- Is "I only did it once" and "I only did it to recover from an injury" the new "I didn't inhale"? These seem to be the top excuses from guys who were named in the Mitchell Report as to why they used steroids or HGH. Baltimore's Brian Roberts claimed that he only did it once and decided that wasn't what he should be doing. Andy Pettitte claimed he only used HGH to heal more quickly from an injury. The other popular response is the Clemens outright denial, but Roger doesn't seem to be getting a lot of credibility from that.

- Winter only officially starts today, but I'm already sick of it. We have already had three snowstorms, dropping more than triple the normal December amount of snow on us. I'm hoping we get a break on the weekend.

- Proof that you love your kids: I'm taking them and two of their friends to see Alvin and the Chipmunks on Sunday. Despite the horrible reviews, the squeaky voiced little rodents took in over $45 million last weekend. If nothing else, this insures that we'll be subjected to Alvin and the Chipmunks 2.

- Speaking of movies, my friend The Hey won tickets to see a sneak preview of Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. It's a send up of musician biographical movies like Ray and Walk the Line. It's pretty funny, although very much not for kids. I really liked seeing Jenna Fischer (Pam from The Office) in a very un-Pam like role. It's worth seeing if you like raunchy comedy. Thanks for the invite, Mr. Hey!

- The crazy money continues for pitchers: Dotrelle Willis signed with the Tigers for three years, $29 million, despite going 10-15, 5.17 ERA with the Marlins last year. Willis does get bonus points for knowing who Ty Cobb and Al Kaline are, though. So many current ballplayers know nothing about the history of the game. Carlos Silva (13-14, 4.19 with the Twins) got 4 years, $48 million from the Mariners. I wouldn't call either of these guys bad pitchers, and they both have pretty good upsides, but 7 years, $140 million for Johan Santana is starting to sound like a bargain in comparison.