PETA just won't stop

You'd think PETA would let sleeping dogs lie, but I guess they decided not to do that. PETA now has a holiday email card you can send out which features a mini-Vick in a prison snow globe. Shake it up and Vick goes flying. I did everything I could to free #7, but nothing worked. Those prison walls are too sturdy.

By the way, is there any worse group to get on the bad side of than PETA? I'd say the Russian Mafia, and that's about it.

-WCK

The vitriol aimed at Vick right now is frighteningly intense

There's an old saying that things can only get worse before they get better, which is pretty much the case for Michael Vick right now.

But to top it all off, some people are taking rather scary shots at Vick while he's down.

Case in point, if you go to the "Bad Newz Kennels dog fighting investigation" wikipedia page, someone seems to already be making a sick joke about Vick's prison time: It has been reported to a local Georgia news station on December 12, 2007 from a letter of an inmate, that Vick was raped in prison by three former PETA members. Vick is currently under going treatment in a local hospital.

If it's already gone from the actual wikipedia page, you can see it below by clicking on the pic.

I'd call that dark humor at its absolute worst. And using the term "humor" is probably being way too kind. By the way, if you're wondering, no, nothing has happened to Vick.

But I guess I shouldn't be surprised by vitriol like this. There are a lot of people out there that are actually hoping Vick gets roughed up in the you-know-what in prison, which is disturbing when you stop and think about it. Some recent postings from out on the Web, including a PETA blog, have unfiltered thoughts such as these:

I hope he gets raped in prison every day, and then 1 day before his release....he dies

I hope he gets ass raped in prison, let him rot in there

the powers that be need to pick out a prison and put Vick's rape stand right in the middle of the workout area and strap Vick to it and release all the men prisoners and let them have a "SWEET VISIT" with Vick.

I don't think the length of time in jail matters. As long as he gets raped the same way his dogs did.

So much for people thinking Vick can be rehabilitated. Which, correct me if I'm wrong, is technically what prisons are supposed to help do (even though I know they don't).

Look, what Vick did was wrong. But actively hoping he gets raped in prison makes you about as good of a human being as Vick was when he was drowning dogs. Maybe worse.

Vick's been given a sentence, and with luck, he'll come out a different man.

People should at least give him the chance to turn his life around before they bury him.

-WCK

Mmmmmm, fried chicken

I didn't watch the majority of the Saints/Falcons game, like most of America, but I did catch Arthur Blank talking with the MNF crew. Well, no, I didn't catch that either. I muted the TV while he was on because I didn't want to hear 10 minutes of him answering questions about Vick. But apparently Blank said something that may or may not have been bad.

“If Michael makes a mistake and eats fried chicken and French fries every day, he could come out weighing 250 pounds and he won’t be able to play football.”

I know exactly what you're thinking. They have fried chicken and French fries in federal prison? Man, it doesn't sound so bad after all. Maybe I'll get on that international mail fraud scheme right now.

But in reality, some people are already talking about whether or not Blank's comment was a Fuzzy Zoeller style moment. I'll let you decide that. I'm going to run to KFC.

-WCK

You too can operate your own dogfighting ring

For those of you that are rich enough - which in all honesty is probably no one reading this - you might be interested to learn that Mike Vick's 15-acre Virginia estate that was at the center of his dogfighting case will soon be up for auction.

After Vick vacated the place, the house and property were assessed for tax purposes at $747,000 and sold to Todd Builders Inc. of Carrollton, Virginia, for $450,000. They'll be auctioning it off on Dec. 15.

Now, being the scrupulous buyer that you are, I'm sure you want to know what you're getting - aside from a dogfighting compound, of course. Well, the home is 4,608-square feet with five bedrooms and 4 1/2 bathrooms. And it has a fireplace - which I assume is to make fires or burn evidence.

Kyle Hause Jr., a real estate agent in Newport News who's doing the auction, is of course refraining from hyping up the house and its infamous past.

"Only one person can own the most famous house in America today," Hause said. "You can ask people from coast to coast which house has the most notoriety in the country today, and it's this house."

Wait, did I say he's "refraining from hyping up the house?" My mistake. I confused a real estate agent with an actual human being. Maybe they'll even throw in a free dog carcass if you buy it. And if you want to check out the backyard, just look below. The black sheds in the white circle are where - as they say - "the magic happens."

-WCK

Hopefully Mike Vick's prison term doesn't wind up like this

Halloween parties are great because something ridiculous always happens. Like having a small dog start humping the hell out of another dog wearing a Mike Vick jersey. There are too many potential jokes you can make about these pictures. All I know is the Mike Vick dog doesn't seem too upset about the violation he's about to receive.


