Longest Yard

[crippled_avenger]

It's only the preseason, but a momentous day for Falcons

By PAUL NEWBERRY, AP Sports Writer
August 26, 2007

ATLANTA (AP) -- This is one of those landmark days, a dividing line that will forever define the history of the Atlanta Falcons.

Never mind that it's only the preseason.


On Monday morning, Michael Vick will walk into a federal courtroom in Richmond, Va., to plead guilty to gruesome dogfighting charges, which will almost certainly end his Falcons career and could prevent him from playing again in the NFL.

Shortly afterward, the team that built its entire persona around Vick is expected to lay out its plans for moving on without him. Then, to cap the day off, Atlanta fans will get their first look at the sobering reality of having No. 13 (Joey Harrington) at quarterback instead of No. 7.

How many will show up Monday night to cheer for their diminished team against the Cincinnati Bengals? How many will stay home in disgust? How many protesters will be picketing outside the Georgia Dome? How many Vick jerseys will be sprinkled among the crowd as a painful reminder of what once was and what might have been?

"We just want people to come out and support us and give us an opportunity to show them what we have," Falcons running back Warrick Dunn said. "To me, if they are true Falcons fans, they are going to support us, no matter what happened off the field. Now everyone is concentrating on the guys who are here and getting better. Hopefully the fans are excited and will support the guys who will be playing."

But it's impossible to put Vick in the rearview mirror so quickly.

He was a one-of-a-kind player, a strong-armed quarterback doubling as Barry Sanders, a cultural phenomenon who led the Falcons to a historic playoff win at Lambeau Field and took them to the cusp of the Super Bowl.

Vick wore the best-selling jersey in team history. Vick had a line of shoes bearing his name. Vick was largely the reason for 51 straight sellouts in a city that used to be known for empty seats.

Now, he's gone.

"We're keeping the focus," receiver Joe Horn insisted. "We're professionals. We have a job to do for our families, first of all, and for the organization. We owe it to our families, ourselves and to this owner to win football games -- and that's what we'll do."

The details of the plea agreement came out on Friday, so at least the Falcons (1-1) won't be sitting around on the day of their first home preseason game, pondering the admitted crimes of their one-time teammate.

They already know he sponsored a dogfighting operation that crossed state lines. They already know he took part in the execution of underperforming dogs. They already know he put up the money for friends to gamble on the deadly brawls.

"There will be some reports and people will talk about it, but I think everyone here is focused on football," Dunn said. "We can't control anything that happens that's not here."

The team can control whether it goes after some $22 million in bonus money that Vick received as part of the $130 million contract he signed late in the 2004 season, the deal that was supposed to make him "a Falcon for life," in the words of team owner Arthur Blank.

As soon as Vick formally enters his plea, look for Blank and general manager Rich McKay to reveal Atlanta's next move. It is expected to go something like this: Vick will never play again for the Falcons, but he won't be cut immediately for purely financial reasons.

Vick must remain on the roster while the team goes through the process of trying to recoup the bonus money. If the Falcons are successful on that front, it will lessen their future salary cap obligations. Anything left on the books can be spread out over the next two seasons if Atlanta waits until after the season to officially give Vick a pink slip.

On the field, Harrington will get an indication of how he'll be received by the fans of Atlanta. There could be boos from Vick's die-hard supporters. There could be cheers from those who are glad Vick's gone.

Harrington isn't concerned about the crowd reaction or trying to fill Vick's shoes. He's trying to bounce back from flops in two cities and show that he's capable of being a successful NFL quarterback.

It's still a work in progress. Through the first two preseason games, he's 10-of-16 for 119 yards, with no touchdowns and one interception.

"I'm not worried about any comparisons," Harrington said. "I've said that from the beginning. I'm not trying to be someone else. I'm trying to be the best that I can be for this team."

He may get a chance to shine against the Bengals (0-2), whose defense has struggled in the preseason after ranking last against the pass a year ago. Last week, New Orleans scored two touchdowns and a field goal on its first three possessions against the starting defense.

Meanwhile, Cincinnati's first-team offense has yet to score a touchdown in two exhibition games, though that's not much of a concern given the conservative nature of the play-calling. The Bengals are clearly saving their best shots for the regular season.

"Preseason is very boring for me," moaned receiver Chad Johnson, who even passed on a chance to fire some verbal shots at the Falcons' outspoken cornerback, DeAngelo Hall.

Johnson did weigh in on Vick's predicament, predicting the quarterback will someday return to the NFL, even if it's not with the Falcons.

"Come on. We know he'll be back playing," Johnson said. "He's one of the greatest athletes to play the game. Ever. He'll be back."

