GAIL WHITE Excuse me, but I'm getting tired of celebrities' excuses

I am mad at Sammy.
I have been fuming about Sammy Sosa since the cork flew out of his broken bat.
I have no great love for or interest in Major League Baseball, but that summer of '98 when Mark McGwire and Sammy slugged it out for the home run record, I was mesmerized.
Two men hitting home run after home run; one trailing the other, then surpassing, only to be outnumbered again.
I remember thinking that each was driving the other. I wonder if either would have conquered the record if it hadn't been for the other always on his tail.
As they approached the record, the nation's eyes and the press' cameras were on them, yet they never spoke harsh words of each other. Truly, these men epitomized the love of the sport and the purest example of good sportsmanship.
Though McGwire came out ahead, Sammy was a national hero as well.
The night I saw MLB officials walking out of the Florida Marlins baseball stadium concealing the remnants of Sammy's broken bat in a black garbage bag, I felt betrayed.
Maybe Sammy is telling the truth about having a corked bat for the benefit of pleasing the fans during warm-up.
Or, maybe he has been "accidentally" using corked bats in games for years, allowing him to approach the record in '98.
I am having a difficult time getting past the "maybe."
Moving on to Martha
And then there is Martha Stewart.
I am not a huge fan of this homemaking guru. Her creative ideas and attention to every detail tends to make me feel more guilty than capable. But she has certainly inspired me to try harder to create "moments" with my family.
Indeed, in a day and age when homemaking has become somewhat "out of fashion," Martha has been an inspiration bringing homemaking back in vogue.
Did Martha, a former stockbroker, know that ImClone's cancer drug was about to be rejected by the FDA and, knowing this, sell her stock the day before it was announced?
Or did she simply get lucky by dumping the stock the day before its demise?
I know what I believe when my children tell me stories about their "luck."
I am having trouble believing Martha's luck.
And then there's that reporter
My personal case of greatest distaste is the Jayson Blair debacle.
The New York Times reporter who fabricated facts and made up sources has left a wake of destruction in his path.
No fewer than two editors from the Times have resigned. Apparently, liars take hostages.
As for Jayson himself, he told The Associated Press, "I have been struggling with recurring personal issues, which have caused me great pain. I am now seeking appropriate counseling ..."
So, is it Jayson's fault he lies?
Or is it the fault of the "recurring personal issues?"
(What I want to know is, how can the counselor believe what Jayson tells him?)
Without a doubt, we humans are not perfect. Temptation has happened to us all; we lack judgment, we get greedy, we lie.
How about this?
Here's a concept: Confess, pay the consequences and move on, ideally smarter and wiser than before.
The only thing worse than doing something wrong is not taking responsibility for it.
But taking responsibility is difficult. Making excuses is much easier.
I am tired of people's excuses.
"An excuse is just a reason stuffed with a lie."
Isn't that a great quote? I really like that quote and would like to write it as if it were my own thought. Or maybe attribute it as words of wisdom from a dearly, departed loved one.
But it isn't my thought or the words of someone I know.
I read it in a book written by Joyce Meyer. So, I will uphold my journalistic responsibility and give Joyce the credit.
There's no cork in my pen.
gwhite@vindy.com