What’s the over under on David Garrard turning back into the pumpkin that couldn’t win a starting job (for how many seasons)? I’m betting 4 games until it happens and 9 games until the PC avengers admit it. No question, Garrard had a dream season last year, but really now. Funny how talking heads were still calling Tom Brady a game manager after he’d won three SB’s, but they heap praise on a one year wonder with the best 1-2 running punch in the NFL. Now that Jax is missing two guards, MJD is starting slow and Fred Taylor seems to be coping with some issues, we saw what happens when Garrard has to win games by himself. He doesn’t.

One can’t help but feel for Tom Brady, and despise Bill Belichick.  Brady’s never been a bruiser, and I had long sensed he was due for a big hurt. Still, no one wants to see a player hurt. I don’t know if Belichick’s arrogance is tolerable anymore, though. It’s not the “life goes on” act he sells to the press that gets me. It’s the disservice he does to the fans by not looking for some insurance at the QB spot.  Sure Belichick wants to prove that he’s the reason NE has flourished, and to a large degree he is. But how many big winners (see Shula, D, and Noll, C.) floundered for a decade or so after they lost their hall of famers?

Yeah, Broadway Brett’s Jets beat the fish. So? Only the Dolphins lose on a Hail Mary. Besides, am I the only one who’s willing to admit that Pennington’s arm is made of balsa wood and chewing gum?

First Tarvaris Jackson needed to learn the offense, then he needed to get comfortable, now he needs time to recover from the knee sprain. How many FG’s does the best team in the NFL without a QB have to kick before people stop making excuses and just him as the Kordell Stewart II experience? He’s not a QB, he’s a featured back.

But the only thing worse than having a running QB who can’t pass (see Jackson, T.) is a passing QB who can neither run nor pass. Herman Edwards, the sandlot called, they want Brodie Croyle back. How did Croyle get an NFL roster spot, much less a starting job? I wouldn’t want that guy QB’ing a wheelchair team. The wheelchair guys would roll all over him.

Raven ravers are wacko for Flacco. How can you not give it up for this guy? He delivered, and with not much notice. Sure, it gets a lot harder real soon for Joe, and yes it’s only one game. Still, he has a memory that’s hard to top.

Matty Ice announced that the Falcons have a QB for the first time this millennium. Now that Home Depot is a memory, maybe Arthur Blank is doing some critical thinking before he writes checks larger than the GDP of third world countries.  Don’t crown Ryan just yet, but the guy has it. Having Michael Turner as a pair of handcuffs never hurts either. Now if he can just convince the Atlanta wideouts that the ball is not a UFO.

Jeff Garcia’s hurt and out for week 2. He missed almost all of training camp with an injury. He’s 38. He’s undersized. He winds up for three yard outs. He doesn’t understand why the Bucs didn’t give him an extension. Really, I’m not kidding. He doesn’t understand.

Big Ben won big. Big Ben has an injury. Three years ago, I said the biggest challenge with this guy would be keeping him healthy. Bring back Tommy “Gun” Maddox!!!

Finally, write this down: Peyton Manning was not ready to play on Sunday. Somewhere, somehow (Mr. Irsay), the message came in that; if he could crawl, he was starting the first game in the house that Peyton built. Manning gets props for toughing it out, but he was as far off his game as I’ve ever seen. My fear is that he’s having chronic infection issues with that knee. Nothing else explains the lingering problems from a very minor procedure. How many times have we heard of players losing seasons or even careers to staph infections? For Manning’s and the game’s sake, I hope he recovers fully and quickly. I used to detest manning, but that SB win did something for him. Ever since, he’s been humble and self effacing. A few of his commercials are hilarious too.

In what might be one of the most idiotic presentations in sports "journalism" ever, ESPN presented a "town meeting" to discuss the race issue related to Ron Mexico's guilty plea.

Despite the unbelievable cheers and catcalls from the overwhelmingly black audience, I listened in. You're going to have to pardon me for asking these questions.

But did Vick plead gulity because he was black? Did he bankroll the gambling ring because he was black? Did he electrocute and drown dogs because he was black?

Terence Mathis talked about what Vick had done for the city. Mike Vick was their guy. He spoke of how much pride that Vick had brought to their city, but then forgot to mention how Vick had shamed and disgraced his city and the NFL by murdering defenselelss animals. He mentioned how Mike Vick put Atlanta football back on the map, but forgot to mention Vick flipping off those fans twice in his home satdium.

I heard questions about why other NFL players had done much worse and avoided punishment? Who for instance? Rae Carruth? Nate Newton? Bam Morris? Jamal Lewis?

I heard compliants about media overkill, and how Mike Vick has been put through so much. Yet the crowd jeered when an animal rights activist remided them that the victims were dead and buried, killed in fights, electrocuted &/or drowned,not making plea deals.

I saw ESPN cut short Joy Behar's retort to Whoopi Goldberg when Goldberg pulled the "cultural/southern" excuse on "The View". Behar asked her in what part of the country drowning or electrocuting dogs was part of the culture. Whoopi had no answer, but ESPN didn't bother to show that.

All in all I saw, the most racially biased and polarizing events on TV since the civil rights marches/riots on 50 years ago. ESPN worked hard to enrage an overwhelmingly white viewing audience. What a disgrace.

Meanwhile, Deuce McAllister's blocking back, a white guy, breaks down and cries over McAllister's injury, telling a reporter what a great man Deuce is and how "he plays the game for guys like him".

