I woke up yesterday morning and turned on ESPN expecting to hear about the AL wild card race, the NL wild card race, training camp news, or essentially anything but what I did hear. My daily dose of sports began with the news of Maurice Clarett, the former star running back from Ohio St. who had to be taken down by mase by cops and had 4 guns in his car.

(Quick tangent: I've never liked Clarett. I thought he was a fluke for the buckeyes. Hell, my beloved Wildcats shut him down with their defense. He was a one year wonder who would never pan out, ok back to my qualms)

So, of course, we have to see the timeline of Clarett's troubles, interviews with those who knew him, his mugshot., and pictures of the guns. I'm still young, my brain hasn't fully developed yet, but I'm pretty confident that is not sports.

But that's what sports news is about these days--a good 10 minutes dedicated to what I like to call the 'sports blotter.' We get frequent visits from the Bengals, Trail Blazers, Daryl Strawberry, etc. It begs the question: What true sports fan out there is looking forward to learning about a player who assaulted his wife? Does our society need to be reassured professional athletes have feet of clay? But we love the sports blotter and ESPN knows it because we're always up to date. Whether it's Oklahoma's quarterback receiving extra money or the Miami players suspended for the FSU game--Americans love the sports blotter.

And it's not only jail-risking activities that grab our attention. My generation has been introduced to the era of steroids. No other generation has had to wonder when their favorite athlete makes an accomplishment if he/she cheated or not. Barry Bonds is the most frequent visitor to the 'sports blotter.' The sight of Mark McGwire and Rafeal Palmeiro in court defending themselves is more famous than them hitting home runs. Next year the sports blotter will be busy covering the hall of fame votes and if Mark McGwire gets in.

(Quick tangent- if I was voting, I'd only vote for Gwynn and Ripken, not because I don't think McGwire should get in, but just to show what types of players the hall of fame deserves and I don't want great players like them to have their ceremony overshadowed by a steroid controversy)

Only in the steroid era would the most inspiring story in the sports in 2006 be scarred due to allegations of cheating. Yup, my boy Floyd Landis. I read every article I could about him, woke up to watch cycling for the first time in my life, told everyone his great story. Now I hear his amazing ride really was one-of-a-kind, not because of the accomplishment but becuase of his testosterone. Now, thanks to the sports blotter, even casual sports fans are experts on testosterone levels and what they mean. Only in this era could I be crushed about an inspiring athlete due to doping.

The biggest problem with the sports blotter is that it's not going away anytime soon. Has there been a decline in athletes' crimes recently? Probably not. There's been a huge increase in steroid-related blotter stories, which has increased the blotter exponentially. As technology imprvoes, more ways are going to be found to mask performance-enhancing drugs--of which more and more will be created.

I don't think that the popularity of sports has in anyway decreased due to the threats on its integrity, but it does make you wonder who can we trust . Who can our heroes really be? I grew up on Michael Jordan. He was my sports hero, but even he had his faults, and thanks to the sports blotter, they were well publicized, from gambling to marital issues. But as I watch young kids growing up with Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi, I wonder about my kids--will any athletes be clean by then? This damage to the sanctity and morals of sports keeps me looking for those feel-good stories, but when Floyd's test came up positive, I was given a harsh reminder at what sports have become in the 21st century.

I will still continue to look for those great stories in sports, and they are still there. But as long as the Sports Blotter is still intact, digging for the tear-jerking, non-cheating, stories will be more difficult.

As I go to bed tonight with a wonderful White Sox winner, I wonder what I'll hear more about in the morning: The Sox and the wild card chase, or LenDale White brawling at Titans practice--the most recent addition to the Sports Blotter.