The Sports Rumors

For Your Reading Pleasure

The actual full letter Michael Vick wrote as well as the letters of support from the Mayor and others can be found by clicking the link below.

http://alt.coxnewsweb.com/ajc/pdf/vickletters/vick1.pdf

Excerpts from Michael Vick’s Letter to Judge

In case you were wondering…

Growing up in Newport News, I was exposed to numerous illegal activities and dogfighting was one of them. I never understood why people (were) arrested for guns and drugs, but never for dogfighting. No one really cared or called the police so I grew up not knowing the severity of the crime. Your Honor, I grew up loving animals and still (do) to this day. I have Paso Fino horses, parrots, fish tanks, and lizards. I take full responsibility for my actions and am ashamed that my actions hurt animals and allowed animals to be hurt and killed.

Your Honor, I am not the bad person or the beast I’ve been made out to be. I have been talked about and ridiculed on a day to day basis by people who really dont know Michael Vick the human being. They only knew the football player which is unfair. I’m a very humble, soft-spoken, and caring guy. Also kinda shy.” “This has been painful because my son watches the news and can understand whats going on with his father. He says his friends in school make fun of the situation because we have the same last name.”

“It hurts deeply because jail is no place for me and its hard for me to adjust in here, knowing that I’ve left my family behind. There’s a saying “when you know better, your supposed to do better.” Honestly, I wish I had never been involved in dogfighting. As a result, I’ve lost everything — my good name, job, endorsements, and now my freedom. So, sitting here today I can say I’ve learned an invaluable lesson.”

“I apologize for the failed drug test. I was suffering from a deep state of depression, and after my father attacked me in the media, I was heartbroken. I expected nothing but support from him; however, he was trying to get money from me and threatened to do a tell-all story on me. Thats no excuse for using marijuana, but I didn’t know how to cope with all the difficulties I was facing because it was all new to me. After my father did what he did, I just thought it was all over for me.”

“I PROMISE that I will never again use a single dollar that I have earned for anything but to help people. This situation has shaped my life in more ways than one. Ive learned a valuable lesson and have taken my life into a different direction. I purchased a church for my pastor back in July and ever since, have had a different outlook on life.”

“I pray for a second chance to be back with my family, and show the world the real Michael Vick, (not the person the media has made me out to be).”

There’s no I in Law… Is There?

It’s over.

You know when you’re the only person who thinks something can work out, but everyone around you is trying to tell you that it won’t? Like a relationship that fell apart months ago, but you’re still confident and stubbornly blind to think that some way, somehow, it will end up working out the way you hoped. That’s how I was with Michael Vick. I was like that when the charges were first brought forward. “Please. It’s Michael Vick. The whole world loves Mike Vick. He’s not going to jail man.” Okay, I was wrong there. Then the trial. “Yeah they’re not going to find him guilty or if they do, he’ll get some deal with probation.” Um. Wrong again. Then, “Even if he goes away for a year, and serves maybe 8 months of it, he’ll come back to the NFL in 2008 and teams will fight to get him on their roster.” That was strike three before I realized I need to come back down to reality. The dreams and predictions of many about Vick revolutionizing the quarterback position to a level we had never seen? Those aspirations are over. The reality is, Michael Vick the football player is over.

He was sentenced Monday morning in a Richmond, Virginia courthouse to 23 months in prison. He will also be on probation for 3 years after. The federal sentencing guidelines suggested a year to 18 months of prison time. The Judge thought 23 months was more adequate. The topic of this article isn’t going to be about what could have been with Michael Vick because that tune has been played enough the past few months. Instead, I want to talk about the sentence and how, similar to how I was stubborn in my belief about Vick eventually walking, Judge Henry Hudson was stubborn about making a national statement rather than adhere to the guidelines of the sentencing.

We live in a nation that puts more cameras and spotlights on celebrities, athletes, and all entertainers more than any other place on earth. Young girls worship Hannah Montana, teenage boys look up to Lebron James, middle aged men dream about what it would have been like to be Brett Favre. We live vicariously through the athletes and entertainers we look up to. But just because WE as the public put a lot of attention on them and their daily lives doesn’t mean that they should be treated harsher, or be exempt from what an everyday citizen goes by.

