Hello, this is my very first blog. However, I feel words are best expressed vocally so most of this blog will be done through posted audio however the blog is still available in case you want to just read. The website is still under construction, but I imagine you'll have fun. For now I'll post the blogs in text, but add audio detail later. There are multiple links so you can get more up to date on what I'm talking about. The main focus of this blog/podcast is going to be about the candy store of life; sports. However, I'm not going to just talk x's and o's. This is a sports show for people with a life. Those with a family, a job, hobbies, whatever the case may be. This is just a road stop on the internet super highway for you to have fun with. Once you're done listening/downloading the MP3 go ahead and post something. There are some fair warning though, we talk a lot of "stick and ball" sports (baseball, basketball, football, etc.). I'm not going to dive deep into Euro soccer leagues, cricket, or even hockey. If you're looking for that, in the words of Homer Simpson, "Keep Walking..."This show's topics:
Michael Vick has been indicted
Well, it's official, our friends at ESPN reported yesterday that Michael Vick has been officially indicted by the federal government as a participant in fighting pit bulls. You can read the initial story here.
Points:
Michael is in some very very serious trouble. Let me start off first by saying that although I'm not a lawyer, I am in search of my advanced degree in criminal justice so I have more of an inside knowledge of how the federal government works in comparison to maybe most people. The federal government is literally no joke. In comparison to our friends that work for the Surry County, Virginia Sherrif's Office and County Attorney's Office, the feds have the manpower and money to conduct the type of investigation that could warrant an indictment. Additionally, the federal government does its homework well in advance in order to ensure some sort of indictment. Even if it takes years, they will continue to chip away at it until they have something solid. For example, look at organized crime throughout the 70s and 80s. The federal government KNEW these guys were crooked, but they could NOT move until they had a strong enough case. This case is no different. You hear people saying "well you can indict anything." Wrong, the feds had to get several thumbs up before they could make a move. Ever notice that they only indicted three of these guys? It's probably because they had the strongest cases against them. Again, Vick is screwed.
Race Issue
Now let me clear the air and say that this is, at its basis, not a race issue as some people are making it. I've been on the blogs especially on ESPN and have been listening to sports radio and one of thing that has permeated the minds of so many people is that Michael Vick is being persecuted because he is black. WRONG! (By the way, I'm a black guy so I have a slightly different perspective). Michael Vick is being persecuted simply because he's an idiot. Now, is there probably an element of race, especially since this happened mostly in a southern city and he plays for a southern team? Duh. In the south all everyone is concerned about is race mostly because that part of the country has taken part in some of the most reprehensible acts known to man. Michael Vick also isn't the Byron Leftwich, Donovan McNabb, Tiki Barber kind of player (meaning insightful, gracious, has a clean image, etc.) which sheds more of a race effect onto the situation. His braids, his attitude, and let's be honest, the darkness of his skin (in the black community, the darker you are, the more lowly you're looked upon sometimes) puts him into a precarious situation most quarterbacks in the NFL don't have to face. I will admit that blacks are still at a serious disadvantage in the courts compared to whites, but let's be adults for a minute. If someone is making 20 million dollars per year is it ever a good idea to get involved in an illegal dog fighting ring? Never, so spare me with the crap about how he's been targeted. He's the face of the NFL, he's an exciting player, he plays for one of the hippest cities in the country, and he's one of the nation's rich elite, and he's involved in a highly illegal activity.....THAT'S what made him a target.
How will the Falcons handle this?
If Michael Vick is suspended for any reason by Roger Goodell the Falcons are essentially up the river without a paddle. Normally I don't make judgments about a team when their quarterback goes down with an injury or is benched. The reason is because quarterbacks are like different flavors of ice cream. Some quarterbacks are neopolitan, some quarterbacks are cheesequake, some quarterbacks are mint flavored and depending on the team they are going to be either loved and fit in well or hated and booted out of town never to be heard from again. Michael Vick is the right flavor for the Atlanta Falcons not just from an on the field standpoint, but from the financial standpoint. He has the #2 selling jersey in the world for NFL players meaning the spotlight is on Atlanta half of the time which translates into sold luxury boxes (grown man money basically). It would be very difficult to insert a free agent quarterback or their back-up to replace him and expect this run heavy offense to all of a sudden pick up where it left off (which wasn't good to begin with). Michael Vick is that unusual flavor of ice cream that nobody had ever tasted, but now it's taken the country by storm. By inserting a vanilla quarterback like Daunte Culpepper the flavor is going to be tired, weak, inaccurate, and released
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