Vicktimized?

We all know who Michael Vick is.

Everybody has their own opinion as to what a worthless and cruel human being he is. There are many voices out there who damn Vick for all the things he’s done.

In the last few days, there was a “report” that Vick was playing organized football in prison. Shortly thereafter (the next day), there was another “report” claiming that he was in fact doing no such thing.

The question isn’t whether he’s playing football in prison or not…

The real question : Who the hell cares? Why are we reporting on it?

It’s been nearly a year since the entire ordeal with Vick began. For some reason, the media believes that it is still absolutely necessary to report every little thing that Vick does, even while he is jailed.

The same report claims that Vick is currently washing pots and pans in prison to earn twelve cents an hour. TWELVE cents.

Regardless of where Vick is seen in the social spotlight, think about this for a second…

He went from being the 2nd highest paid athlete in all of the NFL to working 9 hours to make one dollar.

Put yourself in that position. How would it feel to be publicly humiliated, hated and stripped of all your resources. Vick was the target for every media outlet in the country. If you wanted to get a good dose of animosity, you could have flipped on the TV to any channel and watched someone bash Vick.

Dog Killer. Inhumane heartless animal. Ruthless beast.

Sure, but also a human being. Just like you and me.

I understand what he did was wrong and in no way condone fighting dogs or would I do it myself, but how do we as a society allow someone to fall so far from grace?

Michael Vick resurrected the city of Atlanta. It was one of the most poverty-stricken and roughest areas to live. Vick entered the city and brought life to the faces of every individual that roamed the streets. He brought meaning to the lives of youngsters looking to play sports. He gave money to the poor and served as one of the greatest athletes we have ever been alive to witness.

And now, even once he’s been jailed, even after a public apology and several attempts to try and repair his broken name, he still cannot escape the constant surveillance and scrutiny.

Leave the man alone, allow him to pay his debt to society. Let him escape the spotlight while he is in the worst living situation he could possibly be in. A horror that many of us cannot even imagine.

I was once a big fan of his and continue to support him to this day. It isn’t right to fight dogs, but many of the things that go in on this country aren’t either.

There is some hypocrisy in the following :

I can take a double-barreled shotgun, travel into the woods and blast a buck square between the eyes. Not only will I receive no penalty, I could mount it on my wall and display it for the world to see. In fact, if it’s large enough, I may even be eligible for a reward of some sort.

In America, there are 36 million chickens killed every single day. For every four chicken wings that are eaten, a chicken was killed.

Chicken. Deer. Dog. Buck. Cat. Dolphin. Goat. Pig.

They are all animals and while I understand dogs are a domestic icon in America, why is the penalty SO MUCH greater for harming this animal when there are so many other animals slaughtered so casually.

In this case, it really does seem like the life of a dog is more valuable than the life of a human.

He has lost so much and may not ever be able to get his life back on track. The scrutiny will be too much. The media and the rabid animal-protesters will tip the scale too much for the NFL to allow Vick back in. It would hurt their image too much.

Players that have been caught with many illegal guns (Tank Johnson), been on trial for murder (Ray Lewis) or abused substances have taken minor suspensions and been allowed back. For some reason, it doesn't look like that's going to happen here.

Hopefully I am wrong.

Hopefully someone somewhere will realize that Vick is a person just like everyone else and allow him to re-join the league if he really has shown signs of maturity. It is the only thing he has ever done in his entire life. He knows nothing else.

I sure hope that Arthur Blank is one of those people and allows the man that turned his franchise completely around a chance to redeem himself.



Let Vick Live.

The Final Game : A Champion will be Crowned

Tonight is the night.

Memphis vs. Kansas for the rights to call themselves the best college basketball team in the country.

My prediction : Memphis by a little less than 10.

Memphis is without question the best team in the nation. They lost one game all year and that game was a tough one to win. They were playing their historic rival, Tennessee in a 1 vs. 2 matchup that everybody was so eagerly anticipating. They were undefeated at that point and the pressure was simply too much to handle.

Now though, it is because of that loss that they will be the champions. They have felt what it is like to lose and will not let themselves feel that again.

Their road to the tonight’s game was by far the toughest road of all the one seeds. They had to face Texas, Michigan State, Mississippi State and UCLA in order to make it here and beat them all convincingly.

But more importantly than all of that, they have this man :



Derrick Rose has apparently been battling stomach illness since his last game against UCLA. I think that that was all a ploy for him to not have to speak to the media. He is in the best shape of his life and has been showing it the past few weeks. Rose will shine in his final game as a college athlete and will show the world why he is the single premier NBA prospect.

Kansas, however, is not going to let the Tigers run them over. They have one of the most complete teams I’ve ever seen play and that is no joke. Led by team veteran Brandon Rush, the Jayhawks can play with the best of them and they proved that in their slaughter of UNC on Saturday night. North Carolina was the hands down favorite in this tournament and were definitely that going into their game with Kansas.

The favorite doesn’t always win.

Mario Chalmers, Darrel Arthur and Cole Aldrich are also names to look out for tonight as you watch the game unfold.

Every sports fan will be huddled around their TV screens tonight along with millions of others who have no interest in sports. It’s March Madness’ culmination. All of the hype and all of the excitement all comes down to this one game.

Tip-off is coming and I’m going to be right there until the final minute.

Highlight of the Week

In light of the ridiculously exciting Final Four matchups coming up on Saturday, I have decided to make this weeks Highlight of the Week all about the teams involved.

Memphis and UCLA will meet at 6pm Saturday night and Kansas and North Carolina will play immediately after.

In those games you will see some of the biggest superstars in all of college basketball.

Nobody in the country is as big as North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough or Memphis’ Derrick Rose. Their greatness is enough for me to put together a two-clip post.

Hansbrough, also known as “Crazy T” for his intimidating gaze and relentless aggression on the court is a front-runner for player of the year. He has taken North Carolina under his wing and made himself the poster boy for the team. They play with his demeanor.

This clip shows exactly why they call him what they call him, who in their right mind would even attempt to do this?



Derrick Rose is my favorite player in College Basketball right now. As a die-hard Miami Heat fan, I have decided that this is the man I want wearing their uniform next season. He’s so big and strong for a point guard that it makes it almost impossible for someone to match-up with him. Regardless of where he is on the court, it is imperative that the other team make sure they account for him. He is the reason that I believe the Memphis Tigers will ultimately be the winners of the tournament.

That clip exemplifies the toughness that Rose brings to the table. He dunks it with unbelievable athleticism, steals it right after and does it again, single-handedly making the arena he is playing in explode. Look for him to be doing that for years to come on a much greater stage.



Hopefully these two youngsters get to put all their hard-work on the line for a chance to win the national championship on Monday night.