Explain to me why Lindsay Lohan can be found driving drunk, chasing another car, have no license, and be caught with cocaine in her pocket; and then sentenced to less than a day in jail. Explain to me why Paris Hilton can be caught driving drunk and serve jail time only after she is caught on camera ignoring a judge’s probationary sentence. Explain to me why Britney Spears can be the total mess of a human being she is, neglect her children for almost two years, and then finally get her children taken away from her months, if not years after any other normal citizen would have. Are they above the law? They sure as hell seem to be.

Now tell me why Michael Vick was sentenced to 23 months for a crime and offense that was suggested federally to be a year to 18 months. What was the reasoning for him being put away an extra five? Last I checked, those guidelines are put into place for a reason; after a lot of thought and careful analysis. You’re out of your mind if you think the 23 months wasn’t because of his name. Henry Hudson went out of his way to make a statement, and Vick paid the price for it. This was solely a political, resume boosting move by Hudson. He knew the entire nation was awaiting his decision to see whether he cut Vick some slack or not. He chose to show everyone that Henry Hudson plays by his own rules and will deal with Vick how HE wants to; not as suggested by the law itself.

If we want to use the celebrity card for making a statement, let’s take a look at everything that has transpired with Vick since the day he was indicted. He has lost all of his endorsement deals. He has lost millions of dollars of signing bonus money and his NFL contract. He has been sued by numerous banks for defaulting on loans. His name has been dragged through the mud on every television and radio station. He will forever be viewed as a heartless, animal killing individual. Take all that into consideration. You’re still going to go over and beyond the suggested sentence? Is that really necessary? You can’t sit here and tell me that the judge was trying to teach Vick a lesson because the public humiliation that he has endured is worse than anything he will face in prison. Psychological beatdowns are a lot worse than physical ones. So why the extra five months? Are the extra five months in jail going to make Vick feel worse about what he did? Absolutely not. This sentence, ironically, wasn’t about Michael Vick. His name was just the platform for Judge Henry Hudson to stand up infront of the public and thump his chest. This was Hudson’s chance to show that he doesn’t need guidelines; he goes by his set of laws. This was Hudson’s chance to make a statement, the biggest of his career, with all his colleagues and people he will encounter in the future watching.

This situation on a smaller scale is similar to when you’re at work and a big project is presented. You do well on this project, you know you’re going to get either a promotion or a pay raise, or at the very least; a lot more respect. The Michael Vick project landed in Hudson’s lap. He had a career of putting away Richmond, Virginia scum who meant little or nothing to society. No one cares if drug dealer #824802 gets put away or not. That was his career. Look it up. Look up his biggest cases. But as the saying goes, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” Michael Vick’s mistake was Henry Hudson’s gold and he seized it quick as any.

Well congratulations to you Judge Henry Hudson. You have shown that it’s not about the guiding principles or courses of action set forth by the law. It’s not about what’s right or wrong. It’s about how you want your contemporaries to view you. It’s how you want people to remember you. “Judge Henry Hudson, the man who put Michael Vick away for two years.” It’s not about Michael Vick. At the end, it’s all about you.

Today’s Rundown 9/27

Whats up people. It’s Thursday… which means we’re one day away from Friday, so get excited. I got a lot coming today and tomorrow as far as articles and posts are concerned. It’s been a while since I’ve written an in depth piece on something going on in sports so I’ll be putting out two in the next two days. Here’s the plan:

Thursday:

- College Football Weekly Picks (sometime this afternoon)

- Article with some thoughts on the NBA, it’s been a while (sometime this afternoon/evening)

Friday:

- State of the Quarterbacks in the NFL article (Morning)

***The article will be my thoughts on who’s good, who’s not, where certain qb’s will be next season (i.e. McNabb, Grossman, Culpepper etc)***

- Weekly NFL Picks Outright (Afternoon)

- NFL Picks Versus Spread (Afternoon/Evening)

Now that you know the plan, lets move on to Today’s Rundown.

