The Sports Guru

More on the story that just won’t go away. I talked at length about Michael Vick on MHR Radio last night, about his supposed involvement in a dog-fighting ring that was run at a property he owns in Virginia. I made the point that behind capital crimes, cruelty to animals is one of the most despicable acts a person can do. Finding enjoyment watching two under-fed, tortured dogs, mame and kill each other on a Friday night makes me ill, and that’s if you are some scum-ball living in a trailer. If you are a Professional football player, one that makes $100 million, it makes me throw up in my mouth.

The story is back in the forefront of the news because NFL players continue to stick their foot right into the leagues proverbial mouth. First, it was Clinton Portis who came out and said that it would be no big deal if it wasn’t Michael Vick. Chris Samuels, Redksins offensive lineman agreed. Hey Clinton, it’s a felony, period. Has nothing to do with Michael Vick, it is a felony and there is no place for it.

Then came another player, Donte Wesley, a defensive back for the Chicago Bears, who defended Vick as well. Wesley, taking the approach that there are worse things to worry about than dog fighting, just the type of mentality that continues to drive this country into the crapper.
Yesterday, Pro Football Talk posted within its Rumor Mill that the NFL might have some inside information regarding the investigation, that plans are already being made by the Falcons in case Vick is not with the team to start the 2007 season. They go so far as to say that the Falcons might be trying to get in on the Trent Green sweepstakes, fearful that Vick could be suspended.

In a word, Vick is a DISGRACE to the NFL, period.

No matter what the actual outcome, I think we can all feel pretty confident that Michael Vick is a scumbag. He just isn’t a good human being, and DEFINITELY doesn’t deserve to be a starting QB in the NFL. Vick, much like Pac-Man Jones, continues to bring bad press and publicity to the Falcons and the NFL as a whole, and as a fan of the league, it pisses me off that someone would think so little of his position that he would involve himself in something as despicable and horrendous as the maiming and killing of helpless animals, for sport no less. That his peers in the League would defend him, and imply that Vick being involved in a FELONY CRIME is really no big deal concerns me deeply and makes me wonder just how widespread this is in the NFL.

I know there are some reading right now that probably feel I am making too big of a deal about this. If that’s the case, you just don’ get it, and probably never will. I’m not a PETA follower, or anything like that, but I don’t find the excitement in watching, and even less understand the need these other players feel at coming to dog fighting’s defense.

This site is all about community, and all about differing opinions. Please add you two-cents here, whether you agree with me or not, and let me know if I am in the ballpark, or completely off the mark…

Technorati Tags: Michael Vick, Dog Fighting, Atlanta Falcons

There has been a lot of talk about the new, tougher, player conduct policy in the NFL. At first look you’d think it would make a player think twice before getting involved in shady activity, with their livelihood on the line. On second thought….

Just during the weekend, there have been three, count them, THREE incidents involving NFL players and the long arm of the law. If the NFL is trying to send a tougher message, mission failed. Even the Broncos got touched by an incident, and I’ll be honest, every morning I look at the stories revolving around the league I am half-hoping not to see anything about the Broncos.

First, A.J. Nicholson, a linebacker for the Cincinnati Bengals, was arrested in a domestic violence case, with Nicholson being arrested for allegedly striking a woman in the eye at his apartment. This isn’t the first time Nicholson has been involved with the law, however, like most Bengals players.

Nicholson recently has been in contact with police because he is suspected of driving without a valid license, Easterling said.

Nicholson is one of nine Bengals arrested since Jan. 1, 2006. He avoided jail time in Tallahassee, Fla., but had to serve 60 days in a sheriff’s work program and go on probation for two years for breaking into the apartment of a former Florida State teammate last May. Easterling said Kenton County has contacted Florida officials.

The Bengals drafted Nicholson in the fifth round of the 2006 draft. He had a history of off-field problems at Florida State. He was suspended for the 2006 Orange Bowl after violating team policy by taking a woman to the team’s Miami hotel. She accused him of sexual assault, but he was not charged.

Up next is New York Jets Cornerback/Return Specialist Justin Miller, a Pro Bowler last season as a returner, who was arrested early Sunday and charged with third-degree misdemeanor assault after he allegedly punched a woman in a New York City nightclub.

Miller was apprehended after a police chase at 4:20 a.m. It appears Miller was trying to hit a guy, but doesn’t have very good aim, at least at 4:00 a.m.

Miller also has had some past run-ins with law enforcement, falling in the 2006 draft to the second round due to questionable behavior.

Miller issued an all-too familiar apology after the incident, “I want to apologize to everyone for this situation, including my family, my teammates, the Jets organization, our fans and the entire NFL,” Miller said in a statement released on Sunday. “I understand that serving in the NFL is an honor and that I have an obligation to behave in a manner that reflects the privilege I have been given.”

