Vick pleads guilty and lies yet again

Atlanta Falcons quarterback, Michael Vick, in a press conference today has apologized for his immature acts saying, "I need to grow up." Well that is certainly true Michael, but please do not refer to your actions as immature. Cruel and criminal is certainly the better description of what you have done. "Through this entire situation, I never pointed a finger at anyone else," Vick adds. Like hell Michael!!! You pointed your finger at your three other colleagues and denied any knowledge of the operation going on at your Virginia home. "I accept the responsibility for what I did." Only after 3 witnesses were willing to testify against you. Only after you lied to your G.M., your owner and the commissioner of the NFL. Yet you still deny to placing bets. Rich McKay, the Falcons G.M. stated that Michael is suspended indefinitely and will not receive his 6 million dollar salary cap. Vick has also received a letter from the Falcon team this morning demanding his 22 million sign on bonus. McKay stated, "We don't feel we're in a box or a bad situation. Arthur Blank, the Falcon's owner stated they were "profoundly disappointed and saddened," yet refused to say if Michael was permanently off the team. He said that the team needed to address two questions; "How did this happen and what can we do to avoid this in the future." He also stated that Vick needed to address these two questions as well. "Only he knows why he did what he did," Blank said. Blank went on to say that the Falcon organization is working with the A.S.P.C.A and the Humane Society to see if there are ways the Falcon's can support their efforts. Vick was described as emotionless at today's hearing. Even after all the yes sir and no sir pandering, the judge reminded him, "Your really taking your chances here." Let's hope the judge doesn't have second thoughts. Vick faces sentencing on December 10th. Vick is still expected to maintain financial responsibility of the 50 dogs seized from his Virginia home. Although behavior tests have yet to be completed, it has been reported that as many as 49 of these dogs will be euthanized. Vick's Press Conference Falcon's owner discusses Vick Falcon G.M. discusses Vick: Discussion on what happen's next.

Startling commentary on Vick's future in the NFL

Get ready to be outraged, yes really outraged. In the debate over Vick's future with the NFL, an unamed General Manager has made the following comment. Unamed, supposedly, because the NFL has asked their managers not to comment on this case. Unamed, more likely, because of the nature of the comments made. Columnist Mike Freeman writes, "Vick's reputation is forever tainted but if you think Vick will never wear an NFL uniform again please read carefully the following words from an NFL general manager. They will end up being prophetic." "If he goes to prison, time will pass," said the general manager, who spoke before news of a potential Vick plea agreement and asked not to be identified, claiming the NFL has asked current team officials not to publicly comment on the Vick case. "Months or years will pass, if he does go to jail. If he went to jail, and then left prison down the road, he'd still be relatively young, and there'd be a line of 15 to 20 teams waiting to sign him. Trust me on that. Teams are going to say, 'F--- PETA. F--- the bad pub. This guy is one of the most talented players of the last 10 years. I'll take my chances." "Teams may say one thing publicly. But if he gets out of jail, we'll all be looking at Vick hard. We're all whores in football. You know the saying. We'd sign an ax murderer if he has ability. He'll be back. He won't be back in Atlanta probably but he'll be back in professional football. You can count on it." Columnist Mike Freeman goes on to state, "Yes, that's a football word: 'ho." "There is no gender connotation to this word; it is not meant to be derogatory toward women." Freeman adds. "It is used by the general manager in this simple context: teams will do anything -- anything -- for talent. To win." Maybe someone needs to tell this to Don Imus! I would like to remind Freeman that the words ho and whore most certainly do have a negative connotation. Look up whore in a thesaurus and what do you find. Words like indecency, lechery, debauchment,Jezebel and harlot to name a few. Ho and bitch are used by gangs and rappers to refer to women in general. Do you think that because this manager used this word to describe his own organization's Machiavellian attempts to sign talent makes it's use any more acceptible? Freeman then goes on to say,"Remember, this is a league that has employed murder suspects, players that have killed people while driving drunk, chronic women beaters, gun runners, drug dealers, former gang members, and all kinds of creeps and cretins, swine and smut-like -- all in the name of talent." Which makes this manager's choice of words even more suspect. Is talent and athletic prowess really so hard to come by, that we must dredge the bottom of the barrel in an attempt to make money? Should we ignore crime to have a winning year? Is using the word ho to describe NFL's desire to win at any cost, a sign that the NFL is pandering to and or promoting a culture of violence, drugs and gangs? Food for thought!

New use for Vick merchandise

ATLANTA — When the bright red jerseys with the bold No. 7 started arriving in the mail, staffers at the Atlanta Humane Society were a bit surprised. Today, however, about a dozen Atlanta Falcons football jerseys bearing the name and number of quarterback Michael Vick have been put to good use - as animal bedding or, even more likely, rags to scrub up the mess that dogs leave behind. "Kind of appropriate," said Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States, of the jerseys that have been mailed to the shelter since Vick was indicted last month on federal dogfighting charges . The rest of the story here. In the meantime, Vick may be so lucky as to get a year or less for his crime, an outrage if you ask me. Even more of an outrage is the NFL still debating his status...Crickey!!!! Great post by Toni.

