Michael Phelps

Under Armour plans to hire hundreds of workers at its Locust Point headquarters this year, expand facilities on its campus and bring its brand of sports apparel and footwear to new markets in the U.S. and around the world. CEO Kevin Plank outlined the goals Tuesday while promising shareholders more of the rapid growth that has defined the $1.8 billion company in recent years. During an annual meeting in which Under Armour pitchman and record-setting Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps made a surprise appearance, Plank said the company is just beginning to make inroads in areas such as athletic footwear, women's sports apparel and international markets, with room to grow.

He's back ... unless he's not. Rumors that Michael Phelps, already the most decorated Olympian, is planning to come out of retirement sent the swimming community abuzz Friday night. Phelps, the Baltimore native who retired with a lifetime 22 medals, 18 of them gold after the 2012 London Games, threw some water on the notion that spread after a blogger and a Florida television station said he was headed back to the pool. "Why do I keep getting texts about coming back? Do [people]

Michael Phelps has the money to pretty much sleep anywhere, in anything, that he wants. It turns out for the last year or so, the Olympian has been hitting the hay in a high-altitude sleeping chamber. Mention of the so-called "contraption" got a big eye-brow raise out of Anderson Cooper on Sunday's "60 Minutes. " "Inside Michael's apartment, an unusual contraption," Cooper said with drama. "A chamber he sleeps in that simulates high altitude. " And, Cooper added for effect: "He doesn't want anyone to see it, but he was willing to talk to us about it. " Phelps described the weirdness of heading into his bedroom, but then having to enter something else before retiring.

Michael Phelps is the second-most influential athlete in the United States, according to data from surveys conducted by Nielsen and E-Poll Market Research and published by Forbes.com . Phelps ranks behind only Tim Tebow, a quarterback without a team, and ahead of sprinter Usain Bolt. While Tebow may be an example of marketing mattering more than on-field performance, Phelps and Bolt seem to be the product of Olympic greatness being paired with forward-thinking promotion. I caught up with Phelps' long-time agent, Peter Carlisle, last week to talk about his plans for jockey Rosie Napravnik, a new client he picked up on advice from people in Phelps' Baltimore orbit.

Michael Phelps could very well become the greatest Olympian of all time but he says when he retires from swimming after the London Games, he plans to conquer a new sport: Horse racing. Phelps tells Yahoo that he's quite serious about buying a race horse with his longtime coach Bob Bowman. He tells the news organization that the two have discussed it repeatedly. In fact, he has his eye on Preakness 2014 -- if not the Triple Crown. "I think it would be cool," Phelps told Yahoo, adding that he hopes to hit all of next year's Triple Crown races as an observer, if not a shopper.

He's back ... unless he's not. Rumors that Michael Phelps, already the most decorated Olympian, is planning to come out of retirement sent the swimming community abuzz Friday night. Phelps, the Baltimore native who retired with a lifetime 22 medals, 18 of them gold after the 2012 London Games, threw some water on the notion that spread after a blogger and a Florida television station said he was headed back to the pool. "Why do I keep getting texts about coming back? Do [people]

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Baltimore lawyer Frank Morgan helped swimmer Michael Phelps , then 16 years old, select Peter Carlisle as his agent. Phelps was years away from stardom, but Carlisle aggressively marketed his client, hoping to eventually elevate him beyond the confines of an Olympic sport that mattered to a broad audience only every four years. Earlier this year, Carlisle signed another client - at the suggestion of Morgan - and put her on the Phelps plan. He's already signed a deal for jockey Rosie Napravnik to endorse Snickers - an agreement proposed before Carlisle learned that the candy bar was named for a horse - and has another in the works that could be announced before Preakness.

We really enjoyed Jean Marbella 's article about Michael Phelps ("In his 'last year,' Phelps thoughtful," March 29). My family and I have always been huge fans of Michael Phelps . We met him and his mom, Debbie, at a golf event several years ago. My elderly mom, Trudy, who closely follows his career, was treated as a special guest of the Phelps' at the event and it really meant a lot to her. Ms. Marbella describes Michael as...

There he was, before every major swim in the London Olympics, lost in thought and music pumping from headphones that covered his ears. And now, a clever company wants to sell you a pair of those Michael Phelps headphones. The red, white and blue headphones are available for pre-order on Ebay, through Sol Republic, which has inked a deal with Phelps. The headphones cost $149.99. A portion of the proceeds will to to the Michael Phelps Foundation. "He absolutely loves this brand," his agent Peter Carlisle told ESPN.

As the 2012 Summer Olympics drew to a close, so did the career of the most decorated Olympian in history, Michael Phelps, Baltimorean extraordinaire. We've watched Michael grow from a gangly 15-year-old Olympic rookie into a 27-year-old Olympic champion. We've been honored to watch his amazing growth and transformation. As with all youngsters it hasn't always been perfect, but it's as close to perfection as anyone has ever gotten. And in the end he's our boy. This great athlete deserves our permanent recognition for his singular achievement.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Baltimore lawyer Frank Morgan helped swimmer Michael Phelps , then 16 years old, select Peter Carlisle as his agent. Phelps was years away from stardom, but Carlisle aggressively marketed his client, hoping to eventually elevate him beyond the confines of an Olympic sport that mattered to a broad audience only every four years. Earlier this year, Carlisle signed another client - at the suggestion of Morgan - and put her on the Phelps plan. He's already signed a deal for jockey Rosie Napravnik to endorse Snickers - an agreement proposed before Carlisle learned that the candy bar was named for a horse - and has another in the works that could be announced before Preakness.