Last, but certainly no least to Broncos fans was news this morning that the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office has identified Broncos receiver David Kircus as a “person of interest” in an alleged assault against a man early Sunday morning. Police plan on having Kircus coming in for a police line-up early Monday morning.

The victim suffered multiple broken facial bones in the alleged assault and was taken to Sky Ridge Medical Center in Lone Tree for surgery.

According to Robinson, the incident took place about 3:20 a.m. Sunday at a party in Centennial.

“An individual who identified himself (at the party) as Kircus was involved in an allegation that resulted in an assault,” Robinson said. “We are currently involved in the investigation, and where we’re at right now is a photo lineup to ensure proper identification. I would guess once that’s accomplished, we will have some conclusion or resolution to it.”

A warrant has not been issued for Kircus, 27, although he was informed by Bronco officials the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Department is seeking his cooperation in the case.

We’ll wait for the process to take it’s course to see if it was actually Kircus, or if someone was just saying he was the Broncos receiver, but it always makes me nervous when someone who might have been wrongly accused doesn’t come out and say it.

When I look at each of the incidents, all three possibly involving football players who can’t maintain control of their emotions, one thing becomes painfully clear. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING good can come from being in public at 3 or 4 in the morning. A.J. Nicholson is just a bad person, who has been involved in several incidents at all hours day and night. Miller and Kircus, if he is indeed found to have been involved, were both out late, later than need be, and while we live in a free country, and these guys can do what they want, they have to be aware of what can happen at that time of night, and usually, unfortunately, it isn’t good.

It is, of course, too early to tell if Roger Goodell’s tough-guy approach is going to work. Bad people, like A.J. Nicholson, are still bad people and will find ways to get in trouble regardless. Guys like Justin Miller and David Kircus, however have to find a way to avoid those situations. Such is the added responsibility of an NFL Player, and while there is alot of perks to the job the rest of us don’t get to enjoy, that is a downside.

With the Broncos set to take the field for Day 4 of their QB Camp it is unfortunate that the focus will once again be off the field, and back to the questions regarding off-the-field behavior.

Let me say, as a football blogger, and more importantly, huge fan of the NFL, I am embarrassed by the repeated actions of it’s players. Think of the image people have of the NBA, compared to the “image” of the NFL. One is a league of thugs, drug users, etc. The other is clean cut, role models. Oh Really? How many NBA players have been arrested that past 18 months. How about the NFL? It’s embarrassing, and we, the fans, keep giving the NFL a pass. Simply embarrassing.

Let’s hope this is the LAST TIME the Broncos are involved.

UPDATE — The burn-in on my 13″ CRT monitor hadn’t even faded before another transgression by a “pro” football player was reported. If you are a Cincinnati Bengals fan you may want to look away. Chris Henry has reportedly failed a court mandated drug test, testing positive for opiates. That gives Henry the grand slam of arrests, getting nailed for marijuana, DUI, weapons possession, and now, opiates. Oh, and let’s not forget the underage girls Henry was drinking with in a motel room.

Henry has already been suspended for the first 8 games of the 2007 season, and with jail time and parole violations in at least two states pending, I wouldn’t hold my breath to see Henry on the field next season, if ever.

UPDATE #2 — Now there are reports saying Henry’s test came up NEGATIVE. Further test results are forthcoming.

Also, the woman who repoprted that A.J. Nicholson hit her over the weekend has renegged on that statement, saying instead that she did the damage herself with a cell phone….

As far back as the Super Bowl, when Commissioner Roger Goodell gave his State of the League address, rumors have been flying that the NFL could <a href=”http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2866680″>add a 17th regular season game</a>.  The idea behind it, to have each team play a game in some international city, without losing a home game, while making sense at a functional level, makes no sense in a logical one.  Globalization might seem like the next step for the NFL, easily the king of all the American sports, but it is a risky proposition to say the least.

Let’s start with the addition of a 17th game.  I am actually in favor of it.  I’ll go one step further.  I wouldn’t mind 2 additional regular-season games.  Four pre-season games are probably 2-too many.  A tool for owners to essentially make more money, the pre-season has become an evil game of russian roulette, with at least one big name player every year going down.  Adding another game that means something would be good for the game, though I am sure traditionalists will scoff.

On paper, if you add one game, you’d have to add two so that each team plays the same amount of games at home and on the road.  That is, unless, you are taking that extra game overseas, or to Canada, or Mexico.    Goodell even went so far as to say during the draft the it is entirely possible that a Super Bowl could be played outside the U.S. in the foreseeable future.  Are you kidding me?

