Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Wednesday 07/18 A.M. Quickie:
Michael Vick Indictment (What: You Need More?)

Mike Vick Indicted: This is big. This is really big. Given the speculation being thrown around less than 24 hours after it came down (Suspended now! Suspended later! Suspended for the season! Suspended for life! Going to jail! Dropped by Nike!), it's the all-hands-on-deck sports scandal of the summer. (Indictment here, via Smoking Gun)

Let's glaze over Vick's presumptive innocence (or – cough! – guilt) and the truly despicable underlying crimes (even if he was indicted merely for "conspiracy" and not the crimes themselves) and jump right to the upshot:

Will he be suspended? (Let alone the other elephant: "Will he go to jail?"

Given Roger Goodell's new "Get Tough" policy, is there any doubt that Vick will be suspended? The question is: For how long? This has to be bigger than Jared Allen's 4-game suspension (with 2 games off for, uh, good behavior!)

Is it worse than Pac-Man Jones, who got a season-long ban? Consider that Jones had a much longer track record of problems. Also consider that Vick is one of the league's Top 5 most popular players. Does that make things better or worse for Vick? Throw in the fact that he told Goodell he had nothing to do with any of this. (Great scoop by Yahoo Sports' Jason Cole on the implications of this.)

Yikes. (If the Commish charges hard on the gambling angle of Vick's problems, Goodell could ban Vick for life.)

Even if he's not suspended for a full season, but "only" suspended for 4 games or 8 games, that's still either a quarter or half of the season. Not to mention the humiliation to the Falcons franchise. Would they dare cut him outright? Doubt it. (Bet they regret trading Matt Schaub now...)

Some might suggest that Vick deserves the career equivalent of what he and his partners allegedly -- yes, allegedly -- did to those dogs who didn't win: Electrocution, drowning, hanging, shooting.

The upcoming NFL season just got its headlining headline. Tracking...

(PFT is the top place to go for all of the ongoing details, and Fanhouse is posting strong on an angle-by-angle basis, as seen from the links above.)

UPDATE: As I see or hear about good Vick-related content, I'll try to update the post. For starters, Drew at KSK deploys his parodic skills and probably captures the Vick story better than any standard "analyst." Here's the link.

More: MJD with a parable.

More: Cold Hard Football Facts.

WSOP Main Event spoiler at the end of the column. Not that you can avoid it elsewhere. It's not like I'm ruining it for everyone.

Speaking of Pac-Man, he's angling for a new nickname: "Chutzpah Jones." (Greatest. Nickname. Ever.) His agent says that even though he's suspended for the season, he wants to participate in training camp and exhibition games. What part of "season-long" does he not get?

Dolphins release Daunte Culpepper: Who DIDN'T see this coming? I suspect he'll end up in Jacksonville ("my" Jags!), wrecking my man Byron Leftwich's mojo. Or what was left of it.

MLB Stud: Leo Nunez, the Royals reliever called up from AAA who made his first career start and kept the Red Sox at bay long enough to help KC beat Boston.

Bonds Watch: He can't break the record if he isn't in the lineup.

Meanwhile, I really enjoyed following yesterday's spirited discussion in the Comments section about the Bonds poll. I agree that Bonds' jerkiness (or suspicions of cheating) trumps his race when lining up reasons to dislike him. But there have been a lot of jerks (and cheaters) who have piled up records; hell, the entire Steroid Era of baseball is tainted – it's just easier to focus your frustration of that era on one guy rather than consider the infinite level of cheating that went on. It would be one thing to root against Bonds breaking the record if he was 50 or 100 homers away; to root against Bonds to break the record when his breaking the record is inevitable smacks of spitefulness more than anything else.

NBA: Yi won't play for the Bucks, period. I have a hard time begrudging Yi (or his handlers) their decision; the Bucks knew he didn't want to play in Milwaukee, yet they still took him. This represents arguably the biggest draft bungle of the decade. What can the Bucks get for Yi in a trade with a team in a market he'd be more willing to play in?

Stephon Marbury calls out Michael Jordan: You can dislike Stephon Marbury professionally (and love Michael Jordan) and still support Marbury's new-found populist streak with his inexpensive shoes – it's hard to beat Jordan at anything, but Marbury has him on this one.