That statement got a few lines in a small article. Why, because it proves that race isn't an issue in an 80% black league. But it doesn;t draw ratings.

Just for the record. Mike Vick ran a dogfighting operation and murdered animals. He plead guilty because he was guilty. It's time to stop buying into the excuses and call a felon a felon. Not black felon, not a white felon, just a felon.

His Most Humble . . . .

So Mike Vick manufactures an act of contrition, and a press, worried about looking "judgmental" and "racist" describes the act as a "good first step". I'm not so sure.

I can't be the only one who noticed how desperately uncomfortable the, formerly "above the law",  ex-QB looked in making his first  relevant statement to the public since the story broke. He looked about as humble as Donald Trump's comb-over.

Sure he cited the three musts from "contrition for dummies" handbook. "Accept responsibility, found Jesus, ask forgiveness . . . ." but even those bare necessities sounded canned and disingenuous coming from a sedate(d) soft-spoken, Ron Mexico.

So pardon me, kids, if I'm not floating on the raft of #### Vick just set adrift. Just because he's managed to stop himself from flippping the bird at the fans and society in general, doesn't mean I believe he's on a mission from God now. The only think Vick has ever been able to fake was being an NFL QB.

Guys I'm Pulling For . . . .

Duante Culpepper

Hating the Raiders as only a Steeler fan can, it's hard to cop to cheering for any Raider. But I can't be more hopeful for anyone in the NFL than Duante Culpepper. Yes, Culpepper underperformed a huge deal in Minnysoda, and got the eight train. But what happened to him in Miami was unbelievably unfair. Regardless of the notion that Culpepper is a streaky QB whose streaks seem to last entire seasons, I've always loved his bazooka arm and his athletic ability. Aside from that, this Jamarcus Russel saga is bordering on insanity. The guy's never taken a snap and he's holding out over bonus money? For Culpepper's sake. I hope Russell continues his bizarre combination of idiocy and greed until Duante has at least enough time to prove that Miami was a fiasco.

Joey, formerly Joseph, (aka Joey) Harrington

While I'm not necessarily a Harrington believer, could a QB land in two worse spots than Detroit and Miami recently? Besides, I'd like nothing more than seeing the Falcons emerge from the ####-storm Vick tossed on them, to become a competitive franchise by playing an actual QB at QB. Maybe Harrington got what he deserved, maybe he just sucks. But no franchise and no city full of fans should be punished to death for putting their faith in a player who chose to immediatley and repeatedly #### on them.

Add to that the fact that Harrington, by a shade, is a better QB over his career than Vick, and gets sacked less often. Atlanta and the rest of NFL fans need to accept the reality that QB position does not require re-inventing. Every QB who the media ever labeled as re-inventing the position re-invented themselves out of a job.

What a wonderful lesson to be learned if the Falcons survive and even thrive with a QB at QB.

Guys I wish would stay home . . . . .

Priest Holmes

Don't get me wrong, It's impossible to dislike Priest Holmes as a man or a ball player. But at this point, you have to ask; why? KC is not a SB contender, and the odds priest would be released (if he even makes the roster) to sign with a contender are minimal. But the odds that he could be seriously injured in game action are high enough to wonder what is driving this man. As a RB, he has nothing to prove. As a competitor, he has nothing to prove. And I haven't heard that he's run out of money . . . .

What frightens me is the mere possibility that one of the NFL's class acts and former best talents will take just one more hit. One more that stops him from leaving the field for the last time, under his own power. That's something I'd rather not see happen.

I never played pro-ball, but I suited in High-School. I still remember the click-clack of those cleats on the cement, the sense of invincibility one gets when donning the pads and helmet, and the absolute thrill of performing for the folks cheering you on. i can only imagine how hard it is to move on from the biggest stage, in the niggest game in pro sports. I hear the longing in Sterling Sharpe's voice every time I see him on TV, his career cut short by a neck problem. But then I think of the late Darryl Stingley and it makes me wish Priest would move on.

Vinny Interceptaverde

Oh please. What is this guy, 65 now. So he's played in every decade since Edison invented the light bulb, big deal. I get the feeling Belichick keeps inviting him back for doing time with him in Cleveland . I'm sorry, but I just don't get it. You can get a much younger, 2nd rate QB to play 3rd fidlle for a lot less money than a 73-year veteran. And he'll probably throw fewer game busting picks.

That's what kills me about VinnyT. It's not like he's some wise old sage, whose best days are behind him. He's a sorry old choker whose best days were in high school. I mean this is the guy Jimmy Johnson benched for the National Championship game because he tore up his leg on a motor scooter the weekend before the match. This is the guy who never met a choke he didn't like.

Bill, if Jimmy from South Park were here he'd say, "it's like, come on".

And it is Bill. "It's like, come on".

I just finished reading yet another idiotic racism rant trying to excuse Michael Vick for bankrolling and participating in disgraceful, inhuman and brutal conduct over a period of six years.

The blogger, of course, defaulted to the chalk excuse that whitey was simply working to keep the black man down. This time, by letting the case simmer until sufficient evidence existed to prosecute Ron Mexico. The he segued into the "400 years of suffering" rant that's typical of all the folks who have taken the "free lunch" route into making excuses for being society's failures.