HT: Investors Gab

-WCK

Mike Vick has no friends

Almost every day it seems something else comes out that's horrible news for Mike Vick. Today is of course no exception. It seems that Vick's old high school, Warwick High, has removed Vick's jersey from the school's trophy case.

Interestingly, the school did this voluntarily.

Michelle Morgan Price, a spokeswoman for Newport News Public Schools, said Vick's jersey was taken down about the time the sidelined Atlanta Falcons quarterback pleaded guilty to federal dogfighting charges.

"It remained up through a lot of the allegations and news reports," Morgan said. "It came out after he admitted to some wrongdoings."

Like killing dogs.

Morgan said the decision to remove the jersey was made at Warwick High School, not at the school district.

I realize what Vick did was wrong, but man this guy is having a rough time. Gets ratted out by his friends, has his apology notes stolen by PETA, has to repay the Falcons $20 million, and he still has to go to jail. And now his high school won't even recognize him.

It could always be worse I guess, at least he still has a hall named after him at Virgina Tech.

By the way, Marcus Vick's jersey is still in the trophy case, right next to a Glock-9.

-WCK

Vick is in a lot of trouble

In a move that can only be described as somewhat unexpected, Mike Vick lost his arbitration case with the Atlanta Falcons and barring a successful appeal by the Players Association, he'll have to give back $20 million to the team.

We thought Vick would beat this or pay very little back, primarily because Atlanta would need to prove that Vick knew he was in violation of his contract when he signed it. And some legal experts thought Vick wouldn't get hit hard either. Plus an arbitrator had previously stipulated in the Ashley Lelie case that teams cannot recover option bonuses or prorated shares of option bonuses, and this appeared to severely limit the money that teams could recoup if a player defaulted on his contract.

Well that didn't happen. From Yahoo! News:

The Falcons argued that Vick, who pleaded guilty to federal charges for his role in a long-running dogfighting operation, knew he was in violation of the contract when he signed a $130 million deal in December 2004.

The team said he used proceeds from the contract to fund his illicit activities and sought the repayment of $19,970,000 in bonuses he was paid over the last three years.

There are completely different interpretations on why this happened, mainly because the papers decided not to completely fill us in. Some people think this was simply an issue of prorated bonuses. That's likely, but the arbitrator also wrote that his ruling in the bonus dispute involving Ashley Lelie did not apply in Vick's case - which seems odd. And there's no explanation about why Vick's case is different.

However, after Vick's indictment we know he bought the house in 2001 and began sponsoring dogfights in 2002, so that might have actually played a bigger role in this ruling than anyone originally thought it would.

A good friend of ours who has been in Atlanta for a while also said that rumors about Vick and dogfighting have been swirling around down there for years - long before Vick signed the contract.

So maybe the Falcons used Vick's indictment against him. Or maybe it is just prorated salary junk. Or maybe its both. Regardless, Vick could probably use some extra money right about now.

-100%

Mike Vick might have a lighter wallet after today

Most of us were aware that the Atlanta Falcons were going to eventually try and see if they could get back a significant portion of Mike Vick's $130 million contract.

Well, that day is today.

The Atlanta Falcons will try to convince an arbitrator the team deserves a refund on up to $22 million in bonus money paid to Vick. The Falcons are expected to contend that Vick knew he was in violation of the contract when he signed the $130 million deal in December of 2004, and that he used proceeds from the deal to fund his dogfighting operation.

The Falcons will be represented Thursday by team president and general manager Rich McKay and three more team officials in the private hearing in Philadelphia.

Attorneys representing the NFL Players Association will argue against the Falcons’ claim. Which means Vick might as well just give the money back now.

In all seriousness though, it's going to be exceedingly difficult for the Falcons to get the $22 million back. According to the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement, bonus money earned can not be returned.

Despite that fact, the Falcons are going to give it a try. Frankly I think it'll be hard to prove that Vick is aware of anything, let alone violations of his own contract.

But hey, most people thought Isiah Thomas was going win his sexual harassment case. And we all know what happened there.

-WCK

So did they kill Vick's dogs or what?

I'm coming for you Vick!!!

Some of you may remember back in August there was a story about how Vick's dogs were likely to be euthanized by court order. Well, it's October now. What the hell happened?

Luckily there's finally a decent story in this sordid mess, and Vick might want to start watching his back.

All but one of the dogs seized in the Vick dog fighting case will be placed with families or put in a "sanctuary," where they will interact with people to overcome their fear and lack of socialization, according to a court order filed Monday.

