There have been 24-so far…he won’t be the 25th-at least not yet.

Andrew Cashner and the Padres can breathe a sigh of relief, at least for the next couple of weeks. The worst fears have not be realized in San Diego. The MRI result on the ace of the Padres staff shows soreness and inflammation in his right elbow, but not a ligament tear.

Rest-rehab-a limited throwing schedule for two weeks, and possibly less use of the vicious slider is the PX anti-dote. No surgery. He won’t be number 25-to be operated on.

Baseball is dealing with a major epidemic. Since February 15th, 24 players have had elbow surgery for torn ligaments. 23-pitchers and one phenom shortstop. Baseball is searching for reasons-answers-solutions.

Explanations are everywhere. Young pitchers, throwing violent whip actions with their arm, to create ball movement like never seen before. 97mph fastballs that jump. Sliders, cutters, four seamers, sinkers.

You want to give him respect and space and you ask for understanding, but there are questions worth asking now.

It’s been a week since the NFL draft. It’s been a week since the St-Louis Rams took Missouri defensive end Michael Sam with a 7th round pick.’

It’s been a week of a wide variety of questions. How good is he? Why did the SEC Player of the Year last so long in the draft? Are people staying away from him because he has come out of the closet, not just to chase quarterbacks, but with the pronouncement he is gay.

We live in a different culture now, where being gay is public and is part of our lifestyle. It’s no longer the era of Dave Kopoy or Jerry Smith, who lived in fear in the NFL of being ‘outed’ back in the 60s and 70s.

The newspaper called him timid…I say he’s conservative….you should tell him it’s time to make this move.

NFL rosters are pretty much complete, built for the coming season. There are virtually no free agents of note to go get. The draft picks are signing. What you have now is what you will play with this coming season. And the Chargers don’t have enough.

Tom Telesco has a chance to add one final piece to the puzzle, a player who would be a difference maker, a guy who could put you over the top.

It just doesn’t mean that much this morning…what’s happening there-because of what is happening here.

You watch the games, you might have a rooting interest, you are intrigued by the stories, you look forward to tonite.

At least you would, if it were not for the last 48-hours here in San Diego.

The Padres can stretch this winning streak to six straight if they sweep the doubleheader in Cincinnati.  Meanwhile, they walk thru the embers of burned out houses on Aviara Parkway in Carlsbad.

You wounder if the Clippers can rally in a must win game six tonite vs Oklahoma City. As you wonder how families will cope returning to burned out streets in Coronado Hills outside of San Marcos.

You think of the chaos that is abut to begin when the Rams open their mini-camp for rookies and people like TMZ and Deadspin was access to gay defensive end Michael Sam. You worry about the fatigue of firefighters who have been at it for nearly 48-straight hours in 100-degree heat and low humidity on the fire lines.

Can you believe what you hear? Can you believe they tolerated this for so long.

The never ending saga of the man began in 1981-when he bought the franchise, once known as the Buffalo Braves, and moved it to San Diego, where it became the Clippers. More correctly, it became the laughingstock of an NBA franchise.

Run by a maverick business man, a real estate tycoon, who ran the franchise into the ground.

Once upon a time Donald Sterling had a roster that included NBA greats World B-Free and Randy Smith, Michael Cage and Tom Chambers, Michael Brooks and Terry Cummings. He once had the rights to Byron Scott, got the rights to Bill Walton.