Rovell on the Durant-Nike deal... and on the fate of Vick's new Nike shoe line.

College Football: I guess the NYT's Pete Thamel (best CFB reporter in the country) has been on vacation, but he's back with an analysis of the Big East's rise from patsy to powerhouse. That's today's Must-Read.

WSOP: Congrats to poker rookie Jerry Yang, the new WSOP champ.

-- D.S.

57 comments:

Jack Kidd said...

Does Vick's indictment make him more or less "Now"?

The heroin sheik said...

I hope Ron Mexico goes away for a long time. How can you do that to dogs. Fuck him and his magical herpe stick. He seriously deserves to be out of the NFL based on how Goodell has responded to other miscreants this offseason.

MLB Stud to Delmon Young who has hit in 8 straight at bats. Thats like two off the record I think.

Erik Huntoon said...

I really hope Vick spends some quality time in a federal prison. I know all the facts have not fully come out, but this is pretty obvious that he was involved.

As to Bonds.. I still don't want to see him break the record.. I wouldn't say it is spiteful for me to still hold out hope that he slips in the shower and destroys his knee for good .. or since that isn't going to happen, at least break the record on the road so the highlight reel footage for all of history can show how much he is 'beloved' by fans outside of San Fran..

jhawkjjm said...

I don't think Goodell will do anything until this goes to trial and plays out. If Vick ends up serving time, and since this is a felony I assume it would be years not months, I think Vick's done. Goodell will probably come down hard, but I don't think it will matter because (I hope) no team would even considering Vick afterwards.

Young has 8 straight hits? So doesn't Wiggenton for Tampa as well.

chitown italian said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
chitown italian said...

I was watching ESPN News yesterday about Vick's indictment. The TV reporter made the statement what should Vick do first....uh, get a lawyer.

Is Johnny Cochran still available? (You see where I'm going with this right?)

Personally, I think Vick turns on his posse ala Ray Lewis and does zero jail time. You gotta love being a celebrity/sports star.

The heroin sheik said...

I meant wigginton had 8 staight ab's and that young had hit in 8 straight games I am out of it. I really need to start sleeping.

CMFost said...

chitown - I think you are wrong, i think Vick's posse is lining up at the prosecutors office to get the best deal they can before Vick can sell them out. I think Vick is in trouble but since he is rich and famous somehow he will get away with it.

But this could be the best thing that has happened to the Falcons now maybe they can get a QB instead of a RB playing QB

CMFost said...

oh and Chi - Johnny Cochoran is dead.

bmajoras said...

MLB Stud: Ryan Garko - game tying pinch hit 2 run homer in the 9th off Jenks, GW walkoff single in the 11th

BD said...

I have serious doubts about the Big East's new found "power." I am guessing if Larry Coker hadn't driven the U into the cellar we might have a slightly different stroy emerging from Commisioner Tranghese.

Vick- I don't wnat to hear any comparison's to the Duke case. The NFL Players Union went to the League and asked for a stricter code of conduct. I hope Get Tough Goodell places him on ice for a while. Marcus and Michael can move to Puerto Rico and enjoy the cock fighting until they sign with the CFL.

Unknown said...

@ bmajoras:
I don't think you get to be a stud just for beating the White Sox bullpen this year. They suck.
I think it is more you're a dud if you don't score off them.

(and I'm a White Sox fan)

Dan Shanoff said...

Jack Kidd not only gets in the first overall comment, but comes up with what I'm already ready to declare as the Comment of the Day (and perhaps Comment of the Week and Month, if this Vick story assumes its spot as the No. 1 story of the month as we all presume it will). Well done, Jack.

EDurana said...

E-WHAAA? the MLB stud should be El Duque who blanked Los Padres, got a hit, stole a base, scored a run at the tender age of 60.

chitown italian said...

Either way, Vick is damaged goods whether his friends or him turn.

Yes I know Cochran's dead.

Mega said...

Considering that a few guys have been suspended by Goodell simply for being accused of a crime I think there would be an outcry if Vick wasn't suspended simply for being connected and indicted for this. However the big difference is that Vick hasn't been arrested before, at least I don't think so.

