Grand slams. Hail Mary touchdowns. Buzzer-beaters. Game-winning goals.

You would think that sports provides enough excitement on the field or court or ice to satiate even the most demanding consumer.

Luis Gonzalez is no longer sure.

"The playing part gets boring for people," said the 19-year major league veteran, who now plays for the Florida Marlins. "And they want to know what is going on in athletes' personal lives."

In this modern media age, with its increasing saturation and declining standards, the curious won't have to surf long to find it. Check out the major independent sports blogs, and you might stumble across a backside bikini shot of tennis star Ana Ivanovic, Arizona Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart holding up a beer funnel for Arizona coeds, the $1 million pool of Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas, or the latest gossip related to the relationship of New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush and reality star Kim Kardashian. Even the sportscasters, such as Chris Berman and Erin Andrews, aren't exempt from the scrutiny.

"I don't think anybody's lives are private or personal anymore," Gonzalez said. "Once you step into the public street, everything is wide open."

Alex Rodriguez sure learned that, though he may not have truly learned his lesson.

On May 30, 2007, a blaring headline appeared in the New York Post, next to a photo of the married Yankees third baseman entering a Toronto gentleman's club with a mysterious blonde.

"STRAY-ROD."

As soon as that hit New York newsstands, the Yankees third baseman wasn't alone in facing accusations of straying. Rather, many media observers — and observers of the media — argued that the newspaper had strayed from the unwritten rules of covering prominent athletes. In a later story by the New York Observer, Post sports editor Greg Gallo said that it was the metro department's decision to run the embarrassing image, which had been provided by a freelance paparazzi photographer. (And a Post spokeswoman said the newspaper was "proud to have broken" the story). That story became national news, with more photos published of Rodriguez with the woman.

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So it was no longer a surprise when Rodriguez's marriage became a major media spectacle again this year, as his wife Cynthia filed for divorce amid rumors that Rodriguez had become involved with the pop star Madonna.

The Post and its tabloid rival, The New York Daily News, have covered athletes' personal issues before and since. But Sandy Padwe, an associate professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, cited a difference in the relatively recent coverage of Michael Strahan, Jason Kidd, Paul Lo Duca and others, as compared to that of Rodriguez:

Generally, those stories were driven by court cases, and specifically by dogged court reporters probing public records.

The "STRAY-ROD" story really started with a snapshot.

It hasn't seemed to have bothered Rodriguez much. He continues to hit.

Special feature When athletes and celebs get together Slideshow: A look at the many links between sports and Hollywood stars. NBCSports.com

So it might have had a more meaningful effect on sports coverage than Rodriguez's plate coverage.

Was STRAY-ROD a sign of what's to come?

"All the eras have been different," Padwe said. "Now you have gone almost full-circle on this kind of stuff. And I don't see it changing. Because what few standards are left are just diminishing and diminishing week by week it seems, so how will it ever come back? Unless there is a total sea change in the way that publications begin to look at things. That's certainly not going to happen for years and years now."

Padwe notes that in the eras of Joe DiMaggio and Babe Ruth, sports reporters ignored what they saw or heard about players' personal lives. That trend extended late into the century. Padwe recalls that, when he left the Philadelphia Inquirer for New York Newsday, he started by taking a three-week trip with the Yankees because his New York apartment wasn't ready.

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