It makes me wonder why jews don't scream about societal injustice every time they get arrested. After all, the Egyptians did a pretty good number on them. Then the Germans did a number on the jews that makes slavery look like a Sunday Brunch.

Letst we forget the Armenians, victims of a Turkish Genocide that the world refuses to acknowledge.

Yet neither of those ethnicities screams injustice as an excuse for being a criminal. I guess they're resigned to taking responsibility for their actions.

But all the crying, protesting, Martin Luther Kinging, and a whole deck of race cards doesn't erase the simple fact that Mike Vick took a plea. So even if the new racists won't admit that Mexico is guilty, Mexico does. And he knows that the worst possible thing would be for the truth of his misdeeds to be visible to the public. So just like the coward he was to begin with, he took the easy way out.

But as that poor, misguided blogger stated, we should "face the facts". So let's face them.

The facts are:

Mike Vick got a huge contract.

Mike Vick took some of that money and bankrolled animal cruelty/murder and gambling

Mike Vick participated in that enterprise for 6 years

Mike Vick lied to everyone when they caught him and made his situation much worse by insisting that he was innocent, when he was the ringleader

Mike Vick hasn't gotten what he deserved, he deserved the superceding indictment for racketeering. But the judge might fix that somewhat by departing above the guidelines.

Mike Vick broke the law repeatedly and purposefully.

He got caught by accident, when the feds were following up a drug tip. Not because they were sitting and waiting to get him.

He couldn't have made the crime any easier to prosecute if he had invited the feds to bet on the fights.

People who break the law, black, brown, white, red, yellow, or any shade in between, should go to jail. That's how just societies work.

As the author said, and I agree, Mike Vick does need help. But that doesn't exempt him from punishment. If Vick didn't see that what he was doing was wrong, that means he's not only a perpetrator, but that he's a danger to society.  One fact that hasn't arisen in the press is that animal abuse is one of the most common indicators of dormant sociopathic behavior. So this may just be the tip of Mike Vick's criminal iceberg.

So before we even acknowledge this racism BS, let's face the real facts. Mike Vick was given a long rope and now he's swinging from it. And there's only one man to blame.

That man is a black man.

Sometimes you get that for which you wish. . . .

While it's true that Ron Mexico took the coward's way out of more severe racketeering charges and will reap the enormous benefits of a federal system that rewards expedition, he's still going to jail.

Thank you God and thank you lawful society for proving that  these atrocities may go under-punished, but at least will not go unpunished. And while we're at it, thank goodness for Roger Goodell for doling out the absolutely perfect punishment.

SUSPENDED INDEFINITELY!!!!!

How sweet is that? What will the NAACPWM (NAACPwithMoney, that is) have to say about this? They can't cry that it's too long. They can't cry that the punishment is too severe. All they can do is thretaen to cry if it goes on too long. But by the time Vick leaves prison 1-2 years later, maybe a good deal worse for wear, never having been an effective QB anyway, will the NAACPWM consider him such a hot topic? Likely not. They'll probably have a richer perp to prop up as poster child for "rehabilitation".

The irony is, Goodell's NFL suspension of Vick won't even take effect until after the NFL's most exciting felon has done his time. And Vick better practice up on his contrition because his "blame everybody else" sneer isn't going to go over too well with his judge. He'd be wise to get some Botox and humility lessons before his sentencing hearing or the judge will likely depart above the federal guidelines, both for the sentence and 3-year minimum supervised release. Needless to say, Vick's PO will be far less likely (if Vick continues his sneering) to allow the Atlanta Felon to leave the state for away games essentially making him (more) useless to any NFL team willing to tackle the PR nightmare of signing such a sick perp.

So even if Goody is kind, and only give Vick a year, he's done for this season. He likely won't start  his sentence until November, and even is he gets as little as 18 months, his best bet is August 2009. But is Goodell going to let a felon with such a gruesome case and conviction get away with just a year. In light of what we've seen for even near offenders, the answer is no.

I'm thinking Mike meets with the Good Commish in 2009 and gets a 2-3 year vacation, making him eligible for NFL play in 2011 at the earliest. How fitting that would be.

Mike had better practice up on wiping that pig faced sneer of his disgraceful mug, because it doesn't get any easier for the ex-QB. He'd better practice up on owning up and other acts of contrition like his life depends on it, because his life does depend on it.

You see, when it comes to the Federal System, no one is as slippery as Mike Vick thought he was. But if he even thinks he's got a shot at returning to the NFL, he'd better learn, right quick, to admit that he's exactly the #### the indictment shows him to be. Or he's going to be facing more time and more suspension.

That's how the crime and punishment system works Mikey, those who don't repent don't get our early.

Then again, maybe he'll love Arena Ball. All the NFL rejects go there.  

 

 

 

 

We know that the same attorneys, who on the day of his arraignment boldly professed that it was "the first step in proving his innocence", have now meekly recommended that he take his first steps in an orange jumper.

We know that the reminaing two of his three co-defendants have implicated Vick as the bankroller and willing animal murderer in the "BadNewz" operation.

Yesterday, even Arthur Blank has turned to less than subtle messages to his team's ex-"QB"about how he lied to the Falcons and The NFL. He went on to say that he anticipated a plea deal last night.  