Bonds sucks. Spite that.

Chris said...

Why does Bonds being closer to the record mean we have to root for him? Just because we know it's going to happen doesn't mean we have to like it. That's like saying if you knew the Spurs were going to beat the Cavs, you should root for the Spurs.

futurelegendvinceyoung said...

@ Sheik

I love the young talent that Tampa Bay has right now. Young, Upton, Pena and Shields that is a quality young team that could contend in the next few years.

The heroin sheik said...

FLVY I hate that the Rays are going to trade Wiggy. It is so funny seeing him come up to bat and they play Getting Jiggy wid it only changing Jiggy to Wiggy. When we first got him he looked just like uncle fester with his shaved head. Hilarity ensued but he really is a versatile player. After John Rocker my all time favorite Ray I think.

Perks said...

great one Jack. I really hope the voters turn out huge for Mike Vick. Where's the website that got Sanjaya all those votes (and Howard Stern fans)?

cmfost has it dead-on. Someone was pissed at Mike for something, and that's how this leaked/blew up. You think someone is going to take all the heat for Mike?

Not. Damn. Likely.

This isn't The Wire. I can guarantee that one or two of the others already have other charges on them. That's not a generalization of or about anything other than dogfighters.

PatriotsNation said...

Evan Longoria will be a great player in the future as well for the Rays!

TBender said...

Re: Yi and the Crybaby Chinese

You want to play in the NBA? You enter the draft and get drafted. Get over it.

The Chinese government thinks they own their players. Now they're criticizing Yao for having a life.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4977616.html

The heroin sheik said...

As weird as it seems the Rays almost have too much talent in certain places and none in others. We have great outfielders and Longoria will be great at 3rd but we have Iwamura there now who is pretty decent and although Upton sucks dog balls at 2nd he can hit for contact against the best of them. We just need middle relief. We have strong young pitching and a decent closer but seem to lose every game in the 6th-8th innings without fail.

I wonder if we could make a deal with the city of ATL. We will take Vick off their hands as Gruden loves qb's and they can give us some relief pitching for taking him off their hands. That would be a fair trade if you ask me. Hell we can even through in the rights to Elijah Dukes.

Jason B. said...

Does anyone think Atlanta might show interest in Culpepper? I think they have to try. he is well over a year removed from his surgery and might be an upgrade over Harrington.

Hey, if Petrino thought he could work wonders with Vick, why not Culpepper?

verbal97 said...

"sucks dog balls"...have you been hanging out with Vick, heroin sheik?

verbal97 said...

"Why does Bonds being closer to the record mean we have to root for him? Just because we know it's going to happen doesn't mean we have to like it. That's like saying if you knew the Spurs were going to beat the Cavs, you should root for the Spurs."

come on chris, this is what dan shanoff is all about...Rooting for the definite champion. It probably stems from being rejected too much by girls in his high school.

Richard K. said...

I say we throw Vick into a pit with 10 of his pit bulls and we can all place bets on the fight.

- David Stern has to come down with an iron fist on this Yi thing. If he weasels his way out of playing for the Bucks, Stern should slap him with a lifetime NBA ban. The league cant allow a player to bypass the draft rules to get onto the team of his choice. Yi knew the process going in. If he doesn't like the team he ends up on, tough shit.

This has similarities to the Eli Manning fiasco, except in that instance, it was the Chargers breaking the story to get teams interested in trading.

The heroin sheik said...

I actually did meet Vick in passing when he was still at VT but I have no idea if he sucks dog balls. My fiance just read the Vick story and figures he must have syphilis and not the herpes as you have to be crazy to hurt a dog. I just don't get how you can be cruel to dogs, cats yes but dogs no. The worst part is if he goes to prison he is going to be the man. What a douche.

verbal97 said...

The Yi thing is like Lindros. The irony in the Lindros case was that the trade turned the Nordiques/Avalanche into eventual champions, while Lindros never won a Stanley Cup despite his giant reputation/ego entering the league.

verbal97 said...

Or maybe Vick just wants to star in his own remake of the Longest Yard.

Perks said...