*This will be the first and last time that I ever talk about the Women’s World Cup on here but there is a specific reason for me doing so today. The US Women got waxed 4-0 by Brazil and this is significant ONLY because there was a goalie change announced yesterday. The reason to replace Hope Solo (what a name) with the other goalie (who’s name I have forgotten) was because she had an undefeated streak going against Brazil. My thoughts are this. Don’t tinker with something that works. And more importantly, you can’t replace a goalie who has played well, and has ‘hope’ as her first name! That’s just bad karma. Moving on…

*The New Yawk Yankees have clinched their 13th consecutive playoff birth and will be facing off with the Cleveland Indians in the opening series. This is only news because nobody, including myself, thought they could pull this off back in June. Just goes to show that you should never count the Yankees, Lakers, or Dallas Cowboys out of anything.

*Barry Bonds played his final game last night as a member of the San Francisco Giants. The Giants honored him by having his jersey number etched into outfield where he stands. Bonds went 0-3 in the Giants’ 11-3 loss.

*Speaking of Bonds, if you haven’t heard already, Cooperstown will reportedly accept the 756 ball with an asterisk branded into it by designer Marc Ecko. Ecko held an internet voting poll for the fans to determine the fate of the ball. The other two options were to put the ball in the Hall of Fame as is, or to shoot into space on a rocket. Fans apparently felt the asterisk was sufficient.

*I’m sure you’ve heard by now, Michael Vick tested positive for marijuana on a test taken September 13th. It’s somewhat sad to see that this guy still doesn’t understand the importance of making wise decisions, given what he’s already gone through and what he’s about to go through.

Today’s Rundown 9/25

*Michael Vick has been indicted on more dog charges, with the latest coming from the state of Virginia.  I’m not going into details on this one but this is such a sleezeball type of deal from state attorney Gerald Poindexter.  He was the one who didn’t find anything to charge Vick with before the Feds moved in.  Now he’s trying to save face by adding to the punishment.  Absolutely ridiculous.  If you want to read more on this story, it’s on espn.com and every other sports site.  Lets move along.

*So I couldn’t have been any more wrong on my pick last night.  The Saints are terrible.  I had no idea, none whatsoever, that they would be this bad through three games.  It got so bad towards the end that the fans were booing the same team that they embraced last year.  Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that the Saints high flying offense would be THIS bad.  I did think that Brees would have a drop off from last year…but by drop off, I didn’t mean become one of the bottom 5 in the league.

* The Red Sox kick off their series against Oakland tonight.  Every game is starting to look more like a must win with the Yankees only 2 back.  Keep an eye on this the final week.  Could get interesting.

*Week 4 Power Rankings are below…

Today’s Rundown 7/28

In light of Michael Vick apologizing to everyone yesterday, I too, want to take this time out for my own, unwritten, off the top of my head apology:

I am, you know, sorry, you know, for not being able to..for being able to.. for not being able to, you know, have any posts the past few days. I’ve been, you know, really busy with work and … I didn’t have a lot of downtime. I, you know, will make sure I post more frequently from now on. (5 second pause) I have to. Thank you.

(Jokes aside, Vick’s apology was a good one and you should read it or watch it if you haven’t already.)

*Vick apologized to all and everyone yesterday after he formally pleaded guilty to dogfighting conspiracy charges. The apology was not prepared beforehand as it was clear that Vick had no notes present and was speaking on the whim. I personally didn’t see the apology until after work yesterday, but saw the entire clip (4 and a half minutes or so) and believed that Vick could not have been more sincere in asking for forgiveness. Of course, he probably wouldn’t be apologizing had he not been cornered into a place of guilt, but that’s neither here nor there. Vick’s apology is going to go a long way, in my estimation, for him restoring his public image to a certain degree. This is the second time in one summer that we have seen an athlete deliver a sincere and genuine speech, or in this case apology, without any prewritten notes. The first was when Michael Irvin delivered one of the most memorable Hall of Fame Induction speeches that I can remember. Vick appeared to be saddened, lost, and grounded after what has been a grueling four months. After scanning the sports waves this morning on my way to work, I found that I was not alone in feeling that Vick’s apology was genuine. Though this is only one step for what will need to be many, at least Vick took one in the right direction.