Yet Friday came and went. Proving further just what Mike Vick is all about. It shouldn't surprise us. Mike Vick is all about Mike Vick, and he's really stupid too. Any QB who flips off his home fans and throws his team mates and coaches under the bus obviously thinks he's not responsible for his work. Not responsible for developing into an even average QB, not responsible for improving his game above sandlot level, and not responsible for bankrolling and particpating in the gruesome torture and murder of defenseless animals.

Vick's disregard for the owner, the organization, his team mates and decent society in general is consistent with psychopaths and sociopaths alike. Sick, selfish, and sleazy perps do the kind of things Vick does and of course, they expect to get away with it. It's sad to say, but those characters behave that way because of their utter disregard for others.

So while I had expected Vick's attorneys to usher in a plea deal yesterday. I'm completely unsurprised that Ron Mexico did not take their advice. He's gripping tightly to the notion  that the laws of decent society do not apply to him.

I chuckle at the press's repeated statements that Vick's team is "negotiating" a plea deal with the Government. It doesn't work that way, especially when the star defendant has nothing to offer because all of his co-defendants have prepared to testify against him. Perhaps Vick is considering handing over his dope dealer or supplier, so that could be slowing a deal. Short of that, the Government hands the defendant the deal and the defendant signs it, with no guarantees by the way.

So for at least the present, it appears that Vick is willing to continue to hang the Falcons out to dry, all while making the worst decision this side of buying tickets on the Titanic.

He mustn't be considering the fact that the Feds don't pursue superceding indctments with lesser charges. That if he waits another day or so he'll be looking at racketeering charges. The instant that new indictment hits, the old deal is off the table, and his "high priced" mouthpiece is trying to cut twenty instead of six.

Of course RMex is stupid/selfish enough to think that, despite a tidal wave of evidence against him, he can somehow walk away from this. That's how sociopaths and psycopaths think.

But he's kidding himself. As are many of you, if you're thinking it doesn't get worse every second from here on in. Kidding himself if he thinks he'll ever don an NFL uniform again. Kidding himself if he thinks the press or the fans will ever forgive him if he goes to trial and the gory, posterized blowups of his sickness are writ large for the public to see.

As Bill Simmons would say, "the guy has a fork in his back". In this case it's a pitchfork, because that's what they use to shovel ####

So maybe that's why Vick is sitting and waiting. After all, he's not used to getting caught, is he? He's spent a career avoiding punishment and racing away unscathed. So for his sake, one of those high priced sleaze-protectors should sit him down and tell him that this isn't the Georgia Dome in which he's playing, and he's not merely trying to slip a tackle. The game was over the minute the Feds started the clock.

Mike Vick betta recognize, brutha's. He's playing in a whole new league now. Everbody gets tackled in this game.

 

Stunning Scandals

Those ####s!

This week, a popular website, TSG.com "the Smoking Gun" blew the lid off the Pittsburgh Steelers Hotel rider demands, revealing such evil requests as filet mignon for trainers and foam pillows for Dan Rooney. Good heavens, what on earth is wrong with those Steelers? I'm ashamed to admit that I also enjoy the occasional cut of tenderloin and use foam pillows as well. This puts me in the same sick, sorry state as those di####able Steelers. I mean really, where do they get the nerve.

Oh, wait, I know where they get the nerve. They frickin' pay for this stuff. I guess the responsible sensationalists at TSG.com forgot to mention that the Steelers, like any other NFL team, pay for their accomodations. And since I'd wager a pillow or two that they aren't staying at Motel 6, they're paying a premium for the space. What really cheeses me off is the idea though, that treating equipment managers every bit as well as the players is somehow a bad thing.

What happened to the 90's? Back when media oulets cooed at the 49er brass for treating everyone in the organization as 1st class. I'd love to see that Hotel rider. Too bad TSG wasn't up and rubbing rhubarbs back then. They'd have "blown the lid off" that "scandal" too.

Mike Sick

The Good news is: The most exciting shitbox in the NFL is going to Federal Prison. Sorry Al Sharpton and (mysteriously absent) Jesse Jackson, double standards run out of gas when you cross the DC border. Just like I said months ago, when Erma4USC was rattling away more boneheaded drivel about how Vick would walk, Vick will have two choices, more jail or less jail. Erma, as usual, couldnt have been more wrong, and Mexico couldn't be more deserving of a little rest in the pokey. Of course, there's a 50% chance that Vick will be arrogant enough to think he's OJ or Kobe, and can buy his way out of this. There's also an astronomical chance that Vick is stupid enough to disregard the fact that he's up against the major leagues of punishment, whereas OJ and Kobe faced the Keystone Kops.

Me, I've been hoping all along that he goes to trial. I'd like nothing more than to figuratively see his exciting carcass swing from a tree with a pitchfork in his #### (thank you Michael Richards). And that's how it ends if he goes to trial. My second favorite scenario is that he waits at least until next week to make a decision. The next indictment will include racketeering charges,  and the stakes will go from 6 years to twenty. No matter what, the Feds have this #### dead to rights, and his choices are bad or worse. Couldn't happen to a better guy. I expect a plea soon, but it doesn't keep me from hoping.

WTF?

Once again, I'm appealing to the FoxBlog ruling class to make a change. I noticed some fluffy declarations about "changes" in the Fox blog policies, particularly realted to post counts. But still the brass not so deftly avoided submitting tangible criteria for BOTD awards.

