Is Tampa Bay Rays' Evan Longoria and Reid Brignac Dating 'Playboy' Models News?

Either it’s a slow winter for news, or Playmates and pregnancies are the biggest stories in sports. 

Is it really news that Evan Longoria is dating Playboy model Jaime Edmondson, and that Longoria’s Rays teammate Reid Brignac is also dating a Playboy Playmate, Lauren Anderson?

But here’s the kicker, Brignac’s girlfriend is reportedly pregnant, according to thebiglead.com.

Perhaps Brignac wanted to overshadow Longoria in the news department or take away from the fact that 2011 was a down year for him. Of course, I’m being facetious. 

At all hours of the day, we get notified by our BlackBerry, iPhone, TV, etc. of any type of breaking news. But is reporting about MLB superstars and their pregnant supermodel partners relevant?

It's possible that baseball and Playboy models go hand in hand, and this type of story is reported on because it's human nature.

Is it even conceivable to separate sports and entertainment these days? Maybe I’m guilty of the same for even talking about it.

Should sports and this type of celebrity gossip/entertainment be kept separate? Hollywood thrives on this type of buzz, but when does it go too far?

I know these open-ended questions are unanswerable, and any publicity is good publicity these days; however, in this type of media-driven world, should we just leave things alone? Maybe we should have respect for others and their privacy. 

And what about upper management's point of view?

Does Rays executive vice president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman really need his superstar third baseman’s business plastered all over the Internet? Is it a distraction for him and/or the team?

Or maybe this is prime-time content for a franchise still struggling to draw attention despite recent success.

Devon is the founder of The GM’s Perspective. He is a former professional baseball player with the River City Rascals and Gateway Grizzlies and is now an independent scout.