Michael Phelps reportedly went to a party in Columbia, S.C., on Nov. 6 to see some sorority bitch he was banging when camera phone opportunists had a lil fun.

UPDATE: That picture is Michael Phelps. Weird. The pimp watch didn't convince me, the faces look different but I guess not. I'll cover more of this story on Monday. Michael Phelps just issued the following statement half an hour ago:

TAMPA, Fla. - Olympic great Michael Phelps acknowledged "regrettable" behavior and "bad judgment" after a photo in a British newspaper Sunday showed him with a marijuana pipe.

In a statement to The Associated Press, the swimmer who won a record eight gold medals at the Beijing Games did not dispute the authenticity of the exclusive picture published by the tabloid News of the World.

"I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment," Phelps said in the statement released by one of his agents. "I'm 23 years old and despite the successes I've had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner people have come to expect from me. For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public it will not happen again."

First of all, that picture is NOT Michael Phelps for the following reasons: The thickness of the hair, the tan skin, the shortness of his usually long horse face, the shortness of the eyebrow, and the thinness of the arm.

Here are some pictures that I've picked out so that you can compare and contrast for yourself.

The guy in the bong photo's face is NOT as long as Michael's.

The guy in the bong photo's arm is NOT as thick as Michael's.

The bong guy's eyebrows are NOT as long as Michael's

The bong guy's neck is much shorter and thicker than Michael's, not to mention his hair is much thicker too.

Star reports, "He was partying out of control from the moment he got here to the moment he left." In town to visit a University of South Carolina sorority girl he was seeing, Michael instead "ended up just getting wasted every night," says the source.

At a keg party on Nov. 6, the witness describes Michael as "loud and obnoxious and slamming beers from the get-go. He was definitely the life of the party as every girl wanted a piece of him and every guy wanted to be his best buddy. He was eating it up.

"At one point someone asked him if he wanted to smoke some weed. Michael didn't hesitate and headed to a small back room, where he was immediately handed a big red bong. He grabbed the bong and a lighter and ripped a huge smelly bong rip."

The source continues, "He knew exactly what he was doing. He looked just as natural with a bong in his hands as he does swimming the backstroke."

The next night Michael hit a bar in Columbia. "Michael was holding court, throwing back shots of booze two at a time, and pouring drinks to every cute girl," adds the source. "If he was there to visit his girlfriend, there certainly was no sign of it that night. All the celebrity attention is making him really cocky, and he's going to end up getting burned because of it."

Drama queen UK tabloid News of the World claims that Michael's spokeswhore Clifford Bloxham tried to make a desperate plea, offering that Phelps would become a columnist with NOTW for three years, host events and get his sponsors to advertise with the website.

Story source: Star, pic source: EB

Thanks for the update Amy!