*Chicago Bears linebacker Lance Briggs crashed his $350,000 Lamborghini in Lake Forest, Illinois yesterday. Then he fled. Yes, you read correctly. He left his Lambo just like that. The reason for him fleeing the scene is not yet known, but one can only imagine. He later claimed that the car was his after reports surfaced that he had told police the car was stolen, initially. However, after speaking with police yesterday, he did confirm that he was the driver of the vehicle when it crashed. Briggs was charged with a misdemeanor for failure to properly notify of an accident. I’m not going to speculate on exactly what the reason was for Briggs fleeing the scene but it’s really saying something if a guy would rather leave a $350,000 car on the side of the road than deal with a potential (emphasis on “potential”) bigger problem with not the law, but Commissioner Roger Goodell. “$350,000 car or possible suspension? $350,000 car or possible suspension? Screw the car.”

*The Yankees got rocked by the Tigers yesterday, 16-0. I don’t really want to talk about it. I mean, it’s not like the Mariners have lost three straight and this would be the perfect opportunity to not only put the Tigers away, but also move into possession of the wild card. Yeah, not like anything was at stake Mike Mussina. Jerk.

*The Yankees-Red Sox series starts tonight in New York. It will showcase a matchup between Dice-K and Pettitte. I highly suggest for you, even if you’re not a baseball fan, to watch this series. It is one of the greatest rivalries in sports and always brings some form of excitement. Plus the Yankees are now reaching the point of desperation and the Sox would love nothing more than to put their most hated rival away for good. Tune in.

*Both Williams sisters advanced easily in the first round of the U.S. Open early this morning around 2:00 AM EST, when you were asleep, unless your name is Pacman Jones and you’re at a strip club “for the food”. Crazy Factoid: Serena Williams had a serve clocked at 126 mph. Think about how fast that is for a second. Unreal.

*The Cleveland Browns. Notice how I put this story last. Anyway, Brady Quinn will not be starting week 1. The starter will be either Charlie Frye or the other guy, Derrick Anderson or something. Quinn had the highest rating of the three and threw for three touchdowns, no interceptions in his two preseason games. Yes I know it was against second teams and third teams but the guy showed he understands what he’s doing. I don’t understand what exactly the Browns and Coach Romeo Crennell are gaining by sitting Quinn. Is it because he held out? Because that’s a dumb reason. Also, I don’t see a solid veteran starter ahead of Quinn that he could be learning from. Quinn was drafted to be the starter of that team and you’re kidding yourself if you think he won’t be starting by week five. So what are you really gaining by holding him out week one? Give yourself the best chance to win, and to do that, it’s getting Quinn the most experience he can get as quickly as possible. I don’t know why I’m trying to understand what the Browns are doing though; it is the Browns. That should be a cue for me to just stop trying right there. Oh, while I’m on the topic of franchises that don’t have a clue, The Raiders have still not signed JaMarcus Russell (the first overall pick taken in the draft if you’ve forgotten). The Raiders hope to have Russsell signed by December 2008 and in training camp before Vick is eligible to play again. Draft Russell high in your 2010 Fantasy Draft.

Today’s Rundown 7/25

I was too infatuated with my Draft Day endeavors to really pay attention to what was going on today in the world of sports, unless it was something really important. Fortunately, I didn’t miss all that much. Here’s the rundown:

*USA Basketball is looking like it’s back to the way it used to be. The National Team spanked Canada by 50 points, improving their record to 3-0. Kobe Bryant threw in 15 points. The United States is averaging 116 points a game, not far off from the 1992 Dream Team who was dropping 121.2 per contest. It’s good to see that the men’s team is back to dominating after having such embarrassing outings the past few years. It doesn’t hurt that Kobe is on the team either. USA plays undefeated Brazil for the top seed in Group B on Sunday.