Under Armour plans to hire hundreds of workers at its Locust Point headquarters this year, expand facilities on its campus and bring its brand of sports apparel and footwear to new markets in the U.S. and around the world. CEO Kevin Plank outlined the goals Tuesday while promising shareholders more of the rapid growth that has defined the $1.8 billion company in recent years. During an annual meeting in which Under Armour pitchman and record-setting Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps made a surprise appearance, Plank said the company is just beginning to make inroads in areas such as athletic footwear, women's sports apparel and international markets, with room to grow.

The inaugural class of the Towson High School Athletics Hall of Fame, featuring Michael Phelps (2003), Randy Dase (1972), Sue Beeler (1958), Billy Jones (1964), Jaimee Reynolds (1998) and Jack Thomas (1970), will be honored April 19 at halftime of the Hereford-Towson boys lacrosse game. At 5:15 p.m., five minutes before the opening faceoff of the varsity game, a flagpole and plaque will be dedicated to Mike Godzik (1965), who died in 2008 and in whose name an annual award is given to a boys lacrosse player.

Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps and Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan teed off against each other on the golf course at the 12th annual Michael Jordan Celebrity Invitational at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas this weekend. Jordan, a six-time NBA champion and a five-time Most Valuable Player, has spent a lot of time on the golf course since his third -- or was it fourth? -- retirement from the NBA. He shot a 73 in his round against Phelps. But Phelps fired an even-par 72 to beat Jordan by a stroke in their round together, according to Yahoo!

“I'm 27. I'm retired. But I still want to compete.” That's Olympic champion Michael Phelps talking in “The Haney Project,” a Golf Channel series that stars Tiger Woods' one-time coach taking on a new celebrity student each season. Phelps' words pretty much summarize the premise of this year's edition, which starts Monday night. In the past, Hank Haney's celebrity pupils have included Ray Romano, Rush Limbaugh, Charles Barkley and Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine. This season, the student is the swimmer from Baltimore who won 18 gold medals in Olympic competition.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter sensed some nervousness in record-setting Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps as he lingered around the Orioles batting cage. Phelps, a Baltimore-area native, clutched a bat and wore an orange Orioles jersey with No. 18 on the back - for the record number of Olympic gold medals Phelps has won as a world-class swimmer. The 27-year-old Phelps joined the Orioles before Thursday's intrasquad game at Ed Smith Stadium, taking batting practice with the team.

Michael Phelps is playing some serious poker in the Bahamas with the likes of Jason Alexander. But cards, shmards. At least one reporter is more interested in nominating the swimmer/golfer/card shark/retiree for the next episode of "What Not to Wear. " Chris Chase of USA Today offered quite the post-game analysis of Phelps' wardrobe  in a Thursday blog post: "Let's analyze the look Phelps is sporting in the Caribbean," he writes. "It's a style that screams, 'I'm retired and the only time I'm setting foot in a pool is if there's a swim-up bar attached to it.'" It actually also seems to scream, "I'm comfortable and wearing a lot of stuff I probably got for free.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter sensed some nervousness in record-setting Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps as he lingered around the Orioles batting cage. Phelps, a Baltimore-area native, clutched a bat and wore an orange Orioles jersey with No. 18 on the back - for the record number of Olympic gold medals Phelps has won as a world-class swimmer. The 27-year-old Phelps joined the Orioles before Thursday's intrasquad game at Ed Smith Stadium, taking batting practice with the team.

Record-setting Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps is scheduled to visit the Orioles' spring-training facility before Thursday's 1 p.m. intrasquad game at Ed Smith Stadium. Phelps is in town with renowned golf coach Hank Haney promoting their new show on The Golf Channel titled "The Haney Project. " The show focuses around Haney teaching the 22-time medalist the game of golf.   Phelps, the most decorated athlete in Olympic history, followed the Ravens during their run to the Super Bowl.

Michael Phelps' latest love interest is 22-year-old Sarah Herndon, according to an interview with the waitress/model from California (the same description as his previous flame, Megan Rossee, whom he dumped just after Christmas). He and Herndon met in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, just before Christmas; fished for lobster in the Bahamas after the holidays and had an evening of sushi and "Zero Dark Thirty" back in Baltimore. Here's a report. By Hugo Daniel For Coleman-Rayner Michael Phelps charmed his latest love interest on a romantic lobster fishing trip - jumping into the water and joking, "This is my home, too, you know.” Sarah Herndon was whisked to the Bahamas by the Oympic champion for a romantic five-day break of fishing, snorkeling and tropical sunsets.