Celebrity Court

 
PHOTO FROM TMZ‘Tis the season for celebrations with friends and family.  ‘Tis also the season for drinking too much at those celebrations and getting arrested for drunk driving.  Here are the latest celebs to be arrested for driving under the influence:

Mischa Barton: arrested on suspicion of drunk driving and suspected possession of marijuana.  She was pulled over after the police witnessed her straddling two lanes of traffic and failed to use an indicator.  What is she even doing with herself these days?  Seems like she pretty much disappeared from the face of the earth after leaving The OC to do other projects.  Maybe her other project was partying?  Also gives me another opportunity to remind you: if you drunk or in possession of drugs, please do your very best to obey the traffic rules.

Danielle Fishel (best known as Topanga on Boy Meets World): arrested on a drunk driving warrant.  Although she had disappeared for awhile after the show ended, she had recently gotten work on the Tyra Banks Show, as well as with Nutrisystem.  Doesn’t she know all the calories that are in alcohol?

Rebecca De Mornay: two misdemeanor counts of DUI stemming from an October arrest. What has she done lately?  Maybe this is a trend: former actresses who are no longer getting work, hit the bottle to feel better, get arrested for drunk driving and then producers say, “Oh, I forgot about her!  I shall hire her!”  Hmm.  Maybe.  Or it could just be that celebs are like regular people in that they drink too much and think that they are okay to drive. 

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The long awaited list of major league players suspected of using human growth hormone, steroids, and other illegal substances was finally released today.

The Mitchell report is a culmination of a lengthy investigation to determine what players were using banned substances. Many of the names were gathered from Kirk Rondonski who worked as a clubhouse attendant for the New York Mets and sold illegal substances to many players. The list of players implicated, which includes both current and former players includes:

Roger Clemens
Miguel Tejada
Andy Pettitte
Barry Bonds
Mike Stanton
Chuck Knoblauch
Jason Grimsley
Brian Roberts
David Justice
Mo Vaughn
Paul Lo Duca
Eric Gagne
Glenallen Hill
Gregg Zaun
Rondell White
Hal Morris
Todd Hundley
Larry Bigbie
Lenny Dykstra
David Segui
Matt Herges
Kevin Brown
Mike Lansing
Denny Neagle
FP Santangelo
Ron Villone
Kent Mercker

In his presentation of the report, George Mitchell recommended that baseball look forward and not punish players for past conduct. He said that ongoing, lengthy disciplinary proceedings will draw out the matter and will prevent everyone from moving forward. He stressed, however, that testing going forward is the key to righting baseball and assuring that players will be clean. Richard McLaren added that the current testing is imperfect, as it does not catch everything and players have learned how to circumvent it.

Mitchell pointed out that the report is in no way comprehensive and does not implicate all of the players who have in the past, or are currently using performance enhancing drugs. He stated that his source revealed that he talked with many players who told him that they had other sources for getting the drugs and did not need his services.

Certainly there are many other players who never had contact with Rondonski, so this list could just be the tip of the iceberg in terms of violations.

Given that so many of the players named in the report are now retired, I am not sure what will happen to those listed. The current players will likely be under more scrutiny and if they continue to play, I am sure that they will hear it from the fans at opposing stadiums, much like Barry Bonds did this last season.

Should championships or post-season awards be taken away? Should these players be kept from the Hall of Fame? These are questions I don’t know the answer to. All I know is that many of the successes by players during the time of rampant steroid use will always be questioned and have an asterisk, if only in our minds.

The full report is here. (pdf)

Mitchell Report, Major League Baseball, Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Miguel Tejada, Andy Pettitte

Although I cannot say that I am surprised, Britney Spears failed to appear for a deposition in her child custody case. Expected to take place yesterday, Britney did not show up because of “high level of anxiety.”

First of all, everyone is nervous when they have to give a deposition or testimony in a court case. I am sure that everyone who has to testify about something personal, private, and probably embarrassing gets very anxious about their testimony. By why on the earth would she think that she could skip it? It is just a case of her being used to always getting her way and not having to follow “regular people” rules.

Have you watched paparazzi video of her lately? The paparazzi open doors for her, pump her gas, give her directions, all pretending to help her in exchange for video and photographs of her. When you have those kinds of people around you, not to mention all the enablers in her personal life, it is no wonder she thinks that she can skip a deposition because of anxiety. This is, of course, the same woman who skipped court previously because she overslept.

I am sure that most people would love to skip work or jury duty or something else in their life because they feel anxious about it.  Most people, however, suck it up and get it done.  Now if she is in fact suffering from a medical condition, I am sure that it is not being aided by her drinking, drug use, and late night activities.  You can’t cause yourself trouble and then use it as an excuse to not show up and do what you are supposed to do.

Of course she will be given another chance and the deposition will be rescheduled.  Although there are reports that she will be cited for contempt of court if she fails to show up again, I doubt that would happen.  She has a way of manipulating everyone it seems.

Britney Spears, Kevin Federline