I'm taking it that people have seen the idictment:

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0717072vick10.html

Unknown said...

VICK CANNOT BE SUSPENDED UNDER THE NEW POLICY

If anyone saw Sportscenter they would know that the players union agreed to the policy of Goodell making arbitrary suspensions for repeat offenders only. As Vick doesn't fall in to this category, he can't be suspended until he is found guilty or pleads no contest to a crime.

You can say that he SHOULD be suspended, but arguing over IF he will be suspended now is pointless because he can't be. It's against the agreement between Goodell and the union.

Unknown said...

MLB Dud: Jeremy Accardo for balking in the tying run in the bottom of the 9th last night.

chipp said...

Culpepper in Atlanta?!?!

Yeah, because the Culpepper-Harrington duo worked SO WELL in Miami.

ToddTheJackass said...

Guy, I think a suspension at this point isn't what Vick should be worrying about. The Conspiracy charges carry a max of six years in federal prison, right? Considering Vick doesn't have a serious criminal record, he'd still probably have to serve at least 18 months to two years if convicted (I'm guessing).

While I definitely am defense oriented, and will vehemently defend that someone is innocent until proven guilty, this seems pretty damning... If it were a local DA who was power hungry and would flat out lie (see Nifong, or most other DAs out there), then I'd be a lot more dismissive. But due to the costs of prosecuting in Federal Court, Federal prosecutors tend to be more thorough in creating a case to indict. That he's getting indicted in Federal Court on conspiracy charges will be pretty tough to shake assuming the evidence is fairly reliable.

And on a gut-level reaction, even worse than the dogfighting itself, the horrific details of the executions of some of the dogs was incredibly disturbing if true... I don't even like dogs, but I was blown away by that...

futurelegendvinceyoung said...

Sheik there is no way if Vick goes to prison that he will be the man. You some guy would love to make him his bitch and say Ron Mexico tossed his salad on the next HBO jail special.

thistlewarrior said...

Just wanted to remind everyone that Michael Vick is not, I repeat, IS NOT a Bengal. (Shocking, I know.)

Unknown said...

As a Syracuse fan, I was upset when Vick went to VT since he wanted to be the first Michael Vick and not the next Donovan McNabb. Now I am glad he didn't go to the school - well maybe since Syracuse football has been in a downward spiral since.

Unknown said...

Tour Update

After 3 brutal climbing stages in the Alps, it was to be expected that there would be a breakaway that would stay ahead of the main field until the finish of the mainly flat stage.

11 guys rode away getting over a 10 minute lead at one point. All the 11 riders were way behind so the top contenders were not worried. Five of them broke away from the other six at the end. Two Frenchmen crossed the line in a photo finish. Cedric Vasseur nipped Sandy Casar by about one centimeter - if that.

No big changes expected until Saturday's long time trial. Of the top nine guys in contention, American Levi Leipheimer along with Aussie Cadel Evans and German Andreas Kloeden at the top time trialists. Race leader Rasmussen is a great climber but in the time trial at the end of last year's tour he dropped from 3rd to 7th place after running off the road and damaging his bike. Still anyone's race among the top nine riders.

Erik Huntoon said...

In an article by Len Pasqurelli on ESPN.. he says that the feds have a better then 95% conviction rate. I had never heard that stat before, but if true I think Vick is almost definitely done soon. Either way, his reputation is shot. Look at OJ.. technically he isn't a murderer but most people still think he did it.

As to this Yi thing.. agree with a previous poster that Stern should ban him from the NBA unless he changes his mind. Let him go play in Europe if he thinks Milwaukee is so bad, or he can stay in China.

Unknown said...

Erik
The one problem is that the Bucks blew their draft choice on Yi. At least if they can trade him, they get some value for the draft choice. Just banning Yi and they totally lose their draft choice.

Reminds me of the Knicks drafting a French player, Weis, who never played in the NBA.

eileen said...

I think Vick's out of the NFL, for good. I'm guessing he'll get a 1 year ban, but no team will want him (and the PR nightmare that comes with him) after that.

bkelly126 said...

remember when ESPN was forced to cancel "Playmakers" cause the NFL was complaining it showed them in a bad light...good times.

btw, why no mention of the possible "playoffs" in college football? my only question about it is when would you play the +1 game? if it's after the regular schedule, the game could get buried by the NFL playoffs

The heroin sheik said...

