SEE ALSO: FBI Screw-Ups Hidden In Hundreds Of Cases

Vick says in a statement Monday that Alabama’s cockfighting law is the nation’s “weakest” because the $50 fine is the maximum punishment. Vick has been outspoken against animal cruelty since he served 16 months in federal prison on a dog-fighting conviction.

Vick says he doesn’t want others to make the same mistake of being cruel to animals.

Sen. Cam Ward introduced a bill that would upgrade the state’s penalty for illegal cockfighting to a class A misdemeanor with a maximum fine of $6,000. The bill passed the Senate Judiciary Committee early in the session, but the Senate Rules Committee refused to bring up the bill for a vote.

SEE ALSO:

Sex Scandal Agents Had Obama’s Schedule In Rooms

Tupac Ready For Tour

Perhaps two broken ribs had something to do with it.

Vick broke his two lower ribs on the second play of the Eagles’ 21-17 loss to Arizona on Sunday. He didn’t tell anyone that he was hurt and played through the pain.

“He didn’t say anything, not a word. He’s a tough nut,” coach Andy Reid said Monday. “He said he really just blanked it out and played is kind of what he said, and really didn’t think twice about it.”

Vick’s status for the next game at the New York Giants (6-3) is uncertain. He missed three games last year with a rib cartilage injury.

The defending NFC East champion Eagles (3-6) are going nowhere in a season that began with Super Bowl aspirations. They have now lost five games in which they led in the fourth quarter.

Vick was injured after taking a hard hit from linebacker Daryl Washington on a 13-yard completion to Brent Celek on Philadelphia’s opening drive. He was slow to get up, but stayed in. He later sat out one play after taking another hard shot on a scramble in the fourth quarter.

Vick was 16 of 34 for 128 yards and two interceptions. He threw two other interceptions that didn’t count. One was negated by a penalty and another overturned on replay. Vick also misfired on several attempts, including overthrowing a wide-open Celek on what could’ve been a 66-yard TD catch.

“I’d probably say that (the injury) had something to do with it,” Reid said.

Vick has hardly resembled the guy who was an MVP candidate and Pro Bowl starter last season. He’s already thrown 11 interceptions in nine games. He had six picks all of last season.

“I was inaccurate and never really got comfortable,” Vick said after the game. “I’m very hard on myself and that just can’t happen. You have to find ways to get it done. I didn’t do it and I just have to figure out a way to get it done next time we’re in the situation.”

Wide receiver Jeremy Maclin (shoulder), cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (ankle) and offensive lineman King Dunlap (concussion) also were injured in the loss to the Cardinals. Reid said Rodgers-Cromartie will “struggle” to return this week.

With Vick off target and the Eagles still nursing a lead, the offense inexplicably continued to throw instead of turning to LeSean McCoy, the NFC’s leading rusher. McCoy got the ball just twice after a 29-yard run in the third quarter. He finished with 81 yards on just 14 carries.

“In this case, in this game here, we felt like we could throw the ball against their defense because obviously we wanted to put up points,” Reid said. “In hindsight, maybe we could have given him the ball more.”

Reid also defended defensive coordinator Juan Castillo, who has come under heavy criticism in his first year at a new position after coaching the offensive line for several years. Asked if Castillo will continue to make the defensive calls, Reid said: “Yes.”

But many people know about Michael Vick the quarterback and the statistics that come along with it. But what about the person? (Source: Michael Vick Wiki)

1. Major League Baseball Draftee

Michael Vick was selected in the 30th round of the 2000 baseball draft by the Colorado Rockies, even though he hadn’t picked up a baseball or swung a bat since the ninth grade.

2. Kids Do The Darndest Things

Everyone does something silly as a kid right? Well Michael actually glued his eyelids shut at the age of three. Can it get any sillier than that?

3. Breaking Records

In a game against the Washington Redskins that showed the whole world that he’s returned to top form as a NFL player, Vick became the first player in NFL history to accumulate 300 passing yards, 50 rushing yards, four passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns in the same game.

4. The Longest Yard

Did you know Vick, while imprisoned at the federal prison in Leavenworth, Kan., had a “Longest Yard” experience, quarterbacking one team of cons to a 42-14 win over another? The inmates kept badgering him to play, but he went more than a year without touching a football — until September 2008, with eight months left on his sentence he joined forces with fellow inmates to play some touch football.

5. Solitary Confinement

Part of his prison sentence included a four-night, top-secret stay in solitary confinement in Atlanta about a month before his May 2009 release. In a weird crisscrossing of America, Vick had to be transported from Leavenworth to Richmond, Va., to bankruptcy court for a hearing. He was driven from prison in Kansas to the Oklahoma City airport; and then flown to an airport in Virginia. In two different prisons in Virginia, Vick spent a total of 11 days in solitary confinement, away from the general population.

6. Reel ‘Em In

Michael loves to fish. He first got into the sport when he was 10, casting his line into the waters of the James River.

7. Funny Childhood Nicknames

As a child, Michael’s nickname was Ookie.

8. Homesickness

Vick faced a challenge in his first year of college: homesickness. He spent many nights on the phone with his mother, begging her to bring him home. After the Hokies football season ended, she did just that. He stayed home for a couple of days and then returned to spring practice.

9. Favorite Rapper?

Michael likes music, and his all time favorite artist to listen to is rapper Scarface.

10. Favorite TV Show?

His favorite TV show is Martin, and favorite movie is Life.

RELATED:

ESPN’s Toure Asks What If Michael Vick Was White

Nike Re-Signs Michael Vick To An Endorsement Deal

As Vick walked to the locker room for medical attention after the hit, NBC showed that he was spitting blood. Sideline reporter Michele Tafoya reported that he was bleeding due to biting his tongue.

