September is winding down and October is fast approaching, but I'm not anxious or excited.

Major League Baseball (MLB) is in the midst of pennant chases and wildcard races, but I'm not in a frenzy of anticipation.

The Braves are about to clinch an unprecedented 14th straight division title, the Cardinals may win 100 games for the second consecutive year and the Indians are playoff contenders after a scorching second half.

Houston clings to a two-game lead in the NL Wildcard race and the Yankees have battled both Boston in the AL East and Cleveland in the wildcard races.

All of this and I care less now than I ever have before in my young life. The reasons for this are simple: steroids and football. Two seemingly unrelated things brought together to kill my interest in the national pastime.

Steroid scandals in baseball bring out the natural cynic in me. If a player is having an outstanding season and putting up career numbers, I decree that he's on the juice. If a player's numbers have tapered off a little, I argue that he must have stopped using this season.

MLB's implementation of a steroid testing was necessary (not to mention long overdue), but with fewer players juicing, home run numbers have sunk to their lowest level in eight years.

Carlos Beltran hit 38 homers in 2004. This season, that number has dropped to 15. Adrian Beltre hit 48 last year, but has only managed to knock 19 balls out of the park in 2005. Vinny Castilla went yard 35 times a year ago. This season, he has belted a whopping 12 long balls.

Not so easy to hit ding-dongs when you're in constant fear of being tested, now is it fellas?

And don't even get me started on Rafael Palmeiro. If you don't follow baseball or live under a rock, you should know a few things about Palmeiro. The Orioles first baseman has 3,020 career hits and 569 career homers to put him in some pretty elite company.

'I have never used steroids. Period,' Palmeiro told a congressional panel in March. He even pointed his finger in indignation and spoke with the tone of man falsely accused.

Good show, Rafael, good show. First rate ballplayer and a heck of an actor as well. Who would've guessed?

Just five months later, on Aug. 2, Palmeiro was suspended 10 days for violating MLB's steroids policy.

I hope Congress follows through with its threat to prosecute Palmeiro for perjury. I hope this incident leaves a scarlet letter on his career so large that Palmeiro is not elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. I hope his legacy is not one of a good baseball player with incredible longevity but that of a lying, cheating steroid user.

You see, I was just starting to get psyched up for the approaching MLB Playoffs, but I couldn't do it. Instead, I flew off on an insult-filled, steroid-riddled tangent.

On a lighter note, the NFL season has begun, and the Cincinnati Bengals are off to a torrid 2-0 start. Yes, my Cincinnati Bengals. And yes, I said torrid. Carson Palmer and the vaunted Who-Dey offense have outscored opponents by a combined score of 64-21.

No need to mention that Cincinnati has looked so good against two of the most inept teams in the NFL thus far ' the dreadful Dawg Pound of Cleveland and the mighty Minnesota Vikings.

The Bengals have a legitimate shot to begin the season 4-0 for the first time since 1988 when the team treated fans in The Jungle to a 6-0 start.

It isn't just the Bengals that have me intrigued about the first two weeks of the NFL season. The Buccaneers and the Redskins are also off to surprise 2-0 starts while San Diego, Baltimore and Green Bay have disappointed by opening with two losses.

New England lost a game, something they rarely do. The Pats are now 29-5 in their last 34 regular season games. Speaking of surprises, the Bears and the Lions sit tied for first place atop the NFC North just two weeks into the 2005 season.

So much great sports action, and I haven't even mentioned college football. How about that Texas-Ohio State game? And Notre Dame knocking off Michigan only to be upset by Michigan State the very next week? Wow.

Oh no, I've done it again. I was just starting to buy into the hype of October baseball, but I got sidetracked. I just can't get myself pumped up for baseball like I used to.

Football has overshadowed the home stretch of the MLB season, at least for me. And every time I start to get excited about a baseball storyline or a wildcard race, I just sit back and wonder the same old things

How many of these guys were just your average run-of-the-mill player until they had a run-in with Jose Canseco and needle to the backside in some clubhouse in the mid-1990s?

Well, my time is up. Maybe I'll try to catch the Indians-White Sox tonight in an AL Central matchup. Wait, I think Bowling Green is playing Boise State on ESPN2. Never mind, baseball can wait for another day.