On TMZ tonight, they did a story about Ryan Seacrest doing some kind of benefit at a childrens hospital.

A man asked for his autograph, and he signed.

Later, Seacrest was walking to his car (not sure if he said "Seacrest out" before leaving). The man approached again, and he somehow got between Seacrest and his car. The security with Ryan asked the guy to move and the guy started choking one security member and throwing punches.

The police were called and the man was arrested.

Now, even though these stories don't happen often, it's the fear of them that sometimes makes celebrities (especially women) reluctant to stop and sign. Especially if it's a large crowd, or people are shouting crazy things.

My girlfriend is in Washington, D.C. right now, and heard a former Redskins player doing an interview. He talked about how his address isn't listed anywhere, yet he often gets photos and cards sent to him for autographs. He joked that his wife says "Why in the world do they want your autograph?"

But what he wonders is how they even get his address. And part of him wonders about the safety of that.

I remember reading a story as a 13-year-old in Inside Sports magazine, about a reporter talking to baseball player Cecil Fielder. He was having a few beers on his porch with friends, when a car pulled up around 9:00 p.m. asking for his autograph.

Let's just hope we don't keep hearing stories like these.