Professional baseball players make a lot of money. Pitching aces make a boat-load of duckets. Why then would they choose to drive after drinking rather than take a $50 cab ride? The may be the $1 million-dollar question.

Following in the footsteps of former Atlanta Braves pitcher Derek Lowe, Milwaukee Brewers ace Yovani Gallardo is guilty of driving after getting totally hammered (by booze not opposing bats). As reported in bleacherreport.com.

Gallardo was grinning from ear-to-ear at Miller Park in his team's game against the San Francisco Giants—and he had the right to be.

Gallardo helped his team in both major aspects of the game by pitching six strong innings and hitting a home run in third inning of the Brewers' 7-2 win.

The 27-year-old hurler also had to be pleased with how easily he avoided a suspension from the league office after he was arrested and charged with drunken driving.

Gallardo's blood-alcohol level was 0.22, which is three times the legal limit.

What the law does to him is one thing. His penalty from major League Baseball – nada! No person should ever be let off as easy as Gallardo was for his inexcusable behavior. It was an embarrassment to not only him but to the entire Brewers organization.

Major League Baseball should have made an example out of Gallardo for his careless behavior. While I am not sure what exactly goes on behind the closed doors of the league office, a suspension should have been handed down to the Brewers' right-hander.

I would like to see Gallardo take a good online DUI class (http://onlinealcoholclass.com/Dui-Class) and seek to keep youth of alcohol in the future.

Serial DUI (driving under the influence) is very common in the United States. Perhaps you know someone who regularly drinks and drives (or uses drugs like prescription medication or marijuana and drive). If you do, I am sure you expect that DUI behavior is a regular part of their behavior.

This is true both for people who have had an alcohol-related incident in their past as well as those who haven’t. If you are worried there are a lot of drunken drivers out on the road – you are not alone and you are not incorrect.

A 36-year-old Illinois man was arrested on felony charges for his ninth DUI.

Bruno De La Cruz was originally arrested and charged for his third DUI arrest, however, prosecutors dug into his background and determined this was his ninth. If convicted he faces six to 30 years in prison with no possibility of probation.

Just how drunk was this guy? Police found De La Cruz to be "unresponsive" after they responded to a single-vehicle crash at 2:42 a.m. No surprise that the officer smelled alcohol on De La Cruz and he failed field sobriety tests. He declined to take chemical tests after his arrest.

He also was cited for transportation of open alcohol, failure to reduce speed and driving without a license.

According to court records, De La Cruz had previous DUI arrests on: Jan. 10 and Sept. 2, 2000; Sept. 14, 2002; Oct. 3, 2004; April 9, Aug. 3 and Aug. 28, 2006; and Feb. 19, 2007.

He had just spent 364 days in jail. Now it looks like he is headed back to the clink. I would hope the local jail would have online alcohol classes for their inmates suffering from the ravages of alcohol addiction.

For those of you who read my blog regularly you know that I do everything I can to dissuade parents from providing alcohol for their children and their children’s friends.

Just how important is the role of parental example? As reported in www.steamboattoday.com.

Parents play an important role in helping teens make smart decisions when it comes to alcohol. According to a recent report, 83 percent of youths report parents are the leading influence in their decision to not drink alcohol. Research also shows regular communication between parents and teens has a positive influence on the decisions teens make. Teens are more likely to live up to the parent’s expectations and less likely to drink or use drugs when open and regular communication is occurring.

Research has shown that youths who use alcohol before age 15 are five times more likely to become alcohol dependent than adults who begin drinking at age 21. Underage drinking can lead to destructive behaviors such as physical and emotional violence, sexual mistakes or misjudgments, accidental injuries and deaths, alcohol overdose and increased risk of suicide.

Siblings play an equally important role: Research shows that children who have older brothers or sisters who drink are more likely to use alcohol. Remind your older child that he or she serves as a role model for the younger brother or sister and that your rules and expectations about drinking apply to all underage family members. If the older sibling is of legal drinking age, ask him or her to always drink in moderation and to never encourage drinking or offer underage siblings alcohol.

Keep in mind that adults that supplying alcohol at teen parties is not only a bad idea but also illegal. In some states it is a felony even if nobody is injured or ticketed. I think it is a good idea for parents to take an online alcohol class with their progeny to help keep the message clear and keep the kids safe.

Older does not always mean wiser. One of the brightest sports minds in the country, and one of the most respected voices in sports journalism proved that alcohol makes people do stupid things.

Al Michaels, one of the all-time great broadcasters was arrested over the weekend in Southern California on suspicion of driving under the influence. As reported in espn.go.com.

