Star One Smart Blog's

Back in May, I covered the follies of the Three Biggest Stooges of Football (at that time); Steve McNair's DUI by Proxy, Pacman Jones' sheer idiocy, and Michael Vick's then-unsensational-but-worrisome involvement with dogfighting. Of the three, Steve was turned loose, Pac is still an idiot, and Vick's dogfighting case has become a larger media frenzy than anything else the NFL has seen since Peyton Manning won the Superbowl.

Easy to understand, I suppose: dogs, even pit bulls, are creatures of Man, domesticated to be our friends for their short lives, partners for the lonely, there when needed, and generally everyone alive has fond memories of a family dog/pet/friend that overshadows the narrow window of the animals that aren't...all that friendly. For this story to come out, and be amplified by the fact that a star NFL quarterback actually fights dogs (one of the lowest forms of human entertainment I can imagine) just shows how close to core is the nerve that this kind of abuse strikes, in everyone who has some bit of compassion for animals.

Now, Falcons owner Arthur Blank is disappointed...

"In my heart right now for him personally I am sad. I feel badly that he potentially has put himself in a set of circumstances that are going to be very difficult for him to deal with..."

"This is not the young man I have got to know in the last six years so I am disappointed..."

Yes, and I'm impressed with the speed Arthur Blank has shown in reacting to this. The Falcons wanted to suspend Vick for four games, but Commissioner Goodell said no, no training camp, just wait for us to move. To me, that says Hammer Time is near.

Vick can't recover from this. No NFL team needs the distractions that Vic will bring, now, at Training Camp, or in the future. Sure, Pac's stupidity caused the lifetime paralysis of Tom Urbanski, and he's deserving of his fate, but Pac is only a cornerback. Michael Vick represents the Falcons everytime he snaps the ball. Atlanta can't afford to keep Vick around.

I see that the Feds will indict Vick today, on felony charges. If Vick was as involved in this as many people have said, then he'll be through, no matter what price he spends on a lawyer.

When one mistreats animals, that's a sign that person is not worthy of respect or consideration...or a fan base. Especially one in the NFL, in Atlanta or anywhere else.

Maybe OJ could use a caddy?

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I re-used that old photoshop because, 1) I don't have time to do a new one, 2)I lost the original file (with the layers) in the Hard Drive Meltdown episode I had last month, and 3) I can't think of much humor in this situation. All the mental images I have are of teeth, blood, pain, and cruelty in the eyes of gleeful spectators to some of the worst behavior I can imagine still existing for 'sport' in the US. Maybe, this weekend, I'll mess around with Gimp and try to get something that isn't sick or disgusting, but for now, that's the only mental image I see related to Michael Vick and Dogfighting.