Swimmer Amanda Beard sure has a charming way of denying rumors she's dating fellow Olympian Michael Phelps.

"Eww, that's so nasty! Come on, I have really good taste," she told 93.7 KRQ Tuscon's Johnjay and Rich in the Morning program Tuesday.

Gosh, Amanda, why didn't you just tie all of Phelps' gold medals to his ankles and throw him in the Hudson River?

"Everyone who knows me knows I can be a jokester, but I guess I took it too far," she backstroked to People. "I never meant to say anything rude about Michael. I am 100-percent sorry for what I said."

Actually, to Beard's credit, she gave her less-than-passionate reply when the show's hosts suggested Phelps might dream about dating her.

"We know each other and Michael is like my little brother."

Needless to say, don't expect any wedding bells for Amanda and Michael anytime soon. She's been dating a photographer for three years.

]]> en-us 2008-08-05T16:59:00Z 2008-08-06T03:31:00Z