I know I'd pay money to see what happens when Vick runs into Killer and Spike one afternoon.

The one unlucky dog "has a history biting humans" (and probably ripping other dogs to shreds) so it'll be drowned personally by Vick. No, I kid. It'll be euthanized. Then shot by Vick.

Anyway, I always love the official version of how the government justifies euthanizing a dog, so here you go:

U.S. Attorney Chuck Rosenberg on the dog -- identified as number 2621 -- "exhibited intense aggression to humans to the point where the evaluation could not safely be completed."

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that the same thing people said about Marcus Vick?

-WCK

Mike Vick is a genius

Mike Vick might just be so stupid he's brilliant. It seems that by getting caught smoking pot, Vick may have actually reduced his future jail time.

The obvious question here is - what the hell are you talking about?

The guy who runs Derrich.com heard a guy on a San Antonio radio show say that there is an obscure federal legal loophole that Vick might be able to take advantage of by having tested positive for marijuana.

Here is how Vick can reduce his jail time according to Derrich:

By taking advantage of an obscure Federal Bureau of Prisons (B.O.P.) Rotational/Developmental Assignment Program (R.D.A.P.) loophole — 18 U.S.C. 3621 — Vick could possibly reduce his sentence by one year. This documented instance of substance abuse apparently qualifies Vick for this reduction upon completion of a treatment program.

And here's what the statute says:

Period of custody — The period a prisoner convicted of a nonviolent offense remains in custody after successfully completing a treatment program may be reduced by the Bureau of Prisons, but such reduction may not be more than one year from the term the prisoner must otherwise serve.

According to the owner of American Prison Consultants - which is a somewhat seedy looking site, but specializes in reducing the jail time of white collar criminals - this is not BS. Here's what he said:

"If you can show you had a substance abuse issue 1 year prior to entering custody you can get UP TO A YEAR knocked off your federal sentence."

A couple of lawyers we know also vouched for this potential outcome. And strangely, killing dogs is not considered a violent offense. The APC guy also said that 6 months of prison time can be served in a half-way house - which is much, much better than being in prison.

Vick could qualify for this loophole because he failed his recent drug test. Of course now the question is did Vick actually smoke pot on purpose? I'd like to think Ron Mexico spent many a night buried in the Harvard Law library looking for this loophole, but I doubt it. Maybe he just has the greatest legal team in history, but that seems unlikely as well.

If the judge is lenient (which might be less likely now considering the positive marijuana test) and Vick is sentenced to a year and a half in jail, he might never actually set foot in prison and only spend 6 months in a half-way house.

All I know is if I ever have to plead guilty to a federal crime, I'm going to puff a huge doobie in the court room as I plead out.

Of course, Vick still has to worry about state charges, but hey, he's one step closer to his triumphant return to the NFL.

Photo courtesy of KSK and The Onion.

-WCK

Let's all go visit Mike Vick's house

Mike Vick has had a pretty bad run of late. And I'm not just talking about the federal dogfighting charges. He's recently been indicted by a Virginia grand jury on state charges and he's being sued by a Canadian bank that he got a loan from.

With Vick's livelyhood being taken away from him as well, he's certainly going to be in some serious financial trouble soon.

But there is hope on the horizon. According to UPI, the Surry County home that played host to the illegal dogfighting operation has become a local tourist attraction.

Across the street at Ferguson Grove Baptist Church, the groundskeeper, John Williams, watched tourists come and go all summer. He told The Virginian-Pilot newspaper that sometimes vehicles backed up half a dozen at a time to look at the house and take photos.

"If half of 'em that come and look at it each took a little bit," Williams said, showing what he meant with his thumb and forefinger - "there wouldn't be nothing left."

Even though Vick technically doesn't own the house anymore, he could at least try and start charging an admission for people to see the place. Maybe call it Ron Mexico's Dogfighting World, and charge $65 for entry. $200 for a yearly pass and a malnourished pit bull.

-WCK

Wait, why does dogfighting have any connection to race again?

The whole time the Vick scandal has been going on there's been a ton of talk about how it all has to do with race, even though multiple ATLiens - black, white, purple, whatever - have said that most of the city isn't very happy with Ron Mexico.

I alluded to this in yesterday's links (here's the original BBC News article), but since it's finally making some headway here in the states, I thought a full post was called for.

Right now in Ireland, there is an eerily similar dogfighting case going on as well. Gerard Cavlan, a star of Ireland’s Gaelic football league, was exposed Thursday as a director of an illegal dog-fighting club. As you can see, Cavlan is white.