Vick was not hospitalized and was cleared to travel with the team back to Philadelphia, but will have to undergo concussion-specific testing before he can be cleared to return to practice or play in a game.

As Vick was being wrapped up by a defender, his body twisted and his helmet collided with teammate Todd Herremans’ head. Vick got up slowly and gradually made his way to the sideline with help from his team’s training staff.

Read more at HuffingtonPost.com

RELATED:

Mayweather Moves To 42-0 With Controversial Knockout

A few years ago, Michael Vick was one of the most hated athletes in the world after losing a potential laden football career after being charged with running a dogfighting ring. He lost his position as the franchise quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons, his $100 million plus contract, and many of his fans.

Two years later, Michael Vick has gone from a backup on the Philadelphia Eagles to the starting quarterback of a Super Bowl favorite team. Oh, and don’t forget that he just signed a contract for six years and $100 million, with $40 million of it guaranteed.

Can you say redemption?

VIck’s lucrative new pact comes on the heels of a stellar 2010 season that earned him Comeback Player of the Year honors. That resurgent ’10 season began just over a year after Vick was released from prison after 19 months spent behind bars for his dogfighting conviction. Before his role in a dogfighting ring was exposed, Vick had been one of the most electric players in the NFL during his six seasons with the Atlanta Falcons.

Read more at Huffington Post

RELATED:

ESPN Asks: “What if Michael Vick was white?”

Vick takes anti-dogfighting message to Congress

Toure claims that he asked that ESPN not to title it “What If Michael Vick Were White” and he argues against the “switch-race” premise.

Toure Via ESPN:

The problem with the “switch the subject’s race to determine if it’s racism” test runs much deeper than that. It fails to take into account that switching someone’s race changes his entire existence. In making Vick white, you have him born to different parents. That alone sets his life trajectory in an entirely different direction. Thus when this hypothetical white Michael Vick … wait, I can’t even continue that sentence in good faith. I mean, who would this white Vick be? That person is unknowable. When you alter his race, it’s like those Back to the Future movies where someone goes back in time, inadvertently changes one small thing about his parents’ dating history and then the person starts to disappear. If Vick had been born to white parents, you wouldn’t even be reading this right now. That Vick would have had radically different options in life compared with the Vick who grew up in the projects of Newport News, Va., where many young black men see sports as the only way out.

Here’s another question: If Vick grew up with the paternal support that white kids are more likely to have (72 percent percent of black children are born to unwed mothers compared with 29 percent of white children), would he have been involved in dogfighting? I ask this not to look for an excuse but to explore the roots of his behavior. Vick’s stunningly stupid moral breakdown with respect to dogs is certainly related to the culture of the world he grew up in, which he says fully embraced dogfighting. But it’s also related to the household he grew up in.

Read More At ESPN

RELATED STORIES

Vick Takes Anti-Dogfighting Message To Congress

Nike Re-Signs Michael Vick To Endorsement Deal

Vick told a news conference Tuesday that he supports a House bill that would prohibit attendance at organized animal fights. The bill also would impose additional penalties for anyone causing a minor to attend.

Vick said he wants to teach kids not to get mixed up in animal fights and to take away profits from sponsors of these events.

The football star appeared with officials of the Humane Society of the United States and two sponsors of the legislation, Virginia Democrat Jim Moran and Ohio Democrat Betty Sutton. Pennsylvania Republican Tom Marino of Pennsylvania is the bill’s third co-sponsor.

RELATED STORIES

Nike Re-Signs Michael Vick To Endorsement Deal

Michael Vick Surprises Philly Students With $5,000 Scholarships

Nike originally signed Vick as a rookie in 2001, and later terminated his contract in August 2007 after pleading guilty to dog fighting.

The Grio Reports:

“Michael is committed to working with Nike and wants to utilize his platform as a professional athlete to have a positive impact on our youth,” said Andrew Stroth, the Chicago-based attorney who negotiated the deal for Vick.

Nike and Vick initially renewed their relationship in 2009, when the company announced it had “agreed to supply product” to the quarterback, who was not under contract. Nike has similar agreements with several athletes with whom they don’t have endorsement deals.

Read More At TheGrio.com

RELATED:

Vick Signs First Endorsement Deal Since Arrest

PHILADELPHIA – In the minutes before giving his first commencement speech, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick professed to be more nervous than before a football game.

He had nothing to worry about. A lovingly raucous crowd of several hundred cheered Vick throughout his remarks Friday to graduates of the alternative Camelot high schools at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia.

The fact that he surprised a pair of students with $5,000 college scholarships didn’t hurt either. The theme of redemption proved to be the heart of the connection between the ex-con NFL superstar and the 450 graduates. Camelot’s six campuses in Philadelphia serve about 1,800 students with emotional, disciplinary or academic problems.

In speeches during Friday’s ceremony and in a private meeting with Vick before the big event, several graduates spoke of rebounding from previous troubles or poor choices to earn a diploma with the second chance they were given at Camelot.

Radames Quinones, 17, who met with Vick, said he ran with a gang, ditched class, assaulted someone and got kicked out of several schools before finding a home at Camelot’s Shallcross Academy in northeast Philadelphia. He hopes to attend culinary school in the fall.

“It was like a family I never had,” Quinones said of the Shallcross staff. “They treat you like their own kids.”

Vick, of course, is the poster child for second chances. The former Atlanta Falcon has rebuilt his career with the Eagles after serving 18 months in prison on dogfighting charges. And the Hampton, Va., native is rebuilding his image by speaking regularly against animal cruelty to schools and community groups.

