"I've spent 20 years in the pool" Michael Phelps

I consider myself normal," Michael Phelps told Piers Morgan. "I've spent 20 years in the pool. I consider that something that's normal."

In an interview on Monday's "Piers Morgan Tonight," the American swimmer who has amassed 17 Olympic medals talked about his goals for the 2012 Games, his heroes, mistakes he's made, his impending retirement and much more.

Phelps won six gold and two bronze medals at the Athens Games in 2004, and eight gold medals at Beijing in 2008. Last night, Phelps won his first ever silver as part of the 400-meter relay team. His medal collection leaves him a mere two medals away from becoming the winningest athlete in Olympic history.

In Saturday's 400-meter individual medley, Phelps came in fourth place. Fellow USA teammate Ryan Lochte won the gold. It was the first time Phelps failed to win a medal in an Olympic event since 2000. Phelps, 27, is competing in his fourth and final Olympics before retirement.

Phelps, who grew up in a suburb of Baltimore, began swimming at age 7.

Phelps at one point trained every day for five years. He spent three to six hours in the pool each day and exercised on dry land four to five days a week.

Morgan pointed out that the number of Olympians who cite Phelps as an inspiration makes the swimmer an almost godlike figure, but Phelps said that his athletic role model has always been Michael Jordan.

"On and off the court, the guy made basketball what it is," Phelps told Morgan.

Phelps has yet to meet the basketball Hall of Famer and six-time NBA champion, who also is a two-time Olympic gold medalist. But the two sports stars share a similar trait: Both men had a dream, reached for it and achieved it despite the sacrifices they made.

"I think one of the coolest things that I loved about him was it didn't matter what he had going on off the court or if he was sick or this, that," said Phelps. "He never used an excuse. He came out every single night on the court and did what he had to do to get his job done. That's what champions do. It doesn't matter what else is going on when you walk in to your arena, whatever you excel at, you're there to take care of the job that you have to do."

Morgan asked Phelps to recall the fallout from the 2009 incident in which a photograph of the swimmer allegedly smoking pot from a bong at a party surfaced.

"I'll make a million mistakes in my life but as long as I never make the same mistake again, then I've been able to learn and grow," said Phelps. He also said that the incident made him realize who his real friends were.

With retirement clear on the horizon, Phelps told Morgan that he'd most like to be remembered for "doing something that nobody else had ever done before, changing the sport of swimming. That's what I hope to walk out of this sport with."

One aspect of retirement that Phelps looks forward to is visiting oceans or resorts and not getting in the water.

"I don't want to get in the water," said Phelps. "I spent so much time in the water; I'm like 'No I'll sit here on the beach. ... I don't want to get in the water and play."

Snoop Dogg Unveils New Name, Reggae Focus

Snoop Dogg is now the artist formerly known as Snoop Dogg.

The rapper announced last night that he's no longer Snoop Dogg ... or a rapper. He will be focusing on creating reggae music under the name Snoop Lion!

"Rap is not a challenge to me," the Doggfather said Monday at a press event in New York City, explaining his transformation to the ... Lionfather?

"With no disrespect to other rappers, but they can't f**k with me in rap," he added.

"I've won every accolade you can in rap, they call me 'Uncle Snoop' in rap. When you're an uncle, it's time to find something new ... I want to feel like a kid again."

Thus, get ready to hear Snoop Lion roar ... or at least drop smooth, Caribbean-influenced beats on his new project called, Reincarnated.

"It's not that I want to become Snoop Dogg on a reggae track," Snoop reiterated. "I want to bury Snoop Dogg, and become Snoop Lion."

"I didn't know that until I went to the temple, where the High Priest asked me what my name was, and I said, 'Snoop Dogg.' And he looked me in my eyes and said, 'No more. You are the light; you are the lion.'"

"From that moment on, it's like I had started to understand why I was there."

It's unclear if he means that metaphorically or literally, but good to know.

