Blah, blah, blah… A Major League Baseball player has tested positive for some banned substance and has been suspended for 50 games.

So what if that player happens to be one of MLB’s best, Los Angeles Dodgers star Manny Ramirez.

Do I think it’s OK that he’s using illicit or illegal drugs to enhance his performance? Of course not.

Am I shocked that not only was he doing it, but that he was caught red handed? Not even slightly.

The reality is that at some point or another, every pro athlete has been or is going to be faced with the decision as to whether he should cheat with drugs.

Ramirez just signed a one-year deal worth more money than you can possibly fathom and still cheated… Clearly, these guys just don’t care.

My question is… at this point, why should we?

It’s good that MLB has a drug policy now – after years of first pretending there was no problem, and then after more years of fighting with the players union about it. And it’s great that it seems to be catching the guys who need to be caught.

But it’s time to stop analyzing and fretting over every drug-using superstar who gets busted.

It’s going to keep happening, let’s let the league do its job and just enjoy the game for what it is.

Baseball players are going to cheat – that doesn’t mean we can’t still just sit back and enjoy the game.

I sincerely hope no one’s been basing their playoff pool choices on my terrible picks. I was a less-than-impressive three-for-eight in the first round, and as of my deadline on Tuesday, I’m oh-for-one in Round 2.

As I’m sure many of you were, I was banking on Roberto Luongo out-dueling Nikolai Khabibulin and taking the Vancouver Canucks to their first conference final since their Game 7 Stanley Cup Final loss to the New York Rangers in 1994.

Now we can start talking about the Canadian Cup drought again.

Hello, year 15.

NDG Baseball’s uniform pickup day is this Saturday, May 16 at William Hurst Park on Kensington, corner Grand. T-ball-aged players are to go from 9-9:45 a.m., minors from 9:45-10:30 a.m., majors from 10:30-11:15 a.m., and finally, juniors and seniors are from 11:15-noon. Details are still to come for novice-aged players.

NDG Baseball will be hosting its sixth-annual Robert & Steve Michelin Tournament this June 19-21. The junior tourney is held annually to honour the Michelin brothers, who both volunteered for the association and both passed away from cystic fibrosis. It was last won by a local team in 2006, while Philadelphia, NY’s North Country Athletics are the current two-time defending champions. Visit www.ndgbaseball.org for more on this tournament.

NDG Baseball will also hold its second-annual Senior Summer Classic from June 26-28. One of the higher-end tourneys in this part of the continent, the Classic so far has teams from as far as Vermont and Ontario coming to battle with NDG. There are still three spots left, however, to complete the eight-team bracket. For more, visit www.ndgbaseball.org

The NDG Soccer Association has announced the introduction of two new divisions, for men and women aged 18-21. Call 514-488-7784 for more information or register in person at Le Manoir, located at 5319 Notre-Dame-de-Grace Ave., Tuesday and Thursday nights from 6-8 p.m.

NDG Soccer is raising funds for a bursary created in honour of their recently passed-on president, Jean-Daniel Eigenmann. “To celebrate and commemorate Jean-Daniel’s love of and commitment to soccer, this Bursary Fund has been created. The monies contributed will go to subsidize the fees for financially disadvantaged children so that they may be able to learn, play and enjoy. To contribute - you may print the donation form and/or just send your donation to:

The Jean-Daniel Eigenmann Bursary Fund c/o NDG Soccer Association

Le Manoir, 5319 avenue Notre-Dame-de-Grâce

Montréal, Québec

H4A 1L2

Cheque must be payable to NDG Soccer Association