We've all taught our kids to 'just say no!' but we've never taught them what to say next when the peer pressure starts.

Parents tell me, 'My kid's in the choir!' Well, you know what? Whitney Houston was in the choir. It kinda makes me feel like he doesn't trust me sometimes, but I can kinda see where he's coming from.

We taught them to 'Just Say No,' but we never told them what to say next.

I'm very happy with the way a lot of the younger kids have stepped up to this point. Nick Carey, Brendan O'Brien, Ryan Shields, Ryan Schmid, Rob Mills ? quite a lot of kids who were waiting in the wings have gotten stronger. We're asking them for a lot more swims this year. So far, they've responded. We know a lot of our tougher meets are ahead of us.

With the accent, it's an internal dialogue that Southerners have with themselves. We kind of carry around that shame, that feeling of being inferior to the North. I think I did lose some of the accent for a while. Because when I was a graduate student, I was terrified at having to get up in front of a roomful of smart New York kids.

The beloved is the ultimate fetish.