“I had all the fame and fortune; I thought I was unstoppable,” Vick told the students. But after his conviction, he said, “I lost my freedom, I lost my money, I lost my family.”

He challenged the students to make thoughtful decisions, pursue their goals and make the most of their second chances.

“I stand before you today a changed man,” Vick said. “Use me as an example at how to become an instrument of change … you can do it as well.”

Vick then announced that grads Monique Joseph and Rickey Savage would each be receiving a scholarship. Joseph plans to attend Penn State in the fall while Savage will go to Virginia Union University in Richmond, Va.

Neither the students nor their families — not even school staff — knew they would be receiving the funds, said Camelot CEO Todd Bock.

“I heard a little bit about it yesterday, but I had no idea how generous he was going to be to our students,” Bock said after the ceremony. “I think our kids, our schools and our story really resonated with him.”

Savage, 19, said he is grateful to Vick for the financial aid, which will help him study business technology, and for the motivational speech.

Savage said his own second chance came five years ago after being arrested for robbery and assault. A stern talking-to from a judge made him realize he was on a dead-end path, he said.

“Michael Vick, really, he put everything in perspective,” Savage said. “He said it’s not your journey, it’s your destination.”

Vick spokesman Andrew Stroth said the scholarship recipients were chosen based on academic achievement, attendance and participation in student government. He said Vick plans to give out the $5,000 awards annually.

RELATED:

Vick To Burress: “Think Family First, Football Second”

Vick has made a remarkable comeback to the league after spending 18 months in federal prison for dogfighting charges. He led the Eagles to the NFC East title last season and was voted The Associated Press Comeback Player of the Year.

Vick hasn’t communicated with Burress, but shared his thoughts on what he would say to him.

“Just take your time coming back and getting acclimated. Think family first and football second and it’ll all work out,” Vick said Wednesday. “It’s great that he’ll get a second chance. We’ll pray for him, we’re going to support him 100 percent and we’re in his corner and we just want him to excel.”

Vick was reviled when he came back, and there was an outcry from animal rights groups when the Eagles signed him in August 2009. But Vick won over fans in Philadelphia and outside the city, too, with his sensational performance on the field and his service in the community.

Burress doesn’t have to overcome similar animosity, though he still faces some challenges.

“Hopefully he’ll use my situation as an example and go out and try and emulate what I’ve done in his own way,” Vick said. “That’s what it’s about. It’s about growth and it’s about learning. Things in life happen in stages and those are some things you have to go through as an individual.”

The Eagles are rumored to be a potential home for Burress, and were even listed on one betting website as the favorites to land him at 3-2 odds. But a person familiar with the team’s thinking told The Associated Press that Burress isn’t in their plans.

That makes sense, considering the Eagles already have two standout receivers: DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin. Jackson has been to the Pro Bowl twice and Maclin has star potential. Jason Avant and Riley Cooper give the team depth at the position.

Burress would fit in perfectly as a situational receiver inside the red zone because of his size. But it’s likely he’d prefer a team that would offer him a chance to be the No. 1 or No. 2 target.

“He definitely brings a lot to the game, his passion, enthusiasm and the way he plays,” Vick said. Vick and several other Eagles have said they’d welcome Burress to Philadelphia.

It’s not their decision, though.

“We haven’t even gone there,” Philadelphia coach Andy Reid said during the team’s annual playground building event. “There is nothing you can do there.”

Vick was 29 when he returned. Burress turns 34 in August. While age is a factor, Vick said Burress’ position helps him.

“It’s actually easier being a receiver and coming back and playing the game,” Vick said. “You have to get your legs back up under you. I was a guy that had to live that. It’s tough. You think you can do it, but you have to take that time out and make sure you’re ready to go.”

It isn’t until we notice that the sentencing for Ryan LeVin, a 36 year-old Porsche driver, was just two years of house arrest after killing two people in a hit-and-run accident.

When you contrast that to Plaxico Burress and Michael Vick, you understand the racial inequity that exists in America’s justice system.

As we all know, and won’t defend, Plaxico Burress went to jail for shooting himself in the leg in a nightclub. Michael Vick went to jail for running a dog fighting operation.

In theory, we all understand that jail is for those that break the law, but in practice, we know that jail is supposed to be for dangerous people. Jail is supposed to be for people that we may need to have locked away from the rest of us for our own safety.

Then we see a man that actually did harm people—not only harmed them, killed them—sentenced to house arrest, while a guy whose only crime was against dogs and another man that shot his own fool self in the leg do hard time.

The logical justification for this stems from the very American ideology that this country had done so much for the Negro.

Now, I’ve always regretted the fact that Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation and for two reasons:

1) I believe that if things had played out along the course they were going, what with the proliferation of riots and slave revolts, Black people would have liberated themselves eventually.

2) Being granted your freedom makes you eternally indebted to your grantor for your freedom.

The second of those two things is what causes some Americans to say things that are so run-naked crazy.

You hear them use the word “we” in funny ways; like “we” fought the Civil War to free you people; and “we” fought against discriminatory practices such as Jim Crow and back-of-the bussing.

Sometimes, when the gin hits your spirit you’re almost tempted to ask them exactly who they were fighting against!

But at the root, that “we” is the reason that America loves putting Black men in jail.

America can’t see beyond all the wonderful things it has done for Black people.

Yet we still have the nerve to occasionally commit crimes?

Such ingratitude!

