The sports pages are littered with stories normally reserved for the local crime section. We're being inundated with reports about the dog fighting ring that may or may not have direct ties to Michael Vick other than the house. We're watching Major League Baseball squirm from the latest comments by Yankees 1B/DH Jason Giambi. And now, there's controversy stemming from Marvin Lewis's comments about Cincinnati police.

Unfortunately, the days are long gone where the stories of a player's improprieties could be kept from public vision. We see the men behind the heroes and the stats on a baseball card. Does it take away from the simplicity of the game? Sure, but it reminds us that athletes face the same dilemmas and social issues as people across the country.

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The death of Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock shocked his friends, family, teammates and all of those who follow Major League Baseball. The final results of the autopsy and the news of the hours before his accident trickled out to change the minds of many who had initially felt sorrow over the news. I couldn't believe the latest, where lawsuits are coming en masse for those tangentially involved in the accident. I can't possibly begin to comprehend what it feels to lose a child and I pray that I never do. I don't begrudge Hancock's survivors for trying to get all of the facts about that fateful day.

I wholeheartedly agree that the policies of the bar in question and its employees should be reviewed and action taken as appropriate. However, no matter how much you wish to blame the well-wishers for putting a drink in his hand, they didn't turn the ignition or put the keys in drive. Nobody wants to admit that their loved one could make a mistake with sure grim consequences.

Every day, thousands of people take that gamble that the beverage they consumed won't impair their ability to drive and that they'll make it home. Many of them do, some with regularity.

Unfortunately, sometimes they roll snake eyes.