As with many DUI recipients, Michaels was pulled over after making a routine traffic violation. He was pulled over at about 9:30 p.m. after officers manning a DUI checkpoint witnessed him make an illegal U-turn. Perhaps he was trying to avoid the checkpoint.

Michaels, the play-by-play man for "Sunday Night Football," was taken to the station, where he registered a blood-alcohol level at the .08 percent legal limit.

He was booked for suspicion of DUI and held for about five hours before being released on his own recognizance.

An Emmy Award winner, the 68-year-old Michaels spent nearly three decades at ABC Sports before moving to NBC in 2007.

Michaels worked NFL games and other sports for ABC, and called "Monday Night Football" for nearly 20 years. He also is known for his call of the U.S.-Soviet Union "Miracle on Ice" game at the 1980 Winter Olympics and the earthquake-interrupted Game 3 of the 1989 World Series.

Last year he received the Vin Scully Lifetime Achievement Award in Sports Broadcasting. I hope Michaels does not let this blip de-rail his lifetime achievement of helping others. This is a prime opportunity for him to take a California Wet Reckless Class, stay sober and help others avoid the perils of alcohol as well.

Do you ever feel like celebrities think they are invincible? It seems like when they have a run-in with the law they feel their celebrity status merits special treatment. As a counselor for both online drug classes and online alcohol classes I see this attitude with non-celebrity offenders too.

Reese Witherspoon pulled her celebrity card out while her husband was getting arrested for driving under the influence. She asked if officers knew who she was and when they didn’t she threatened then threat they soon would. As reported in www.tmz.com.

Both Witherspoon and her husband, Jim Toth were arrested, he for DUI, she for disorderly conduct. The arrests went down in Atlanta when police spotted their car -- a silver Ford Fusion weaving in and out of lanes and pulled them over.

When officers brushed off telling her that didn’t need to know her name she said, "You're about to find out who I am ... You are going to be on national news."

During Jim's arrest, Reese became ornery, demonstrating visual and verbal frustration over how long it was taking to arrest her husband. At one point, she got out of her car and the officer ordered her back inside. When she got out a second time, he arrested her for disorderly conduct, a municipal ordinance.

They were both taken to jail, booked, and released a short time later.

Despite claiming only to have had one drink, Toth’s eye lids were droopy and his eyes were blood shot and watery and he reeked of booze. His Breathalyzer test revealed Toth's blood alcohol level was .139.

Do you think Witherspoon played the celeb card because she had as much to drink as her hubby? Either way it was inappropriate behavior,. Both she and her husband should take a good online alcohol class.

All of my loyal readers consistently comment on our celebrity blogs. The majority agree that while celebrities should not be role models, the fact remains they are. Celebrities are role models both for kids and adults. Often, their behavior leaves a lot to be desired. This is true in the case of one “That’s So Raven” star.

On the list of things that are so Raven, getting a DUI is not one of them. As reported in www.huffingtonpost.com.

Former "That's So Raven" star Orlando Brown was taken into police custody after being arrested on suspicion of drunk driving.

The 25-year-old actor, who played Symone's pal Eddie Thomas on the Disney Channel series, was arrested in Los Angeles. This is not the first time Brown has had an alcohol-related incident. The former child actor is being held on a $26,000 arrest warrant from a previous DUI arrest.

Brown was first arrested on suspicion of DUI in August 2011, when he was pulled over for driving without a license plate and given a sobriety test after cops believed he smelled of alcohol.

Brown was supposed to take an alcohol class in order to avoid jail time; however, the actor never enrolled in the class and he also failed to pay $1,908 in fines and court fees. A warrant was then issued for his arrest after he didn't show up to court to prove that he'd finally joined an alcohol awareness program.

Brown was also arrested in 2007 for drug possession in Texas, after cops pulled him over for driving at night without his headlights on, and found nine grams of marijuana in the driver's side door when they searched the car.

It sounds like Brown needs more than just a dui class (http://onlinealcoholclass.com/Dui-Class). It looks like he needs serious in-patient therapy as well. Please hope he is not a role model to anyone – unless it is to dissuade them from ever trying drugs or alcohol.

You want to talk about royally screwing up your life. How can a teenager possibly have 7 felony driving under the influence violations? It is true – a California teenager has been charged with 7 felony DUIs after a deadly crash in Nevada.

Five people were killed in the crash, which occurred on Interstate 15 about 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas, and another two were injured. J As reported in www.inquisitr.com.

The driver, Jean Ervin Soriano managed to escape the crash with his life but he is now being charged with 7 felony DUIs. Soriano also faces two misdemeanors for driving without a license and failure to decrease speed.

Would it surprise you to know that Soriano was a fugitive at the time of the crash, having just escaped the Youth Guidance Center in Santa Ana, California, on March 1? The Guidance Center is a facility that treats young drug and alcohol abusers.