RELATED:

Christians should love Michael Vick

Vick makes the Eagles Black America’s team

Michael Vick will find out today whether he will be the player chosen to adorn the cover of the 2012 Madden NFL video games, which would make him the first two-time cover athlete in 22 years of the Madden series.

Bloomberg.com reports:

Vick has sought to restore his public image since the dog fighting case that led to a federal prison term, forced him to miss two National Football League seasons and cost him sponsorships with companies including Nike Inc., the world’s largest athletic shoemaker. Vick was voted the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year with the Eagles in 2010.

After a series of  bracket-style elimination bouts controlled by fans for the first time, Vick faces off against Peyton Hillis of the Cleveland Browns in the final round of voting.

RELATED:

Vick Denounces Dog Fighting Game “Dog Wars”

Start Gallery

The cellphone app is called “Dog Wars” and lets players feed, water, train and fight their virtual dogs against others.

“I’ve come to learn the hard way that dogfighting is a dead-end street,” Vick said in a statement posted on the Humane Society’s website. “Now, I am on the right side of this issue, and I think it’s important to send the smart message to kids, and not glorify this form of animal cruelty, even in an Android app.”

The app is by Kage Games, whose website features an illustration of a pit bull with a bloody muzzle next to the ‘Dog Wars’ logo.

A website where the app can be downloaded stresses that it is only a video game. “Perhaps one day we will make gerbil wars or beta fish wars for people who can’t understand fantasy role play games,” it says.

Humane Society President Wayne Pacelle said, however, the game could be used as virtual training ground for would-be dogfighters.

“Android should drop ‘Dog Wars’ from its online market and join the national movement to save dogs from this violent practice,” Pacelle said in a statement.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and other groups also called for the app to be pulled.

Vick was once the NFL’s highest-paid player but was arrested in 2007 and convicted on dogfighting charges, for which he served 18 months in federal prison. He returned to the league in 2009 and is now a star quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles.

RELATED STORIES

Michael Vick Cancels Appearance On Oprah

Vick Signs First Endorsement Deal Since Arrest

CHICAGO – Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick will not be appearing on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” after all.

Related: 25 reasons we love Michael Jordan

A show spokesman said Wednesday representatives of the NFL star called late Tuesday to cancel his appearance for personal reasons. The daytime talk show host’s interview with Vick was set to air Thursday, Feb. 24.

The interview was to cover Vick’s time in prison, his work with the Humane Society and his return to the NFL.

Vick missed two seasons and served 18 months in federal prison for a dogfighting operation based on his property in Surry County, Va.

He was reinstated to the NFL for the 2009 season and has been doing public service work, including with the Humane Society.

RELATED STORIES

Oprah Will Have Michael Vick On Show After Dropping Bet

Vick Signs First Endorsement Deal Since Arrest

Winfrey had wagered $320 with Morgan over who would get Michael Vick on their show. Vick’s handlers made Winfrey drop the Wager, claiming that they didn’t want him involved in gambling. Vick had appeared on 60 Minutes in 2009 but has not had a TV interview since he has returned to the NFL.

RELATED STORIES

Vick Signs First Endorsement Deal Since Arrest

Tucker Carlson Should Be Fired For “Execute” Vick Comments

Start Gallery

Vick has signed his first endorsement contract since his release from prison. The Philadelphia Eagles’ Pro Bowl quarterback inked a two-year contract with Unequal Technologies, a provider of the football pads Vick wore most of last season.

The deal will be announced on Thursday.

“We’re real excited about it,” chief executive officer Rob Vito said Tuesday. “Michael is good people. He paid his dues. President Obama reached out to him. He deserves an opportunity. This is what makes America so great. He’s moved forward. He’s a whole other person.”

Vito said Vick is the company’s first corporate spokesman. Terms of his deal weren’t disclosed. But Vito said it’s a “sizable” contract.

“We believe it was worth it,” he said, “because of Michael Vick and how he can shed light on the technology of our products.”

Unequal Technologies makes several shock-blocking sports pads. When Vick returned after missing three games with a rib injury, he wore a vest designed by Unequal. He later wore shoulder pads and thigh pads made by the company.

“The Unequal technology is a part of my game now and I won’t play without my Unequal,” Vick said in a statement acquired by the Associated Press. “Unequal’s protective power gives me a whole new level of confidence in my game. It makes me feel invincible.”

Vick was once the NFL’s highest-paid player and he endorsed many products during his six seasons with the Atlanta Falcons. But Vick lost everything following his 2007 arrest on dogfighting charges, for which he served 18 months in federal prison.

He returned to the NFL in 2009 with the Eagles and worked his way from a seldom-used third-string quarterback to the key cog on a division-winning team. He will start for the NFC in the Pro Bowl this weekend.

Vick appeared in a television commercial for a car dealership last month. However, he didn’t get paid for it. He was compensated by having use of a Nissan sport-utility vehicle.

Atlanta — On Thursday’s edition of “Inside The NBA” on TNT, NBA analyst Charles Barkley ripped Tucker Carlson for saying Michael Vick should have been executed. Carlson made the statement while filling in for Sean Hannity on Fox News on Dec. 28.

“There’s some idiot on another station named Tucker Carlson, who called out Michael Vick,” Barkley said at the beginning of his rant. He started to praise Vick and wished him luck in the playoffs, then continued to fire at Carlson.

“Tucker Carlson, who’s a nobody. He used to work for us over here. We fired him because he sucked,” the NBA Hall of Famer said. “He said Michael Vick should be executed, which is total BS.”

