Michael Phelps: "I will say yes if Saturday Night Live calls"

Today at London Media Centre, Michael Phelps completed a press conference with hundreds of reporters. Moderated by TOP Olympic sponsor Visa, which has 26 years of Olympic affiliation (it's everywhere you want to be), Phelps took questions about his Games experience, medals and the future.

Called on to pose the first media gallery question of the press conference, I asked Phelps about his past appearance on "Saturday Night Live" and whether he'd make an encore appearance, or if he received any invitation from "SNL" in the 24 hours since he became history's most decorated Olympian with 22 Olympic medals.

"If I get invited back, would I do it? Sure!" said Phelps, "I was very nervous last time. Hopefully I will have more experiences like that. It was fun. I will definitely say 'yes' if they call."

He added that the live nature of the broadcast left no margin for error, adding to the nervousness.

In 2008, Phelps took part in the famed "Space Olympics" video short and other segments spoofing the Games and that year's political season during a fall 2008 Saturday Night Live broadcast that was the second-most-viewed SNL episode, according to this unconfirmed report.

Had there been an option for a follow up question, I would have asked for more detail about SNL's references to him since 2008.

Photos by Nicholas Wolaver

Conversation with IOC Member H.S.H. The Sovereign Prince Albert II

Tonight VISA and the World Olympians Association opened Vancouver's Olympians Reunion Center with an amazing event at which numerous International Olympic Committee members, heads of state, TOP Olympic sponsors, Olympians and other dignitaries were in attendance.

I'm burning the midnight oil and need to sleep, so will post more details from the event tomorrow. But I could not shut off the computer without posting tonight's conversation with HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco (the second IOC interview du jour!).

This was not the first time the Prince and I spoke, but it WAS the first time we chatted since my purchase of a FlipCam, arguably the best invention since ... well, anything. (For those curious about the initial conversation with Mr. Grimaldi, visit this post.)

The IOC member and five-time Olympic bobsleigh competitor explained briefly some of his travels to Canada and return visits to Calgary, site of his first Olympic competition in 1988. He also shared praise for the hard work and successes already realized by VANOC.

Off camera, I asked Prince Albert to explain his earliest childhood memory of the Olympic Games. He replied that during the 1968 Summer Games of Mexico City, at age 10 he had to sneak out of bed to quietly turn on the TV (the Prince's Palace of Monaco being several time zones ahead of Central America) so he could keep watching late-night reports from the Olympic City.

All I could think while he was talking (channeling SNL's "The Chris Farley Show" interviews here): That is A-W-E-S-O-M-E!

More WOA event videos to follow -- interviews with those other Olympians at the VISA Olympians Reunion Center. But now, must rest.

Please forgive the bad audio at the beginning of the video (I dropped in captions to help).