BY ADAM WILSON
Thanks to Digressions in Abundance
Last night I was watching Michael Vick coverage because I am very interested in what 7,000 different & random people think about it. So it was nice to hear some newspaper writer from Atlanta, who by her own admission doesn't like football and doesn't follow the Falcons or Vick, tell me her deepest feelings about the whole situation. It was good to hear her opinion of the impact Vick's (who, I repeat, she doesn't pay attention to) legal troubles are having on her city.
It was nice to hear Chris Mortensen report 55 times about what is happening with the case RIGHT NOW. It was nice to see Suze Kolber. (no seriously, I like her. Like Joe Namath said.) It was nice to see the game crew interview the "ESPN legal analyst" for 3 segments...asking him the same questions over and over again. By the way...do you think Roger Cossack was mad he didn't get the face time? I bet he was. Isn't he supposed to be ESPN's resident legal expert? I can only assume his head exploded after being on every single ESPN show for the previous 10 hours. Otherwise, they would have flown him in, right?
It was nice to see video of Vick apologizing to everyone in the world for what he did. It was especially nice to see it multiple times. Although it seemed to me that he was more sorry that he got caught. He wasn't so apologetic when he lied to the NFL, the Falcons, and the Police and plead not guilty. But NOW he is sorry. Of course he is. He is trying to avoid jail time. Now is the exactly perfect time to "be sorry".
It was nice to hear that now it is just time to move and and the rehabilitation of Michael Vick can begin. Ummm...why? Hasn't the bad stuff just started for him? He still has to go through sentencing. oh yeah...AND PRISON. HE HAS TO GO TO PRISON FOR AT LEAST 1 YEAR!!!! How can it be time for everyone to move on...it literally JUST HAPPENED. LESS THAN 24 HOURS AGO!!!!
But here's the thing that bothered me about last night. I'm sitting there trying to enjoy some Michael Vick analysis, minding my own business. And every once in a while they would start talking about the football game that was being played on the field in front of them! Ridiculous! I didn't turn on Monday Night Football to watch and hear about football!! I turned on Monday Night Football to watch and hear about Michael Vick.
All I have to say is that if I turn on football again this week and they are talking about the game instead of Michael Vick...I might kick my dog.
(just kidding...I'm not going to kick my dog. Put down the phone...leave PETA out of this)
Showing posts with label Michael Vick. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michael Vick. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
The three little commissioners and the big bad controversy
The month of July is usually reserved for meaningless trade deadline talk in baseball and the arrival of training camp in football. This year, that is not the case – there is enough action in each of the three major sports to keep us busy well into each sport's respective season. There is a wide of array of controversies that range from dog fighting, gambling and a commissioner that until recently has not been able to simply make up his mind. It seems that daily there is another black eye besmirching sports that makes us wonder why we are even sports fans to begin with. The three commissioners in question are Roger Goodell, David Stern and Bud Selig, and they all have unique situations to deal with. The three respective "leaders" in each sport also have their own ways of dealing with and doling out the proper judgment.
The Barry Bonds home run train is currently back home in San Francisco, and so is Bud Selig. The major question surrounding the chase for the all-time home run record has been whether the commissioner would even be in attendance when Barry Bonds broke Henry Aaron's record of 755 homers. The indecisive Selig may still get a reprieve from having to photo-op with Bonds if the latter is able to finish the chase while the commissioner is in Cooperstown for the Hall of Fame festivities this weekend. If that does not happen and the always nervous looking Selig is forced to face his maker and congratulate the new home run king, then that will make for interesting television at the very least. This saga is far from over; but, it is just another black eye on a commissioner that has let baseball down again and again.
While Bud Selig merely faces a P.R. nightmare, David Stern, the commissioner of the NBA, has to take on a problem that had bedeviled sports for as long as I can remember. Gambling, and its inevitable trappings. When the news came out that referee Tim Donaghy had allegedly helped fix games in an attempt to clear gambling debts with the mafia. The news did not surprise many - there has always been a cloud of suspicion over the NBA because of television ratings, star treatment and highly questionable calls by past referees that have raised an eyebrow or two. Is there anything that David Stern can do? The answer will satisfy few. There is really very little he can do; Stern cannot go back in time and correct the situation before, say, Game Three of the Western Conference semi-finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the Phoenix Suns. It is unlikely we will ever know the extent to which Tim Donaghy fixed or manipulated games. The NBA will have to earn their already shaky trust back one game at a time.