Read more at HuffingtonPost.com

RELATED:

Fox News Pundit Says Michael Vick ‘Should Have Been Executed’

“This is what happens when you get too emotional,” Carlson said. “I’m a dog lover…I love them and I know a lot about what Michael Vick did…I overspoke. I’m uncomfortable with the death penalty in any circumstance. Of course I don’t think he should be executed, but I do think that what he did is truly appalling.”

Read more at HuffingtonPost.com

If Michael Vick should be executed and given the same treatment that he gave the dogs, shouldn’t Peyton Manning and his brother Eli be shot like the deers they shoot when they go deer hunting? What about Dick Cheney? Should he be executed by firing squads like the poor birds he was shooting at when he shot his friend in the face?

What about Tucker Carlson’s fellow Fox News host Mike Huckabee? His son was charged with torturing and murdering a stray dog. Should young Huckabee be tortured and murdered too? What does Tucker Carlson have to say about that.

What about his other fellow Fox News host, Karl Rove who hunts doves, the international symbol of peace for fun during his off time. Should he be shot for killing harmless animals?

I’m not going to defend Michael Vick’s dogfighting, but he did his time and has repented. In many urban areas, pitbulls are used as a form of protection against burglars and robbers. They are trained and bred to be fierce and at times deadly. Many people who train and fight pits have a close relationships with those animals not unlike trainers who train boxers or jockeys or animal trainers.

It is true that some dogs who were injured in battle were electrocuted but how is that different than horse trainers who kill horses after the horses are injured in races According to PETA thousands of Greyhound dogs are killed as puppies in the name of “selective breeding” but the Greyhound industry hasn’t faced close to the criticism that Vick has.

The fact that PETA and others choose to go after Michael Vick is another way Black people are used as scapegoats for national problems. America is built on the killing of animals, from the clothes we wear to the food we eat. Hunting is still legal in several states, not so people can feed their families, but so a small group of people can amuse themselves by killing animals. The beef, chicken, pork, leather and dairy industries are all based on the killing and abuse of animals.

How is taking animals bred to fight and fighting them worse than shooting innocent animals for fun? How come PETA never criticizes squeaky clean All-American Quarterback Peyton Manning for his execution of deers but vilifies Michael Vick at every opportunity, despite everything he has done to repent? If Tucker Carlson is going to call for Vick’s execution shouldn’t he call for the execution of the Manning Brothers, and Fox News favorites Cheney and Rove?

RELATED STORIES

FOX News Pundit Says Michael Vick ‘Should Have Been Executed’

Michael Vick Will Start In The Pro Bowl

Yes, I know that it’s a stretch to consider this behavior “sanctioned”, but since it hardly goes punished, it’d be tough to argue that it’s frowned upon.

First, of course, we got Ben Roethlisberger, two time NFL Champion quarterback of your Pittsburgh Steelers who’s also been twice accuse of forcible rape—the most traumatizing of which I’m guessing was the poor hotel employee who Ben allegedly tossed down, raped, then threw out of his room with the parting words “If anyone asks you, you fixed my television. Now go!”

Next, of course, we’ve got Brett Favre, himself a Super Bowl champion, now known more famously for stunting the career growth of the two Black quarterbacks that sit on the bench while he ruins the Minnesota Vikings by insisting on continuing to play poorly, and of course, known most famously (now) four texting out pictures of his “Kanye West” to unsuspecting Jenn Sterger, then an employee of the New York Jets.

At the time, the very married Mr. Favre was playing for the Jets, making this incident no less than a case of spectacular sexual harassment.

Last and closest to home for me, a Jet fan, is our own head coach, Rex Ryan, a man who up until this week had never met a headline that he didn’t want his name in, has now been found to be a participant in some sort of degenerate foot fetish video starting his wife that also has undertones of swinging, wife swapping, and general overall creepiness.

In Mr. Ryan’s case, the perversion, though embarrassing, is only personal.

In the cases of Mr. Roethlisberger and Mr. Favre, it’s potential criminal.

Still, if you watch as much of ESPN’s Sports Center as I do (while doing what at my place, passes for “exercise”) you’ve no doubt noticed that with the exception of the Roethlisberger incident, during which the tone was one of almost pity for Mr. Roethlisberger because he had indeed been suspended for the first four games of the season, the tone of the coverage of the Favre and Ryan incidents has been almost jovial.

I watched my own fellow alum Stan Verrett make several foot gags this very morning in reference to the Ryan incident.

Meanwhile, if you want to see a conversation about a NFL personality turn serious even hostile, you’d have to wait until the talk turned to the exploits of one Michael Vick.

RELATED:

Is Peyton Manning trying to get Jim Caldwell fired?

Vick made three Pro Bowls with Atlanta before he was suspended by the league and served jail time for running a dogfighting ring. This season, he has gone from a seldom-used backup to the N.F.C.’s leading passer, the catalyst for Philadelphia’s dynamic offense. Besides Vick, the Eagles had four other players selected.

Atlanta, which leads the N.F.C. with a 12-3 record, had the most Pro Bowlers with seven, including quarterback Matt Ryan, receiver Roddy White and defensive end John Abraham.

New England (13-2), the A.F.C. leader, had six Pro Bowlers, led by Tom Brady, the league’s top passer. Brady will make his sixth trip to the game — providing the Patriots do not reach the Super Bowl. The Pro Bowl will be played the Sunday before the league’s championship game at Dallas Cowboys Stadium.

Baltimore, Green Bay and Dallas also had five players voted in by players, coaches and fans. The results were announced Tuesday.

Four rookies were chosen, with defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh of Detroit elected as a starter for the N.F.C. Cornerback Devin McCourty of New England, kick returner Marc Mariani of Tennessee and center Maurkice Pouncey of Pittsburgh made the A.F.C. team.

