A consumer’s guide to the best and worst of sports media and merchandise. Ground rules: If it can be read, played, heard, observed, worn, viewed, dialed or downloaded, it’s in play here.

What: United States Swimming Web Site.

Where: https://www.usswim.org

This web site was a life raft for some during the World Championships at Perth, Australia, in January, providing results, reports and pictures with amazing swiftness.

In between competitions, there is actual news to be found, not just a few fancy graphics nestled among ads.

A quick scan Monday revealed that Indianapolis has been selected as the host city for the 2000 U.S. Olympic swimming trials, and that Alexander Popov and Denis Pankratov are expected to compete for the Russian men’s team at the Goodwill Games this summer.

There had been some technical difficulties, so results and pictures of the Phillips Performance Challenge meet on Saturday at Bartlesville, Okla., were not posted yet. One interesting name among the competitors did surface: Anita Nall, breaststroke star of the 1992 Olympics, is in the midst of a comeback from retirement after the 1996 Olympic trials.

Wondering about the controversial Michelle Smith-DeBruin and the investigation into the alleged tampering of her urine sample? There were four links to other sites--the Irish Times newspaper, Reuters, Swimming World magazine and FINA, the international swimming federation.

A consumer also can swing over to the online store, which sells gear and videos among other things.

And for comic relief, any avid fan has to have a visit with Gary Hall Jr. Still on the site is a transcript of an interview Hall did last year for U.S. Swimming: the Superstar Chat Series:

Question: What bands do you like besides the Grateful Dead?

Answer: The Fugs, the Vaselines, the Meat Puppets. I stole the drum set from the Meat Puppets a long time ago, one of those youthful things. I still have them in my bar. I play them every day.

Q: Do you think the government should put swimming pools in trailer parks?

A: Trailer parks and swimming pools just don’t mix.

And finally, a question from Tom of Gainesville, Fla.: How much yardage do you do per week?

A: I’ve never stopped to add it up. By the way, I really enjoy Gainesville. I went to a party down there.