O.J. Simpson, living a dream existence that consists of frequent rounds of golf and the habitual avoidance of comeuppance, sees a little something of his own life in Paris Hilton's current court troubles and the accompanying media frenzy. Except for the obvious fact that he didn't go to jail for what he did.

"When Paris Hilton was going to jail last week, more people knew about that than knew that we were sending people into space that day," Simpson said in a phone interview from Miami. "It has replaced what is real news. There was always a place for it, but it was [gossip writer] Rona Barrett. Now it is the equivalent of Edward R. Murrow reporting it today."

Simpson, who spoke on his cell phone while returning from an early morning round of golf, said he still gets up to five calls a week from reporters seeking comment — but declines virtually all of them. "People ask me about Paris Hilton, when [NFL running back] Ricky Williams was in trouble, Pac Man Jones," he said. "Everything [Hilton] went through, I know about. But why do I want to talk to the media? If I comment, it becomes a story."

Right. Don't comment to the media! Instead, write the most tasteless book ever. That surely wouldn't become a story.

[E&P]