My reason in saying he will be the man is based on first hand experience of what prison is like. If he gets put in a state facility then he will be like the majority of inmates in prison black. Take it for what it is but in prison the people who are made bitches are pedophiles, rapists, and people who prey on the elderly. Jocks and people of some fame are left alone for the most part. Now if he goes to a Federal facility he is going to be among mostly white collar criminals who will respect him for his exploits on the field.

I was locked up for the better part of a year with a former Falcon Andre Johnson and that guy got whatever he wanted which was nice since he shared it with me and no one fucked with me since my bunky was 6'7 300 lbs of angry black man.

Didn't Vick get in trouble right before he got into college and if so does this count against him in his punishment netted out by the league? Maybe I am just confusing him with his brother. Either way I hope he gets a nice long sentence and an even longer punishment by the league.

pv845 said...

Vick won't be in a state pen because it is a federal indictment.

If this is all true, which we all suspect it is, I hope the Co-Defendant turn on him and he is in jail for a long, long time.

Animal Lover said...

Michael Vick should be put in prison...no, better yet he should be electrocuted, hung, drowned or forced to fight to his death. He is obviosly "defective"

bbom said...

This discussion on what prison Vick will end up in (if convicted) reminds me of Office Space. Great Movie.

Animal Lover said...

Oops, sorry I mispelled "obviously" I doubt if Vick can even spell his own name. He is a real dog - perhaps a Pit Bully.

The heroin sheik said...

Yeah but none of those guys had been to prison in that film. Not that I'm proud of it but I've spent almost 4yrs locked up. Prison isn't all that bad if your not in a max facility it is just really boring and lonely.

Jen said...

I wonder if the whole Mariners' organization is paid like Ichiro...I want a housing allowance and vehicle along with my pay. Oh damn, I can't hit like him.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/7020344?MSNHPHMA

Office Space is one of the best movies.

The heroin sheik said...

i think everyone in almost every industry can relate to hating damn copy machines.

animal lover's lover said...

Send the s.o.b. to the real pen.
Let a dog take him down.

Unknown said...

http://loljocks.blogspot.com/2007/07/falcons-react-to-michael-vicks.html

CoCo said...

Dan, why are people blaming the Bucks for selecting Yi? It's a draft and that's how it works! You are supposed to be afforded the right to choose the best available player and they thought that was Yi. Any player who does not like how the draft works need not apply. I hate unproven players in any sport coming in making demands. The owners need to remind these players old and new who's signing those multi million dollar checks and take back control of their teams. The prisoners are running the asylum right now and while I'll always defend a player's right to get his money and etc. I'll also defend the people who've invested millions of dollars into owning a franchise. They should be able to make business decisions that are in the best interest of the business not an individual. While this individual may be bringing them millions, at the end of the day they are the one writing the checks so they shouldn't have to be bullied by their employees. That's how corporate America works and as much as we hate it, that's just how it is. It's easy for us as fans to say pay this guy or whatever, but at the end of the day the $20 million per year that they have invested in a player is not real to us. $20 million is real to the owners writing those checks. Think about having to pay someone $20 million real dollars all the while knowing that said player has more control over parts of your franchise than you. It's absurd, but that's where we are. I said all that to say Yi entered the draft and he should play for whomever drafted him.

mapleleafgirl said...

I hope the mother f***** goes to jail, gets kicked out of the NFL and lives a MISerable fucking life or even better if killed by one of the dogs he trained to kill...he is not even a human being. F*** YOU ASSHOLE!!!!! How the F*** do you live with yourself. I hope you rot in hell

mapleleafgirl said...

I hope the mother F***** dies! He is in NO WAY a human being.HE better get kicked out of the NFL or I will make it a point to have him killed myself...asshole mother fucker!

mirthywvu said...

Julio Franco is back in the bigs, YES!!! The 48 year old signed back with the Braves today and will join the team tomorrow. I can go on watching him and reminisce about using his stance in our childhood game of home run derby!!