First Dara Torres, Now Janet Evans

((HT: KABC-TV))

Janet Evans is trying to make a five-ringed comeback at the age of 39...

Yesterday, she set a masters record in the 400-meter freestyle in the 34-39 age group. She says she felt good after the race, but London is a bit of a ways away...

Here's to hoping she can show the young'uns a thing or three...

Curt Sandoval takes the lead...


How cool is that...???

BREAKING NEWS: Cal-Davis Blows Up Four Sports

The University of California-Davis is cutting four of its 27 intercollegiate sports as a response to cuts in state funding.

UC Davis officials say that it will eliminate women's rowing, men's swimming and diving, men's wrestling and men's indoor track and field. Those cuts will help the UC campus, according to their numbers, save $2.9 million over three years.

The programs will be discontinued by July 1 and will affect 153 student athletes and seven coaches, who will lose their jobs. Officials called the decision "difficult but necessary" to balance its budget and preserve its other athletic programs.

Chancellor Linda Katehi said that dropping athletics teams and losing opportunities for student-athletes is regrettable but necessary.

"The UC Davis community is confronting enormous financial challenges," she said. "During my brief tenure as chancellor, I have come to appreciate the rich and unique athletic traditions at UC Davis," Katehi wrote in accepting the recommendations of Fred Wood, vice chancellor of Student Affairs, and AD Greg Warzecka to adopt the plan that drops the four sports. "I believe this budget model provides the best means of preserving and enhancing these athletic traditions for the future."

In a release from the university itself, the cuts in athletics are in response to state budget cuts over the past two years, UC-Davis also has eliminated courses, increased class sizes, reduced student services, increased fees and cut student enrollment.

As an example given by UC-Davis Friday: In February, Katehi and Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Enrique Lavernia assigned $36 million in budget reductions campuswide for 2010-11, including a $1.79 million cut to Intercollegiate Athletics.
If you add in the associated benefits and additional reductions, the cut amounts to about $2.4 million.

Students and coaches were told today so they can search for other schools for enrollment or employment. Shockingly, no student was allowed in the news conference.

Here's a story News10 in Sacramento ran at the time that discussions were underway to figure out who was going to go and who was going to stay...
Nick Monacelli was on campus a whole lot recently, thanks to news10.net


CBS13/CW31's Steve Large was on campus at the time that AD Warzecka delivered the news to the affected student-athletes Friday afternoon...

Bay Area Lawsuit Alleges Sexual Abuse In Youth Swimming

((HT: KGO-TV))

Deena Deardurff Schmidt won a medal in the Munich games back in 1972.

What no one knew until recently was that she claims to have been molested by her swim coach from the ages of 11 to 15.

Schmidt is now throwing her support behind a lawsuit filed by a minor claiming there is a "culture" of abuse that is ignored by governing bodies- local and national- where swimming is concerned...

"US Swimming created a culture that fostered molestation by coaches against young female swimmers," the minor's attorney, Robert Allard, said.

"Yet despite the chronic and pervasive problem, we believe that not enough has been done by US Swimming."

Allard said he was filing suit to force USA Swimming to put policies in place to prevent future abuses of young swimmers.

He represents the minor who was molested by Andrew King- a local swim coach now serving a 40-year-term after he was convicted of sexually abusing girls he coached.

Vic Lee is in San Jose for ABC7 News...

Phelps Involved in Auto Accident

Apparently, Michael Phelps is having a hard time out-swimming trouble. Last night he was involved in a 2-car accident in his hometown of Baltimore. At this point the incident is still being investigated. Phelps and 2 passengers in his Cadillac SUV weren't injured or at least declined to be treated at the scene. The driver of the other vehicle, a Honda Accord however did go to the hospital.

More details from the Baltimore Sun here.

((Phelps Crash Scene//Courtesy: Amy Davis/Baltimore Sun))

Since there has not been an investigation yet, there is no telling who caused the wreck. Phelps does have a bit of a driving history, having been pulled over in 2004 for a DUI. Police will be checking surveillance tape from the intersection in an effort to try and determine who caused the wreck.

**UPDATE FRIDAY AFTERNOON** Multiple Sources report the driver of the Honda Accord will be charged with running a red light. Phelps, other than having to get his vehicle repaired, is fine.

Phelps Career Gone To Pot For 3 Months

Michael Phelps ((pictured, thanks Baltimore Sun/AP)) was suspended from competition for three months by USA Swimming, the latest fallout from a photo that showed the Olympic great inhaling from a marijuana pipe.

The sport's national governing body also cut off its financial support to Phelps for the same three-month period, effective Thursday.

"This is not a situation where any anti-doping rule was violated, but we decided to send a strong message to Michael because he disappointed so many people, particularly the hundreds of thousands of USA Swimming member kids who look up to him as a role model and a hero," the Colorado-based federation said in a statement. "Michael has voluntarily accepted this reprimand and has committed to earn back our trust."

Phelps won a record eight gold medals in Beijing and returned to America as one of the world's most acclaimed athletes. Now he's enduring a wave of bad news in the wake of the photo, published Sunday by News of the World, a British tabloid.

Earlier Thursday, cereal and snack maker Kellogg Company announced it wouldn't renew its sponsorship contract with Phelps, saying his behavior is "not consistent with the image of Kellogg." The swimmer appeared on the company's cereal boxes after his Olympic triumph.

Phelps has acknowledged "regrettable" behavior and "bad judgment." He didn't dispute the authenticity of the photo, reportedly taken at a house party while Phelps was visiting Columbia, South Carolina, in November during an extended break from training.

The 23-year-old has resumed training in his hometown of Baltimore, but his plans to return to competitive swimming will have to be put on hold. Phelps had been planning to compete in early March at a Grand Prix meet in Austin, Texas.

Now, he won't be able to allowed to compete until early May, which would give him just over two months to get in some racing before July's world championships in Rome.

Phelps caught up with Kevin Van Valkenburgh of the Baltimore Sun for an exclusive interview.

What did the experience remind him...?

"There are always people you can't trust," he said. "During the whole thing, I've really been able to see who my friends are, who my family are, and who really loves and supports me. They've stood by my side, from the countless text messages, phone messages, e-mails, those are your friends. All those people who are around during the good times? Those aren't your friends."

Those of us here at OSG HQ remind the young man that his count is now 0-2...

Don't get caught looking at the next pitch...