The 18-year-old Soriano is currently being held on $3.5 million bond after he and another passenger rear-ended a van which flipped over and five of the seven people inside, including a 13-year-old girl, were killed.

There was no doubt Soriano had been drinking as police found empty beer cans in Soriano’s car and the teenager reportedly told police that he was the one who had been driving. Soriano had a blood alcohol level of .12 at the time of the crash.

What a tragic waste of life. I would like to think that Soriano could lead a productive life after taking an California online MIP class, but who could overcome killing so many innocent people.

In all of my years as a counselor for both in-class and online alcohol classes I never have heard of someone receiving three driving under the influence (DUI) violations in less than 48 hours. I have heard of people with two, and some really serious boozers with 10 or more DUIs, but this guy take the cake.

As you begin to read about 42-year-old Daniel Kropf I ask you to think about something – how many DUIs do you think he had before these three. As reported in www.sltrib.com.

Kropf, from St. George, Utah was arrested for three DUIs in less than 45 hours last summer. How can that even happen? I have heard about a few people who were so drunk at their first arrest that after being released the next morning they got behind the wheel again and were re-arrested. But three?

He now faces up to 5 1/2 years of incarceration for the crimes. As part of a plea deal, Kropf pleaded guilty to two DUI charges, one as a third-degree felony and the other a class B misdemeanor. The third DUI charge was dropped as part of the deal.

Utah law makes a driver’s third DUI a felony — but only after the driver’s been convicted twice. Prosecutors had planned to hold three separate trials for Kropf, with one slated to start next week, but he took a plea deal to avoid the felony charge. Talk about three strikes and you are out – things could have been a lot worse for this guy who has a long career of driving infractions.

He was arrested on July 8th the first time. The next night, a medical call brought police to the parking lot of a Super 8 Motel where Kropf was found in an Escalade totally hammered. It was less than 24 hours later that he was again pulled over after officers noticed his Escalade swerving all over the road.

I hope he gets a good Utah alcohol class and attends AA meeting and decides to stay sober.

Trying to keep people from driving under the influence is a full-time job – for thousands and thousands of people. One of the few bright spot in helping prevent repeat behavior has been DUI courts.

The purpose of the DUI Court is to help a person get clean and sober instead of sending them to prison. I have known countless success stories of repeat DUI offenders who found their way back to sobriety through the efforts of DUI Court. As reported in www.gainesvilletimes.com.

DUI Court gives people a second chance at life.

Bennett’s recovery and the recovery of others speak to the effectiveness of the DUI Court, program leaders said. Often times, people in the grips of addiction feel shame, despair and helplessness.

Instead of jail time, Dui Court holds offenders accountable and gives them the chance to do the right thing.

DUI Court participants’ time in the program is as long as the judge deems necessary, based on their sentence and cooperation. They must attend weekly court and counseling sessions and submit to random drug screenings, or face reincarceration.

The program lasts a minimum of 15 months, divided into three phases, each five months long. The average length of time is about 16 months.

Unlike in drug court, DUI Court is not a way to erase the charge but is a part of probation after conviction, in most cases a second or third conviction.

Statistics as to the success of DUI Court are just now streaming in. In 10 years, only 10 percent of DUI Court graduates wound up back in court with a DUI conviction.

Another impressive statistic: a 98 percent employment rate upon graduation, versus 66 percent prior to the court’s creation.

I like to see the DUI Court mandating drug classes for lengthy periods of time. Addictions are habits. Once the cycle is broken a person can finally have control over the addiction.

Am I the only one who finds it ironic that a stripper drives a Hummer?

A Las Vegas strip club dancer is facing a felony charge of driving under the influence after a weekend crash that killed a man and injured a child in his car. As reported in www.sfgate.com.

Shauna Diane Miller, a 26-year-old stripper from Las Vegas, was being held on a charge that could get her up to 20 years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

Miller was driving a maroon 2003 Hummer H2 that plowed into a 1997 Ford Escort less than a mile from White's apartment and from the Spearmint Rhino.

The 33-year-old father was pronounced dead at the scene. A 2-year-old boy in a child seat received scrapes and bruises. Miller told investigators she drank two beers at the club and had taken the anti-anxiety medication Xanax (non-prescribed) the night before.

Miller is also a liar. She told police she hit the brakes but couldn't avoid White's car as it turned in front her vehicle. However, a crash reconstruction team determined that White's car wasn't turning, and that the Hummer didn't skid before hitting it.

This is a tragedy that never should have happened. We all wish Miller would not have chosen to drink and drive. She should seriously consider visiting: http://onlinealcoholclass.com/Dui-Class