Now that the high school hockey season, at least for my teams, is over I find myself with a lot of time on my hands. And now that the school I work at finally hired a full-time teacher to take over for the teacher we lost around Thanksgiving I have the same dilemna...a lot of time on my hands. So what is there to do with all of this newly received gift of time. I have random thoughts. Not important thoughts really. Just random! How random?

I read the other day that MLB has had record shattering attendance in each of the past four years. And I wondered why? You know with all of the negative #### going on I randomly wondered how MLB could have record attendance year in and year out. So I checked. In 2004, the first year of record attendance in MLB, 73,022,969 people went to a MLB game. In 2005, 74,926,174 people did the same. In 2006, 76,043,902 people left their hoes and ventured out to the MLB stadium of choice (or not) and watched a bal game. In 2007 MLB attendance rose 4.1% and 79,502,524 people went to a ball game of the MLB variety. Yea, more and more people are going to MLB games than ever before. MLB credits the rise in attendance to increased competitive balance brought on by economic reforms of the last decade. The winning percentges of all teams were within the .600 to .400 range. By the way all of these numbers come from MLB.com so it ain't like I racked my brain to come up with them. Then I came upon things like this. For only the SECOND time in MLB history all teams winning percentages were in this range. So, it happened before. The 2007 season is the first one SINCE 1988 in which no division winner repeated. So, it happened before. HMMMMMM!!! And yet the past 4 years have shown record attendance increases.

"The immensity of this record is staggering, and it serves as a perfect illustration of the passion and excitement for the game that exists across the entire Major League Baseball landscape," Baseball Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig said. "Our sport has reached heights that were unimaginable only a few years ago. By any measure, this is truly a golden age for Major League Baseball." - comment on record breaking attendance on 10/2/2007

Random thought! Those heights were considered unimaginable only a few yers ago...why? Could it be that MLB was losing fans because of things like All-Star game tie, no World Series, Contraction issues, Conflict of Interest talk regarding Commissioner/Owner Selig, embezzlement convictions of Selig and Montreal Expos owner during or around contraction era...among other things. And what made them imaginable and obtainable? Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa chasing HR records while on performance enhancing drugs. Peak interest in the game...return fans to seats...records being broken right and left. Yea, baby. And in the conference rooms and board rooms whispers of these performance enhancing drugs and their usage was being disregarded by Selig and others. Bad Bud has commented on this situation numerous times always attempting to separate himself from any responsibilty. HMMMMM!

Another random thought! How can he consider this a "golden age in Major League Baseball" in light of all of the MLB players accused of using PED's and with Congress and the FBI involved in investigating these same players. I mean it ain't like the attendance records are making the nightly news...NIGHTLY!

Latest random thought! I think Bud likes the media circus in every park that surrounds every team in MLB with regard to PED's and their usage. Keeps his sport in the media spotlight day in and day out! And as long as he can throw up other stuff (record attendance) as a smokescreen to shield his initial neglect of this problem then I guess I can see how he thinks this is a "golden era" for MLB. That or he has Pee'd all over it for so long it has taken on a permanent golden glow.

Another random thought...this may or may not end this random thought process.