Wow, it has been a very busy August. I can't remember a busier school opening, and this is why I have been absent of late. I may not be on here as much this semester, but I can always stay active in Fox Sports through my fantasy teams. One in which I always enjoy is the Fox Pro Football Pick'em. I created a league for us at Fox Sports. Join up and let's all match our wits each week and play for bragging rights.
Team ID: 53100
Password: Foxsports
On to my rants:
Michael Vick: He is guilty. He will serve time, and he will return to football. Someone will pick him up and I doubt Goodell will suspend him permanently from the NFL. I also believe he should be allowed back in one day, but if I were an owner I would not pick him up. Lucky for Vick, there is a God, or better yet an Al Davis.
Eric Gagne: Suddenly this move doesn't look so brilliant. The Red Sox do have a good closing staff without Gagne, but if the Yankees make it in as the Wild Card it's all over for Boston. A-Rod may get his ring this year.
NFL: Is anyone else ready for some football? Preseason is too long. I'm ready for the real action where the stars play. LT sits out in San Diego every year and I am ready to see how the Chargers will do this year. They have the talent to win the whole thing, but they have one little problem; it's called their head coach. Norv Turner has never won anything in his life, except the privilege of being a head football coach. That privilege should have been revoked after his horrible stints in Washington and Dallas, but alas the Chargers fire a guy who went 14-2 to hire Norv. The stars must have been aligned when Norv was born because no one inherits a team with such talent with a record like his. Good luck Norv!
Michelle Wie: Another season comes and goes and we here less and less about Wie. It's too bad she could have been really good.
Tiger Woods: Another major and another great season. I still do not think Woods will surpass Nicklaus in major wins, but has anyone ever played in fewer events each season and still wins 40% of those they enter? Fatherhood, marriage, and a new coach haven't slowed him down, so maybe he will pass Jack up. If he does, how far will he go?
Barry Bonds: Now that Aaron's record is in the rear view mirror, all the sports reporters have seemed to stop covering Barry. Meanwhile, he just keeps on hitting home runs. He may get to 770 this year, and if he does, I think he will play one more season to try and reach 800. Still no indictment in the foreseable future, so the only thing that can stop him is if he refuses to play. I sure hope he lands in a Yankees uniform next year and gets a ring before he retires.
Forget about Vick's innocence or guilt. That will be decided by a jury sooner or later, but in the end what will happen to him? Will he ever play football in the NFL again? Will he cop a plea? Is he marketable any more?
Michael Vick was summoned to court and will appear on July 26th, which just happens to be my birthday. After that, it is anyones guess as to what will happen, but it does appear the feds have enough on Vick to get a conviction. Of course with jury trials, anything is possible. You can kill someone and have two eye witnesses and still walk away with an acquittal. Then again, you can be convicted on circumstantial evidence alone. So I won't ever harbor a thought on his guilt or innocence, but I would certainly try to cut a deal with the prosecutors if I were Vick's attorney. There are three or four other defendents who do not have the financial means that Vick does to defend themselves. You can bet that the DA is offering one or all of those guys to turn on Vick. Maybe they already have and they don't need a deal from Vick, but if I were defending him I would at least give it a shot. Considering he owns the property but hardly stays there, it may be his best shot to avoid jail time. It would not surprise me to see a plea bargain very soon which would allow Vick to play this year.
Which brings us to the next question, will he play in the NFL this year or ever again? If he cuts a deal and does not serve any jail time, I believe he will play again. If he is sentenced to six years in prison, then it would depend on when he gets out. It is possible he would only serve 2-3 years of a term like that, with time off for good behavior, and he is still young enough to play the game for a long time. My guess is some team would still pick him up and give him a shot. Vick is sitll a tempting comodity because he can run for 1000 yards and throw the ball. I wouldn't pick him up, but a team like Detroit might down the road.
