INF Daily’s photogs found Olympian Michael Phelps relaxing on the sand in Miami’s South Beach late yesterday afternoon. The swimmer was wearing some interesting facial hair. Looks so sleezy, doesn’t it!?

Time to shave!

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Photos: Fame

Michael Phelps told police that he drank a beer about an hour and 15 minutes before he was involved in an accident last week, but alcohol wasn’t the reason for the incident, according to a police source.

On Thursday, Phelps was driving a Cadillac Escalade when it collided with a Honda Accord driven by a Maryland woman. The athlete showed no signs of alcohol impairment, and was not given a field sobriety test.

“No alcohol was involved. No drugs,” a police source said. “It was just a car accident.”

Investigators found that the Accord’s driver, Amanda E. Virkus, was at fault for the crash. She will be cited for failure to obey a red light, and for causing an accident.

Phelps will be cited for driving with an invalid, out-of-state license. When police arrived on scene following the mishap, the Olympic swimmer presented an invalid Michigan drivers license. According to a police source, the Michigan license was no good because Phelps did not pay an earlier fine for not showing proof of insurance. “It looks like he didn’t pay a reinstatement fee, and the license was suspended,” the source said.

Phelps will have to appear in court to explain why he was driving without a valid license. In 2004, Phelps pleaded guilty to driving while impaired. He was sentenced to 18 months’ probation.

The 24-year-old swimmer, who holds the Olympic record with 14 gold medals for swimming, wrote on his Facebook page that he is nursing a sore ankle stemming from the Thursday crash, but that he plans to train as scheduled on Monday.

Source, Bauer-Griffin

Michael Phelps was just involved in a three-car accident in his hometown of Baltimore.

Phelps reportedly emerged from the wreck unscathed, but a woman in the other car was shaken up and taken to a local hospital.

The accident occurred around 9pm local time.

A police spokesman says the Olympic Gold Medal winner was driving a Cadillac Escalade, which collided with a Honda accord.

We’re told by witnesses on the scene — the two cars collided after someone ran a stoplight — and then hit a third car that was not moving at the time.

Police are investigating the cause of the crash.

One of the local papers is reporting that a passenger in Phelps’ car was also injured, but it’s unclear as to the extent of that person’s injuries.

We’re told there is already a tow-truck on scene removing Phelps’ ride.

UPDATE: Cops tell TMZ alcohol was NOT a factor in the crash.

Source, Bauer-Griffin

In an interview with TODAY’s Matt Lauer, Olympic swimming star Michael Phelps apologizes after pictures emerged on the Internet that showed him with a bong. (Picture here)

*Sorry for the delay in posting this morning.  I woke up to a broken router…so frustrating!  I’m now sitting at a coffee shop in Beaverton, trying to post.  Posts will be coming now!

Michael Phelps has apologized for photos that surfaced in Britain’s News of the World Sunday that show him apparently smoking a marijuana pipe.

“I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment,” Phelps said in a statement released to the Associated Press, and posted on his Facebook page, Sunday. “I’m 23 years old and despite the successes I’ve had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner people have come to expect from me. For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public it will not happen again.”

The photos were snapped in November — three months after he set records by winning eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics — at a University of South Carolina house party.

Marijuana is banned under World Anti-Doping Agency rules. Athletes caught using drugs could face a two-year ban from the Olympics. Also at stake: his endorsement deals, which ABC estimated could be worth $100 million over the course of his lifetime.

The U.S. Olympic Committee released a statement saying it was “disappointed in the behavior recently exhibited by Michael Phelps.”

“Michael has acknowledged that he made a mistake and apologized for his actions,” the statement continued. “We are confident that, going forward, Michael will consistently set the type of example we all expect from a great Olympic champion.”

This isn’t the first time Phelps has faced controversy. In 2004 — the same year he won six gold and two bronze medals in Athens — he was sentenced to 18 months probation for drunk driving.

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