Earlier this year, Cavlan was convicted of possessing a dangerous dog and fined £650. In April, Dungannon Magistrates Court was told that Cavlan had merely collected the dog from kennels for a Dublin man and was not involved in any other illegal activities. That of course turned out to be a huge lie. Kind of like what Vick did. And by "kind of" I mean "exactly."

And it's not just Cavlan who's doing it. A 17-month undercover investigation by BBC Northern Ireland’s “Spotlight” program, broadcast Thursday night, found evidence of 15 illegal dog-fighting operations in the British territory of 1.7 million people.

The program secretly filmed Gerard Cavlan, a 31-year-old member of the County Tyrone Gaelic football team, discussing his ownership of more than a dozen dogs — and bragging about how one “hard-mouthed dog” gripped another in its jaws.

“Sure he had him in the chest, and he shook him and he shook him for 25 minutes,” Cavlan said during a conversation filmed covertly in his vehicle.

The program filmed Cavlan saying he had co-founded a dog-fighting club called Bulldog Sanctuary Kennels. The program described his business partner as “Dee,” a Protestant extremist and drug dealer.

Man, anyone having a sense of deja vu yet?

Interestingly, the Gaelic Athletic Association has permitted Cavlan to continue playing, although chances are he could be in some serious trouble soon since this story literally just broke.

So what exactly do we have here? It looks to me like we have a white guy and a black guy both with sketchy friends who are in serious trouble for running dogfighting operations. Race really seems irrelevant in both cases, seeing as both men committed literally the identical crimes and both are facing massive blowback and are up shit creek. Isn't that what should happen?

Anyone who thinks Vick was railroaded because he's black better pay close attention to this case in Ireland. Because it's likely Cavlan is going to be in a worse situation than Vick, considering they have Cavlan taped talking about his role in dogfighting.

Personally, I hope they throw the book at Cavlan. But that's because I'm Southern Irish Catholic. I think most of you know what I'm talking about.

-WCK

Even the big guys are profiting off of Vick

When I was younger, I once had a few family members who bought me those hideous Big Dog T-shirts. I always thanked whoever gave them to me and then buried them in my closet. They just seemed lame to me.

Well, now they seem even lamer. The company, which has annual sales of $200 million, is looking to cash in on the Vick debacle by releasing four shirts on August 31. I'm sure plenty of dog enthusiasts will purchase one, wear it once, then use it to wash their car.

The last T-shirt design in the bottom right corner befuddles me a bit. Are they comparing Mike Vick to shit? It seems that they are. But why would you want to step in shit? You know what, I'm thinking too much, I'm obviously just supposed to buy the shirt.

-WCK

A serious look at Vick v. Henry

Travis Henry spends some time with two-thirds of his illegitimate kids.

In the comment section of the Fanhouse's recent post on Travis Henry, there were more than a few people that wondered who was actually worse - Vick or Henry. It's definitely a fair question. So why don't we try and answer it from two perspectives. First from the NFL's perspective and second from the larger societal perspective.

NFL perspective: Henry's 9 kids by 9 women is certainly a black eye for the NFL, but let's think about this rationally. Athletes, of all colors and ilk, are notorious for having illegitimate kids. Henry is just a bit worse than normal. And by a bit worse, I mean much worse. But still, in reality all Henry does is reinforce the notion that ALL professional athletes are sexually irresponsible with women. Of course for some people, he reinforces the belief that black athletes are more sexually irresponsible with women. But again, if you scour the backgrounds of pro athletes, the brand of illegitimate kids still falls on all races and economic backgrounds. There's also little concern for the NFL, since the NBA is generally considered to be (fairly or unfairly) the predominant league of illegitimate kids. In this sense, there isn't much for the NFL to worry about in regards to Henry, except maybe bailing him out when he needs money for child support that he hasn't paid. It also helps that Henry isn't exactly the face of the NFL.

Vick, from the NFL's perspective, is entirely different. First and foremost, Vick is better known than Henry and Vick was one of the faces of the league. Vick also committed a serious crime (felony) and has now admitted to it. Although what Henry has done is pretty bad, having illegitimate kids isn't yet a crime here in the United States. It's also important to note that serious gambling was involved with Vick's dogfighting ring - something the NFL wants no part of its players doing. Vick's crime is also particularly bad for the NFL because it wasn't something that can be brushed off as accidental or stupid. Vick didn't punch someone who made fun of him or fall asleep drunk at the wheel. He financed, ran, and participated in a dogfighting ring for an extended period time. For a league, and a commissioner, looking to set things straight, the last thing you want to have happen is one of your star players actually running a clearly illegal operation, and actively gambling on it, for an extended period of time. It lends credence to the notion that pro athletes, particularly football players, are thuggish individuals who consider themselves above the law. It's also important to note that crime (in Vick's case dogfighting and illegal gambling) has a bigger impact on the general public than illegitimate kids. Vick's crime is easy for people to condemn given how he broke actual laws. For most people, illegitimate kids are something much less tangible than crime - and much more difficult to openly condemn seeing as they're actual human beings, and not as easily definable as a broken law.