The only teams not represented were Buffalo, Cincinnati, Seattle and Tampa Bay.

Colts quarterback Peyton Manning made his 11th Pro Bowl as a backup to Brady. He joined Brett Favre as the only quarterbacks selected to at least 11 games.

Three Jets — center Nick Mangold, tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson and cornerback Darrelle Revis — were named to the A.F.C. team, with both Mangold and Revis voted in as starters.

The Giants put four players on the N.F.C. team. Guard Chris Snee, who will start, will be joined in Honolulu by center Shaun O’Hara, defensive end Justin Tuck and safety Antrel Rolle.

Legal Bills Leave Vick Literally Playing For His Livelihood

Michael Vick Leads NFL In Pro Bowl Voting

Carlson led a panel discussion pegged to President Obama’s recent phone call with the Eagles owner, in which he applauded the Eagles for giving Vick a second chance following his time in jail over his dogfighting scandal.

But Carlson is not as forgiving as Obama or the Eagles.

“I’m a Christian, I’ve made mistakes myself, I believe fervently in second chances,” Carlson said. “But Michael Vick killed dogs, and he did in a heartless and cruel way. And I think, personally, he should’ve been executed for that. He wasn’t, but the idea that the President of the United States would be getting behind someone who murdered dogs? Kind of beyond the pale.”

VIDEO:

Read more at HuffingtonPost.com

PHILADELPHIA — Convicted dogfighting-ring operator Michael Vick hopes to own a dog again someday.

The Eagles quarterback told TheGrio.com in a video interview posted this week that he genuinely cares for animals and one day hopes to have a dog as a household pet, saying it would be just another “big step” in his rehabilitation process.

“I would love to get another dog in the future,” Vick told TheGrio, a website that’s affiliated with NBC and focuses on African-American issues. “I think it would be a big step for me in the rehabilitation process. I think just to have a pet in my household and to show people that I genuinely care, and my love, and my passion for animals.”

Vick served 18 months in prison after being convicted in 2007 in the Virginia-based ring. The federal judge overseeing the case also prohibited him from ever owning another dog.

“Vick should be banned from owning dogs for life,” Jane Dollinger, spokeswoman for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said in a news release this week. “Just as convicted pedophiles aren’t allowed free access to children, anyone who is responsible for hanging, electrocuting, or shooting dogs and who causes them to suffer in other unimaginable ways should never again be allowed access to dogs.”

Since his release from prison, Vick has become an advocate for the Humane Society of the United States and makes school appearances to talk to students about his past. Vick said he’s doing that work because he wants to.

“Well first off, the court doesn’t make it an obligation for me to go out and speak,” Vick said. “It doesn’t make it an obligation for me to work with the Humane Society. I’m putting in the hard work to do it so it’s not for any personal benefit, it’s to help others.”

Vick’s on-the-field success this season has made his story more compelling – from star quarterback to reviled dogfighter to comeback kid. And now he’s adding mentor to his resume.

“I think if I can help five or six kids daily, then I’m playing my position as a positive role model in our society,” Vick told TheGrio. “I tell a lot of people that it’s easy to do the wrong thing. It’s hard to do the right thing.”

Vick said he allowed outside influences to affect his behavior, but said prison helped him see the changes he needed to make.

“I hate to use our culture as an excuse, but it is what it is and that’s what happened and that’s the way I thought about it growing up,” Vick told TheGrio about dogfighting. “This is just the way we were brought up.”

The quarterback said he hopes his success with the Eagles will continue breaking the stereotype that black athletes can’t or shouldn’t play the position.

“I think if you’re good and good enough to play the position, I think you’ll get the opportunity,” he said.

Share this post on Facebook! CLICK HERE:

Shaq dumps fiancee Hoopz [from Hellobeautiful.com]

Bikini model’s hair catches on fire at Diddy’s album release[from Hellobeautiful.com]

Behind the scenes of video of Lil Kim’s Nicki Minaj diss [from TheUrbanDaily.com]

Tyler Perry snubbed by SAG [from Theurbandaily.com]

Virginia — It  turns out that Judge Henry E. Hudson, the George W. Bush appointed Republican judge who declared Barack Obama’s healthcare program unconstitutional, is the same judge who sentenced Michael Vick for dogfighting in 2007. Thanks to Jack and Jill Politics for the tip.

Hudson is also a major investor in a Republican campaign firm that has ties to the attorney who brought that anti-health care case before him.

RELATED STORIES

Federal Judge Rules Healthcare Reform Law ‘Unconstitutional’

Legal Bills Leave Vick Literally Playing For His Livelihood

Share this post on Facebook! CLICK HERE:

Usher gets kicked in head by female fan trying to be sexy video[from Hellobeautiful.com]

Nicki Minaj talks her butt, alter egos, and being a boss on “Chelsea Lately”[from Hellobeautiful.com]

Natalie Nunn says she likes Wiz Khalifa [from TheUrbanDaily.com]

Jamie Foxx to receive entertainer award at BET Honors [from Theurbandaily.com]

Garrett wouldn’t say what he thought of the incident and repeatedly described Choice as a hardworking, passionate player. However, Garrett still plans to discuss it all with Choice.

“I certainly defend him,” Garrett said. “I know how hard guys compete in this league and how they battle against each other. I also know about the healthy respect that guys have for each other.”

As Vick was walking off the field, Choice approached with a white glove and a black marker. Choice can be seen explaining his request, handing over the marker and Vick happily providing his signature. Vick even rubbed the top of Choice’s head as they said goodbye, the two having known each other for several years.