*Barry Bonds blasted homerun number 761 against the Brewers today, a day after being given the key to the city in San Francisco. Whether you hate him, love him, or are indifferent; there is no question that Bonds can still play in this league come next year.

*Michael Vick was suspended indefinitely by Commissioner Roger Goodell last night. No surprises there. The Falcons are trying to get somewhere around $22 million back from Vick as well. Moving on…

Vick Won’t Admit to Gambling or Killing Dogs

ESPN.com reported late last night that Michael Vick will not admit to gambling on dogfights or killing dogs. He will say infront of the Richmond Courthouse on Monday that he was present for the killings as well as the dog fights.  He will plead guilty to Intrastate commerce charges.  This could go a long way in helping him return to the NFL sooner rather than later.

For more details on the story, click link above.

My Conclusion on Michael Vick

This is probably the last time I am going to address this situation, but since it has all but reached the final stages, I feel like it is a good time to express my opinions on the matter. Michael Vick went to my alma mater, Virginia Tech. He was the biggest star we ever had step foot on campus. He brought my University into the top tier of football programs and helped bring in all types of positive attention. Because of Michael Vick, my alma mater brought in great college athletes and future pros like Kevin Jones and DeAngelo Hall. Naturally, I was a huge Vick fan in college, and took my allegiance with him by cheering for him as a Falcon. I loved everything about the guy; his style, his demeanor, his new-age hip-hop type of quarterback that was unprecedented. I am still a Michael Vick fan, but a greatly disappointed one.

When the initial Vick news broke, and it got to the point where he was going to be indicted, I did what any true fan of a player would do. I came to his defense. I gave him the benefit of the doubt, I tried to find some way that I could defend him, some way that I could prove that he wasn’t involved and was oblivious to the whole dog fighting ring. I wanted to find out from some source that he was just a naïve athlete who got taken advantage of by his thug friends from childhood. I knew all along that it was a far fetched scenario, but I held on to it as long as I could. As time passed however, I read more and more about the details of what he was being accused of. I saw more and more corroborating evidence against him that took that glimmer of hope I had of his innocence, and put it out. I don’t think I even thought about the severity and the cruelty of his actions because I was so caught up in trying to make myself believe he was innocent.

I took my two year old lab for a walk and going along a main road near my house here in Virginia, a truck driven by some idiot came awfully close to jumping the curb and without a doubt, striking and probably killing my dog. After that moment of immense anger at the truck driver, I gathered my thoughts. It was then that I realized how innocent and like a child a dog is. That led me to think about the dogs that were executed by Vick and his posse. That’s when the magnitude of his actions really hit me.

Now lets not get it twisted, I’m not PETA activist or animals rights guy. I’ve run over plenty of possums and squirrels in my lifetime so I won’t sit here and preach to you about animals. But what I am saying is the animals that were so brutally executed were innocent creatures who had been starved, caged, and then fought till death for a couple of thousand dollars at a time. How anyone can have the mentality and see the joy in doing something like that is beyond my range of comprehension. It’s the same way I’ll never understand how a man can rape a woman, how someone can strap a bomb to their chest and blowup innocent people in Iraq, or how a crazed college student can go shoot up 32 kids who were in class learning at Virginia Tech. I can’t understand any of that. But I can’t defend someone who has participated in those acts, even if he was one of my favorite athletes of all time. If you still can’t get a sense of the cruelty involved, take a look at this picture, which is graphic. After you get past the initial “ew” phase, look at the dog’s eyes and then look at your own dog’s eyes. Think about it for a minute.

I do feel that Michael Vick deserves jail time after initially thinking he didn’t. I feel that he should spend eight to twelve months in prison, thinking about his actions and thinking about the senseless fun he had. I feel that amount of time would be sufficient for him to reflect, and for his own good and for society’s, he could come out a better human being. Now the exact time he should go is up for debate, depending on who you are. I realize that drug dealers sometimes get 6 months and murders get off the hook with nothing. But we live in a country where the sentences depend on the state, the county, and the judge so there is no real precedent for a situation like this. I feel eight to twelve months is long enough to make a point and teach someone a lesson about something like dog fighting.

