The U.S. Olympic men's swimming trials

American swimmers Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte are putting on quite a show. They've dominated the field in every event they've entered. It should come as no surprise, considering Phelps has already won 14 Olympic gold medals, and Lochte holds a world record or two himself. The announcers often refer to them as the best two swimmers in the world.

Maybe they are. Then again, nobody knows that for sure until the actual Olympic events take place. It seems to me there's a lot of countries around the world that will be sending the best of their own swimmers, and maybe some of THEIR announcers are referring to THEM as the best in the world. We'll all know when they get it on in London in a few weeks.

Americans shouldn't forget that just because Phelps, Lochte, and Co. dominated the last Olympics -- that was 4 years ago. A lot can happen in that time. Detroit Lion fans would know about that. 4 years ago, their team racked up the only 0-16 season in NFL history. They were a laughingstock. Now, those same fans dare to mention the Lions making it to the Super Bowl. Teams go up and teams go down, sometimes drastically. Previously unheard of athletes can suddenly emerge and become super-stars.

There might be some 14 year old kid somewhere hacking away on public golf courses, that will eventually surpass everything Tiger Woods has accomplished. You never know. And so it could be in men's Olympic swimming this year. Maybe there's a few guys from other countries that Americans never heard of before, that will show up to trounce Phelps and Lochte in the pool. Again, you never know. I dare say those guys, whoever they are, have been training like maniacs too.

Remember the "Miracle on Ice" back in 1980, when a bunch of American college kids defeated the mighty Soviet Red Army squad? Looking at it from the other side, that would have been akin to the original Dream Team of NBA stars (Bird, Magic, Jordan, etc., whose smallest margin of victory was a whopping 32 points) getting knocked off in the Olympics by, say, Lithuania. Neither had a snowflake's chance in hell of happening. But one did.

Just a thought -- Phelps is entered in 8 Olympic events. Just for fun, let's assume he wins gold medals in 4 of them, a very real possibility, running his record total to 18. That would be the exact same number the above mentioned Tiger Woods is fixated on, regarding winning golf "majors".

I hope he tweets Eldrick and says, "I'll consider having lunch with you when you match my number. Perhaps we could get in a quick 9 holes, then go for a dip in an Olympic sized swimming pool. Seems fair. BTW, I'm not a very good golfer, but I hope your swimming capabilities at least go beyond hot tubs".

Priceless.