Gratuitous Photos of Gorgeous Guys the World Over (Speedos in the Heat Division)

BERKELEY, Ca.--Last night and today the University of California at Berkeley men's swim team, ranked No. 1 in the PAC-10, trounced, respectively, the University of Southern California and Cal State University Bakersfield at the Spieker Pool on the UC Berkeley campus. 

   Should you be in the neighborhood, Cal is hosting No. 2-ranked Stanford mens team Feb. 19 at 1p.m. It is safe to say First of All will be there with bells, if not Speedos, on. 

   Interested in results of last night's and today's meets? Check the Cal mens swimming website: http://www.calbears.com/sports/m-swim/cal-m-swim-body.html. (We apologize for the old-school cut-and-paste offer. Hyperlinks disappear from this blog within a day or so, alas.) 

   Here at First of All you'll find no stats, merely an appreciation of the aesthetics of the sport--and the sportsmen. (Click on the pix to supersize the goodness.) 

Gratuitous Photos of Gorgeous Guys the World Over (Swimmer Division)

PALO ALTO, Ca.--First of All likes to recall our outrage when, decades ago, we learned that a British tabloid--was it the Sun? We believe so--ran a photo, on page three, of a different topless woman each day. The women became known by a quite sensible shorthand: the Page Three Girls.
   At the time we thought the feature sexist, demeaning to women, vulgar, and a whole bunch of other stuff that we can't remember but that we probably wrote somewhere in our journals.
   Ah, the outrages of youth. Ah, the wisdom (and fading muscle tone) of age. Upon reflection, gratuitous photographs of a comely person are not, ipso facto, horrible things. Beauty enlivens even the darkest day. 
   And so, taking a, er, page from the Sun's page-three shenanigans, we herewith establish a new feature: "Gratuitous Photos of Gorgeous Guys the World Over." We hope that viewing these photos will enliven your day as much as taking them did ours. 
   Today's efforts were snapped at yesterday's Stanford vs. University of the Pacific swim meet, at the Avery Aquatics Center on the Stanford campus. The No. 3-ranked Cardinal squashed UOP 159-92.
   We do not know how points are scored and we do not care. We just think swimming is a beautiful sport whether it's practiced within the pool or without, the swimmers thrashing through the water or simply standing around in little red Speedos. We are hard-pressed to believe that you would not agree. 

   We took these two at a Stanford meet last Nov. 10.