We welcome Michael Phelps to Great Britain. It is perhaps the final confirmation that we here have taken him to our hearts that he has now been tabloided twice.

It may not overly concern him that his red-top return at the weekend did not declare him as quite the giant news magnet that he was before. The marijuana story earlier in the year reportedly gave the News of the World its largest ever web-traffic boost with over a million viewers, so it was hardly surprising that they should go back for more. Sunday’s three-in-a-bed, lapdancer’s kiss-and-tell, however, saw him slip from the front page to page 44.

Would you believe it that the media in the United States seem more interested in the fact that their boy is making a competitive comeback to the pool this weekend? They actually prize his swimming abilities above those of his love-making.

Indeed, Sunday’s story has been very largely ignored, though yesterday the Detroit Free Press did pose the question “What is it with Britain’s News of the World?”

The same thought, one would imagine, may have rattled Phelps from time to time. One of the most insightful stories about Phelps since the February “bong” exposé had appeared in the Washington Post only last Friday in which he and those close to him talked about his slow emergence from the dark days of the NoW’s first exclusive. The story reminds us that he had considered giving up swimming but depicts him now as changed but rehabilitated. He says: “I literally just woke up on a Sunday and wanted to swim another four years.” No prizes for guessing what he woke up thinking this Sunday.

One suggestion that followed the “bong” story was that Phelps was having second thoughts about his future because he was not entirely sure that he wanted to go and compete in the London Olympics, in the land of his tormentors. It would be reasonable to assume that something similar will have registered again.

The Washington Post story suggested that February had served to toughen Phelps up. “I'm not going to go one year and hang it up,” he said of his comeback to competitive swimming. “If I'm going, I'm going to go for four. I don't see any other way to do it. There are going to be ups and downs. I'm prepared for it. I'm ready for it. I've been through about everything you can go through in a sport. I'm ready for anything that may come my way.”

How very prescient. Fingers crossed that his psychological work-out since February has left him sufficiently mentally muscle-bound to withstand the skills of the United Kingdom’s finest news-gatherers. Does it even require pointing out that it would be a shame if page 44 stopped him from coming to our Olympics?

Anna out of reach

WE bring sad news from Oxford University where the students of the Oxford Union have scrutinised the bank account and decided they cannot afford Anna Kournikova.

Kournikova had been lined up not to engage in a debate but simply to talk about her life. We can only speculate on the extent to which the leaders of tomorrow will have their understanding of the world stunted by her absence. And we are not sure if it is a credit crunch thing but we do know that next week the Union is getting swimmer Mark Foster. The pressure is really on him now.

The facts are these: the average expenditure that the Oxford Union shells out on a speaker is £600. One of the perks tends to be an overnight at the Randolph Hotel which has five stars and claims to provide an award-winning concierge service.

Kournikova decided the offer was good but also decided that she couldn’t travel without an entourage of two assistants. The total cost, with flights thrown in, was stretching uncomfortably beyond £2500. The Union’s total budget for the summer term is £3800. So this became an issue of finance versus enlightenment. And enlightenment lost.

Player of the week

It seemed to escape general attention that Tom Daley was making news at the weekend. And not because of being bullied at school. It was actually because of his diving. Very good diving. The best diving of his life. In the Grand Prix event in Fort Lauderdale, he won the men's 10-metre platform gold; it was his best ever score and those in his wake included Sascha Klein, the world champion, and Luxin Zhou, the Olympic silver medallist from China.

This is a young man with an extraordinary spirit. His issues at home make national headlines. But then transfer him to the competitive environment of the diving pool and he is transformed.

Recommended reading

In a year of comebacks - Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods, Ronaldo (the Brazilian version) - no one would have expected this, the return of Ian Baker-Finch to competitive golf. This is interesting not because he is 48, but because - as is so oft repeated - he has long been synonymous with that great calamity to befall a golfer, the complete confidence-drain. When it was all falling apart in Baker-Finch's game, he said that playing in public felt as though he was "walking naked". His comeback event, you hope, will see him fully dressed.

This article in the Sydney Morning Herald gives you some context. It tells you that no, Baker-Finch is not relaunching an assault on the game. It also tells something about a rather charming character who clearly isn’t quite so naked any more.