Lastly, even if he plays again, can he ever return to a marketable position in the endorsement arena. Advertisement money is where the major athletes really cash in. For a big time football player, more money can be made in endorsements than can ever be made in a playing career. Peyton is King when it comes to air time, but Tom Brady, Elway, and Montana were also very successful as QB pitchmen. These guys parlayed their success on the football field into lucrative deals with numerous companies. Even in other sports, athletes like Michelle Wie will never earn on the course what she has already earned in sponsorship money. Tiger Woods could win every major for the next 4 years and it would not equal his money from Nike alone. Never mind his deal with American Express, Buick, and others. When Kobe had his little tryst in Vale, he lost huge dollars from Sprite and McDonalds. I think Vick will definitely be in store for a rude awakening for his association with dog fighting alone. If convicted, then all of his sponsors will fall by the way side. As long as there are othe rmore marketable athletes, why would Nike waste money on Vick? Vick was already signed with Nike, Air Tran, and probably a few others. The handwriting is already on the wall with Nike, and after Vick's water bottle escapade I highly doubt Air Tran will be resigning him.
There is a lesson in all of this for other young athletes. Sometimes you can take the athlete out of the hood, but you can never take the hood out of the athlete.
You’ve heard of the “dog days” of summer, but most of you probably do not know where that term originated. The most plausible explanation is that these days were named after the Dog Star, Sirius, which rises and sets with the sun in the summer month of July. Usually, the “dog days”, are the hottest and sultriest days of the summer which fall in July and August. The ancients believed that the additional heat from Sirius made these days exceptionally hot. Well, in sports the “hottest” stories also involve a few dogs, but not the kind you would imagine.
Michael Vick: Once again his home in Virginia has been raided. This is not a good sign for the Falcon QB. No one is talking, but the old adage that no news is good news is most definitely not the case here. I am sure Vick and the Falcons would love for someone, anyone in law enforcement, to come out and say charges are not going to be filed. To the contrary, look for this case to drag out for months carrying into the NFL season. This will give Vick a great excuse when he does not perform for new head coach Bobby Petrino.
Barry Bonds: Summer time is heating up with Bonds only 4 HRs away from tying Hank Aaron and 5 short of surpassing the HR King. Certainly very few people are pulling for Barry to pass up Hammerin Hank, but with each HR the heat is certainly rising for Bud Selig. As the baseball commissioner, he alone should have to answer questions for his part in the MLB Steroid Scandal. Selig also has to decide if he is going to attend the games leading up the record breaking HR. If he doesn’t attend then it will appear he does not validate the new record, but if he chooses to attend then he is afraid he will offend his long time friend Hank Aaron. Selig needs to “man” up and go to the game. Unless he and George Mitchell are willing to publish there findings which will incriminate many more than Bonds, then they will have to acknowledge Barry as the HR King. Lucky for Barry there are some other big names on the list that MLB does not want released.
MLS:Houston Dynamos win their 8th straight and are in a tie for first now. Who cares? Is anyone watching MLS? I’m not. I know the world watches soccer or “football” as it is known everywhere else in the world, but do people in Europe follow D.C. United? Soccer fans in America keep up with Manchester United, but I highly doubt the Brits are giving a second thought to a game between the Houston Dynamos and FC Dallas. I only know the names because I looked them up. Seriously, will David Beckham playing in LA cause people in Germany or Spain to watch? For all I know MLS is a realty service.
All-Star Game: Does anyone really care about the result of the All-Star Game. Even the home field advantage thing by the winner is blown way out of proportion. In the last six World Series, the winner has been from the NL three times and the AL three times. So much for AL dominance; it is a myth. When the games are played, every team has a chance.
I grew up in the Deep South, and I would hear about things like dog fighting and chicken fighting. (The filter prevents me from using the word "####".) I never understood the appeal to watching two animals fight to the death, especially animals that are essentially your pets. But yet it goes on still today. Of course in Mexico and Spain they still have bullfighting, which is essentially a fight to the death with the bull always losing. I mean they pack out those stadiums just outside Tijuana to watch a bull fighter toy with a bull and eventually put him down. People cheer and throw roses as darts are thrown into the bull, but in the end it is nothing more than watching an animal being slaughtered for sheer enjoyment. It is a ritual that has gone on for hundreds of years.
Chicken fighting is still huge in some parts of America as well. Once again, I just don't get it, but it is ingrained in some. I can remember driving up through the back roads of Alabama, and my dad pointing out to me places where roosters were tied up before a fight. Apparently it is a bloody sport and not nearly as civilized as my cartoon portrays it.