The most beautiful cars of 2012

Ferrari 458 Spider

Ferrari 458 Spider Feast your eyes on the world's first hardtop convertible mid-engine supercar. This $257,000 stunner has a V8, rear-wheel drive engine and goes 0-60mph in 3.3 seconds. With the roof up, the car looks just like the stunning Italia. With the ultra-light hardtop down, it is the hottest convertible on the market today

Jaguar F-Type

The new F-Type, due out next year as a 2014 model, is supposed to recapture the sports-car heritage the company used to have with its C-Type, D-Type and E-Type sports cars. Production prototypes have had a supercharged V6 engine and are small and light enough to, ostensibly, at least, compete against cars like the Aston Martin V8 Vantage, Ferrari 458 Italia and Porsche 911.

Zenvo ST1 Supercar 

It is a Danish-made, 1,250-horsepower supercar that goes 0-60mph in 2.9 seconds and has a top speed of 233mph. It has a 7-liter, V8 engine that sports 1,050 ft-lb of torque with rear-wheel drive on 7-speed manual transmission. The entire body, and most of the trim, is carbon fiber. It weighs 3,000 pounds. Only 15 of the ST1 will be made, with three slated for U.S. showrooms.

McLaren MP4-12C and 12C Spider

"The McLaren MP4-12C isn't brand new but after seeing it in person and driving it, it just blew my mind," says Atif Kazmi, founder of the mens lifestyle site Por Homme. "Besides, the front looks like it's smiling at you. Beautiful."

Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster 

The convertible is the second car to be developed independently by AMG. (The SLS AMG gullwing coupe was launched last year.) It has 563 horsepower and a top speed of 197 miles per hour. It also handles just as amazingly as the coupe, thanks to modifications that increase the rigidity of the body (the cross-member under the dash has additional supporting struts; a structure between the soft top and the tank stiffens the rear axle).

Lamborghini Aventador 

"It's everything a supercar should be: shouty, sexy, outlandish and inter-planetary,” says Michael Prichinello, the co-owner of Classic Car Club Manhattan. "The lines are much harder than any other car, and all the folds and creases remind me of automotive origami."

Bentley Mulsanne

The $300,000 four-door, five-seat sedan comes with a 6 3/4 liter, 505 horsepower V8 engine and an eight-speed automatic transmission that reduces CO2 emissions and saves 15% more fuel than the previous V8. It is hand-made in Crewe, England, and takes more than 320 hours of construction from start to finish. Almost half of Mulsanne production time goes into crafting its interior, which is trimmed with hand-stitched leather, polished stainless steel sills and grills, and premium wood veneers.

Aston Martin V12 Zagato 

"English cars don't always work that well, but they sure are beautiful," Prichinello says. “I like this car because the DB9 has been around for a bit and the V8 looks very much like the DB's little brother. The Zagato tag on an Aston is very special, so the car wearing it should be too. While the new Zagato doesn't delivery newness in the form of technology, engine or anything else, it is a beautiful example of bodywork. The curves are both powerful and graceful.  It's a gentleman's GT car."

Maserati GranTurismo Sport 

"I've always been a sucker for Italian GT cars, and the GT Sport is the best of the lot,” Prichinello says. “It is an over-exaggeration of everything a GT car should be. First off, the size of the thing. In person, it's as long as a football field, but it's that length that lets the graceful lines of the GranTurismo get bigger and bolder at the ends. The hood is long and muscular, letting you know there's a Ferrari-born engine underneath, and while it looks classically Italian and sports-minded, there's something very sinister about it. This isn't a nice man's car."

Unravelling the secret of a mystery spinner

The whole of Sri Lanka including the cricket fraternity received a shock last Friday when Sri Lanka’s 30-member preliminary squad was named for the forthcoming World T20 to be hosted by Sri Lanka.

One name in particular created a stir as none had heard of him and no information was available even on the web. This led to a flood of speculation some of which bordered on absurdity with even suggestions of bribes and connections to powerful families flying around.

The innocent young man at the centre of the storm was going through his studies as usual at the little-known small school in the outskirts of Colombo, quite oblivious to the commotion he had created.

Who actually is this Akila Dhananjaya named as number 30 in the Sri Lanka squad?

He may well be the next spin wizard to come out of the country that produced world record holders Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis.

Mahamarakkala Kurukulasooriya Patabendige Akila Dananjaya Perera is a soft spoken, small-made 19-year old student from the Mahanama Vidyalaya, Panadura.

