Matt Brodsky

For years, columnist Dan Le Batard penned his controversial takes on the world of sports for the Miami Herald. With his views, it was only fitting that he went from the newspaper business to sports talk radio. Countless celebrities in sports and entertainment have been interviewed on his show. These aren't the typical cliche-ridden questions that Le Batard asks, as he prefers to have his inquiries be more "off-the-wall."

Many of his guests on the "Dan Le Batard Show with StuGotz" on WAXY-790 AM in Miami seem to like his interviewing style, but there are some that end up being quite uncomfortable.

Enter 9-time gold medalist Michael Phelps into the fray. The swimmer may be the most high-profile athlete in the world right now after what he did in Beijing, so you can imagine that he's been doing tons of interviews where the same questions were asked over and over again, a lot of it about his charities. Even though he guest-starred on "Saturday Night Live", he still comes off as someone that is not great with the media. So he is obviously coached, and that could not be more evident when Dan Le Batard got a hold of Phelps.

Unfortunately for Phelps, he didn't see this type of interview coming. It was clear that his answers were a result of being obviously heavily-coached, but the best part comes at the end. He tries to politely end the interview quickly, apparently irritated from the format he is not used to, and thinks he hangs up the phone.

He did hang up, but that was after he turned to his handlers and commented on Mr. Le Batard, those of which were supposed to be off-the-record. Maybe he should talk on the phone under water, then he probably would know how to disconnect.

I've provided the entire 3+ minute interview here for context, so you can be the judge on how Le Batard conducts this interview and how Michael Phelps handles himself. The end is what makes this golden though.

9-25-08 Dan Le Batard Interview with Michael Phelps