Sports in America

I don’t have anything more profound to say about it right now but hopefully I will soon.  After reading Bill Simmons of ESPN.com’s Page 2, I realized that nearly every major professional athletic association is in the midst of a major controversy. 

The NFL has been battling huge image problem with its players running into serious assault and criminal issues (of which Vick is simply the biggest). 

With Barry Bonds about to cement his place in infamy by breaking Hank Aaron’s all-time home run record, MLB has been unable to put to rest its steroid problem.  And its complicity in that problem. 

And finally, with the news that NBA ref, Tim Donaghy, has been fixing games for the mob through his officiating, the NBA is finally forced to deal with what has been a problem for many years, namely suspicious and piss-poor officiating. 

The NHL gets a lot of crap for being unpopular and failing to generate decent television ratings.  But as far as sports leagues go, at least it’s honest. 

British Open 2007

Harrington chokes, only for Garcia to end up choking even worse. That sounds oddly familiar to me…

NFL setting the stage for Vick suspension

Contrary to what the Len Pasquerelli’s, Chris Mortensen’s, and John Clayton’s of the world are saying, the NFL is clearly setting the stage to suspend Mike Vick regardless of whether he has been convicted of a crime. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has already set a precedent for suspending players whose conduct he deems detrimental to the integrity of the NFL before the players whose conduct is in question have been convicted of any crime, which is well within his power to do. The NFL’s first statement after Vick’s indictment on conspiracy charges may have slightly hinted at a “wait and see” approach, but it also may have revealed the league’s leanings on the matter, stating:

“We are disappointed that Michael Vick has put himself in a position where a federal grand jury has returned an indictment against him.” [emphasis added]

Today, in responding to protests outside the league’s office by PETA, the NFL issued a statement saying, in part:

“The alleged activities are very disturbing, and we are extremely disappointed Michael Vick has put himself in this position.” [emhpasis added]

The NFL offices are ran by lawyers who, as such, carefully choose which words to use in describing the current situation. Its words, while avoiding any presumption of guilt for commission of the acts alleged in the indictment, belie the league’s feelings that regardless of the level of Vick’s individual, direct involvement in the alleged acts, he is responsible for the firestorm that is raining down upon him and bringing negative attention to the league. The NFL has taken the stance that Michael Vick has put himself into his current position, and that, along with the precedent already set, suggests that the NFL has already made up its mind to take action against Vick; the league’s supposed “wait and see” approach is likely directed only toward just how harsh such action will be.

Don’t expect Mike Vick, aka “Ookie”, to play a down in the NFL this year

ESPN’s John Clayton has got it all wrong, and I’m not just talking about the Shaub trade “seem[ing] to be the wise thing” at the time (is it ever a wise thing for a team to trade away it’s best quarterback?). Clayton writes,

Vick must be treated as a first-time offender in the league’s new conduct policy, so he must be found guilty or admit guilt before the commissioner can suspend him.

This is plain WRONG. The NFL’s drug policy this is not; there is no differentiation made between first-time and repeat offenders in the NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement section on off-the-field player misconduct, and any differentiation made in the league’s new conduct policy is there solely to drive home the point that repeat offenders will be treated harshly. Make no mistake, under the CBA “negotiated” in 2006, the Commissioner has sole discretion in doling out punishment for “conduct detrimental to the integrity of, or public confidence in, the game of professional football” and has the sole final say in any appeal of his disciplinary decisions (see CBA Article XI, Sections 1(a) and (b), linked above). Argue all you want about the wisdom of such a policy, it’s what is currently in place due to poor negotiating on behalf of the NFLPA (and argue all you want about the legality of the policy, I am too lazy myself to do any research on the topic; regardless, the Commissioner can take action under the CBA and it’d be up to the player in question to fight the legality of the CBA disciplinary and appeal process).

The bottom-line is that it is in Commissioner Goodell’s sole discretion to dole out whatever punishment he sees fit for Mike Vick’s alleged actions and involvement in Bad Newz Kennels, whether Vick is ultimately convicted or not. In the court of public opinion, which is where the Commissioner’s power to make and enforce disciplinary decisions regarding “conduct detrimental to the integrity of, or public confidence in, the game of professional football” grows from, Vick has already lost. Vick’s actions have further harmed the reputation of the league and its players, and if the public won’t stand for him to be let off the hook, Goodell has standing and will perhaps be compelled to make certain that Vick’s alleged misdeeds, or neglect that allowed the misdeeds of others to occur and/or continue, won’t go unpunished, regardless of what happens in a court of law.

And because of that, don’t expect “Ron Mexico” to play a down this year.

