She’s not performing, but Britney Spears, as part of her latest comeback attempt, will have a presence at this year’s Video Music Awards. Last week, Britney’s manager, Larry Rudolph, pulled the plug on speculation that she’d be opening the awards just like last year. But she is nominated for an award for her video, “Piece of Me,” and rumor has it that she’ll also be presenting an award along with Olympic champion Michael Phelps.

Britney Spears is to make her return to the MTV VMAs next week accompanied by Olympic swimming golden boy Michael Phelps.

The troubled star had been planning to perform live at the show too, but her manager pulled the plug on the idea – probably a good idea after her disastrous bikini-clad performance at the show last year.

Instead, it’s emerged that Britney will take the stage with human fish Phelps to present one of the many awards on September 8, introduced by host Russell Brand.

She may well end up accepting a gong too – she’s been nominated for her single Piece Of Me.

[From The Daily Mirror]

The official MTV VMA web site doesn’t list Britney as a presenter, though it does confirm that Phelps will be there.

He walked away from this summer’s Olympic Games with a record-setting eight gold medals. So what’s swimming sensation Michael Phelps going to do next? Well, after his requisite trip to Disney World — he’ll be heading out to Los Angeles’ Paramount Pictures Studios on September 7 to hand out a Moonman or two during the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards.

MTV revealed Thursday (August 28) that Phelps, Miley Cyrus, Lindsay Lohan, Ciara, Scarlett Johansson, “Superbad” scene-stealer Christopher Mintz-Plasse and “High School Musical” stars Ashley Tisdale, Corbin Bleu, Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens will be presenters at the show, which will air live at 9 p.m ET. They’ll join “Twilight” stars Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner, who were also announced as presenters on Tuesday.

Additionally, it was announced that DJ AM and Blink-182 kitman Travis Barker will be mixing live drum beats to scratched records throughout the evening. Later in the show, the pair will team up with Katy Perry, T-Pain, Lupe Fiasco, the Ting Tings and other special guests to perform new and past MTV hits as part of a special celebration of the VMAs’ 25th birthday.

The news follows the recent announcements that Rihanna, Pink, T.I., Kid Rock, Paramore, Lil Wayne and the Jonas Brothers will be taking the VMA stage this year. Additional presenters and performers will be announced in the coming days.

This year’s VMAs will be hosted by British comic and “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” co-star Russell Brand.

[From MTV.com]

Of course, that doesn’t mean Britney won’t be presenting- MTV might just be keeping it under wraps for now.

Britney Spears is shown on 6/26/08. Micheal Phelps is shown yesterday and this morning, 8/27/08 and 8/28/08. He should definitely keep his shirt off. Credit: WENN. Edit – more shirtless photos added by popular demand. Credit: PRPhotos

Earlier in the week there was a lot of speculation about record-setting Olympian swimmer Michael Phelps’ love life. The buff athlete graces the cover of Sports Illustrated and stands to earn millions in endorsement deals. He’s one of the hottest commodities around, but fellow American Olympic swimmer and Playboy model Amanda Beard denied hooking up with him, saying “Ewww, that’s nasty” when she was asked about it. British model Lily Donaldson hasn’t commented on a rumored romance with Phelps, but there’s at least one lovely Olympian who didn’t pass up a chance with the 6’4″ powerhouse.

Phelps, 23, was spotted making out with Australian three-time Olympic gold-winning swimmer Stephanie Rice, 20, at a party on Monday:

Phelps, fresh from shattering Mark Spitz’s 36-year-old record, was spotted Monday night in a hot make-out session with Down Under swimmer Stephanie Rice, a source tells The Post’s Clemente Lisi and Luke Dennehy. The pumped-up pair clinched and swapped spit at a celebratory bash outside the Olympic Village.

The Baltimore Bullet swooped in for the lip-lock with the 20-year-old brunette just weeks after she split from Aussie swimmer Eamon Sullivan. “All the swimmers are talking about it, and [Sullivan] is cut up about what happened,” the source said.

The day after the face-sucking frolics, Phelps and Rice cheekily posed together for Speedo – laughing and playfully groping each other as a photographer snapped them in their swimsuits. “I definitely admire him for his athletic ability and everything he’s achieved,” gushed Rice, who won three gold medals of her own. “I’m just really glad to be in the mix with that.”

Whether the dynamic duo is now a couple isn’t known. Phelps’ rep didn’t return our calls.

[From The NY Post]

I know these two are young and this may not last for them, but could you imagine what great athletes their kids would be? Rice has a couple of world records under her belt too.

Once the Olympics come to an end on Sunday Phelps will have a great new place to relax and entertain the women that are sure to flock to him. He’s purchased a $1.69 million dollar condo on the river in his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland. He can surely afford a much bigger mansion, though. US Weekly reports that his lifetime earnings are estimated to come in around $100 million and that he already has endorsement deals with PowerBar, Omega, AT&T Wireless, Visa, Speedo, and Kelloggs.