He played just 12 matches this season for his school which only plays in Division Three and bagged 60 wickets. He hasn’t played any first class cricket and played just four Under 23 games since joining Colts Cricket Club this season. He wasn’t selected for the Under 19 World Cup. So what magic, suddenly parachuted him into the Sri Lanka squad for the World Cup?

If the words of Sri Lanka’s chairman of National selectors are to be believed, it is only spin magic and nothing else.

You don’t have to be concerned that you haven’t seen or heard of the little known spinner. Even the chief selector Asantha de Mel hasn’t seen him yet ! “Actually in fairness, I haven’t seen the boy. We selected him on the basis of the request of the captain and the coach and not for anything else” de Mel told “Daily Mirror”.

“We had picked 29 and we were looking for another player to be the 30th. Mahela and the coach asked - Can you give us this boy? He seems to have a lot of potential” he added. “Thirty is a large squad. The captain and the coach feel he should be in it. We haven’t seen the boy. We cannot comment on it. They are (already) using him as a net bowler. He is one of the few bowlers who can bowl both off spin as well as leg spin” said de Mel who also said “he apparently has seven different types of deliveries”.

De Mel endorsed Jayawardene’s eye to see promise. “Mahela has a good eye to spot young talent. It is only fair that we back the captain in that kind of situation”. Perera had his first lucky break when Sri Lankans had wanted a net bowler who could mimic champion off spinner Saeed Ajmal during Pakistan’s Sri Lanka tour. Almost all of Sri Lanka’s star batsmen had difficulty in reading him and he became an instant hit with the team.

“He had been bowling at them. He had apparently got the same kind of doosra as Ajmal. They had been working with him” de Mel said.

Jayawarden had rated the young man so high that the Sri Lanka captain picked him as his second choice at the recent auction for the Wayamba United team. “Mahela purchased him in the second round of the SLPL auction even before the Sri Lanka and senior players. Mahela thinks he will really come good” said de Mel.

Perera however said he did not know that the Sri Lanka captain was so impressed with him.

“No one told me anything. I bowled at the Sri Lanka players at the nets and thoroughly enjoyed it. But apart from that I did not know much. I don’t know if they are impressed with me” said Perera who was stunned as everyone else to see his name among the stars in the world Cup squad. “I was amazed and I was equally jubilant” he said.

Perera has one elder brother and a younger sister and has pursued his love for cricket amidst endless financial difficulties. His father who is the sole breadwinner of the family is a carpenter.“We have difficulties. But the family lets me pursue cricket because they think I am good at it” described Perera whose fortunes might see a rapid turnaround if he hits the jackpot with his doosra for the World T20. He is firmly on the right path as Jayawardene’s SLPL team bought him for 5000 US dollars (Rs. 675,000) for the inaugural season.

He had been hurt by comments made by readers of websites when his selection had been published. “My parents were really upset. There were comments that said we were powerfully connected etc. My parents said if anyone of those who made comments see our house where we live, they will understand” he said.

It had all begun when his mother took him with her for his brother’s cricket practices one day. “It was my brother who was playing cricket for school. My mother took him lunch and took me with her. She had to attend to another matter so she asked me to stay with my brother till she came back to pick me up. But she got held up and got late. I was asked to help the other boys and after that, the coach wanted me to attend practices” he described.

Though he can officially be classified as an off spinner, his variety is so much it even baffles him what he actually is. A broad smile was his answer when he was first asked what type he bowled. Then he reluctantly agreed he was an “off spinner” but was quick to add that he had so many variations. “I actually began as a leg spinner” he revealed.

Perera had coaches, but all his variations are selftaught and perfected. “When I see bowling actions of international spinners in slow motion on TV, I always try them out. Then I trial them at the nets. Trying something new always interests me” he said.

He had been picked by national spin bowling coach Piyal Wijetunge and national fielding coach Ruwan Kalpage for the national spin bowling clinic at the R. Premadasa Stadium and since then, had been practicing every week for several years after he was picked at a provincial contest to select players.

De Mel said that Perera was not picked for the Under 19 World Cup as they had to pick players blindly without really having an idea of each player’s potential.