How has globalization in other leagues helped them?  Baseball has become very global, and lost popularity in the states, partly, as a result.  Basketball has globalized, and lost popularity as a result.  Open-wheel racing, hockey, the list goes on and on.  All of these sports were very popular in the States at one time or another but have lost some of their luster when the governing bodies focused more on international fans, and less on the ones here.

Let’s take a look at the NBA.  David Stern is hell-bent on making the NBA a global powerhouse.  In the last 10 years we have seen an influx of international players.  Next season, several NBA teams, including the Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic will spend much of their training camp and pre-season in China.  The League has spent more and more time pimping guys like Yao Ming and Dirk Nowitzki.  Problem is, the NBA has neglected its fan base here, causing a significant deterioration in fan interest in the US.

The result is less and less American kids are interested in, or playing basketball, or baseball than ever.  When parents aren’t interested in something it usually means the kids will not either.  Similar things are happening in baseball and hockey, where there has been a huge effort to increase popularity globally at the expense of the fans here.

That brings us back to the NFL.  It can easily be said that the National Football League is the new America’s Pastime.  It is the richest sport in the richest country in the world.  The NFL has done a better job of nurturing it’s fan base than any other sport.  It is ideally American, right down to the name, football, which has a different meaning everywhere else in the World.  Why globalize when the rest of the world has futbol?

If you purely judge just the time I spend on this blog it is easy to see that I am a huge fan of the NFL.  I’ll be honest.  The NFL would lose a lot of the luster to me if the Broncos ever made the Super Bowl and to see it I would have to fly to London, or Berlin, or Beijing.  How would that make you feel?  The NFL is our game, and it is our fans here in the US that has made it what it is.  For the League to turn its back on that, in the name of greed, would be a sad day for us all.

Technorati Tags: NFL, Roger Goddell, Adding Regular Season Games, Denver Broncos

***I’m sorry, I have to admit, watching Duke lose three in a row for the first time in nearly 2 decades brings a smile to my face. For most of that time I was indifferent towards Duke and Coach K. I respect his success, that he has done it the right way. I accept the fact that his system is great for college and that his players, for the most part, are disappointments in the NBA(Elton Brand, Carlos Boozer and Grant Hill aside). Then came March Madness a few years ago and all those annoying Chevy and American Express commercials featuring Mike. Talk about a recruiting advantage. Think for a moment you are the parent of a 17-year old basketball phenom. Which coach do you want responsible for your son? A guy entrusted with the marketing campaign of a large car company and huge credit card company, or a guy like Bruce Pearl who wears a bright orange jacket? That’s what I thought. From that moment on I have been doing to Anti-Duke dance at night. So far, it’s worked. Now Duke has decayed all the way down to a 5-5 team in the ACC, losing at home, no less, to Virgina Tech. Not very American Express-like of the Kster. Last night it was arch-rival North Carolina with Roy Williams, who might be the guy pitching all the gear this March, stomping the Blue Devils into submission on their home floor. Duke is in trouble, and though they’ll get into the tourney on reputation alone, it will be at the price of a better, more deserving team, mark my words.

***National Signing Day came and went, and depending on which web-site you check the winner is either USC or Florida. Pete Carroll and Urban Meyer are two of the best recruiter in the business, and it doesn’t hurt that they can sell some of the best weather in the world. For us Buckeye fans it might seem like a disappointing class, given it’s ranking between 15-20 accross the board. Not to fear, Buckeye fans, Tressel and company didn’t have alot of scholarships to work with and though they lost out on a couple of blue-chippers they have a solid class based on need rather than star power. Take this into account, the Buckeyes have yet to break the Top 10 in recruiting according to Rivals.com that past 4 years. Needless to say, the Buckeyes have enjoyed a bit of success during that time. No fear Buckeye fans, Ohio St. will be oko as long as the Great Sweater Vest is running the show.

***The Cincinnati Reds are single-handedly assuring the Cleveland Indians will have no shot to re-sign Jake Westbrook this season or C.C. Sabathia after next. After watching the Kansas City Royals throw 55 million big ones at Gil Meche, a journeyman with mediocre talent at best, the Reds did the same thing, on back to back days, no less. First it was Aaron Harang getting 36 million. Harang is a nice pitcher, but definitely no Sabathia. Then today the Reds gave Bronson Arroyo 25 million over the next two seasons. Come on, is Arroyo any better than Westbrook? The Indians, who were hoping to get Westbrook signed to an extension before the start of Spring Training have to be sweating what the price tag for a .500 pitcher has ballooned to. Not good news for Tribe fans.

$25 Million for this guy???

