melting pot either. Ethnic demographics: White 92%, Asian 7%, aboriginal and other 1%. The average median income per household there is also $55,000. In West Virginia, USA it's $38,482

Ryan Lochte scoring a handful in mighty Istanbul!

Lochte grabs two golds at short course meters championships. That's got to feel good.

From AP:

The American posted a time of 1 minute, 41.92 seconds in the 200-meter freestyle event at the Sinan Erdem Dome. Paul Biedermann of Germany, the world-record holder, finished second in 1:42.07, while Conor Dwyer of the United States was third in 1:43.78.

Lochte earned another gold in the 4x100 freestyle relay with teammates Anthony Ervin, James Feigen and Matt Grevers, finishing in 3:06.40. The Italians, who were fastest in the heats, won silver in 3:07.07, followed by Australia in 3:07.27

[Link]

Lovin' that Anthony Irvin is swimming for his suffer and getting to see crazy places.

Austrian politician wears Ryan Lochte's shoes!

From Reddit: "...This guy is an Austrian politician, and this is what he is wearing in the parliament...." His name is Stefan Petzner, a former journalist turned politician. Wikipedia tells me that the party he represents is economically liberal and socially conservative. The BZÖ party or the "Alliance for the Future of Austria" wants to end the draft, join NATO, establish a flat tax of about 39%, allow the utility companies to go private, and a more moderate stand on immigration. The Austrians, I am told at Reddit, find him an ultra conservative wheres here in the United States he would probably be considered a moderate liberal. He apparently has the same taste in shoes as Ryan Lochte.

Anonymous group "HADESAntiSec" is very cross with Brazil and I presume with the Olympics being held there as well!

The IOC has another headache about the 2016 Rio Olympics: HADESAntiSec, an Anonymous affiliate so to speak is defacing numerous Brazilian sites and openly states their upset with the Brazilian government.

A total of twenty-sites or more have been defiled and replaced with political messages. Each defacement has a link to the the HADESAntiSec Twitter page which states: "...Against a corrupt government and in favor of a better Brazil! ..."

Looks like Brazil is going to have some serious internet challenges these next four years!

Zone-h.org: has links to to the sites defaced and/or taken over or "pwnd" : [Link]

2016 RIO Games in trouble? - The IOC thinks so

The 2016 Rio Games are having some problems: Rio officials don't know what their budget is yet. The land for the golf course is currently under a legal dispute. They have no field hockey location yet. The rugby field has to change locations. The Rio Committee  has replaced their chief executive and the the Brazilian economy is slowing down.

Subsequently the International Olympic committee (IOC)  is now telling Rio Officials emphatically to put the "petal to the metal" and get something going.

One has to ask these questions: If they don't have a budget was the Rio bid all smoke and mirrors? Will Rio get the money to do this? Does the International Olympic committee have a "Plan B" if Rio defaults?

From the L.A. Times:

"...Our message remains: There is time, but time is ticking, and they need to carry on attacking this one with all vigor,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams said in an unusually blunt public statement about an Olympic organizing committee.

The meeting came just a few weeks after IOC officials were in Rio for a debriefing with organizers of the London Olympics. While London's seven-year preparations for the games went off without any major crises, the IOC is concerned that Rio organizers are still facing major challenges. ..."

[Link]

That's what the IOC gets for telling Chicago and President Obama to go home. That's what IOC gets for telling the number-two economy on earth, Japan, to go home.

The next World Cup of soccer will be held in Rio two-years from now and if they screw that up then the IOC may have to confront the fact that Rio may produce a highly unprofitable Olympic games forthem.

An obvious "Plan B" would be London but the likely candidate would be Los Angeles for L.A. is the "go to person" when the IOC is in trouble. Los Angeles saved the IOC in 1932 L.A. saved them again from bankruptcy in 1984.

L.A. has the facilities in triplicate and the transportation infrastructure with numerous airports just 40-minutes from one another.

Stupid girl holds plate of food in front of hungry dolphin and gets bit - Stupid Sea World puts dolphins in a pond to beg for their daily bread!

I actually appreciate and support both zoos and aquariums when the animals have a high standard of living and plenty of organic and natural space. Sea World is not like that. They imprison mammals in small cement swimming pools, feed them dead fish, and pimp them out to beg or do tricks for their food.

In this case a kid gets her arm bit after accidentally holding the plate of food in front of a hungry dolphin's nose.