So I have to ask; is that all you got? When Lisa/Erma4USC spills her recycled (much less) drivel do you guys just say; awww that's a cute picture even if she does have a mustache, let's give her BOTD. I dont get it guys. Bluegrass lady is ten thousand times hotter, actually writes rather than recycles, and even discusses sprots on occasion. But you're not pandering to her.

WTF? Does Erma have pictures of you guys having sex with a goat or something? Because short of that, there's no logical explanation. No the site is not exactly the Harvard Law Review, but there are actually some pretty decent writers here, just not any you choose to publicize or recognize.

Here's the truth folks, only insecurity celebrates incompetency. It's the mushroom theory that rules here; keep 'em in the dark and feed 'em ####

Fox, you're feeding us #### and keeping us in the dark about it! What are you afraid of, where's some recognition for Dudski, Hardiman, Bluegrass, or even little old me. What about Mean, Cuz, His Dan-Ness, Justanotherhat and anyone else who isn't jacking Erma Bombeck or Andy Rooney so they'll have something to type every day?  Kenrick Thomas? He's a good kid, and I know he'll get better, but Jesus, he's almost always one noun and one verb short of a sentence. And by the way, stop burying my posts even though they get "most recent comments" and "highest number of comments" often.

Anyway, those are my thoughts for the day. As always, I'll be on BlogTalkradio from 6-7 EST this afternoon for those who care to continue the discussion.

DarkKnight Sports

By the way, I'm looking for a co-host. But not someone who just agrees with me. If you'd like to give it a whirl, just message me through my profile site.

It's like Roberto Duran said, when he threw up his hands and quit that night (facing Ray Leonard). "No mas".

It's time to say "no mas" to the hypocrites (yes, Curt) the hypocrites who have been crying out that we shouldn't be spending money prosecuting the most exciting piece of garbage in NFL history for dog fighting. Ok Curt, you got your wish. the Feds will almost certainly include conspiracy and racketeering. Which, if the backsliders had done their homework would be what they were writing about. Because when the superceded indictment is handed down, conspiracy and racketeering will be on the slate of felony counts Vick has to face. The worst of which by the way, is Vick's bankrolling an interstate gambling operation, which falls under the RICO act. For those of you unfamiliar with RICO, look it up. It means Vick is facing 20, not six, for racketeering alone. So guess what Gangsta QB Luvvas. Your OG QB is one SOL gangsta, and he's going to be prosecuted like one.

And it's gonna be too sweet when the ####-box takes a 5-year deal to save his #### from getting out of jail facing his 45th birthday. TOOOOOOOOO SWEEEEEEEEEET.

That's what will make all the blatant shuck and jive of Demonicume (Bojangles) and his caste from peddling the sorry assed "why don't they prosecute real criminals?" whine.

The "real criminals" #### . . .

Here's why Curt. They do. They just don;t convict them. It's just that the same scum that beat rape and murder charges hire the same Lawyers that Mike Vick is paying to beat the rap. It's the same game, Curt. Spend a ton of money, rig the jury, put the victims on trial, discredit the witnesses, file a billion dismissal motions, a million evidentiary withholdings, obfuscate the facts, bring in dazzling expert BS artists, befuddle a jury of unemployed, undereducated, biased jurors, add a liitle water and the defendant goes free.

In cases of unprosecuted rape, 80% of the failure to prosecute is because the witness is unwilling to even report the crime, much less testify. Even if they do, some #### courtroom #### will jump at the cahnce to put the victim on trial. Kind of like Kobe's lawyer did. Remember?

No, Curt. You didn't remember. You didn't even mention it in your "drunken blog." Here's why. It blows your tap dance to smithereens. It calls you on the carpet for celebrate the dismissal of murderers and ####s, just because they're black. It shows the prejudice you practice. The liberal fascism of " and justice for, but only if it ain't a brutha."

You and all your co-whiners, are every bit as guilty of the same disgraceful maneuvering as the soul-less moneygrabbers who spend their best efforts making sure that the scum you keep crying should be in jail, walk free.

Your'e playing both ends against the middle, Curt and Co. You can't rejoice when scum like OJ and Kobe walk because they worked the system, and then cry foul because criminals aren't getting "justice".

 . . . .and justice for all Curt, not some . . .

The fact is folks, you don't get to choose which crimes are prosecuted. You only get to choose who submits and votes on the laws and punishments of the land. Vick broke the law(s). Very serious laws, with very serious punishments. He will admit his guilt, in front of a judge, because he's going to do what he's always done, get the best deal for Ron Mexico. Then he will go to prison, and you will cry foul because we finally got one. Because the system you're complaining is failed, actually worked, but it didn;t work in your favor.

So do us all a favor.

Quit the righteous indignation act.

Quit using unpunished crime as an excuse to not punish crime.

Admit that you're playing both ends against the middle.

Call a criminal a criminal, and let the law of the land do its work (for once).

So let's all just say "No Mas" to this idiotic BS. The poor Mike Vick brigade has a sick and blatantly obvious agenda. It's Al Sharptons prosecute whitey but give a brutha a break program.

Nice Conk, Al

We live in a country with plenty of resources to prosecute every perpetrator. It's the willingness to pour money on the scurrilous moneygrabbers who spend every working second working the system that's the problem.  And those are the guys working for Mike Vick right now.

So the shame lies at the feet of Vick, his laywers, and all those who dare to decry the absence of law enforcement, unless it fits their social agenda. The cops aren't to blame. You are.

Some work the system, some get worked over by the system, and every now and then some just get what they have coming.