Update: The guys at ProFootballTalk.com bring up another policy that Commissioner Goodell has at his disposal: the league’s gambling policy.
PFT writes:

The league’s gambling policy prohibits “[a]ssociating with gamblers or with gambling activities in a manner tending to bring discredit to the NFL.” Vick is charged with conspiracy to utilize interstate commerce with intent to promote, manage, etc. a business enterprise involving gambling. Indeed, the indictment contains multiple references to gambling arising from the dog fights in which Vick was involved.

Under the league’s gambling policy, a violation may result in “severe penalties,” up to and including a suspension from the NFL for life.

For more of perhaps the best coverage of the Vick Investigation/Indictment on the net, visit PFT.

Update #2: The guys at PFT (linked to several times above) have also pointed out this morning that even if it is assumed that the Conduct Policy requires only counseling for first-time offenders, which I emphatically do not believe, Vick is not being charged with one first-time offense. Vick’s first charged offense happened in 2001, and he is charged with several repeat offenses from 2001 until April 2007.

The Allegations against Vick

I’m usually content to let Clement write about this but some of allegations in the indictment are horrid and disgusting, if true.  I simply cannot imagine the depravity needed for acts like this. 

But past the awful details of this story, a trial with lurid testimony about these allegations will certainly be a spectacle.  Perhaps Mike Vick will be the new O.J.? 

The main sources for this story continues to be the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Profootballtalk.com, and (to a lesser extent) ESPN.com.  Here’s a link to the indictment and a link to a press release about the indictment. 

Excerpt from Profootballtalk.com –

The most graphic misconduct allegedly occurred not long before the first search of the property.  According to paragraph 83 of the indictment, Vick, Peace, and Phillips executed in April 2007 approximately eight dogs that did not perform well in “testing” sessions, by “hanging, drowning, and slamming at least one dog’s body to the ground.”

In other words, in the same month in which Vick declared that he never goes to his Surry County property, and the same month in which he sat face-to-face with the Commissioner, Vick had (according to the indictment) participated in the killing of as many as eight dogs deemed unfit for fighting.

From the press release –

According to the indictment, the defendants were involved in an ongoing animal fighting venture based out of a property located in Smithfield, Virginia, from early 2001 through on or about April 25, 2007. The property was purchased by Vick in June 2001. Since that time, the named defendants formed a dog fighting enterprise known as “Bad Newz Kennels” and used the property for housing and training pit bulls used in dog fights. From at least 2002, the defendants and others sponsored dog fights at the property, where participants and dogs traveled from South Carolina, North Carolina, Maryland, New York, Texas, Alabama, and other states to participate. Generally, only those accompanying the opposing kennels and “Bad Newz Kennels’” associates attended the fights. For a particular dog fight, the participants would establish a purse for the winning side, ranging from the hundreds to thousands of dollars. Participants and spectators would also place side-bets on the fight. The dog fight would last until the death or surrender of the losing dog. At the end of the fight, the losing dog was sometimes put to death by drowning, hanging, gunshot, electrocution, or another method. The indictment also alleges that the defendants participated in dog fights at locations other than the property in Smithfield. For these events, various members of “Bad Newz Kennels” would travel to other parts of Virginia and across state lines to participate in dog fights at other venues. The indictment alleges that the defendants and the “Bad Newz Kennels” dogs participated in dog fights in North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, New Jersey, and elsewhere in Virginia.

The indictment also includes allegations about the defendants “testing” the pit bulls in their inventory, to determine if particular dogs were good fighters. Sometimes, the dogs deemed not to be good fighters were be put to death. In the summer of 2002, at various times, Peace, Phillips, Taylor, and Vick performed “testing” sessions at the property in Smithfield. Following some of these sessions, the dogs that did not perform well were put to death by Peace, Phillips, or Taylor. Further, in April 2007, an additional “testing” session was performed by Peace, Phillips, and Vick. Following that session, the indictment alleges that approximately eight dogs were put to death by hanging, drowning, and/or slamming at least one dog’s body to the ground.

Really, really bad newz for Mike Vick and Falcons fans

Mike Vick has been indicted for his part in dogfighting operations ran out of Bad Newz Kennelz on Vick’s property in Surry County, VA. Based on the way Roger Goodell’s tenure as NFL Commissioner has started off so far, don’t expect to see Vick play a down in the NFL this year. I’ll have more on this later tonight.

Bad Newz for Ron Mexico

Update #2: I’ve noticed that this individual post has been getting a lot of hits even though it’s quite old. Please visit the front page of our blog to read more recent information and opinions on the Vick indictment.

This sickens me. Absolutely sickens me.

I’m not sure what’s worse though: the cruelty to animals, or the cruelty to poor Falcons fans who’ll likely have to learn to cope with having Joey Harrington at the helm.

