Phelps vs......Shaq?

Michael Phelps will be swimming against...Shaq in a new reality series on ABC entitled "Shaq Vs." Shaquille O'Neal will be facing some of sports biggest competitors in their own field. The new hour long series begins August 18th at 9pm. Shaq will be competing against athletes like Michael Phelps, Ben Roethlisberger, and Oscar De La Hoya.

When In Rome

Who will win the men's 400m free relay at Worlds? Swimnetwork discusses which nation is most likely to take the Gold. Find out out the USA team fairs. And while you're at it, find out how much you know about swimming in Rome by taking the Rome Swimming Quiz!

Open Water in Rome

Open Water expert Steve Munatones discusses ten questions that will be answered in Rome for open water swimmers. Munatones reports that Fran Crippen has confirmed the arrival of the USA Swimming national open water team in Rome yesterday. The USA Swimming national open water team will compete in the 2009 Swimming World Champs in Rome, Italy (July 17-Aug 2). Universal Sports will be covering the event live.

US Masters Goal Setting

With US Masters Long Course Meters Nationals right around the corner (August 6th-10th in Indianapolis, Indiana) Chris Colburn, Chair of the U.S. Masters Swimming Coaches Committee, blogs about Goal Setting for Masters Swimmers. Goal setting is important for all swimmers. In his blog on swimnetwork, Coach Chris offers tips on how swimmers can set achievable goals.

Phelps' Precautionary Scratch

Michael Phelps and Coach Bob Bowman discuss why Phelps opted out of the men's 100m freestyle.

All Great Racers go to Indy

Great things are happening in Indy. Yesterday, Aaron Peirsol broke the world record for Men's 100m backstroke with a time of 51.94 seconds. For the unofficial world champs team list and live coverage on the 2009 Conoco Phillips National Championships and World Trials click here. For interesting articles and photos from the event click here.

Gearing Up for Indy

Next week, the 2009 National Championships & World Championship Trials will take place July 7-11 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The 5-day event will be held at the renowned Indiana University Natatorium. There has been a lot of buzz on what's expected to happen at the Natatorium. One hot topic is swimsuit evaluations, which will be implemented for all swimmers prior to racing.

For more coverage on the event, follow this link for Swimnetwork's coverage on questions to be answered at Indy. For Chris DeSantis' blog on World Champs Trials Preview click here. One thing's for sure: next week will be an exciting week in the swimming world!