***Jerry Jones hired Wade Phillips to coach the Cowboys. Wade frickin’ Phillips. Let’s see….I am not a big fan of Bill Parcells, going so far as to call him the most overrated head coach in league history. That was probably a bit overstated and teams can do alot worse than the Tuna. He has the personality to take the spotlight and shine it directly on himself, allowing his players to play without the pressure. He even managed to co-exist with T.O. Now comes Phillips, not known for his personality in stints in Denver and Buffalo. What makes Jerry Jones think T.O. is going to give this guy any respect when he refused to give a guy with two rings and three Super Bowl appearances on his resume any due. Add that to the fact that Jason Garrett, with exactly 5 minutes of experience running an NFL offense will now have total control of Tony Romo and company since Phillips’ strength is defense. This just can’t end well, can it? The Cowboys have way too much talent, and the NFC is way too weak, for this team not to make a serious run next year, that is, unless the inmates run the asylum and the whole thing goes up in flames.

Technorati Tags: Cincinnati Reds, Bronson Arroyo, Jerry Jones, Wade Phillips, Dallas Cowboys, Aaron Harang, Duke, North Carolina, Coach K, Roy Williams, USC

***I have looked, and I just don’t see it.  In the “Post-Equipment Malfunction” era we live in, Dan Patrick, among others, used his radio show to prove even further he is the worst radio host in America.  Patrick made the point of saying Prince was sexually explicit during his Super Bowl perfomance.  Take a look and decide for yourselves –

After contacting CBS, and the NFL, about the issue, Patrick was told that it is “a real stretch to come to the conclusion that the figure is anything else than a guitar”.  What Patrick should know is anything, if looked at hard enough, or discussed long enough, could be considered explicit. Football in general is filled with it, if that is your sort of thing, which for Dan Patrick it must be.  No wonder Patrick, and former SportsCenter host Keith Olberman giggled everytime they talked about “Tight Ends” and “Wide Receivers”.

***Nothing annoys me more than watching NFL Network coverage of the Pro Bowl in Hawaii.  Ok, so annoying is the wrong term.  I’m jealous as hell.  Watching Rich Eisen, Marshall Faulk, and all the NFL stars in flowered shirts, basking in sunshine, while I am sitting in single digits does just slightly ruin my day.  Speaking of the Pro Bowl, does anyone else find it amazing that there hasn’t been a recent serious injury to a superstar in the game?  Sure, Robert Edwards of the Patriots destroyed his knee playing a rediculous touch football game on the beach, but it’s been a long while since someone was severely hurt during the actual game.  To me, I breath a small sigh of relief everytime one of the Broncos bows out.

Tough life, Rich…

***Shanny held his annual State of the Broncos pow-wow with the media yesterday, and as you might have guessed the status of Jake Plummer was a major topic of interest.  Shanahan is in the inenviable position of trying to raise the stock of a player that just 2 months ago was declared not good enough of starting behind a rookie.  ”He’s 40-18 as a starter (here) and there should be a number teams that want to look at a starter and to give him the opportunity to show what he’s capable of doing.”  In the same breath, Shanahan explained the timing of the move to Jay Cutler, “I definitely thought it was the right time when you’re averaging 17 points a game and you’re 7-4 and you’re not going anywhere in the playoffs, not with 17 points a game. We put Jay in there and we averaged 25 points a game.”  Tough spot to be in.  There will, no doubt be interest in Plummer, with a number of teams at the breaking point with their current QB situation.  A perfect spot seems to be Houston, where good buddy Gary Kubiak could utilize a player like Plummer to stablize the quarterback position, as well as be a good bridge to who-ever the Texans groom for the future.  Plummer needs to be in a situation where the expectation is the Super Bowl, like Denver.  Houston would just love to go .500.  Seems like a match made in heavon to me.

***Finally, it was reported that the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation is a bit unhappy with a Snickers commercial that aired during the Super Bowl.  If you missed it, the commercial shows two mechanics eating opposite ends of a Snickers bar, Lady and the Tramp style, until their lips touch at the end.  Disgusted, the two decide they have to do “something manly” to make up for their transgression.  In the ad, the two men pull their chest hair out to feel better about themselves.  It seems the group is even more unhappy about a website that has alternate endings that the public can vote on for broadcast during the Daytona 500.  Even further, there is video of NFL players watching the video, reacting to each scenario.  What I am trying to figure out is whether GLAAD is upset becuase of the ad, or becuase it was two dirty mechanics instead of Jake Gyllenhaal from Brokeback Mountain.  They don’t seem to have an issue with that.  Anyone else offended by the ads?

Technorati Tags: Prince, Super Bowl, Mike Shanahan, Denver Broncos, Snickers Ad, GLAAD