UPDATE: The federal complaint for forfeiture of the surviving pitbulls can be found here. Investigators clearly have A LOT of information about the dogfighting operation, information they must have uncovered from evidence found on the property or received from reliable informants. There’s nothing particularly damning of Vick in the complaint, but it does hint that investigators have even more info than that included in the forfeiture complaint and states that the name of the kennel/massive dogfighting operation is “Bad Newz Kennels.” As the article linked to above mentions, “Bad Newz” is often used as a pseudonym for Newport News, VA–Michael Vick’s hometown. As the guys at profootballtalk.com have pointed out, Vick’s own official personal website lists his birthplace as “Newport News, VA a.k.a. BadNews“. While the fact that the kennel apparently shares its name with what Vick himself calls his hometown is obviously not a clear indication of guilt, it doesn’t look good, especially when you add it to the fact that it appears that investigators have much more information on the case than they’ve revealed so far and the fact that Vick himself is yet to publicly deny the rumors about his involvement with the dogfighting operation.

Driving home listening to the radio…

Radio programming has really gotten bad.  On the drive home today, I was flipping between sports radio and talk radio.  Here are some highlights –

From the John Riggins Show –

Commenting on this article where a golfer in Florida, retrieving a ball hit onto the edge of a pond, was grabbed by an alligator and had to fight it off before being rushed to the hospital. 

“You have to run zig zag if you’re running away from an alligator.”

” Mud is a slippery thing.” 

“Alligators can really accelerate.” 

“You can outrun an alligator.” 

“You can’t outrun an alligator.” 

“Playing dead with an alligator won’t work.  They’ll chomp on you anyway.  It works with bears, though.  But not black bears.  Not if they’re hungry.  They’ll chomp ya.” 

At first I wanted to say a few things about the kind of planet you’d have to think you live on in order to believe advice like this is not only worth hearing but informative.  But I’ll leave it be.  This went on for about ten minutes.  So I thought surely they’re having informed discussion on the liberal talk radio.   But…

From the Thom Hartmann show –

I won’t attempt to quote this one because (1) it would take too long and (2) listening to it again would be unbearable.  But his web-site proclaims Thom to represent “Renaissance Thinking about the Issues of the Day.”  If that’s true, then the Renaissance was overrated. 

He was talking about the bill (H.R. 800) that failed to achieve cloture in the Senate today which would have made it easier to form unions and give employees some protection for supporting a union .  Apparently, there were only 52 Senators in favor of the bill, and not the 60 needed to end debate and avoid the filibuster. 

Thom wondered why the Dems didn’t whine and throw a hissy fit over the filibuster like the Republicans did when they couldn’t get “up-or-down votes” on Bush judicial nominees.  Then his guest opined that the Dems didn’t know how to go for the jugular and they both bemoaned the “fact” that the Dems were awful at winning the big fights, etc.  Thom also said that the only reason he could think of for why the Dems didn’t fight the way the Republicans did was that they weren’t the political tacticians the Republicans were. 

Since I didn’t have pad and paper and I refuse to listen to it again, the above is my best attempt at paraphrasing.  I think it’s pretty faithful.  Having said that…

There is one other reason the Dems didn’t act like five year old children and threaten the nuclear option when they failed to close debate today.  They actually see the wisdom of our Senate debate rules which allows for endless debate and requires a super-majority of 60 votes before closing the floor for a vote.  It protects the minority party. 

There are lots of examples when good bills do not get passed because of the filibuster rule.  But it is a valuable check on the legislative process and is one of the reasons why the Senate is such a valuable institution.  The filibuster encourages debate, discussion, compromise, and the free exchange of ideas. 

Valuing that is not a flaw.  If guys like Thom “the Renaissance Man” Hartmann had his way, and the Democratic Party simply began to mimic Republican tactics and score political debate points for the sake of scoring political debate points, we’d quickly descend to the lowest common denominator in politics.  Some like to say we’re already there.  But I’m not that stupid. 

One other thing Hartmann said also bordered on the moronic.  His guest (whose name escapes me) started talking about Senator Lugar’s speech withdrawing support for the Iraq war and said it was “powerful.”  She talked about grilling Tony Snow about it. 

Hartmann then declared that this was all a part of the Rovian playbook in order to take the Iraq War off the political agenda in time for the elections next year.  Never mind that there is absolutely no reason to believe this, no support from Bush Administration statements, no support from anything Lugar said in his speech today, no support from any action from the White House, or even any credible evidence that Bush or Rove is capable of pulling something like this off.  Just an opinion fueled by the fear of the Rove political machine. 

Sigh.