Former Mets GM and ESPN commentator Steve Phillips was doing his cry to the media bit on the "Today Show" this morning.  If you are buying it, I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.

Phillips, who is fresh out of the same sexual addiction clinic that Tiger Woods was in, says in many cases he couldn't control what he was doing.  Said the contrite Phillips "I couldn't stop myself from doing the things I was doing, even knowing the consequences."

Phillips went on to say he knew in August of last year that he needed help.

This is where I beg to differ with the shrinks. 

"Sexual addiction" is only an issue if you get caught with your hand in the cookie jar and are desperately trying to save your marriage.  "Honey, all that time I was out chasing tail, I was sick.  I had a disease."   Yeah, uh huh.

The truth is that with wealth, power and position comes the realization that if you are fairly good looking and can come up with a good line, you can have sex with a lot of women.  Granted, these women have no self esteem, but yours is actually lower.  So, it's not really the sex that's driving you, it's the desire to self destruct.  It's the desire to piss away everything you have earned and a reputation that you have carefully cultivated simply to blow your self up. 

That's not being addicted to sex.  That's testing your power and your position to remind you of who you believe yourself to be: Someone who got lucky and doesn't deserve to be.  Someone who is self-loathing and intent on killing the golden goose.  Someone whose challenge is to be able to talk some fat broad into bed to remind themselves that they are king.

From the male perspective, when you are addicted to booze, pills or drugs, you are the only one who makes the decision as to what you will put down your throat.  But in sexual addiction, you have to have someone green light your need.  That's why it's not an addiction, but a choice.  Force yourself on a woman and you'll wind up going somewhere besides a cushy clinic in Mississippi.

When someone non-famous has the same issues Phillips claims to have, it is often referred to as a "mid-life crisis" and not as "sex addiction."

I'm sure Steve Phillips has issues, but I doubt he's addicted to sex as much as he hates himself.  If he didn't before, he sure must now.