What’s with Michael Phelps’ new and ongoing dedication to perv-y looking facial hair? Over the last few weeks, he’s been sporting everything from a mustache/beard combo (above) to a soul patch and, most recently, a total porn star ‘stache. The new fu manchu-esque mustache is so perplexing that Daily Intel has put together a slideshow allowing you to study from various angles, wet and dry, under water and above it. Yet somehow, 12 pictures later, the reasoning behind the face pubes remains as mystifyingly opaque as ever. 

Thanks to the immediacy of Twitter we can find out all sorts of stuff about celebs that the paparazzi and gossipers can’t. We now know that the First Twitter Celeb Couple, Ashton Kutcher and wife Demi Moore, are really irritated by their neighbor’s early morning construction. And all the details leading up to the birth of Erykah Badu’s second daughter were revealed via her baby daddy’s Twitter. She didn’t go to a hospital, but had a midwife, and she didn’t use any drugs. When she was dilated eight and a half centimeters, she felt the urge to push. That last detail was a little TMI, but in case you want to find out all the gory or mundane aspects of your favorite celebrity, check out our list after the jump.

2008 is almost history, and it definitely made some. We saw plenty of highs—the election of the first African-American President—and lows—the stock market dip—but as we look back at a year of extremes, our jaw still drops at these unbelievably shocking moments…

America’s hottest athletes have recreated Tom Cruise’s infamous pants off dance off scerne in “Risky Business”.  Okay, so I know the ménage typically comes in trois/three, and there are four players here. However, there were only three boys brave enough to really show some skin.  Seriously, Kobe Bryant totally wussed out with those basketball shorts.  But still, you had me at Tony Hawk riding in on a skateboard wearing nuthin’ but a helmet and a drum kit. And those boxer briefs really show off A-Rod’s awesome butt!  I’d love to see the bonus footage from this shoot, if you know what I mean. [World of Wonder]

This Monday, we’re upin’ our usual threesome to a foursome!  To whom do we bestow this honor? Two American teams that each won the 4 x 400 races in their sports—the men’s swimming team and the men’s track team. These eight athletes aren’t afraid to go for the gold—they came out from behind and grabbed it. Their efforts were so inspiring, even we were breaking a sweat. So, Michael Phelps, Garrett Weber-Gale, Cullen Jones, and Jason Lezak, along with LaShawn Merritt, Angelo Taylor, David Neville and Jeremy Wariner —in honor of your gold medals, we’d like to let you know you’ve also placed in our hearts. [NBC]

“Ew, no! C’mon, I have really good taste.” —former U.S. Olympic swimmer and sometime nude model Amanda Beard [MSNBC]

Sometimes, it’s kind of difficult not to be jealous of celebrities. They attend a-list events, get free stuff and usually have someone at their every beck and call. However, we came up with a list of girlfriends and wives that we don’t envy because being in a relationship with their men is way more work than we’d ever want to do in the name of love.

Studly swimmer Michael Phelps is on everyone’s lips, yet shockingly still single.  Although he shares a close relationship with his mama, the athlete has put off his personal life to become a well-trained machine. As the Olympics come to a close, Michael has broken records, but no one’s heart. So, now that he’ll have some free time, here’s who The Frisky thinks he should test the waters with:

America Ferrera: The sweetheart star of Ugly Betty, Phelps could easily just say he won all those gold medals for this America! Smart and successful, with a bright smile to match his—Ferrera could give this swimmer something to hold onto.

In tonight’s 200-meter individual medley Olympic final, Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte will have another swim-off—while Phelps won this race in the 2004 Olympics (and has been cleaning up the gold medals in 2008), Lochte won silver and will be his fiercest competitor in this rematch. But there’s a far more important stand-off to decide between these two teammates and friends: Who Would You Rather…Michael Phelps or Ryan Lochte?

Male swimmers are not thought of as the most masculine of athletes because they have to shave their legs and wear tight suits to cut down on resistance, which makes them swim faster. But swimmers have hot bodies. Some of the hottest, in fact. They pretty much always have broad shoulders, toned backs, and sick abs. Unfortunately, swimsuit companies like Speedo started making super high-tech suits for women and men that cover their entire bodies, reducing drag and making them even more streamlined in the water. This is good for the swimmers, bad for world records, and just awful for us. We miss looking at the guys’ nice torsos and appreciate when they opt for a half-body suit instead (above left). But, I guess we shouldn’t complain too much since the suits in question were worn by the winning U.S.A. boys in the 400-meter relay yesterday (above right).

Olympians—noble, athletic, competitive, and so, so very sexy!  We could watch them go for the gold all day long (especially if “going for the gold” was used in a more colloquial way). We will be glued and drooling to all the Summer Olympics action which kicks off in Beijing on Friday. To make sure you don’t miss a manly moment, check out The Frisky’s picks for the Top Ten Studliest Olympians of 2008!