Not long ago, Dr. Phil McGraw landed in hot water over comments he made after meeting with Britney Spears’ family. The accusation was that he revealed confidential information and crossed the doctor-patient confidentiality oaths our medical and even our legal systems depend on. Of course, Hollywood being the unreliable source of information that it’s known for, no one really knows for sure what, if anything was revealed. Still, Dr. Phil was quoted as saying she was troubled and in dire need of psychological help over a year ago. Plans for a show devoted to her were scrapped and before long, in classic Hollywood manner, it fell off the front page.

Now, another well-known celebrity doctor is being accused of speaking out of turn. Dr. Drew Pinsky has been quoted as saying he’s convinced Lindsay Lohan will get sober one day. This leading comment has many

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believing Lohan is still abusing drugs, alcohol or both. In retaliation, Lohan twittered over the weekend that “real” doctors didn’t discuss such matters in public. It’s true she’s done far more damage to her own image than anyone else possibly could, whether it’s a doctor or some tabloid scrambling for a front page story. In any event, she doesn’t like to be the topic of his conversations.

It’s a fine line physicians, lawyers, psychologists and others in the medical field must walk. They’re bound by their oath of confidentiality. But an across the board general comment such as what the good doctor made about Lohan in no way betrays that oath. Anyone can see she’s troubled. He’s not the first to state the obvious. The fact that it’s not even known whether or not Lohan has ever been a patient of his proves he’s not betrayed the trust as a physician. Seems as though his concerns of something drastic being what finally awakens her has been hashed out in the media for years. Let’s face it, we’ve seen some mighty erratic behavior out of both Spears and Lohan and if it wasn’t due to intoxication, then they certainly need a few lessons in proper etiquette and how to behave in public.

Hopefully, she’ll seek out the guidance of medically trained personnel in the near future. Since Dr. Drew seems to have a head start, it might as well be him.

NASCAR fans are a loyal bunch who thrive as much on the adrenaline of a fast paced, leader-changing race as much as the drivers of these near-million dollar cars are.  It’s the most recent near-tragedy that’s brought a controversy back into the spotlight and has the drivers, fans and NASCAR executives debating once again.  Restrictor plates, which basically ensure each driver isn’t driving too fast, has long since been a thorn in the collective side of NASCAR drivers.  They insist, and many agree, that it forces them to drive too close

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together since no one can get an upper edge in terms of speed.  Very few drivers believe it serves any purpose other than to provide too much danger due to the increased risk of crashes.  This is exactly what happened in Talladega, AL yesterday.

The world famous track has long since been at least partially blamed for the mandatory restrictor plates, especially after a particularly spectacular crash in the late eighties involving Bobby Allison.  He was running at 200+ mph, his crash sent him airborne and nearly resulted in his death.  He crashed into the fence and sent pieces of his car into the crowd.  NASCAR’s response was the development of the restrictor plates.  They insisted the insanely fast speeds had a lot to do with both Allison’s injuries as well as the spectators who were injured.

Yesterday’s crash that sent Carl Edwards airborne also sent debris flying into the spectator area, just as it did with Allison over twenty years ago.  This, of course, has many opponents arguing that the restrictor plates aren’t doing everything they’re designed for after all.  Yesterday’s fright only seems to back up these arguments.   Amazingly, Edwards walked away from the crash and actually crossed the finish line (the crash happened in the last lap) on foot.  He was battling for first place with Brad Keselowski, who ended up winning the race.  Although Edwards was uninjured, several fans weren’t so lucky.  Flying debris isn’t uncommon at these races and die-hard fans know it’s a risk they take.  Rarely are there lawsuits that result.  This time, there’s one fan who’s still in the hospital with a broken jaw.

Even Dale Earnhardt, Jr., whose father was killed in 2001, says the restrictor plates are celebrated, both by the media and networks, because it increases the chances of “the big one”, referring to a major crash that would most likely end the career of a beloved driver.  It’s not unheard of; some of the best have lost their lives on the tracks and every famous NASCAR family, including the Allison family, the Earnhardt family and the Petty family, just to name a few, has its own heartbreak over losing a family member.

Perhaps it was best said by Edwards himself after the race, “I don’t know if I could live with myself if I ended up in the grandstands.  We’ll race like this until we kill somebody, then NASCAR will change it.”

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