All of this considered, I do feel sad for Michael Vick. I don’t feel bad that he’s going to jail because he should. I feel sad for the tragedy that he has made into his life. He came from the gutter; from the ghettoes of Hampton, Virginia. He worked his butt off to become a star and he did at Virginia Tech and Atlanta. He had it all, from the houses, the cars, the fans, everything was in his pocket. He was the true rags to riches story. What’s tragic about this story is that he let it all go down the drain over something as stupid as dog fighting. Now he’s back where a lot of young men from the ghettoes of Hampton, Virginia end up; in jail. That to me is sad. To have so much for which you’ve worked so hard for, and blow it away just like that.

I hope Michael Vick emerges from prison twelve or eighteen months from now a better man; a changed man. I hope that dog fighting, however big of a problem it is (because I don’t know), is eliminated from our society. Most of all, I hope people can learn from this, especially young folks like myself. Appreciate what you have, make wise decisions, and avoid putting yourself in a situation that can hurt yourself and your family. I can guarantee you that’s what Vick will be thinking about in jail.

Vick Returns as 3rd Wideout? Don’t Kid Yourself

I’ve heard a lot of different sports personalities give their opinions and predictions about whether Vick will be back in the NFL after his jail sentence, and to what capacity will he be back. I’ve heard everything from “He’ll never play another down in the NFL again” to “He’ll play in the CFL” to “He’ll be a third wide receiver or a special teams player”. All three of those notions are false. False as can be.

Make no mistake about it; Michael Vick will play quarterback in the NFL as soon as he’s served his time for both the law, and the league. It is dumb to think that he will be a third team wide out or a special teams gunner. Though Vick may not have the speed and agility he once had, and given the fact that he will be around 30 when he plays again, his skills will be somewhat diminished. However, you can’t forget the fact that Vick has a cannon of an arm. The strength of his arm and the ability to launch it 60 yards with the flick of a wrist is better than 95% of the quarterbacks in this league. Just because he’s having legal troubles doesn’t mean we forget about his talent. There is a reason this guy was drafted first overall and there is a reason he was the face of the league; his talent. Say he comes back with less arm strength. It will still be better than the vast majority of starters. Vick is also very accurate when he has spent time studying defenses. There is no question that the number of offensive systems that Vick has gone through, and his lack of Peyton Manning-like studying habits, have lead to him throwing the interceptions he has. But you’ve seen plenty of glimpses of him splitting defenders with throws traveling fast as hell. Speaking of fast, I’m not even going to mention his speed, even two years from now.

I can’t remember who said it, but the comment was that in two years, there will only be a team or two looking for a quarterback. Really? Are you being serious? So you’re telling me that the Jets are secure two years from now at QB? What about the Packers? Is Favre still going to be playing at age 67 or do you really think that Aaron Rodgers is the second coming of Brady? Don’t kid yourself. What about the Giants and Eli? He’s already on a tight leash with the fans. The Jaguars considered signing Daunte Culpepper on one knee and still can’t determine if Leftwich or Gerrard is their starter so go figure about that squad. Then you got the Dolphins with an old Trent Green. Don’t forget that the Dolphins are the same organization that signed Marcus Vick when nobody else would. Of course I have to mention the Raiders just because it’s the Raiders. What if JaMarcus Russell is a complete bust and Vick is available? Al Davis would jump on that faster than Marcus Vick would step on someone’s unprotected knee. Tavaris Jackson in Minnesota over Vick in two years? Please. And lastly, the Washington Redskins. What if Campbell doesn’t work out? Do you think Danny Dan Snyder wouldn’t roll the dice on Vick, who is immensely popular in Virginia regardless of what he does?

So I don’t want to hear about how there won’t be teams interested in Vick. He will play again, maybe not at the all pro level, but definitely as a good, solid quarterback.