Ramblings
Oh the wide range of topics we cover here in our sweet emotion world...from circus peanuts, to the Pac-10 to the NFL...let me throw out a couple of Michael Vick comments
Michael Vick - I would like to hear from our two frequent readers what they think about this sticky situation. Personally, the first time I heard about it I thought it was no big deal. But it appears the more they dig into the situation, the worse it looks for ole Mr. Vick. I think ultimately he will end up just having to pay some sort of fine...but his co-defendant pleading guilty might change my opinion. One thing is for sure, this season his playing time is going to be severely diminished. On the bright side, the Falcons now turn to Joey Harrington...oh wait. Don't be surprised if you hear Joe Horn volunteering his services at the quarterback position. I love Joe Horn, and for him it will be just more opportunities to get the ball into the right man's hands.
Is it just me or is the outrage at Vick a little out of proportion. Don't miss what I am saying. If Michael participated in the brutal crime of dog fighting then he should be punished. However, as I heard one person point out... was there this big of an uproar when Ray Lewis allegedly was involved in killing a man? Were people protesting the streets? Sometimes it appears that people are more outraged with animal abuse than human abuse.
On another note, is anyone else sick of ESPN ramming David Beckham down our throats? Does anyone else feel that they are trying their best to make us care about MLS soccer? One more example of how out of touch they sometimes are. Please stop.
Oh and...I'm not sure I'm going to the Auburn-Ole Miss pre-game anymore. Did not know eagle's could do this.
posted by Brian @ 4:01 PM
11 comments
11 Comments:
Well, I do not know if I qualify as a regular reader or not, but here are my thoughts on Michael Vick.
1) What he is accused of doing is outrageous for anyone to do. The fact that someone could order a dog killed because it would not fight is truly messed up.
2) This is not a racial issue as so many suggest, as Tom Brady or Peyton Manning would also be getting drilled just as badly for their participation in such acts.
3) I am surprised that the league has banned him from training camp, as he is a first time offender (where as someone like Pacman Jones has had a lot of legal issues over the past couple years). Innocent until proven guilty is how it works if I am not mistaken.
4) As for outrage over this, this country loves animals (dogs in particular), so it is not that shocking. Add onto that the fact that PETA is a VERY well organized group (group of crazies perhaps, but well organized just the same), and you have the continual noise about this.
5) With a co-defendent pleading guilty and appearing to be plea bargaining to testify, Vick may get some small jail time and definitely a fine. However, it is going to be the loss in endorsements that will prove to be far more harmful to his pocketbook.
As for Beckham, that noise will dissipate soon enough, it is just soccer after all.
Pacman Jones and Michael Vick have been convicted for the same number of crimes: zero.
Banning them from training camp and in Jones' case, the whole season, is absurd. As Brian mentioned, Ray Lewis saw a man get killed, then lied about it. Jamal Lewis went to jail for his dealings with a drug dealer and lying about it. They both missed zero games. I'm all about the NFL cracking down on bad behavior, but ignoring the legal system is just dumb.
Pacman has received probation at least a couple of times... though I am unsure if that counts as being convicted or not (under american law). As for those two, they did so under an old regime, while this is a new commish trying to establish some behavioural modifications.
Still, Vick does not warrant a suspension (at this time).
here's a take from atlanta:
the reason Vick being indicted is different than, say, the Duke lacrosse players is because it's a federal indictment. 97% conviction rate. they have to have really good stuff on him to indict him. i honestly don't think he plays another down in the NFL, which is terribly unfortunate.
people are way to over the top about this, even though it is a heinous crime. players are beating their wives, running around with people who shoot other people in the streets, and "making it rain" in strip clubs in las vegas. at least he's not organizing human fighting like they did back in rome.
i'm kind of glad they suspended him, only selfishly, because he would miss most of camp in court and be a headcase on the field. there's no way he could play through all the PETA crap that's going on. i'm pretty sure notre dame or the PAC 10 started PETA by the way.
Mark Teixeira was born on mt. olympus.
I think it's unfortunate that Vick plays for Atlanta. A quick thought here, if he played for Philadelphia/Cleveland/Dallas/Oakland - I think there would be enough loyal fans concerned for the upcoming season to destroy and wipe out all the PETA panzzies. Vick is a thug and what he did was just brainless. But i don't think dog lovers should have any say about the NFL.
Pacman was hit with probation two times (I think one was while he was at West Virginia) but that isn't a conviction. They probably could have gotten a conviction, but decided to make a deal.
And while I still think the suspensions are ridiculous, I do believe Vick will have his keester nailed to the wall by the feds. I can see Jones getting more probation which could lead to jail since he was probably violating whatever probation he was on at the time of the alleged incident.
Two more points, then I'll stop:
-The NFL is basically saying that if you are indicted for a crime, you're not playing for an extended period of time. It will be interesting to see how that holds up.
-How big of a renegade school is West Virginia? Pacman Jones and Chris Henry attended that institution of higher learning. Jones is out for all of 2008 and Henry is out for 8 games. And I can't even rationally discuss how they get guys into school that would never be accepted anywhere else.
Great West Virginia point Gray.
A great blog could involve a question.
Who would win in backstreet brawl?
The University of Miami or West Virginia.
The U - conventional weapons are permitted on their premises.
on WVU's entrance policies...
Noel Devine was a consensus top 2 or 3 running back last year out of i think Fort Myers? anyway, he wanted to stay in the south, but Alabama, Florida, and even FLORIDA STATE couldn't get this kid into school. so naturally, he ends up in West Virginia.
i'm sure some of you have seen this, but relevant comment by the Sports Guy:
"Vick could have been accused of murdering a stripper, blowing up a shopping mall or funneling his Nike money to Al Qaeda, and people wouldn't have been even 1% as outraged as they are about the dogfighting allegations. You can get away with just about anything these days; just don't tick off dog lovers."
Ummm. I am pretty sure that in that video there was an Eagle trainer watching that bird kill a poor defenseless bird. I think that all eagle trainers who knowingly teach and allow their birds to kill dear should be suspended from the NFL for a year and given a mandatory prison sentence of 2 years and no more than 7 years.
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