I’m having some problems with all the hype about celebrities anymore.

I could really care less about the problems Brittany Spears is having these days.  And I could really care less that Lindsey Lohan, Nicole Richey and Paris Hilton had to spend a little time in jail.

The same goes for O.J. Simpson and his ever-present troubles with the law.  And news about that other Simpson, Anna Nicole, really wore me down. If I see a story about a celebrity on a news program any more, I use my remote to head elsewhere ASAP.

The news outlets really need to get a clue. Most of us could care less about what’s going on with the daily lives of all those big-named celebrities. We have enough trouble worrying about our own lives. It’s not news. It’s never been news.  

One subject I do care about, however, is Major League Baseball’s on-going drug scandal. It was reported yesterday that the guy who gave Roger Clemens his growth hormone shots also shot up Clemens’ wife just before the two were scheduled for a photo shoot for a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition back in 2003.

What’s that got to do with MLB and Clemens? Nothing. Her shot surely didn’t help Clemens win a Cy Young Award or do it?

From what I gather many of the players accused of taking performance-enhancing drugs did so before they were banned. If that’s true, end of story.

MLB should have done a better job of policing back then. Since it didn’t, the subject needs to be dropped. If MLB wants to stop the use of performace-enhancing drugs now, do it.

Baseball doesn’t have a monopoly on problem people. They are everywhere.

If guys like Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth can make it into the Hall of Fame, Clemens shouldn’t be kept out because he might have used performance-enhancing drugs. If that was a reason, there won’t be too many players inducted into the hall in the coming years.

The strike that cost us the World Series back in 1994 cost the sport plenty. I know it did for me. The present drug-scandal could kill the sport completely.

That’s a shame for all those kids who take to the diamonds each spring.

Play ball