Michael Phelps winning eight gold medals is the most amazing feat in sports, ever. Of course, we will hear arguments that he is not the greatest. There are so many athletes who deserve to be mentioned when you are arguing out the details about who the "greatest of all-time" should be. We all got to witness something really special this week. A once in a lifetime sort of event.

I agree that swimming allows for more medal opportunities. I agree that if he weren't American, he would not have had as many opportunities because the relays were three of his golds. I agree that the new technical suits have made world records in swimming seem a little cheaper. But none of that changes my mind. Not at all.

First, swimming is still a sport of specialization, and with the routine of warm-ups and cool-downs, medal ceremonies, press conferences, and 17 swims total, there is nothing easy about what he did. When you add that the rest of the world is swimming faster than they ever have, and that Michael is capable of turning in miraculous finishes when it counts... no one knows how to win under amazing odds like Michael. Could LeBron wear water-filled goggles and still consistently dunk on Kobe and hit a buzzer-beating trey at the NBA championship game? That is the equivalent of Michael breaking the world record in the 200 fly at Beijing!

Second, the splits Phelps turned in on the relays were key. Without the fastest butterfly split ever on the medley, Lezak would have had a tougher freestyle leg on his hands against the Australian Eamon Sullivan. Michael's lead off split on the 4x100 free relay was also an American record, and every one hundredth of a second mattered on that one.

Third, Michael was breaking records before the new suits were around. He was improving on his own records. Michael was the first man under 4:10 in the 400 IM. He has improved that record to 4:03. Ten years ago, that would have been unimaginable.

And to compare him to Mark Spitz... Mark himself would tell you. In 1972 in Munich, the relays were more of a sure thing. In '72 there were no semi-finals. Things were a little tougher for Phelps. While I agree that if the 50 free were offered Spitz would probably have won it and earned 8 golds, ... and back then they didn't even wear goggles. Have you ever tried to race without goggles? The sport has come a long way.

The fact is, what Spitz did was amazing and I can't take anything away from him. But even he will tell you he is proud to pass off the torch to Michael Phelps because he has earned it.