So would I adopt a pit bull, Curt? If I had $130mm with which to work, I'd be adopting every abused dog, cat, goat, rabbit and gnu, for starters, to make sure that garbage like Vick could never get his hands on them.

 

One of my favorite NFL Network Commercials is the "time to get your story straight" ad. The one where they show the pre-season commentary from everyday fans that ends up completely backwards. Statements like, "Mark my words, this is Cleveland's year" come to mind.

Nonetheless, I have the same right to go out on a limb and embarass myself too. So with that in mind, I'm going to post my crow now and eat it later. So here are my predictions for noteworthy developments in the upcoming season of the greatest show on turf. (The NFL, not just the Rams).

McNabb McChoked

1. Donovan McNabb is auditioning for his next team. With a rash of injuries, hurried rehab, no contract extension, and huge cap numbers looming, McChoke is a ghost in Philly. Don't be surprised is Dumbavan struggles early and Felly/Kolb start splitting reps by week 3. Reid has ultimate confidence in Feeley. His decision to bench him for the playoffs a few years back cost the Birds a SB shot.

2. John Gruden will be the next big name coach to be fired. Tony Dungy's SB win last year solidified the fact that Gruden was a recipient of the Switzer (formerly known as the Seifert) Trophy in Tampa. That's the award you win when the coach before you builds a championship team that could win a SB with a blow up doll at HC. Gruden has put his stamp on the Bucs like Seifert did or the Panthers. Just remember, Jon, when you have seven QB's, you have no QB.

3. The Colts will not repeat. Their personnel losses mean they will score fewer points and other teams will score more points.

4. That "Write In" SB Trophy for the Pats is premature. The Pats have serious questions at RB and LB, two positions that tend to mean a great deal to playoff teams. Besides, Randy Moss never makes a team better. The fact that the Pats decided to retool via spending spree is a departure from what made them great anyway.

5. The Vikes are in serious trouble offensively. To paraphrase ex-ESPN analyst Joe Theismann; "the problem with having Tavaris Jackson as your QB is that Tavaris Jackson is your QB". The only thing more frightening than a season with Jackson under center is half a season with Brooks Bollinger under center.

6. Priest Holmes will come back successfully. Will he be the Priest of old, maybe not quite. Will he make Larry Johnson trade bait? Yes.

7. Just like Bill Cowher used to coach great teams into mediocrity, Norv Turner will coach a very good team into ineptitude. The wheels may not come completely off this year in SD, but if the Chargers win ten and even sneak into the second season, it will be a blessing to the town that gave us Jimmy Durante.

8. The same Dallas Cowboys who cursed Parcells on the way out the door, will be wishing for another new coach after ten weeks of Wade Phillips. Wade is not a winning HC. Watching him mishandle the talent that Parcells assembled in Dallas is going to be ugly. Jerry Jones is starting to look more and more like Dan Snyder every day.

9. The fear of the QB formerly known as "Joey" in Atlanta is earth-shattering overkill. Harrington has slightly better career stats than his predecessor and is sacked far less often. Few people bother to remember that, despite the NFL's best run game by a wide margin, Vick is the most sacked QB in the NFL. Sacks kill drives and give field position away, kids. With a QB at QB, even "Joseph", the ShitBirds are immediately better off offesnively.

Mike Vick's Next Training Camp

10. Mike Vick no longer possesses that "escapability" that NFL announcers so often waxed about. (Actually, if you look at Vick's sacks per attempt, even nearly-crippled Peyton Manning has much better "escapability".) Vicks' real escapability, though will start to be tested Monday, when at least one of his co-defendants will plea-out and (without doubt) offer replete and damning testimony on Ron Mexico's leadership in his dog-killing ring. He did esacpe one thing though, his Nike Contract.

11. Vince Young will struggle as teams begin to employ the Cunningham/Stewart/Vick defense against him. Despite the Tacks excellent ground game, Young will be forced to become effective from the pocket. I'm not saying he won;t learn how to play the position in the NFL, but his real learning curve wil decelerate as teams get to know him.

12. The Panthers will continue to be overrated. I don't need to explain this.

13. JaMarcus Russell is already benched until year two. With no contract in sight, the guy who most needs TC on the team that most needs a QB, can not even dare to play him this year. He'd have a better rookie year if the RayDuhs put him in a giant blender.

14. Nobody cares if Michael Strahan holds out. He's an aging star on a team in transition at many skill positions. Coughlin is done and Bil Cowher will either end up here or in Cleveland depending on Romeo Crennel's progress.

15. The Cro-Magnon in a cheerleader suit returns. Just when we thought cerebral guys like Mike Nolan were the new wave of HC's, look for some "I wanna win now" owner to hire the Missing Link to continue the commitment to mediocrity he pioneered in Pittsburgh. I truly believe that Cowher will end up in Cleveland, though. He's a Schotty Disciple from the Brown days, played ball there and knows like no one else, how to lose big games at home. The fit is perfect. It's clear that Al Lerner knows a good deal more about window-shopping than trap-blocking. Don't rule out Dan Snyder, though. I think Gibbs will finally admit that he never regained the edge he lost before his first retirement.