NBC cameras were rolling and showed the whole thing to a national audience. Announcers chuckled as it happened, but didn’t comment. By Monday, it became a topic of debate coast-to-coast and all over the Internet.

As public opinion turned against him, Choice tweeted the following: “If its anybody that cares about winning and the d cowboys its me. I apologize to the people it was just an innocent jesture for my nephew.”

Choice was among the majority of players already gone when reporters were allowed in the locker room Monday. Those still around didn’t seem to care about it.

“I don’t think that it’s that big of a deal,” tight end Jason Witten said. “I don’t think any of us thought much about it.”

“That’s Tashard’s prerogative,” linebacker Keith Brooking said. “That did not affect the outcome of our game. I’m worried about things that are going to affect the outcome of our game and helping us win. Tashard getting an autograph from a player after a game doesn’t affect us losing.”

Vick and Choice knew each other from their days in Atlanta. Vick played for the Falcons while Choice played for Georgia Tech. Vick called the running back “a great guy.” He also said he’d never been asked to sign anything for another player on a field right after a game.

Cowboys defensive end Stephen Bowen said Choice’s mistake may have been doing it “in the public eye like that.”

“But just getting an autograph for a little guy? I don’t see anything wrong with that,” Bowen said. “The game was over. It wasn’t in the middle of the game. It’s blown out of proportion. I don’t see it as a big deal. I don’t know why you would be upset. What is there to be upset about?”

Choice is the Cowboys’ third-string running back and had only 14 carries through 11 games. He ran for 100 yards and a touchdown in a victory over Indianapolis – endearing himself to fans – but ran seven times for only 16 yards against Philadelphia. Dallas lost 30-27.

Share this post on Facebook! CLICK HERE:

Dallas – In a move more befitting a player than a fan, Dallas Cowboys running back, Tashard Choice asked Michael Vick for an autograph after Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Cowboys last night. Choice has said the autograph was for his nephew and not himself.

RELATED STORIES

Legal Bills Leave Vick Literally Playing For His Livelihood

Michael Vick Leads NFL In Pro Bowl Voting

Philadelphia — I can’t wait for Michael Vick to once again stand before the judge and jury. Can’t wait for him to get just what he has coming to him for all of the heinous and egregious acts he’s committed this Fall.

But this is not what you think, not by a long shot.

Released from prison 19 months ago after serving 18 months for his for his role in a dog fighting ring, Vick will soon have another life-altering verdict rendered that will, once again, transform his life most excellently.

At some point this off-season, if labor strife can be avoided by the NFL and its Players Association, some billionaire team owner is going to do what would have been seen as unthinkable some four years after Vick was led — manacled and shackled like an animal — into the foreboding walls of Leavenworth maximum security prison.

Read more at TheGrio

RELATED:

Christians should love Michael Vick

Share this post on Facebook! CLICK HERE:

Philadelphia — Michael Vick leads Pro Bowl voting 1½ years after he was released from prison.

The Philadelphia Eagles quarterback had 729,838 fan votes, nearly 39,000 more than second-place Peyton Manning, the NFL said Wednesday. Manning topped the balloting two weeks ago before being surpassed by Vick.

It’s the latest evidence many fans seem willing to forgive Vick for the vicious dogfighting operation that sent him to prison for 18 months — and embrace his stunning return to NFL stardom. A backup to start the season, Vick has led the Eagles to first place in the NFC East, accounting for 21 touchdowns and throwing just two interceptions.

Manning had 691,146 votes, which led the AFC, followed by New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (623,074), Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson (591,598) and Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (547,340).

Online Pro Bowl voting ends Dec. 20. The teams are picked by a combination of fans’, players’ and coaches’ votes.

Vick, a three-time Pro Bowler with the Atlanta Falcons, pleaded guilty to federal dogfighting charges in August 2007. He was released from federal custody and conditionally reinstated by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in July 2009. But it wasn’t clear how much interest teams would have in the quarterback who once wowed fans with his unique skills, yet frustrated them with his inconsistency when he last played in the league in 2006.

The Eagles signed him before last season, when he was the third-string quarterback and had limited playing time as a change of pace. Even after Philadelphia traded away Donovan McNabb, Vick was expected to back up Kevin Kolb. But when Kolb was hurt in the opener, Vick took over and showed a newfound maturity as a passer. Added to his running skills, he’s made the Eagles a contender at 8-4.

RELATED STORIES

Vick Speaks To Conn. Students About Dangers Of Dogfighting

Michael Vick Scores 6 Touchdowns In Blowout Victory Over Redskins

World Series hero and former New York Yankee Jim Leyritz was just acquitted of DUI manslaughter after being the driver in an accident which caused a fatality.

Leyritz had a blood-alcohol level of .14, which is .02 away from being twice the legal limit.

Leyritz has already served 18 days in jail, which the misdemeanor DUI charge that he was convicted of should cover.

The woman that died was 30 year-old mother of two, Freida Ann Veitch.

Quite frankly, I don’t think I’m allowed to feel too much about this.

I mean, Freida Ann Veitch appeared, from the one picture of her that you can find on the net, to have been a woman of color, but until I can be sure of this, I’m sure that racists from both sides would prefer for me to mind my own race’s business.

If I could however, I’d feel sad.

Those kids shouldn’t have to grow up without their mother. Leyritz was going the wrong way. He was drunk. He killed their mom.

In a sane world, he would be punished. Or at least, the kids would be rewarded.

Meanwhile, of course, I’m still reading articles about pissed off dog owners and Michael Vick.

The dog owners, apparently, are missing the irony.

They own dogs.

If Vick had thrown a brick through his television, would TV lovers protest him?