For the NFL, it's clear that Vick is easily the bigger problem thanks to his admission of the crime and his illegal gambling. Henry will likely be a funny story for years, but Vick is a permanent black eye on the NFL.


Societal perspective: Might actually surprise you here -we'll start with Vick. Although both men have done reprehensible things, Vick's impact is much less great. This hinges on one critical point. Vick was dealing with dogs, who despite what PETA-Nazis will tell you, are not actually humans - and remember our legal system says as much as well. And while Vick killed 8 dogs himself, and has condemned another 53 to lethal injection because they were trained to fight, his crime - from a societal perspective - is less bad than Henry's. This is because as great as dogs are, and as much as I loathe what Vick did, a dog's impact on society is essentially minimal at best. They don't peddle drugs, abuse people, and murder people (usually). Nor do they build spaceships, help solve the battle against cancer, or cure AIDS. They essentially offer humans companionship (and sometimes help with drug busts). While what Vick did is terrible, his overall societal impact is minimal. And there's even an argument to be made that what Vick did has actually raised awareness of dogfighting and will get more people attempting to stop it in the future.

While Henry hasn't killed any dogs or kids, his societal impact is actually much worse than Vick's. Let's think about this for a second. He has 9 illegitimate kids by 9 women. That means if we cut his jimmy off today and he settled down with one of these women, there'd still be eight children who'd have minimal contact with their biological father. I'm sure I don't exactly have to hit you with academic study (Population Review) after academic study (Brookings Institution) that suggest that illegitimate children tend to have the odds stacked against them. Not only that, but as the AJC story from the Fanhouse pointed out, Henry is essentially broke from paying for all nine kids. And we all know he won't be playing football until he's 60, so things could get interesting when he retires. The fact is that Henry's incredible lack of foresight, combined with the motivations of these 9 women, could seriously impact these kids' lives in negative ways. So while Henry hasn't drowned any dogs or physically hurt any of his kids - the odds appear to be against these kids thanks to Henry's stupidity. And these kids will grow up to have a bigger societal impact (positive or negative) than any dog ever will.

From a societal perspective, it seems clear that Henry is actually worse than Vick, seeing as he's made decisions that ultimately have a direct impact on human lives, whereas Vick's actions did not.


Conclusion: As was made clear earlier, both guys have done reprehensible things. But it appears that Henry has actually done worse things than Vick. Henry has likely negatively impacted the lives of 9 kids, who in all honesty, are more important than the life of any dog.

-WCK

Needs more dog

This story first came out on Friday, but since Vick decided to plead out that day it kind of got buried.

Some entrepreneurial woman decided to let her dogs go to town on 22 Mike Vick cards - and then put them on eBay. According to Yahoo News, she's promised to donate the green to the humane society of the winning bidder's choice.

Hopefully that humane society is my wallet, because as of right now, the bids for these cards are ridiculous. As of Thursday night, the high bid was $455. It's now 10 times that and still rising with 3 days left in the bidding process. I wonder if the eventual winning bidder would have donated the same amount of money to a humane society had Vick not been involved in dogfighting - which, you know, is still financed by slightly less famous people in many places. My guess is probably not.

Anyway, Vick's still a money maker, it's just that the money isn't going to him anymore.

-WCK

Want some pit bulls?

Man, irony sure is great.

When the Feds raided Michael Vick's property in April they wound up finding 53 live pit bulls still on the premises. Seeing as the dogs are evidence of the dogfighting ring, they were all seized. In a rather interesting legal loophole, since the dogs are now involved in a civil case, the only way they can get be released is if someone claims them.

Shockingly, no one has, not even Mr. John Lee Riches.

While that's not sursprising, here's what is. If someone doesn't claim those dogs soon, all 53 of them are going to be euthanized. That makes perfect sense. Wait, no it doesn't.

The legal situation is such. The dogs - not Vick - are now part of a civil complaint filed by federal prosecutors that does not name Vick and is separate from the criminal case against him. But it does state the pit bulls were part of the dogfighting operation known as "Bad Newz Kennels," which Vick and three buddies are accused of operating.

