Fellow, Swim Aids, grab your Kleenex because the last of the Vanderkaays, Dane, just swam his last home dual NCAA meet at Michigan! That’s right. It’s been a decade of Vanderness and it is soon to be no more.

When I saw Mama VK at the Tri-Meet, the other week, I asked her how she was doing since this was indeed the last time around for her. She’s been “The Michigan Mom” for so long! It’s probably not really going to hit her until this October, when she isn’t headed to Canham for the first meet of the season.

What this really underscores to me is how freaking fast time flies! I remember seeing tiny, lil Dane in Montreal for the 2005 World Championships and now he’s a senior in college! (BTW, Dane was like a carbon copy of Pete back then. Now he looks JUST LIKE Alex!)

WHERE DOES THE TIME GO?!?!?!?!

The only thing this reunion was missing was our fave, Pete. He’s training in Florida, which we’re still not used to seeing, but undoubtedly won’t have to for much longer. Mama says his lease is up at the end of July, and then that’s likely the end of that era as well.

So, go ahead and watch the sweet video that was featured on Michigan’s website. Love that Mama’s campaigning for some grand babies. Imagine that. Baby Vanderkaays? Say it with me: “AWWWWWWW!”

(H/T: Our buddy Tim, who moonlights as the Michigan Team manager)

I was wondering when we’d see one of these pop up! Hit us up and let us know if there are any more!

[H/T: Gus]

ETA: Swim Aid fave, Spin Beck, sent us a link to one she and her Texas teammates did. Also hilarious!

Click here to view the embedded video.

BTW, The bottom module stirs under the educational group.

I think this is where a site like PredictsThat.com could come in handy. It allows users to sign in using their Twitter or Facebook accounts, and from there, they can go on record about absolutely whatever is on their mind; from politics, to sports, to movies. You name it, you can predict it!

Say, for instance, you think Michael Phelps is going to beast again, in London. You can login right now and state how many medals you think he’ll win. Or break it down to a specific race, if you want. It’s up to you! Other site members can then see what you’ve predicted, comment on them, and even vote on your visions when the event window closes. It’s like a social network to talk trash and potentially gloat. What’s not to like? I think we could have some fun with this!

So, if you want to get your prediction on, check out PredictsThat.com! We looked into our Magic 8-ball and feel strongly that one Olympic outcome. (Yea, we know. Really went out on a limb there lol.)

Hey, a swimmer’s hair is a top priority! All that chlorine has got to do some serious damage, so who better for a hair/shampoo company to sign to a sponsorship deal than a swimmer? Exactlyyyyy.

That’s what Pantene thought as well as Natalie Coughlin announced her deal with them today.

I’m not sure I can even think of a swimmer/hair partnership in recent years. Can you? I’m sure UltraSwim hooks up some athletes, but what about the big name companies? Head & Shoulders seems to have thrown themselves completely into the NFL/MLB arena.

These companies now have their pick of spokespersons throughout the Olympic season. Who’s next?

Watch a behind-the-scenes video of Nat’s Pantene shoot below…

Click here to view the embedded video.

O/T: If you missed Natalie’s segment on HGTV’s Hollywood at Home, we have it and will post it in the coming weeks!

Matt Grevers has joined Twitter. The Swim Aids have a soft spot for him, dating back to his Northwestern days where we got to see him compete regularly. (Ahh, the good ol days!) And how could we forget his ginormous TYR ad in Omaha for the 2008 Olympic Trials? Awesomesauce. That was a Swim Aid pleaser. Also, he has the distinction of being the only person on the planet that I’ve ever had to get on tip toe in order to hug. He is that tall.

So follow him, and some junk. Ok?

S/O: Is Davis Tarwater on Twitter? I honestly feel a social network like Twitter was made for him. There isn’t a wittier human being on the planet. For real. (Read his 20 Question Tuesday from last week if you don’t believe me. We go way back, though. T-DUB!!)

Personally, I stick to stuff like running (in warm weather months) or a healthy rotation of 90-120 day Extreme Body Workout programs like P90x, Insanity, TurboFire, or ChaLEAN Extreme. Yes, I’m a big fan of Beach Body programs. They’re probably not as intense as what elite swimmers are doing, but I’ve always wondered if they did do programs like that to shake up their routines or burst out of plateau.

I’ll not insult swimmers by comparing my fitness routines to theirs (lol), but I find when I do the long/structured workout programs, my cardio endurance is much improved. It’s especially true once I start my 5k/10k run training each year. I don’t want to make too many assumptions, but I wonder if the results would be similar for the aquatic-inclined. Seems like a great fit. (A quick Google search confirms as much)

We’ve famously heard about celebrities, including some pro athletes using programs like P90x. The second I heard NBA superstar Ray Allen had used it, I was impressed. I’m not sure if anyone in that league is in better shape on a year-to-year basis. So all that made me wonder how many in the swimming community had given it — or a comparable program — a shot to shake up their dryland training. This includes National Team members. I’m truly intrigued! I would love to hear more about it! (90 Day Review has a great selection of equipment and supplements for P90x.)

This is a guest post provided by Fitness Alliance

It’s no secret that The Swim Aids were absolutely heartbroken when we learned of the Yetter/Hoff breakup of 2008. We didn’t know what to do with ourselves because there does not exist a word to describe how much we love Paul. No, really. We’ve combed the dictionary, and such a word does not exist. Simply put, Paul Yetter > everything. And we will fight anyone who says otherwise.

Anyway, Swimming World Magazine broke the news that The Hoff would be leaving FAST, moving cross country and down to Naples (FL), to reunite with her old coach.

Maybe now would be a good time for Paul to bust out that t-shirt we got him a few years back. Don’t worry, he knows the one.

In closing, this is how we really feel about this news:

Note: Since “The Man” conspired against our main YouTube account and deleted years worth of great video, I decided to start up a “Throwback Thursday” post ritual right here on the blog! Should be some good stuff; maybe even some stuff you’ve never seen or haven’t seen in a while! Remember, I have the entire video archives from MrPhelps.com and SwimStars.org!

Who can live without ESPN.com? Not my husband, that is for sure! My husband is a huge college football fan. Unlike most other men, he really does not get into professional sports of any type. He will occasionally watch NASCAR races or an NBA basketball game, but college football is where his passion lies. There are times when various college football games are not shown on T.V. due to area blackouts or a more popularly billed game. When this happens, my husband logs on to our satellite internet to catch the play-by-plays on ESPN.com. Here he can check scores for any and all college football teams as well as keep up with all of the action and statistics for each player on each time. Although I am happy that he enjoys keeping up with this sport, I almost feel like a widow to college football from August until the bowl games are finished in early January. I guess it could be worse; he could follow college football up with a long season of NBA basketball straight into MLB!

As soon as the calendar switched over to 2012, you knew it was about to go down. And it did!

It is now Michael Phelps season! The reigning poster child for the American Olympic effort is back on our TVs on a regular basis!

Subway, one of Phelpsy’s longtime sponsors is bombarding us with multiple ads. I think I saw 3 different spots during the NFL playoffs the other night. (No, they’re not all new, but they’re in rotation nonetheless) And that’s exactly the audience they needed to hammer! Plant that seed now, and hopefully those fans will tune in this summer!

BTW, when do these advertisers put The Lochtenator in TV ads? I bet the outtakes would be comedy GOLD!