But a bunch of this bent that hates Vick is from the Christian Right.

How can I tell? I know those people when I see them.

And a Christian should be the first to defend Michael Vick because they know that in Genesis 1:28, God told man to “have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the foul of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”

Weed smokers know, of course, that in the very next verse, God promised, “…I have given you every herb bearing seed…” but that’s beside the point.

The heart of the Christian doctrine is forgiveness.

And it should be especially easy to forgive a man that has not wronged you or, as far as we know, any other human being.

And let’s not forget, Matthew 7:1.

RELATED:

Why Black people don’t tip

Maryland (AP)– Given all of Vick’s brilliance throughout the Philadelphia Eagles’ 59-28 victory over the Washington Redskins on Monday night — four TD passes, two TD runs, plenty in between — it seemed reasonable to ask him whether he’s ever played a better game.

Vick paused, then delivered an honest answer.

“I’ve had some great games in my day,” the quarterback said. “But I don’t think I’ve had one quite like this one.”

Nope, Mike, you haven’t. Indeed, no player in the history of the NFL ever has done quite what you did, accumulating at least 300 yards passing, 50 yards rushing, four passing TDs and two rushing TDs in one game.

Philadelphia led 35-0 after the first play of the second quarter, broke franchise records for points in a half (45) and total yards in a game (592), and finished with its second-most points in a regular-season game.

Vick and his teammates also ruined any good feelings the Redskins hoped to generate with their pregame announcement of a five-year contract extension worth up to $78 million for their quarterback, former Philadelphia star Donovan McNabb.

“Big credit to Michael Vick. He made some plays today that I haven’t seen a lot of quarterbacks make for a long time,” said Redskins coach Mike Shanahan, who never before had an opponent score 59 points. “When something wasn’t there in the passing game, he made plays with his legs. Really a big-time game.”

Vick completed his first 10 passes en route to going 20 for 28 for 333 yards, and ran for 80 yards on eight carries, passing Steve Young for the second-most career yards rushing by an NFL quarterback, behind only ex-Eagles QB Randall Cunningham.

“Vick — he keeps impressing me every week. He’s so calm and collected,” said DeSean Jackson, who beat safety LaRon Landry on that opening score that felt like an opening statement.

Next came Vick’s first rushing TD, a 7-yarder. After that, he had his right ankle taped on the sideline, but he didn’t miss a beat — or any plays. Washington’s second possession ended with McNabb being picked off by rookie seventh-round draft pick Kurt Coleman.

The Eagles promptly made it 21-0 on Vick’s 11-yard scoring pass to LeSean McCoy, before Jerome Harrison’s 50-yard touchdown run padded the lead. On the first play of the second quarter, Vick connected with Jeremy Maclin on a 48-yard score.

“It all seems like a blur,” Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall said. “I don’t think you can prepare for Michael Vick.”

Vick hasn’t thrown an interception or lost a fumble this season, and the Eagles are 4-0 when he starts a game and plays the whole way. They’re 6-3 overall, tied with the New York Giants atop the NFC East, two games ahead of the Redskins (4-5).

When the Redskins beat the Eagles 17-12 in Week 4, Vick got knocked out in the first quarter with injured rib cartilage, and he missed a month. After that game, McNabb took a verbal jab at the Eagles, referring to the offseason trade that sent him to Washington by saying: “Everybody makes mistakes in their lifetime, and they made one last year.”

Eagles center Mike McGlynn said McNabb’s words from that day “fired us up” Monday, noting: “I think we’re happy with where we are right now.”

McGlynn also pointed to Monday’s pregame skirmish, which forced officials to step in and separate players from both teams. McGlynn said Landry started the brouhaha by saying something to Jackson.

“He said some things to our star player he shouldn’t have said, and he got his,” McGlynn said. “You can see on that first play. He got his.”

McGlynn also said Landry spit at him twice during the game.

“It’s good to come out and score 60 points, almost. … I think we just looked at it as hey, let’s keep pouring it on,” McGlynn said.

Discussing how the pregame theatrics pumped up his team, Jackson made what would appear to be an unintentionally insensitive remark, given Vick’s federal prison term for a dogfighting conviction.

“We were like pit bulls,” Jackson said, “ready to get out of the cage.”

Landry denied spitting at McGlynn, but did acknowledge the Eagles were well-prepared.

“We couldn’t make stops,” Landry said. “Great game plan on their part.”

McNabb, meanwhile, was 17 for 31 for 295 yards, with two touchdown passes and three interceptions, including one returned 40 yards for a score by Dimitri Patterson.

Bengals receiver Terrell Owens weighed in from afar, tweeting: “How do u justify a 78 million dollar contract w/this type of performance?”

A few Redskins players — and Shanahan himself — said they were outcoached and outplayed, particularly by Vick, of course.

“It was embarrassing. I couldn’t wait for the game to be over. It was ridiculous,” Redskins defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth said. “The Eagles should be ranked No. 1 in the BCS, because it was crazy. They probably had 600 yards on us. I don’t think I’ve ever been beat that bad, not even in Little League.”

RELATED STORIES

Michael Vick Named Starting Quarterback For Philadelphia Eagles

The Resurgence Of Michael Vick

Share this post on Facebook! CLICK HERE:

Kanye West surprises Delta passengers with an impromptu performance [from TheUrbanDaily.com]

Michael Jackson and Akon “Hold My Hand” Audio [from TheUrbanDaily.com]

Kim Kardashian & The Dream’s courtside date [from HelloBeautiful.com]

Did Kanye choke Amber Rose when he caught her cheating? [from HelloBeautiful.com]