NFL star linked to international dog fight industry

By Paul Newberry, The Associated Press Through all attempts to cover his tracks — secretive lingo, coded Internet chatter, a move from Pennsylvania to Texas — Thomas Weigner was intently pursued by a vigilant group of animal-loving sleuths. For years, they suspected him of being a bigwig in dogfighting's shady underworld, a breeder and trainer of fearsome canines who willingly would rip each other apart for the amusement of their bloodthirsty masters. But it was hard to get close to Weigner. He made sure his inner circle was limited to family and trusted friends, though he seemed to live a normal life at a well-kept brick home and 24-acre spread in rural east Texas. Then, in the middle of a warm August night, everything came crashing down. No, it wasn't a group of warrant-wielding lawmen who invaded Weigner's sanctuary, looking to find the telltale signs of animal abuse and slap the cuffs on him. These were masked, fatigue-wearing gunmen who burst into the home. They tied everyone up and began rummaging through every nook and cranny, desperate to find the $100,000 in cash that Weigner supposedly collected after one of his top dogs whipped another grand champion. By the time the invaders fled back into the night, Weigner was crumpled on the ground, bleeding to death from a gunshot just above his right knee. Soon, the property was crawling with guys wearing badges. They were revolted at what they found when the sun came up. And they were shocked at just how far the case would lead. "It was very much an eye opener," said Greg Arthur, the sheriff in Liberty County, "as far as the dog fight industry and how big it actually is." Murder has a way of making people talk. When the Liberty County sheriff's office began snooping for leads, they found a road that led in all directions. Pittsburgh. Atlanta. Los Angeles. Dayton, Ohio. Even Ecuador. And they kept hearing one name in particular: Michael Vick. "Ohhhh, yes," said Liberty County sheriff's Capt. Chip Fairchild. "When we were in Dayton, they mentioned it there. In Atlanta and Pittsburgh, too. They all knew about Michael Vick being into it and sinking big dollars into it. We kept hearing that over and over. That wasn't a trail we needed to go down, because there was no indication that he had ever been here or knew our guy (Weigner). But our guy certainly knew people who knew Michael Vick." 'Guard dogs or fighting dogs' For many people, dogfighting wasn't on the radar until Vick, star quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons, got swept up in it. In April, when investigators raided a Vick-owned home in Surry County, Va., as part of a drug investigation involving a cousin of his, they stumbled upon a clandestine kennel out back. Sixty-six dogs, mostly pit bulls, were seized, along with evidence of an organized fighting operation: treadmills rigged up for training; "break sticks" that are used to pry apart the powerful jaws of fighting animals; blood-soaked carpeting that might have been used in a fighting pit; veterinary medicines for treating wounds; and "rape stands," hideous contraptions used to restrain female pit bulls during the breeding process. Whole story here. Blog Notes I am a southerner. In the 33 years I lived in the south, one didn't hear much about the dog fighting industry. I am not saying that it didn't exist, merely that I rarely heard about it. What you did here about daily was cock fighting Now granted, South Carolina is not rural Mississippi. But I was never aware of the dog fighting industry until I moved to Chicago, where it is deeply rooted in the gang culture here. Two years ago, August on a Saturday,I had my first up close and personal encounter with a bait dog. A bartender from the Top Hat called me to tell me about a man trying to give away a pitt bull puppy. She told me she wanted to take the dog, but something seemed terribly wrong and asked if I would come down and take a look at the animal. I pretended to be interested in taking the dog. Said gentleman, an african american man in his 50's, lead me to his truck. The pitt was in a crate in the back. The gentleman, will be referred to as man going forward, told me he had been with his cousin in Missisippi and had brought the dog back to Chicago. The dog was covered in motor oil, his nails were so long that his feet were splayed, his teeth were clearly not the teeth of a six month pup rather a six year old dog, his ears were rudely and roughly cropped and the dog had scars and sores. The crate was covered in motor oil and feces as was the pot containing water for the dog. I told the man that the dog needed immediate vet attention. He asked for a vet nearby and I directed him. He came back 20 minutes later saying the vet had given the dog a clean bill of health. Knowing that there was no way this man could have made the trip and had the dog examined in that space of time, I told the man I would take the dog. I wrapped the dog in towels and transported him to Broadway Animal Hospital for treatment. The dog would open his mouth, as if in extreme pain, every time he was lifted. Amazingly enough, the dog did not have any complications. Dr. Kaz innoculated the dog, cleaned him and treated his sores. Jerry/Sarge, a patron of the Top Hat who is in the military, took the dog in. The dog was named Grunt. The dog now lives in Wisconsin on a farm. As of the last report, he is very happy and healthy.