The government filed three public civil forfeiture notices in a Richmond newspaper to publicize the dogs' confiscation, and the deadline for claims on the dogs is 30 days after the appearance of the final notice, filed July 24. That sets the dogs up for lethal injection pretty soon. A federal judge will make the final call on what happens to them.

Excellent. So Vick will go to prison for killing eight dogs, and now rather than try and rehab the leftover dogs, the government will just kill all 53 of them. I'm not sure what the moral of the story is here. I think it's that to be safe, you should always kill dogs. That sounds right.

-WCK

Fox News is dumb

I realize Fox News is about the least reputable of news networks, but yesterday's story from them regarding Vick being sued by a South Carolina inmate, and turning it into a national news story - while pushing the Al Qaeda angle - has to rank somewhere between negligent journalism and absolute shit.

First off though, the major question is why is this suddenly getting attention now? BeRecruited SportsWrap first posted about this on July 27th. It was soon followed up by Epic Carnival and Deadspin, followed by just about every other sports blog I can name. It's not like Fox News was breaking something that no one knew about.

Not only that, in the blogging community this rightfully wasn't seen as a major story at all. It was simply humorous.

But to me, as someone with a journalism background, it's Fox's story itself that's so terrible. Blogs have no code of ethics. This gives us considerable leeway and we can do pretty much what we want. But a news source shouldn't be pulling shit like what Fox News did with Vick - as in borderline actively looking to get people to think Vick really has ties to Al Qaeda and bought weapons from Iran.

So anyway, I'm going to go through the brief article right here. I realize most of you obviously think anyone who believes this story to be true is an idiot. But let me tell you my friends, there are a lot of idiots in this country.

Title: South Carolina Inmate Hits Michael Vick With '$63,000,000,000 Billion Dollar' Lawsuit Alleging Al Qaeda Ties. [Excellent work. Be sure to put the fear of Al Qaeda into peoples' minds. Great use of the word "Alleging" to cover your ass.]

Embattled NFL quarterback Michael Vick, facing federal charges related to his alleged participation in dogfighting, has been hit with a "$63,000,000,000 billion dollar" lawsuit filed by a South Carolina inmate who alleges the Atlanta Falcons star stole his pit bulls and sold them on eBay to buy "missiles from Iran," FOX News has learned. [Please complete this sentence: Fox News learned this from.....blogs? The guy himself? A psychic? It's customary in journalism to attribute who you got stuff from. It's the like the first thing you learn.]

Jonathan Lee Riches filed the handwritten complaint over "theft and abuse of my animals" on July 23 in the U.S. District Court in Richmond, Va.

Riches alleges that Vick stole two white mixed pit bull dogs from his home in Holiday, Fla., and used them for dogfighting operations in Richmond, Va. The complaint goes on to allege that Vick sold the dogs on eBay and “used the proceeds to purchase missiles from the Iran government.”

The complaint also alleges that Vick would need those missiles because he pledged allegiance to Al Qaeda in February of this year.

“Michael Vick has to stop physically hurting my feelings and dashing my hopes,” Riches writes in the complaint.

[Right here there's a lot of missing information. First, how about we find out if Mr. Riches was even a free man when his dogs were allegedly stolen. That's not real hard. Or if he ever lived in Holiday, Florida. Not hard either. Or if he ever even had dogs. Second, now might be a good time to alert readers to any background on Riches, like that he's mentally disturbed. You are allowed to mention things like a person's background in an article.]

Riches wants $63 billion dollars “backed by gold and silver “delivered to the front gates to the Williamsburg Federal Correctional facility in South Carolina. Riches is an inmate at the facility serving out a wire fraud conviction. [Yes, bury the fact that he's serving out a wire fraud conviction deep in the article. That way most people probably miss it. Also how about some more background on Mr. Riches here, since you didn't do it earlier.]

FOXNews.com attempted to contact Vick, but neither he nor his spokesman could be reached for comment. [I find it hard to believe his spokesman couldn't be reached for comment, considering a spokesman has been in every dogfighting story since this thing started.]

Just awful, awful journalism. Totally catering to flashy, eye-grabbing news without even attempting to get any background whatsoever. I think most blogs did a better job handling this story than Fox News.

-WCK

Vick and Goodell - A frightening game of chicken

I already wrote a bit about this over at Epic Carnival, but what I wrote over there was basically the straight news angle. Basically, the only thing keeping Michael Vick from agreeing to a plea bargain is he wants to find out what the NFL will do if he pleads guilty.

In other words, he wants to know this: If I plead guilty, can I still eventually play football down the line?

I can't blame Vick for wanting to know this at all. Because let's be honest, there's no reason for him to agree to the plea bargain if it means Goodell will suspend him for life from football - which is always an outside possiblity.

