question on DataSource vs DriverManager

I'd like to avoid using any EJB's - we're in a pretty much stateless environment, and really can't see any kind of pressing need to use them.

That being said, I'd like to use a DataSource to manage connections via JDBC rather than DriverManager because we have multiple platforms to connect to - and it seems like using DataSource will be more flexible. However, all discussions I've seen thusfar about DataSource have inevitably included EJB's - I can't tell if it's because of the hype associated with using EJB's for just about everything, or if it's because they really are "required" when using DataSource.

Thoughts? Ideas? Advice?

Thanks!