The problem that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has is to determine whether he has the power to suspend a player that has no criminal record, and have it stick without a fight. Although it may the easiest of the three controversies, because dog fighting and the cruel acts of torture that Vick and co-defendants are accused of is completely indefensible. It will be easier to force a season-long suspension on Vick with little public outcry. Of course, it doesn't hurt that the players union will not stand in the commissioner's way, and will likely go hand in hand with the league down the road to justice.
Sports used to be a way out of our daily grind. A chance to forget our problems and take two or three hours with our friends and family to just not worry about anything other than making sure our team won. It is obvious that the current major-sport commissioners have very different problems and very different ways of dealing them. I think Roger Goodell's brick house will stand the test of time – he has shown the fortitude to do what is right; to make sure that his game is as clean as he can keep it. David Stern's stick house might be about to get blown over by a controversy that few can survive. The issue of gambling is the most deadly in sports, and can damage a fan's trust in that sport forever. Not to be forgotten, Bud Selig's house of straw is already lying in a heap on the ground. This players union patsy has never shown the courage to do what is best for the game of baseball. There is a reason that the NFL is king in the sports world.
The Barry Bonds home run train is currently back home in San Francisco, and so is Bud Selig. The major question surrounding the chase for the all-time home run record has been whether the commissioner would even be in attendance when Barry Bonds broke Henry Aaron's record of 755 homers. The indecisive Selig may still get a reprieve from having to photo-op with Bonds if the latter is able to finish the chase while the commissioner is in Cooperstown for the Hall of Fame festivities this weekend. If that does not happen and the always nervous looking Selig is forced to face his maker and congratulate the new home run king, then that will make for interesting television at the very least. This saga is far from over; but, it is just another black eye on a commissioner that has let baseball down again and again.
While Bud Selig merely faces a P.R. nightmare, David Stern, the commissioner of the NBA, has to take on a problem that had bedeviled sports for as long as I can remember. Gambling, and its inevitable trappings. When the news came out that referee Tim Donaghy had allegedly helped fix games in an attempt to clear gambling debts with the mafia. The news did not surprise many - there has always been a cloud of suspicion over the NBA because of television ratings, star treatment and highly questionable calls by past referees that have raised an eyebrow or two. Is there anything that David Stern can do? The answer will satisfy few. There is really very little he can do; Stern cannot go back in time and correct the situation before, say, Game Three of the Western Conference semi-finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the Phoenix Suns. It is unlikely we will ever know the extent to which Tim Donaghy fixed or manipulated games. The NBA will have to earn their already shaky trust back one game at a time.
The problem that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has is to determine whether he has the power to suspend a player that has no criminal record, and have it stick without a fight. Although it may the easiest of the three controversies, because dog fighting and the cruel acts of torture that Vick and co-defendants are accused of is completely indefensible. It will be easier to force a season-long suspension on Vick with little public outcry. Of course, it doesn't hurt that the players union will not stand in the commissioner's way, and will likely go hand in hand with the league down the road to justice.
Sports used to be a way out of our daily grind. A chance to forget our problems and take two or three hours with our friends and family to just not worry about anything other than making sure our team won. It is obvious that the current major-sport commissioners have very different problems and very different ways of dealing them. I think Roger Goodell's brick house will stand the test of time – he has shown the fortitude to do what is right; to make sure that his game is as clean as he can keep it. David Stern's stick house might be about to get blown over by a controversy that few can survive. The issue of gambling is the most deadly in sports, and can damage a fan's trust in that sport forever. Not to be forgotten, Bud Selig's house of straw is already lying in a heap on the ground. This players union patsy has never shown the courage to do what is best for the game of baseball. There is a reason that the NFL is king in the sports world.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Should Mike Vick be suspended?
Absolutely... Positively... NO!!!! Have we all forgotten that an individual is innocent until proven guilty? Despite the water bottle incident, Mike Vick has had no real transgressions off the field that would rival anything near the likes of a Pacman Jones, a Chris Henry or a Tank Johnson. If Roger Goodell wants to suspend the quarterback, then the players union must step up and show a backbone that has been previously missing.
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