16. Matt Schaub will make the Texans better. Unfortunatley, that means they'll be mediocre.

17. The Steelers will have some growing pains under Mike Tomlin. It's likely that part of the transition will see the Steelers shedding  overpriced, over-the-hill and underperforming LB's like Farrior and Haggans along with the 52 Defense Cowher adored for so long. Don't be surprised to see a lot more 4-3 looks right away with either Woodley or Timmons in a 3-point stance, and eventually the combination of Timmons and Woodley on the outside with Harrison in the middle of a 4-3 alignment.

18. Byron Leftwich will play his last season in JAX. Despite DelRio's politically correct speak, he's clearly not a Leftwich believer. I don't think he's a Garrard believer either. The Jags aren't convinced Culpepper will ever be healthy, though. Don't be shocked if Jake Plummer ends up in Jagland, or the Jags draft a young QB and sign a make-due vet next year.

Old enough to QB, but can't buy beer.

19. The big problem in KC is not LJ, it's BC. Handing the QB job to a guy whose had two incredible preseasons is a risk. Handing the job to a guy whose had two pretty good preseasons is a symptom of psychosis. Hasn't Herm Edwards learned that the QB does matter. Did he forget about his job with the Jets?

20. Trent Green will start in Miami and get hurt again. Who's backing him up again? It may as well be Joey Porter, because Porter will at least enjoy running his mouth in the huddle.

Those are just a few insights into what I'm expecting in NFL 2007.

Let's hear your thoughts

 

In the words of the great philosophe Dehbashi, "I couldn't be happier". Fox sent me on a paid leave of absence for posting some "controversial" content (not that there's anything wrong with soccer), and I come back to see that almost all is right with the world. Here's why:

1. The NFL Season fast approaches. The seven barren months are soon to be over.

Hell, even "Basketball Duds" did a piece on Quarterbacks. A fantastic piece by the way. A few clowns jumped in to throw salt in his game, but who cares? I loved it. I'll forgive a few errors for outstanding content anyday

Duds, that was ESPN page 2 stuff, all day long. Kudos my man!!!! Keep NGS hope alive!!!

2. The scumsucking, shitbox, #### in Atlanta is a few phone calls away from being a free agent that no team, except the CB4 All Stars, will touch.

I warned you guys. I hate to say I told you how it would go down, but I told you exactly how it would go down.

Now here's what happened/will happen (write this down Lisa, maybe you can steal something right for a change).

Arthur Blank returns from Africa, calls a very powerful attorney friend and asks that friend to call the US Attorney.

The powerful friend calls the Assistant US Attorney and asks him one question; "are you guys gonna put this kid away"? The AUSA says "look, the guy couldn't have been more  jailworthy if he sold videos of himself beating up old ladies in wheelchairs while they were getting chemotherapy. We're not only gonna put him in jail, we want to put him in jail and we have to put him in jail.

Powerful friend calls back Artie and says; "The kid is toast, and not because he's toast ####, either. He's going away.

Blank huddles with his PR people to deliver the news and get their spin. The PR guys say "Art, there is no spin, shed this punk like a bad $130mm habit. He's gonna make your team the most hated franchise in sports history. The only thing you should be thinking about is how you can get the government to freeze his assets so you can recover some of the money you burned."

Blank calls Roger Goodell and says, "I want to suspend the kid, okay?" Goody says "Unless you're suspending him by a rope from a tree, let me handle this. You guys sat on your #### long enough. Leave it to me and the Feds. You wanna have a Press Conference to save face, go ahead, it's good for the league. But I can't trust you to take appropriate action."

The NFL conducts an investigation and suspends Vick indefintely pending the results of the case.

Vick either takes a plea or continues to be a psychopath (thinks he's above the law) fights the charges and earns triple the jail time he would have gotten with the plea. Either way, he's gone for at least 2-3 seasons in the best case scenario. 2-3 seasons for the NFL's worst technical QB to get rusty, older and slower. Then, for giggles, he tries a comeback and finds few takers for an ex-con who wouldn't even take responsibility for his reprehensible conduct. If he's lucky, he ends up at RB in the CFL, where he belonged in the first place.

There is a God, and he's watching out for the defenseless ones. I feel like I won the lotto. 

 

3.  BALCO is running out of liars for Barry

Yes it's true, there are cracks in the Balco armor. It can only get better from here. My guess is that some AUSA has Barry's picture taped to his mirror, and is squeezing the #### out of every lowlife that ever so much as passed the BALCO labs, to get the drop on Mr. May. Granted, Barry isn't as stupid as Mike Vick (he never told his mistress his name was John Canada, at least) but he's still at least sociopathic (again, thinks he's above the law) and he has a few enemies.

I loved the fact that Schilling called him out, but I'm gonna love the fact that sooner or later, someone higher up inside BALCO is going to get his taxes audited and then have to choose whether he or Barry gets indicted. Guess who loses? I only hope it's the same day Bonds hits 754. Then, I'll wet myself laughing.

4. No more Kobe v. Shaq Christmas Day Games. Thank you David Stern. Kobe has done the impossible. He's managed to make the most gifted player in the game, for the first time, totally irrelevant. Yes, we can argue about the George Gervin's and Pete Maravich's of their time, but they never singlehandedly turned a 3-time championship team into a playoff wannabe. If anything, those guys were the lone stars on some bad teams, who wanted great players around them. Kobe had great players around him, but wanted to get rid of them so he could be the lone star. He got it and now the Lakers are a joke.

