Well, it hasn’t been a very good day for swimming, has it?

Michael Phelps – the most decorated Olympian to date, with 22 medals, 18 gold – was charged with driving under the influence early Tuesday morning, crossing double lanes and clocking in at 84 mph in 45-mph Fort McHenry Tunnel in his hometown of Baltimore. His blood alcohol level was .14. (The legal limit in Maryland is .08.) A trial has been set for Nov. 19.

Complicating matters for Phelps is that this isn’t his first DUI arrest. That was in 2004 when he was 19. In 2009, the Internet had a field day with pictures of him smoking a marijuana pipe. A judge might very well set Phelps’ celebrity aside – or even make an example of it – and sentence him to jail time. And he could lose his license. Maybe he should, or at the very least be forced to install one of those devices that disables cars that drunk drivers enter.

Of course, that wouldn’t stop him from getting behind the wheel of another car. ...