This just in: Mark McGwire took steroids. Other breaking news this week: Jimmie Johnson drives really fast, LeBron James is good at basketball and Brock Lesnar isn’t a guy you want to bump into in a dark alley.

Forgive my lack of outrage, but McGwire’s earth-shattering PED admission barely registered on my sports seismograph. I just don’t think I have the heart for it anymore.

So much has been made about who took steroids, when they took them and how much it affected their performance that the group of suspected PED users has more high-profile names on it than the ever-decreasing list of supposedly “clean” athletes. Barry Bonds: cheater. Sammy Sosa: cheater. Manny Ramierez: cheater. Alex Rodriguez: cheater. Mark McGwire: cheater.

At this point, I’d be more surprised to find a power-hitter that played through the Steroid Era and found a way to come out unscathed on the other side.

But McGwire’s steroid announcement earlier this week has the potential to become the least surprising, and most over-analyzed, story of the new year. After denying reports of PED use for the better part of the last decade, the only person who actually believed McGwire’s protestations was himself. His “I’m not here to talk about the past” mantra in front of congress sealed his fate in the court of public opinion and the only reason McGwire is willing to talk about the past now is because he is getting something out of it. Cynical? Yes, but not off the mark.

If he wasn’t recently named hitting coach for St. Louis, would Big Mac ever be addressing his steroid-riddled past right now? Not likely. But by admitting – only partially, mind you – to PED use this January, there’s the potential for the firestorm to die down before spring training opens. Just as McGwire diverted attention away from Tiger Woods, odds are, another athlete will fall from grace and redirect the media spotlight from McGwire before the Cardinals break camp.

The timing of his mea culpa is as suspect as McGwire’s legacy. And Albert Pujols, St. Louis’ future Hall of Fame first baseman who has long fought to maintain his own steroid-free image, would be advised to steer clear of the Cardinals latest hitting guru. Considering McGwire’s .263 career average, that’s probably a very good idea.

Ed Owens is the sports editor of the Warwick Beacon. He can be reached via e-mail at EdO@warwickonline.com.