“We took over the Under 19 selections only after the Asia Cup. We were not familiar with them (players) because we had not worked with them. We had to go with the recommendations of the former selection committee, because we were not in a position to look at anything” explained de Mel.

“They had selected a squad of thirty and we had to work within that squad and (for) what they gave, we basically had to agree because we didn’t know anything. We hadn’t seen the boys”.

De Mel feels things would have been different if they were in a better position to pick the Under 19 squad.

“Had we known all this we would have selected him for the under 19 world cup squad. We didn’t know that. See, the thing is under 19 coaches have missed this boy. They have not seen this boy” revealed de Mel.

However de Mel had something was amiss when they named him directly in the Sri Lanka squad.

“We said if we put him in the 30, it is going to look funny because we didn’t put him in the under 19. Mahela wanted this boy in the 30. He is impressed; the coach is also very impressed. Just because we didn’t pick him for under 19, it is not fair for us to leave him out of the world cup” he reasoned.

De Mel also felt Perera had a fair chance of making it into the final 15 of the World T20 squad. “Even if we look at our main side, we don’t have spinners who can take wickets. West Indies have discovered Narine. This boy is also like that. You never know. If he does really well and the captain feels he can be a surprise package. Ajantha Mendis also is not fit. If the captain is really keen, we might consider him for the final 15” explained de Mel.

He pointed out that the forthcoming SLPL would give them a great opportunity to monitor Perera’s strengths.

“We can see how he fares when he plays in the SLPL. He will definitely play in Mahela’s side. We can have a look and see what qualities this boy has” he said.

Source: Daily Mirror - Sri Lanka

First Indian to pose for Playboy

Sherlyn Chopra also known as Mona Chopra, an Indian actress, singer and model has become the 1st Indian model to show up on the cover page of the iconic men’s magazine“Playboy magazine” for it’s next edition. Is it an achievement or a shame for the Indians?

The Playboy Magazine edition of 2012 (July-August) has Jenny Mccarthy posing on the cover page. Jenny a 39 year old model, mother of a 10 year old son, Evan, has posed for Playboy Magazine 6 times till now. Now don’t you wonder how her son would feel when he sees his mother doing all this. Even if she avoids him from seeing them, what about others? won’t Evan’s friends know about it? won’t they tease him?

Turning back to Sherlyn, who was the 2nd guest on the 3rd season on Bigg Boss 2009, has done movies like Time Pass, Naughty Boy, Game, Raqeeb. She is Half-Christian and Half-Muslim (Muslim to Christian with the name change as Mona to Sherlyn). She turned into the acting career as she was least interested in studies . Being into the film industry is taken as degrading one self. And Sherlyn is one such example.

Brett Lee , To retire Today

Australian cricket board announced that there will be a media conference of Brett Lee today (13th July 2012 ) to discuss about Brett Lee's future International career. These days he is undergoing a calf injury and that has forced him not ta take part in Australian team in the England tour. Australian fast bowler, has suffered many injuries during his career and he is 35 now. Brett Lee is one of the best fast bowlers of Australia and he is the fastest bowler in the cricket history.

Basic Rules for Getting Rich

1) Focus on what's most important


In achieving wealth, how you invest isn't nearly as important as how much you save. 

Say you're 40, have $200,000 saved, with 60% in stocks, and are putting away 10% of a $100,000 salary (including company match). You have a 52% chance of retiring with 70% of your pre-retirement income, according to T. Rowe Price. 

Boost your stock stake to 80%, and your chances improve modestly, to 57%. But if you boost your savings to 15% instead, you get to 69%


Message: Stretch to save the most you can.


2) Make a family decision

62% of couples don't agree on their expected retirement age.

The age at which each of you will retire determines how much money you'll need. If you're among the multitude of couples that the Fidelity survey (cited above) found were not on the same page, make some time to talk with your partner about when you'll quit and what you'd like your life to be like. 

3) 3 ways to get out of debt

ThinkstockCredit cards are almost never "good" debt, yet professional and managerial workers -- who theoretically should know better -- still carry a median balance on plastic of $3,300, according to the Federal Reserve's most recent Survey of Consumer Finances. Even such a small amount can be deleterious, since you're paying around 15% in interest.

