Kenny Rogers

Kenny Rogers has been in the news a lot lately. Unfortunately, whenever I hear the name, I think of the white-haired country music singer who recorded "Islands in the Steam" with Dolly Parton. Then I need to run off to the restroom until I'm no longer prone to losing my lunch

The Kenny Rogers currently enjoying his 15 minutes of infamy is the Texas Rangers pitcher who recently beat up his local television cameraman. Well, "beat up" isn't exactly fair ... "pushed down and injured" would be a better description.

Seems things in Mr. Rogers neighborhood haven't been beautiful lately. He's had the best year of his career, and feels that the Rangers should now offer him a long-term contract for more money. Seems three mill a year isn't enough to feed a family on. Then, a couple of weeks ago while throwing a tantrum, Rogers broke a finger slugging a water jug. He may have to go on the DL. He followed that with the cameraman incident.

If I remember correctly, Rogers is facing a fine of $50,000 and a suspension of 20 games, which for a starting pitcher, means he'll miss about 4 starts. 100 grand is about 1.6 percent of his salary. By years end, if he finishes strong, he will be rewarded by the Rangers or some other desperate outfit the contract he's looking for.

All this and the All-Star game, too. Oh, and free all-you-can-spit sunflower seeds during each and every game.