1 Sports Fan

posted by Zagnut on Dec 10

Michael Vick was sentenced to spend the next 23 months in prison today.

While the debate will rage on about the duration of the sentence one thing is certain.  The message is out:  Stay clear of bad decisions or it will cost you your career, reputation, and millions of dollars.

Personally I don’t believe Michael Vick may have been a choir boy, but I don’t believe for a second he woke up one morning and said  “Hey Mike why don’t I start a dog fighting ring”.  More likely he made poor choices when confronted by those he chose to associate with and payed a much larger price for his inability to say no to his “friends”.

Other professional athletes have nearly paid more severe penalties for the same issue:  Decisions.  Life is about choices we make.  We benefit, sometimes, from the good ones, and almost always pay for the poor ones.  Part of that is who they choose to associate with.  Surrounding ones self with successful people that keep their nose clean is the best choice any of us can make, especially when there is so much to lose.

Clearly the difference between cruelty to animals and assaulting/murder of a human being is light years apart.  My personal view is somewhat clouded by the seemingly overwhelming number of people clamoring over ridiculous supposed violations of animal rights.  Now dogfighting is a despicable thing, make no mistake in my mind that is way wrong…but who are we to say.  We kill deer, elk, antelope, and other animals for sport.   Yes many are used also for food, but that doesn’t make bambi any less dead….

I believe the severity of Michael Vick’s sentence is meant more as a message to people of notoriety:  No more free passes.

Not this time.

I do believe that Micheal Vick should have been arrested, indicted, and sentenced to some prison time.  I do think that it is his misfortune in terms of timing.  To be the example, unfortunately not the example that many parents, myself included, had hoped he would be.

With essentially another 2 missed seasons in the NFL his career is basically shot.  Even if, after his release in Oct. 2009 he is in “football condition”, what team will take a chance on a quarterback that was already having football issues and add a federal conviction and prison time?  I can’t believe any team will be willing to take that chance, but I could be wrong.

With any good fortune Mike will spend his time in prison figuring out what went wrong and correct those issues, the sad thing is he won’t be surrounded by choir boys now either.  It will be a tough road for a young man who not so long ago had the world by the tail.

Just a thought.

posted by Zagnut on Nov 27

The news of Sean Taylor’s death today as a result of the gunshot wound suffered Monday hit me like a ton of bricks. While I’m not a Washington Redskins fan, anytime a 24 yr old man, father, husband, son dies, at the hands of violence especially, it is a tragic and horrific thing regardless of their chosen profession.

While his teammates must deal with the death of a friend and cope emotionally with this, his family must find a way to continue into what is surely a rough Holiday season without the son, father, husband, brother they knew and loved. My heartfelt thoughts and prayers to his family. The Redskins team will have football as an outlet, something to think about, that ultimately will remind them of their friend and teamate.

A growing and concerning trend in violence towards athlete’s including several armed invasions of their homes seems less than coincidence and more a pattern. While the specifics of the break in at Sean Taylor’s home are being pieced together hopefully the authorities will find leads to the identities of the people responsible. I’d hope that other athletes and people in the spotlight take a serious look at their personal security. While we admire their talent and lament the rising salaries of these superstars (only in the price we pay to get into the events, and a degree of jealousy) I don’t believe we, the general public, can truly appreciate the additional challenges, and threats to their well being that these people face.

posted by Zagnut on Nov 21

For Titan’s and Bronco’s fans alike Monday Night brought a sense of definition to a season.

While Jay Cutler and Vince Young put up decent numbers (Young with the obvious yardage advantage) Denver’s defense appears to be coming together while Tennessee’s had an uncharacteristic bad night.

It would appear that both teams need to work on some defense in different areas. Denver looked pretty solid against the run, but they bent a bunch against the pass despite a consistent pass rush. Only timely turnovers, a very nice kickoff return, and a productive offense saved the day for Denver @ Invesco Field.

I was impressed with Vince Young for most of the night. The two hiccups were the 2 interceptions. Both were under heavy rush and Dre Bly’s interception was simply a great play by a cornerback. Not much a Quarterback can do about those sometimes. Stuff happens.

Likewise Jay Cutler seems more and more in command of the offense and is showing his leadership well. The only bad play that I would grade down was the first pass of the last drive that he should have thrown to the stands.

Again the Bronco’s appear to be able to just plug anyone in at tailback and do just fine.

Still no sign either of these teams are ready to challenge the Patriots, but I think they have a significant amount of company in that category.

Just a thought.

Happy Thanksgiving

posted by Zagnut on Nov 18

Monday Night Football this week features 2 teams that are trying to keep their playoff chances alive. Both teams have issues that need to be addressed. While Denver continues to get solid play from Jay Cutler the injury bug and run defense continue to be an issue, though last week they stiffened up against the run. For Tennessee can they get more from Vince Young? Now I for one am a big Vince Young fan. I hope he gets it turned around, just not against my Broncos.

With the rest of the AFC West losing today the door is open for Denver to sneak in there to tie for the division lead.

At this point in the season I don’t see either of these teams beating the Patriots or the Colts in the AFC, but with a strong run in the last half of the season I might be convinced otherwise… It starts tomorrow night for one team…