Here’s Stephanie Rice winning the gold medal in the 200M individual Medley on 8/13/08. Credit: Insidefoto / PR Photos

Lopez never mentioned on GMA that she’s technically not doing a full triathlon
Jennifer Lopez was on Good Morning America on Monday to promote the fact that she’s competing in a triathlon for charity on September 14 in Malibu. Lopez is training with Self Magazine editor Lucy Danzinger and all proceeds raised from J.Lo’s triathlon pledges will go to Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles. I looked up the triathlon taking place in Malibu on September 14, and it’s a “a half-mile ocean swim, an 18 mile out-and-back bike course, and a 4-mile out-and-back run course.” That’s certainly very difficult, and way more than I could do, but it’s technically not a full triathlon and is what is known as a “sprint triathlon,” but neither Lopez or Danzinger mentioned on GMA that she wasn’t doing a full triathlon. I’m splitting hairs here and she deserves a lot of credit, especially after just having twins six months ago, but if you believe the rumors Lopez is expecting just as much credit as a certain record-breaking Olympian.

Did Lopez say she didn’t understand why Phelps was the big story, not her?
The origins of this rumor are suspect, but Lopez supposedly said behind the scenes on Good Morning America that she didn’t understand why Michael Phelps’ Olympic victories were the big story instead of her fitness achievements. If this is true, maybe she’s just so wrapped up in training and caring for the twins that she doesn’t watch the news, go online, or read a paper. Lopez was on GMA on Monday, which is right after Phelps won his record-breaking eighth Olympic medal:

Jennifer Lopez has reportedly claimed that she is surprised by all the attention eight-time Olympic winner Michael Phelps is receiving.

According to a source at Good Morning America, the singer thought her efforts in training for triathlon were greater than Phelps’s swimming gold medal haul.

After filming a TV interview, she apparently said “she couldn’t understand why everyone is talking about that swimmer.”

The source added: “She couldn’t come up with [Michael] Phelps’ name, and then she yammered on about how she was the one training for a triathlon just six months after giving birth, and how that was the big story right now, not ‘the swimmer’.”

[From DigitalSpy]

I really hope someone made that story up. It’s possible she’s just so isolated in her Long Island mansion and focused on her children and sports training that she’s not keeping up with the news at all. She came across as pretty likable on Good Morning America, but you can see where she gets her reputation if she’s spouting self-centered crap like this.

Jennifer Lopez is shown on Good Morning America on 8/18/08. Credit: Anthony Dixon / WENN

When I think of athletes getting into hot water, I think of out-of-wedlock babies, general debauchery, and dog fighting. Rarely do I think of cereal. But that’s exactly the controversy record-setting Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps finds himself in. Phelps has signed a contract to appear on the front of both Frosted Flakes and Corn Flakes boxes – a move that has got him in a lot of trouble. Why? Well mostly it’s because he’s scored the traditional Wheaties box. Oh and because of sugar.

Five out of five dentists say Michael Phelps is all wet — when it comes to his choice of breakfast cereal.

Health experts are going nuts because Mikey likes Frosted Flakes, and is going to be on the FF box rather than a Wheaties box, like pretty much every other big-shot athlete. They’re all up in arms because Flakes has three times as much sugar as Wheaties and only a fraction of the fiber. Not so grrrrrreat after all?!

[From TMZ]

Us Weekly notes that Phelps has actually already been on the front of a Wheaties, so it’s probably just no big whoop for him.

The Kellogg Co. has released Michael Phelps’ upcoming Corn Flakes cereal box art.

The 23-year-old swimming champ — who won a record eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics — will also appear on Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes, beginning in mid-September. (Phelps passed on posing on Wheaties boxes, where he has appeared before. Kellogg Co. would not reveal how much it paid him.)

[From Us Weekly]

I agree that sugar is the devil (at least for a lot of people, myself included) but let the guy do what he wants. I’m pretty sure he’s allowed to be on the box of donuts if that’s what he chooses to do. Phelps is also supposedly not a fan of Wheaties and actually wants his image to endorse something he does like and eats. What a novel concept.

Michael has also been the subject of much internet gossip of late. Everyone wants to know who he’s dating, and for some reason it’s been narrowed down to Olympic swimmer Amanda Beard or British model Lily Donaldson. I’m not quite sure why these two women are the most frequently mentioned, but I think it’s pretty safe that we can rule Beard out.

Sexpot swimmer Amanda Beard says Michael Phelps has absolutely no shot at doing the breaststroke with her. Beard denied today that she was dating Phelps, saying, “Eww, that’s nasty…. I have never, ever hooked up with Michael Phelps,” Beard said via telephone from Beijing on the “Johnjay and Rich Show,” which is broadcast on Kiss FM 104.7 in Phoenix.

