Yeah, Right, Whatever

Michael Phelps has won his eighth gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Since NBC has been wall-to-wall Phelps for the past week, we can presume that the Games are over now... right?

Cheering from the pool deck, Michael Phelps won his record eighth gold medal of the Beijing Games on Sunday to become the grandest of Olympic champions.

Jason Lezak held on to the lead Phelps gave him, anchoring the United States to a world record in the 400-meter medley relay against an Australian team that did its best to spoil history.

But Phelps, with a big hand from three teammates, would not be denied. He eclipsed Mark Spitz's seven-gold performance at the 1972 Munich Games, an iconic performance that was surpassed by a swimmer fitting of this generation: a 23-year-old from Baltimore who loves hip-hop music and texting with his buddies.

"I don't even know what to feel right now," Phelps said. "There's so much emotions going through my head and so much excitement. I kind of just want to see my mom."

Seriously, though... he's an amazing athlete, and he's quite humble. He knows just how great a swimmer he is, and he still thanks those who helped him get there.

"It wouldn't have been possible without the help of my teammates." Phelps said. "For the three Olympics I've been a part of, this is by far the closest men's team that we've ever had. I didn't know everybody coming into this Olympics, but I feel going out I know every single person very well. The team that we had is the difference."

uh... yeah... speaking of that team... the one consistent member of your relay teams was Jason Lezak... I wonder if Phelps will cut him a check for 1/8 of that bonus? 

Congrats to Michael Phelps. Also congrats to Jason Lezak, Aaron Peirsol, and Brendan Hansen for an awesome job in that race.