In fact, we find it telling that the Jones fessing-up is making headlines not for her steroid use, but for her acknowledgment of the fact. It takes a federal indictment to an athlete to admit using performance enhancers these days — and often not even that. The news that, after years of increasingly embarrassing denials, she finally copped to it is the only "news" attached to this story. If you were idolizing Jones — or any track star — this "disappointment" is probably what you deserved, regardless. For the rest of us, we'll just go with "indifferent exhaustion."

Marion Jones Admits Anabolic Steroid Use [Steroid Nation]
For A Marion Jones fan Like Me, This Is More Sad News [Mes Deux Cents]

(UPDATE: Here's how this might affect Barry Bonds, by the way.)

Just as a reminder, here's a brief history of previous Marion Jones doping accusations:

• Her ex-husband, C.J. Hunter (a doper himself), once testified that he witnessed Jones injecting herself with steroids.
• Victor Conte told 20/20 that he supplied Jones with various illegal performance enhancers during and after the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
• Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada reported that BALCO had provided Jones with some banned substances.

This one doesn't exactly fall into the category of "tragic downfall of once-beloved hero." This one's more in the "no freakin' kidding" category. But, you know, innocent until proven guilty, waiting for the 'B' sample, all of that. I'm sure we're all willing to give her the benefit of the doubt.

M. Jones Failed Drug Test in June [Washington Post]

You can do a lot with $25,000. You can provide food for starving Africans before Sally Struthers eats them first. You can buy 1,518 copies of Bill Simmons new book (not counting shipping, which is probably a bitch). You can even join 2,500,000 of those record clubs where you get 11 CDs for a penny.

You can also hire ESPN anchor Stuart Scott to come speak at your corporate function. The site HireSportsSpeakers.com allows you to bring your favorite ESPN personalities to come talk to you and your fellow corporate drones about leadership, teamwork or, you know, just how to read off a Teleprompter. The site serves as a broker between corporations and sports personalities, negotiating their fees and putting together their schedules.

One would think that paying Stuart Scott $25,000 plus "travel is almost always on top of the fees, usually something like first class for two, ground transportation and hotel" to do anything other than promise never to use the terms "pillow," "cool," "boo" or "yah" again would be somewhat excessive. But Scott isn t even the most expensive anchor on his own network. In fact, he s not even close.

Full list of top ESPN anchors/sports personalities and their speakers fees after the jump. Start saving those pennies for Tom Tolbert now!

The appearance fees for major "sports personalities."

$15,000 and below
Mitch Gaylord - $10,000
Greg Gumbel - $15,000
Ron Jaworski - $10,000
Tony Kornheiser - $15,000
Tom Tolbert - $15,000

For a guy who has a sitcom based on his life — albeit a pretty unwatchable one — we think that's a pretty good price. Well, relatively speaking. By the way ... Mitch Gaylord! Still alive, we guess. Good for him.

$20,000-$30,000
James Brown - $30,000
Rich Eisen - $25,000
Roy Firestone - $22,000
Marion Jones - $20,000
Jim Nantz - $25,000
Dan Patrick - $30,000
Rick Reilly - $25,000
Stuart Scott — $25,000

We don't know how much Dan Patrick made for his Hair Care For Men ads, or, for that matter, how much Rick Reilly got for encouraging his readers to become drunken idiots, but it couldn't have been too far from this amount. By the way, Reilly's amount is probably around the starting salary for entry-level print journalists in this country, if you were wondering what that collective "pounding-head-against-desk" sound was.

$40,000-$50,000
Mitch Albom - $40,000
Chris Berman - $50,000
Jim Rome - $40,000

You know, we wonder if Mitch Albom actually has to be there giving the speech to collect his cash, or if he can just say he was there.

$50,000 and above
Bob Costas - $60,500
Al Michaels - $75,000

For an extra 10 grand, Bob Costas will promise not to lecture you about your lack of class and decorum. Don't worry, though; he brings his own stepstool for the podium.

Just For Fun
Leslie Nielsen - $70,000

Enrico! Pallazzo! Enrico! Pallazzo!

HireSportsSpeakers.com [Official Site]