By the same token, the leaking of this information (which I think was a calculated move) that Vick wants some news from the NFL now puts the onus on Goodell. Now certainly you can say Goodell has nothing to worry about, he's not the one facing a Friday deadline.

Well, in some ways he is. Goodell has come down quick and hard on players such as Pacman Jones, who still hasn't been convicted of anything serious. And even guys like Chris Henry and Tank Johnson, although they've done some dangerous things, haven't done anything quite in Vick's territory.

Goodell has some serious decisions to make. The first is should he let Michael Vick know what the NFL's stance will be if Vick pleads guilty. Goodell has to realize that football is Vick's life. And if Vick is seriously contemplating risking everything here, you could argue Goodell owes Vick at least a straight up answer by Friday about his football career.

There's also the question of does Goodell let a guy who has pled guilty (and will likely go to jail even if he pleads) eventually come back into the league? There's certainly a precedent for this, Jamal Lewis being the most recent example. But Goodell has been much harder on players than Tagliabue ever was.

This leaves Goodell in the unenviable position of does he risk not saying anything to Vick at all - and potentially watch Vick go to trial, get convicted, and go to jail for 3+ years. Or does he provide the groundwork that would ultimately allow a convicted felon back into the league in the future - which to a degree destroys the groundwork he's laid with Pacman and the like.

The bottom line here is both men are in very difficult positions at this exact moment in time - seeing as they're both fighting for something that defines them. For Vick it's football, for Goodell it's his league. It'll be awful interesting to see how this game of chicken plays out.

-WCK

Vick has to plead guilty now and his lawyers are setting it up

It appears that Michael Vick, having had all his buddies turn against him, has decided to pack it in and plead guilty before he gets hit with even more charges next week. Here is the full article that just appeared on the Atlanta Journal Constitution Web site. It's written by D. Orlando Ledbetter and Bill Rankin, who have been all over this case since it started.

Considering all his co-defendants flipped on him, this seems like the only rational thing for Vick to do. Minimize the damage before he gets hit with even more charges. There's also no way Vick's lawyers are going to let him go to trial at this point. It'd be literally insane considering the prosecution can throw witness after witness up on the stand to kill Vick.

Even if he pleads guilty, he still could face real jail time (likely one year) and could get a suspension that makes Pacman's look short. It also puts a stake through the heart of any marketability Vick thought he had left. Gotta say, this is a pretty bad end for Vick. And it's basically just starting.

Michael Vick's attorneys are engaged in plea negotiations with federal prosecutors and the Falcons quarterback could reach an agreement before new dogfighting charges are handed down next week, according to a person with knowledge of the negotiations.

The negotiations follow news that two more of Vick's three co-defendants are scheduled to enter guilty pleas later this week as part of a deal with prosecutors.

Collins Spencer, a spokesman for Vick's lawyers, declined to comment Tuesday on any possible negotiations.

He added that Vick did not meet with his attorneys last night but said they will have a conference call with Vick this morning and may have an announcement this afternoon. Spencer did not indicate what the announcement would be.

On Monday Spencer said the legal team was "very surprised" by the pleas from Purnell Peace and Quanis Phillips and said they would not affect plans to move forward toward a Nov. 26 trial.

Vick's lead attorney, Billy Martin, could not be reached for comment.

If the announcement is that Vick has reached a plea agreement, the embattled star quarterback is expected to be sentenced to some time in prison, according to federal sentencing guidelines.

Vick's motivation to enter a guilty plea is likely fueled by the U.S. Attorney's Office announcement last month that it will seek a new "superseding" indictment against Vick by the end of August. With the cooperation of Vick's three co-defendants, there will likely be new, and more specific, allegations against Vick. The federal grand jury in Richmond is expected to hand up that indictment sometime early next week.

If Vick can reach an agreement by the end of this week, he would not have to answer to any additional charges.

This week, Vick learned that in the criminal justice system, friendship only goes so far.

On Monday, guilty plea hearings were scheduled for two of his co-defendants and long-time associates. Peace, 35, of Virginia Beach, has a plea hearing scheduled for Thursday in U.S. District Court in Richmond at 9 a.m., while Phillips, 28, of Atlanta, has a plea hearing set for Friday at the same time. The hearings showed up Monday on U.S. District Court Judge Henry E. Hudson's docket.

The third co-defendant, Tony Taylor, 34, of Hampton pleaded guilty July 30 and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in their case against Vick. Just days earlier, Taylor had joined Vick and the others in pleading not guilty.

Attorneys for both Peace and Phillips declined to comment Monday.