Three ways to get out of the red: 

Just pay it off. Behavioral research finds, oddly, that people often save in cash while carrying credit debt. That's a -15% rate on credit vs. 0.13% on savings. See the problem? If you've got enough cash to cover the balance, use it. 

Get a 0% card. Interest-free balance-transfer offers are back in a big way. If you think you'd be able to pay off your total debt within 15 months, get one of these cards, and bank what you would have paid in interest. 

Break out the tools. Can't pay your debt in 15 months? Use the tools at creditcards.com/calculators to come up with an aggressive schedule to erase the debt. The sooner your IOU is wiped away, the sooner you're back on the wealth-building track. 


4) Fill up your 401(k)

Only 12% of 401(k) investors stash away the maximum amount allowed -- $17,000 in 2012 for those under 50 -- reports Vanguard. In fact, the average investor puts in 7.1% of pay, basically just enough to get the employer match.

Need motivation to pump up your percentage? 

The value of your retirement plan at 65, starting at 40 with $0 and saving 7.1% of $100,000 salary: $614,000. If you saved the max, the value of your plan at 65 and starting at 40 with $0, would be $1,300,000. 

Notes: Assumes 3% annual raises, 7% annualized return, and the 2012 maximum of $17,000. 

But also save outside it. Those earning higher wages may need to save more than a 401(k) allows. Next best vehicle: a Roth IRA. The money is saved after tax, so withdrawals in retirement are tax-free. Couples with adjusted gross income up to $173,000 can add $5,000 in 2012 (partial contributions allowed up to an AGI of $183,000). Save the max for 30 years, and you'll net $505,400, assuming 7% annualized returns. 

Don't forget to play catch-up. Who says there are no benefits of aging? Folks 50 and up can stash an extra $5,500 in a 401(k) and $1,000 in an IRA per year. But only 32% of those eligible take advantage, according to a TD Ameritrade poll. Too bad, since if you play catch-up on both a 401(k) and IRA each year for a decade, you'll end up with about $96,000 more in your account at 60. 

5) Get the mix right

Source: Portfolio Solutions7) Know your number

ThinkstockPeople who have calculated the total amount they'll need to retire have more saved than those who haven't, the Employee Benefit Research Institute recently found. 

[Related: 10 Countries Where Retirees Live Large]

Not among the 42% of workers who've run this math? It's easy enough to do: Plug your info into the "How much will you need for retirement" calculator. 

Strategize, don't improvise. Go a step beyond simply knowing the target -- know how to hit it. 

A study last year conducted at the University of California at Irvine found that people who had a specific plan for their savings amassed between 28% and 85% more than those who didn't. "A formal plan makes you a more disciplined saver," says Chicago financial planner Cicily Maton. The "What you need to save" tool can help you determine how much to put away. 

8) Money magazine readers speak up

Get progress reports 

"We keep track of our net worth using an Excel spreadsheet, and we put all our monthly updates in a binder so we can look back on how far we've come. This motivates us to keep saving and investing and to keep our expenses to a minimum." -- Lori Watts, Allen, Texas 

Make your savings untouchable 

"I keep a separate savings account that I'm not able to view with my ATM card. I can only see it online. Doing this ensures that I do not take money out of the account -- it's out of sight, out of mind." -- Jay Albino, Stony Point, N.Y. 

9) Set goals, but not too many

ThinkstockPeople who set fewer, more integrated financial goals saved nearly five times as much as those who set many unrelated ones, a recent study from the University of Toronto found. 

Reason: With too many things to save for, you spend more time weighing priorities and less time taking action. 

Limit yourself to three main goals -- say, retirement, Junior's college, the emergency fund -- then articulate a theme that describes them, like "improving my family's financial security." Yes, in 2008-09, investments plunged en masse. But over time assets tend to perform differently. So a diversified mix -- like the to the left, from Rick Ferri of Portfolio Solutions -- reduces risk to keep you on track. 

6) Get a pro to help with the plans

Participants in 401(k) plans who receive some form of guidance earn annual returns an average three percentage points higher than those who don't, according to Aon Hewitt and Financial Engines. You may be able to get financial advice for free; an increasing number of companies offer it as a benefit. Ask HR.