Michael Phelps

Baltimore native and superstar Olympian Michael Phelps has dumped model-waitress Megan Rossee, according to TMZ . The gossip site cited anonymous sources who said that Phelps "felt the relationship wasn't going anywhere, so he decided to end it so he could pursue other options. " The two first appeared in public as a couple during the London Olympics. Phelps played (consolation?) beer pong Saturday evening with Stacy Keibler in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, according to Keibler's Instagram feed.

Season's greetings, hon! Hard to believe 2012 is almost over. You know us - busy, busy! If we weren't opening a Ripley's "Odditorium," we were putting historic landmarks up for sale. When we weren't helping John Waters hitchhike across the country, we were hoarding Twinkies. We enjoyed watching the mids' "Gangnam Style" more than we'll admit, and we held our breath as Nik Wallenda tightroped the Inner Harbor. What. A. Year. We wanted to take a moment to catch you up on what we've been up to. The Ravens were in the Super Bowl!

Yet another laurel for Michael Phelps' swim cap: The Olympian will grace the cover of the 2013 World Almanac. Phelps will be in good company, the Almanac folks announced Monday. Joining him in the prime spot are Barack Obama, Mitt Romney and, for some reason, Anne Hathaway. Phelps, however, bests them all for the sweetest center position. The Almanac chronicles the most important happenings of 2012. Phelps, right up there with the presidential election and such, was at the top of the list.

Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time and current Canton dweller , headed north to visit another of the state's most successful sportsmen, horse trainer Graham Motion. Phelps' coach, Bob Bowman, tweeted the above photo of the two outside one of Motion's barns at the peaceful, sprawling Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton this afternoon. It was Bowman who got Phelps into racing. He'd picked up an interest years ago because a swimming coach he was working with liked to go out to the races.

The human fish from Rodgers Forge was not supposed to be the star of the 2012 London Olympics. American Ryan Lochte was expected to break out of Michael Phelps' shadow, and in the run-up to the games, one of Mr. Phelps' other teammates publicly criticized his work ethic. And when the games began, it looked like the doubters might be right. After his stunning, eight-gold-medal performance in Beijing in 2008, Michael Phelps looked flat and listless in his first final of the Games, the 400 individual medley, an event he had once dominated.

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.

Michael Phelps surprised his best friend and roommate earlier this week by dropping into his poker match in Montreal. "Pumped for the kid today!!" Phelps Tweeted when he arrived at the World Poker Tour competition to support Jeff Gross. "Just surprised him for the final 6 of the #wptmontreal. " Phelps later said in an interview with WPT.com that he had to be there for his buddy. "Gotta support the kid," he told WPT. "Jeff has been my best friend for a long time. I know how excited he is about tonight.

It was Jury Duty: Celebrity Edition in Baltimore Circuit Court on Tuesday. Both Michael Phelps and Duff Goldman had their numbers picked for the jury pool at the downtown courthouse. Phelps' presence created such a buzz that other prospective jurors and employees throughout the courthouse started streaming in to take his picture, according to Maj. Sam Cogen of the sheriff's office. “People were using their cell phones [to take pictures], bothering him - including police,” Cogen said.

Laurel native Greg Merson won the World Series of Poker Main Event recently and did so wearing an Orioles jersey modified with patches advertising his sponsors. This caused exactly no consternation on the part of the Orioles, which could come as a surprise for a team playing in an image-conscious league like Major League Baseball. It has yet to relent on its life-time ban of hits leader Pete Rose (who bet on his own team, of course). But a little card game worth nearly $9 million, in which one guy happens to wear a baseball jersey (he paid for)

Sure, it's his sisters in the race, but Michael Phelps has become the punchline of New York City's running marathon joke. Because of extensive damage to Manhattan from Hurricane Sandy -- including flooding and continuing power outages -- many folks think this weekend's New York Marathon should have been canceled. But the race is on -- with Michael Phelps' sister Whitney running the marathon and sister Hilary Phelps taking on the 5K. And the critics have started a joke that's been passed on -- and on and on -- all day Friday on Twitter.