A second chance that should -- and will -- be a long time coming
A second chance that should -- and will -- be a long time coming

By JIM LITKE, AP Sports Columnist
August 27, 2007

Would the public be clamoring just as loudly for Michael Vick's head if he'd come clean after being caught with a suitcase full of illegal steroids? Or cocaine? Or beating up a woman?

Just asking.

Because in all those cases, depending on aggravating circumstances and a number of other factors, the fine and jail time Vick would face after pleading guilty -- in his case, to a federal dogfighting conspiracy charge -- could be roughly the same. In terms of what else Vick stands to lose, it isn't even close.

The Falcons are considering whether to go after $22 million of Vick's signing bonus, and as much as $71 million total, from the 10-year, $130 million contract he signed in 2004. A marketing firm recently estimated Vick will sacrifice as much as $50 million in endorsements over the next decade, which doesn't seem inflated considering how quickly Nike terminated his shoe deal, Reebok quit selling his No. 7 jersey and Upper Deck and Donruss pulled his likeness from trading-card sets. And even after serving his time, he may be barred from ever playing in the NFL again.

Vick won't formally enter his plea before U.S. District Court Judge Henry E. Hudson until Monday, but commissioner Roger Goodell moved Friday to suspend him indefinitely without pay. In a statement, Goodell made clear that Vick's involvement in illegal gambling could trigger a lifetime ban under the league's personal conduct policy.

At this point, it's worth noting that players who have committed crimes every bit as heinous have long since returned to the NFL. Jamal Lewis plead guilty to federal conspiracy charges in 2004 for trying to set up a drug deal. He spent the 2005 offseason serving time, was suspended by Goodell's predecessor, Paul Tagliabue for Baltimore's first two games the following season and begins this one on the Cleveland Browns' roster.

Ray Lewis, Jamal's former teammate but no relation, plead guilty to obstruction of justice in a murder investigation. St. Louis' Leonard Little is still rushing passers despite pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter after killing a woman while driving drunk in 1998, then getting stopped for drunk driving again just three years ago. And despite a number of arrests and even convictions, not even one NFL player charged with domestic violence has ever been suspended.

Last week, I wrote that Goodell should give Vick another chance to play, provided he accepts full responsibility for his actions and serves his time. That sentiment hasn't changed. It's hard to imagine Goodell being confronted with a decision until the 2009 season, at the earliest, which should give Vick time enough to demonstrate he's worthy of another opportunity. The way things stand, he might need every day.

So keep in mind that we're still much closer to the beginning of this saga than the end. Vick's appearance in federal court will trigger another round of headlines, but more than news developments have been driving this story since the indictments surfaced in April. It touches celebrity, race, cruelty to animals, the aforementioned gambling and a few other topics a 24/7 news cycle didn't need any help turning into hype.

Help came, anyway, from a well-organized, well-funded animal rights lobby that mobilized protests, demanding zero tolerance for Vick from the NFL and threatening to boycott any company that continues to sponsor him.

But let's be clear: Vick deserves everything that happens to him from here on out. In his plea agreement, Vick admits he helped kill dogs. No matter how carefully his attorneys frame his involvement -- "collective efforts" with his co-defendants is the phrase they used -- it's brutality, plain and simple, erasing any distinctions of race and culture that some of Vick's defenders have tried to throw up.

In what has proved to be only the latest bizarre twist, Vick's father said as much the other day. In one of several interviews Michael Boddie gave newspaper reporters, the man who was absent for most of his son's life yet plans to write a tell-all book, says very matter-of-factly of Vick's involvement in dogfighting circles, "I wish people would stop sugarcoating it. This is Mike's thing."

Like everything else about this case, you just wish Boddie would disappear. Instead, he's going to try to turn a profit on this sad, sorry chapter of his son's troubled life, just like the bloggers, the T-shirt, hat and chew-toy vendors on the Internet using Vicks's name or his likeness to make a few bucks.

It's only coincidence, of course, that just a few hours after Vick walks out of Hudson's courtroom, the Falcons are scheduled to play their first exhibition home game at the same Georgia Dome the star quarterback helped sell out for years.

[ginger toxiqo 2 gafotas]

...sanašnje izdanje Larry King Live bilo je posvećeno sudsko-zatvorskoj bolećivosti spram poznatih prekršajnika (Hilton, Lohan, Richie...) a veliki deo je otpao i na Michaela Vicka, koji je dana priznao da je počinio "grešku", a koji bi samo tako kvalikvikovao za glavnu zvezdu, za položajnika "Može li biti gluplja/ gluplji?" topica...