"There's no telling until the actual pleas, but this doesn't sound like good news for Michael Vick," said Kent Alexander, once the U.S. attorney in Atlanta and now Emory University's general counsel. "Usually, if people plead guilty early in a case they may be cooperating with the government. That's what it sounds like here."

A federal grand jury indicted the men last month on a single count of conspiracy to cross state lines to engage in illegal gambling; to sponsor a dog in an animal fighting venture; and to buy, transport and receive dogs for animal fighting.

They face up to five years in prison and $250,000 in fines, but defendants often receive more lenient punishment when they accept responsibility and enter guilty pleas.

A 13-page statement of facts Taylor signed with prosecutors last month says Vick, Peace and Phillips set up a business called "Bad Newz Kennels" in rural Surry County, Va., to raise and train pit bulls for dogfights.

It also says the men gambled on the fights in Virginia and several other states and that Vick almost exclusively funded the dogfighting operation and gambling monies.

At various times, Taylor, Peace and Phillips executed dogs they didn't think would fight well by shooting them, the statement says. The indictment issued earlier in July said Vick also executed dogs.

The plea deals for Taylor, Peace and Phillips emerged after federal prosecutors announced at their arraignment hearing last month that they would be seeking a superseding indictment, meaning they could name additional charges and defendants in the case. That indictment is expected to be announced before the end of this month.

Vick's jury trial is scheduled for Nov. 26, deep into the Falcons' schedule. The Falcons will have played 11 of their 16 regular-season games by then. Vick will remain free until the trial, but his availability to appear on field is unclear. The NFL barred Vick, with pay, from being with the team pending the outcome of its own investigation.

A call to Vick's agent, Joel Segal, was not returned Monday. The Falcons declined to comment on the latest developments in Vick's case.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is expected to make a decision on Vick's future in a few weeks. Goodell said he is waiting for a report from investigator Eric Holder before rendering a verdict, according to a league spokesman. No timetable has been set for Goodell's decision, NFL vice president of public relations Greg Aiello said.

Tailback Warrick Dunn, who spoke to Vick recently, said Falcons players are already of the mindset that they'll have to play without him.

"Mike is going to be missed, and he has been missed, but at the same time, you have to go on," he said.

Should Holder's report lead Goodell to determine Vick violated the NFL's player conduct policy, he could issue a suspension. Holder's report also could show that Vick did not violate the policy and that no league-ordered suspension or other discipline is warranted.

A high-ranking NFL team official said Goodell likely would meet with Vick or his legal representation before levying any suspension. Such a meeting has yet to take place.

Falcons owner Arthur Blank and president and general manager Rich McKay have said they had enough information to lead them to draw up papers to suspend Vick for four games — the maximum a team can suspend a player for disciplinary reasons. The league could suspend Vick for a year.

Blank and McKay also said there were discussions about cutting Vick.

Coach Bobby Petrino said Monday he had not been told of any developments from the NFL regarding a decision on Vick.

"I'm not aware of any recent updates on this situation," Petrino said.

"We've been proceeding as if — we have to — he's not going to be here, and we're doing the best we can at that."

-WCK

Michael Vick would love this event

Mike Vick seems to have chosen the wrong animal abusing sport to enjoy. Because while it may be illegal to have dogs fight each other to the death in the U.S., it's more than ok to send horses over a steep incline at full gallop and watch them tumble down a hill as they break every bone in their body. And then force them to ford a river. Yee-haw!

That's right friends, this weekend marked another year of the Omak Suicide Race in Washington state.

For more than 70 years, cowboys and Indians have gathered in central Washington every August for the annual Omak Stampede and the rodeo's biggest draw, the Suicide Race. In four races over four days that began Thursday, 15 riders simultaneously sprint their horses at full gallop down the hill and across the river to a rodeo arena. The first three races are run at night with floodlights to light the hill. Since 1982 an average of almost one horse a year has been killed during the race and riders have suffered a litany of injuries.

If you think that's bad, at least people these days wear helmets and are no longer allowed to beat the horses with giant clubs. Uh, what? Yes, that's right, when the event originally started in the 1930's racers often drank heavily before taking the plunge and carried wooden clubs to beat other jockeys and horses. Now would probably be an excellent time to mention that the majority of the riders come from the Colville Confederated Native American Tribes.

I'm not making any of this up. I literally couldn't make this post more politically incorrect if I tried.

Anyway, you can get into a debate about which is worse - dogfighting or whatever the hell you call this thing - but all I know is one is 100% illegal and the other is 100% legal.

Looks like you chose the wrong one Vick.

-WCK

info about the Suicide Race from the Wall Street Journal.