I just read an article that said seven different media companies, including the Associated Press, CNN, and the Tribune Co., have filed papers with a federal appeals court to try to force Major League Baseball officials to release the names of players implicated in their massive steroid investigation. MLB’s report is supposed to be made public by the end of the year, with players’ names to follow shortly thereafter. But the media wants the names now, saying that because the probe involves illegal drug purchases, the players don’t have a right to privacy.

I have to admit that I’m pretty anxious to see who’s on that list as well. Wait, let me clarify that: I basically want to see if Barry Bonds will be named in the investigation, just because there has been so much speculation for so many years and because of the career home run record he set last season. I think if he is on the list, it will cause a major uproar and will renew the whole asterisk debate.

I also have to wonder what will happen to active players named in the investigation. Will they immediately be suspended for x amount of games? Will they be banned from the league? Or will they be given an opportunity to go through drug rehabilitation and then resume their careers?

Many of these questions should be answered in a matter of weeks, so you can bet I’ll be following this story as closely as possible!

I checked my PayPal account this morning and noticed that my dividend from November was deposited a couple days ago. I earned a total of $15.01, which I was very happy with — especially considering the fact that the yield has dropped all the way down to 4.70% (after it had been at 5.23% just a few months before). Fifteen dollars may not seem like a lot, but every little bit helps during the holiday season. I’ll probably use this extra cash to buy stocking stuffers for my son or maybe a DVD for my husband.

Anyway, I don’t expect my December dividend to be very high at all. The interest rate is probably going to keep falling, and I’ve got to make withdrawals for Christmas expenses, so there won’t be much of a balance left in my account this month .