"Amanda Beard Jumps the shark!" - Will pose for Playboy

The term, jump the shark is a metaphor that was originally coined after the character Fonzie, in the TV show Happy Days, jumped over a shark while water-skiing in a fresh water lake. When a TV show does something this ridiculous, it usually denotes that the show has lost it's way creatively and has now become a waste of time to view. The metaphor works for other endeavors as well.

And speak of the devil, here comes one of those endeavors now: Amanda Beard is going to pose in Playboy magazine and I doubt she is doing it for art's sake but rather for George Washington's sake.

With Nationals just a year or so away, it appears to my cynical eye that she is leveraging as many financial opportunities as she possibly can in the short term for if she can't make the US Olympic team in 2008, or fails to medal if she does, she will have a lot less equity with Speedo or whoever else she is signed with. Hence, "jump the shark", make the quick buck, and exit with a bang seems to me to be the motive.

I think this behavior; (putting sensational publicity and financial obligations in front of one's training), indicates that she may not make the Olympic team. However, if she does make it, the United States will have a Playboy Bunny representing us in the breaststroke. How apropos! [Link]

Amanda Weir signs with my favorite swim company, TYR

I wear mostly TYR suits and equipment. I do have Speedo Fastskin II leggings which I am impressed with and raced in during Masters SCM Championships but I am more impressed with the quality of TYR products over Speedo. Consequently when you see me training you will see that most of my swim gear is TYR related. I am not paid or provided any material goods to make this statement. This is a blog not a "flog". (A flog is a phony blog set up for the sole purpose of covertly endorsing products or to create false buzz about a product or service.) I endorse TYR.

Weir's signing quote with TYR went as followed: "It didn't take me long to know TYR was the right fit for me," Weir said. "Their technology, fashion, and family atmosphere made my decision clear. With TYR's support, I will be able to achieve my swimming goals for the 2008 Olympic Games. I look forward to contributing to the innovation of the next great Olympic technology. I am thrilled!" [link]

Well, at Nationals last year, Amanda Weir, was wearing Speedo Fasatskin II gear and that is what she paid $400 bucks to win her races in. (See inset photo.) Has she seen the light regarding TYR's products or did George Washington give her a couple of hundred thousand reason to change her mind? Hopefully, like me, she now feels that Tyr is a better product but more likely, Jesse M. Unruh, said it best: "Everyman has a price and can be bought. For some it's wine, women, or money but in those rare individuals that can't be bought; they can be leased."