Beard, who has bared all for Playboy and appears in a sexy ad for PETA, also said she has never even kissed the 14-time Olympic gold-medallist [sic]. “Come on, I have really good taste,” the sexy swimmer said. “He’s really not my type.” Asked how the poolside rumors made their way into London’s Daily Telegraph, Beard said she had no clue. “We don’t even talk to each other,” she said of her relationship with Phelps.

When “Extra” asked Phelps in an interview that aired last night if he was dating Beard, Phelps said, “No. I’m not dating Amanda Beard. I’ll say that,” he told the TV show. “I think she has a boyfriend.”

[From the New York Post]

Beard later clarified that she was joking around about the “Eww” thing and she and Michael are just friends. Lily Donaldson’s reps haven’t responded to the rumors, so I guess there’s a possibility there. Phelps himself has said he keeps his private life private, and only a few friends know who he’s dating and that’s how it’s going to stay. And by that, he means he’s dating me. Sorry to disappoint.

Images thanks to WENN.

Lindsay Lohan really does have the power to horrify people the world over. Mothers, specifically. Though Lohan appears to be more into the ladies than the men (at least lately) that didn’t prevent her from terrifying poor Michael Phelps’ mother with the mere thought of Lohan liking her son.

Debbie Phelps was being interview by Billy Bush for Access Hollywood. For some reason Billy was texting with Lindsay Lohan (because who among us doesn’t do that at some point in the day?) and he asked if she had anything to say about Michael Phelps. And that’s when dear Mrs. Phelps real feelings got dragged into it.

When it comes to Michael Phelps, Lindsay Lohan is apparently willing to postpone this whole lesbian thing. While interviewing Michael’s mom Debbie on Monday, Hobbit-like Access Hollywood correspondent Billy Bush received a text message from Lohan, which he proceeded to show Debbie while on the air. Mom’s reaction was pretty great.

Lohan’s message: “Tell him he’s f&#%ing amazing, and I want to meet him.”

It made them all stronger — which came in handy when Billy showed Mama a text to her son from actress Lindsay Lohan. Billy handed his Blackberry to Mama for her to read Lindsay’s message to Michael, and her reaction was priceless.

“Pardon the language but…” Billy said as he showed her the text. Mama Phelps’ usually jubilant face turned horrified. “OK, Lindsay!!! — Delete! Delete! Delete!” Lindsay’s crime? Telling her son he’s, ‘bleepin’ amazing’!

[From Deadspin]

You can’t blame a mother for being rather terrified at the thought of Lindsay Lohan even knowing who her son is. Barbara Bush would probably panic to find out Lindsay knows who her son is. Though I’m guessing the odds are good Lindsay doesn’t.

Here’s Lindsay and Samantha Ronson shopping at the Free City store in Malibu yesterday. Images thanks to WENN.

American swimmer Michael Phelps, 23, made Olympic history yesterday with his eighth gold medals, the most won by an athlete in a single Olympics to date. He’s won 16 medals in his career so far, with six gold and two bronze medals in Athens in 2004 and eight in this year’s Olympics in Beijing. He has seven world records in swimming and has been declared “The world’s greatest athlete.”

Sets goals and achieves them
Phelps represents the power of setting goals and working incredibly hard to achieve them. He said at the beginning of this year’s Olympics “If you dream your biggest dream, anything is possible. No matter what you set your imagination to, anything can happen.”

Eats 12,000 calories a day
All that rigorous training takes tons of calories to fuel, and Phelps has to eat about 5-6 times the amount of food an average person requires to get through the day. While he’s training, Phelps eats about a pound of pasta both for lunch and dinner along with nearly an entire pizza and a couple thousand calories worth of energy drinks.

Right conditions for record-setting
The pool used at the Beijing Olympics meets Olympic standards but is 3 meters deeper and 2 lanes wider than past pools, reducing the turbulence that reaches the surface of the water and allowing swimmers to go faster with less resistance.

Phelps and other Olympic athletes are also wearing the latest high-tech Speedo LZR racer suit, which features “ultrasonically welded” seams and is made of a “paper-thin nylon and Lycra blend.” Phelps has described the suit as feeling “like you are a rocket coming off the wall.”

Up next for Phelps are the 2009 World Championships in Rome. After a record-setting eight gold medals, he says he’s not going to rest on his achievements and that “There are some things I still want to do to raise the bar a bit more in the world of swimming. For me, it’s still work in progress.”

Phelps has the world wide open to him after his amazing accomplishments and he’s sure to get some incredibly lucratice endorsement deals. He’s definitely earned them.

Michael Phelps is shown at the Olympics on 8/12, 8/14, and 8/16. He is shown with his teammates on the gold winning US team in the Men’s 4x100M Medley relay Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen, and Jason Lezak. He is also shown with the other winners in the Men’s 100M Butterfly, bronze winner Andrew Lauterstein from Australia, and silver winner Milorad Cavic from Serbia. Credit: PRPhotos.