Meanwhile, Shaq is already preparing for his life after b-ball. He's helping fat kids get thin in the offseason, now that's irony. But we have to face facts. D-Wade is the leading man in Miami. Shaq may stil be the most accounted for player in the NBA, but he's no longer the most dominant. I'm looking forward to seeing LeBron and Dwade on Santa's day. That's a pretty nice gift compared to an aging superstar and a perpetually petulant pisspot primadonna.

5. The Missing Link is gone!!! Long Live Mike Tomlin!!!

It took 15 years of suffering to get rid of the rotting berry of the Schotty Bush and replace him with the glowing, intellectual fruit of the Noll Tree. I almost don't care how we do in Pittsburgh this year,  (okay that's stupid) but I will suffer some growing pains with an intelligent, teaching coach, rather than flame out in January because an overpaid, overly-ugly cheerleader had no clue how to get a team ready for a big game.

I'm not jumping the gun on Tomlin, but I think he's in a great position to succeed with a franchise QB (with a full season to recover from his trauma), some gifted young players and a handful of vets to tie over the transition. I was disappointed that he didn't  junk Cowher's 52 (Okie) defense. But looking back it's the right move (personnel-wise) for at least this year. All in all the guy impresses me.

Now let the games begin.  Oh, and by the way, tell them that the streets belong to the Batman.

 

So the Feds went in with a backhoe and pulled out 44 more dog corpses from Mike Vick's (recently) former property and home of "BadNewz Kennels". For those of you who thought the radio silence since the last raid was a good thing; 'ya shoulda' known better. I told you that the Feds were slow and meticulous, and that Vick's alarminly low profile was an effort not to step any deeper into the doggie-doo mess he's created for himself.

Naturally, local "authorities", the ones who refused to execute a search warrant due to improper wording and who as much as labeled the search a racist vendetta, continued their promised "parallel" investigation by going on vacation. I agree that racism did play a part in the investigation. Racism drove the local authorities to desperately attempt to sweep the gruesome "murder for sport and profit" operation under the rug.

Now is when the chant of "but Vick wasn't named in the investigation" comes in, right fellas? Chant all you want. It'll fall on the same ears as the "dogfighting is not a felony" chant.

True, only the Kennel name was mentioned in the investigation. Pretty standard procedure in the world of CYA, protocol though. Make no mistake, there is no way that the Feds will so much as peep what could be considered breach of conduct, so Mr. Mexico can blow $40 million on a gang of soulless litigators to get him out of jail on a technicality.

True, RMex has kindly dumped all the blame on his relatives, no doudt offering to make them rich once they do his time.

True, the Meximeltdown hasn't even been indicted, yet.

Yet.

And if you think the feds raided the place not once but twice to put on a good show and forget all about it, think again.

If you think that the Feds lack the strings to tie Mex to the operation, think again.

But if you insist on kidding yourselves, or hoping that the race card will save a brutha, ask yourselves this.

Why did the feds go in a 2nd time? Was it a hunch? 'Cause I got news for 'ya guys, nobody brings a backhoe on a hunch. Somebody's already singing. Maybe they haven't given up Mexico's name yet. Maybe they have. But the good folks at Uncle Sam & Co. will not, I repeat, will not convene a grand jury until they have every last shred of dog flesh to display. They will lean very hard on the perps, friends and family of the perps, who undoubtedly are a strike or two down in the count.

And oh yeah, at the very least, there's the fallback of a conspiracy charge. And you know how conspiracy law works folks, "in for a penny in for a pound".

Right now, a team of defense lawyers is working very closely with a team of private investigators to try and discredit the folks who already have or will soon point the arrow at the most exciting #### in pro football.

Because this isn't OJ. It isn't the LAPD. It isn't Barry Scheck befuddling a biased jury into believeing that procedural errors made conclusive DNA evidence unreliable.

It isn't a case of "if". There won't be any technicality exits. It's a case of when and how long. But please, feel free to keep kidding yourselves, right up until Vick finishes his sentence.

                      

D&Demonicume?                              Erma4USC?

 

No, I'm not jackin' a headline or jockin' Dear Abby or Andy Rooney to get a post count. No, I don't have "blog lite" on tap today. Hell, I don't even have a mustache. Not since the 80's, anyway. Nor do I jack handles from Dungeons & Dragons, regale you with my tales of swingery, or spew mysoginy.

What I do have is another blackhand smash of realitah, so all you featherweights and imaginary reptiles better take cover. 'Nuff said on that.

On to the real. 'Da Bears decided that there was a little too much gas for extracurriculars left in the Tank, so they cut him loose. It saddens me, because for some reason I liked the guy, but it was the right move by the first team with enough balls to say "no mas". Even though the NFL had taken decisive action with Mr. Johnson, the Bears made the strongest statement regarding conduct yet.

And this has what to do with Titans, again?

It led many to question why the Flaming Thumbtacks haven't parted ways with Adam (Crac-Man) Jones. I call him Crac-Man, by the way, because anyone who has 15 criminal investigations pending and goes for #16, must be smoking some powerful #### 

Giant head, tiny brain. Dragon maybe?

Nevertheless, Johnson's pink slip has many buzzing about why Adam Jones still has a roster spot. Bear in mind that Jeff Fisher has gone on the record  saying the Tacks have moved on. The FO has even signed a few DB's. And in the most impressive move, VY stated that Crac "don't care about us". Misuse of pronouns aside, Young continues to impress me this offseason. The example he's setting is stellar.