So what is so enjoyable about watching an animal being killed? I’m not sure, but I do know that my son would play the bloodiest and most violent game on Play Station if I allowed it. It just so happens that his friends make fun of him because I won’t let him play games like Resident Evil or Halo. Oh well, hopefully he will turn out better for it, but if not I am not losing any sleep over it. I am convinced some of the horrible stories we read about of teenagers killing their parents or others is because we have devalued human life with video games.
I was at a retreat with some of my high school seniors and we brought two Xbox setups and played Halo on teams. I just watched as they played game after game for hours, killing each other and reveling in the death of another human being. Now I do realize these guys were killing each other “virtually”, but the glee with each kill was still somewhat sickening. For now, my son will have to wait until he gets out on his own to purchase and play these types of games.
Dog fighting brings animal cruelty to a new level. Anyone who sees the pictures of these animals after a fight and still enjoys the sport is not human. I don’t know if Michael Vick participated or not. If he is truly an animal lover, then he couldn’t do something that is so sickening. However, if he is guilty, then he should go to jail. Much like the Duke Lacrosse Rape case, this investigation could go on for a year or more. Charges may be filed tomorrow or they may be filed 6 months from now. Vick’s reputation is already ruined and many believe he is guilty already. Like Kobe, his endorsement deals will soon begin to fade until this is eventually put behind him. Vick will need the tenacity of a Pit Bull to escape this unscathed, but I for one think this will end with Vick looking as bloodied as some of the dogs he allowed to fight. He may make it out a live, but certainly his image is already maimed.
You’ve heard of the “dog days” of summer, but most of you probably do not know where that term originated. The most plausible explanation is that these days were named after the Dog Star, Sirius, which rises and sets with the sun in the summer month of July. Usually, the 
Michael Vick: Once again his home in Virginia has been raided. This is not a good sign for the Falcon QB. No one is talking, but the old adage that no news is good news is most definitely not the case here. I am sure Vick and the Falcons would love for someone, anyone in law enforcement, to come out and say charges are not going to be filed. To the contrary, look for this case to drag out for months carrying into the NFL season. This will give Vick a great excuse when he does not perform for new head coach Bobby Petrino.
Barry Bonds: Summer time is heating up with Bonds only 4 HRs away from tying Hank Aaron and 5 short of surpassing the HR King. Certainly very few people are pulling for Barry to pass up Hammerin Hank, but with each HR the heat is certainly rising for Bud Selig. As the baseball commissioner, he alone should have to answer questions for his part in the MLB Steroid Scandal. Selig also has to decide if he is going to attend the games leading up the record breaking HR. If he doesn’t attend then it will appear he does not validate the new record, but if he chooses to attend then he is afraid he will offend his long time friend Hank Aaron. Selig needs to “man” up and go to the game. Unless he and George Mitchell are willing to publish there findings which will incriminate many more than Bonds, then they will have to acknowledge Barry as the HR King. Lucky for Barry there are some other big names on the list that MLB does not want released.
MLS: 
All-Star Game: Does anyone really care about the result of the All-Star Game. Even the home field advantage thing by the winner is blown way out of proportion. In the last six World Series, the winner has been from the NL three times and the AL three times. So much for AL dominance; it is a myth. When the games are played, every team has a chance.
Of course in Mexico and Spain they still have 
Chicken fighting is still huge in some parts of America as well. Once again, I just don't get it, but it is ingrained in some. I can remember driving up through the back roads of Alabama, and my dad pointing out to me places where roosters were tied up before a fight. Apparently it is a bloody sport and not nearly as civilized as my cartoon portrays it.
So what is so enjoyable about watching an animal being killed? I’m not sure, but I do know that my son would play the bloodiest and most violent game on Play Station if I allowed it. It just so happens that his friends make fun of him because I won’t let him play games like Resident Evil or Halo. Oh well, hopefully he will turn out better for it, but if not I am not losing any sleep over it. I am convinced some of the horrible stories we read about of teenagers killing their parents or others is because we have devalued human life with video games.
