suspension for vick would be double jeopardy

As you guys know, I am a Michael Vick fan. Always have been. Always will be. Did he do something criminal and heinous? Yes. Did he deserve punishment? Of course. But he didn't kill a person. (cough, cough Donte Stallworth) He has paid a huge price for his actions - his money, his reputation, his freedom, his "next big thing" status - a price I believe to be too high already. It is time to let him back into society and into the NFL.

In his column for the Kansas City Star, Jason Whitlock argues that suspending Vick feels like double jeopardy. I agree.

Goodell shouldn't punish Vick
By Jason Whitlock
Kansas City Star

It feels like double jeopardy.

Michael Vick spent more than a year in prison for financing an illegal dog-fighting operation. He lost a fortune, a career as a franchise quarterback and his reputation.

Now that he’s paid a rather sizeable debt to society, why impose a suspension upon his return to the NFL?

I don’t get it. It seems unfair that commissioner Roger Goodell is ready to suspend Vick for two to six games (according to ESPN) at the beginning of the 2009 season. Let the man rejoin society.

I’m not a Michael Vick fan or supporter. I don’t see him as some sort of tragic victim of a racist criminal justice system. Arrogance and ignorance placed Vick behind bars. He underachieved as an NFL quarterback primarily because he wasn’t mature enough to prepare and carry himself like a pro.

And, quite honestly, I won’t be surprised if Vick once again spectacularly collides with public stupidity. My belief is there are too many people ready to tell him he did nothing wrong.

But it’s still America, and Vick deserves an unimpeded second chance. He’s been punished more than enough. Additional punishment isn’t going to make Vick anymore logical or mature.

At this moment, forgiveness and acceptance would help Vick more than Goodell playing the role of irate parent.

We make re-entry into the mainstream too difficult for ex-cons. We act like incarceration isn’t enough. It is, especially in the case of Michael Vick. ...

Click here for the full article from the Kansas City Star...

top ten nfl touchdown celebrations

The NFL should never outlaw or punish creativity. If you don't want to get shown up don't give up touchdowns.

random saturday thoughts

comic-con is this weekend. largest annual gathering of guys who will never see a woman naked.

Is there any difference between Darius Rucker's "Alright," Montgomery Gentry's "Lucky Man," and Lonestar's "From my Front Porch Looking in?" They are all songs about being happy to have a house and a family. Isn't this just like rappers talking about hoes and Rolls? They just appreciate different things.

At what point will email go extinct. Or when can I legitimately say I will no longer respond or communicate by email? Take, for example, watching movies at home. If you invite me over to watch a movie on a VCR, I can legitimately say that's ridiculous, get a DVD player. But if you have a DVD player, I can't really complain you don't have a Blu-Ray player. That would just be petty. Email is a DVD player but at some point we are going to get to the point in society where we demand Blu-Rays.

A.J. bought a bag to put his clothes in that will go in his bag that he takes to Europe. Yes, a bag for his bag. He spent money on that.

Hypothetical: A European gypsy throws her baby at you. Do you a) drop your bags to catch the baby knowing that as soon as you do the gypsy will scoop them up and run off with them or do you b) let the baby fall to the ground but keep your bags? (Billy has already weighed in with: "It ain't my baby.")

Twitter symbology

RT = ReTweet - a retweet is copying and posting another twitterer's tweet as your own. when you do this, you give them credit by inserting RT before their message to let people know the content is not your own. (Exa. @behindnumbers RT everything that Jim Rome says)

@ = the @ symbol goes before a person's twitter name. if you are replying to a message or want to direct your message to a specific person instead of just the general twitterverse, put @ before their name (Exa. @Krabbits your team sucks and your writing is inferior to mine)

# = this goes before a hashtag. a hashtag is a search term in twitter. in my messages, you will see a lot of #btn. this is because I want you to be able to find all of my posts tagged that way in a search. (Exa. @TheInstitute's jokes are #fail)

D = direct message. A direct message is a private message sent to only one person. No one else on Twitter will see it but the person you send it to. (Exa. D @LizNorris u want to come over again tonight?)

If you are new to Twitter, download http://www.tweetdeck.com. It will change your life and make your experience on the Twitter machine infinitely better.

next person to get married in this league is doing this...

(Hat tip: Overbay)

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holley wins place at cowboys camp on reality tv

Cowboys award roster spot to reality show winner

By Gregg Rosenthal
ProFootballTalk.com

... I was probably one of the few people in the country looking forward to the finale of Michael Irvin's Fourth and Long show on Spike TV Monday.

The Roethlisberger story got in the way, and the show remains sitting on Tivo, so consider this a spoiler alert warning for the six people that don't want to know the ending.

Wideout Jesse Holley won the 10-week competition in a four man finale that included two receivers and two defensive backs. He will go to training camp with the Cowboys.

Holley, a member of the 2005 UNC national championship basketball team, certainly looks like a pro.

He's listed at 6-3, 215 pounds, and he runs a 4.5 forty.

Holley wasn't always the most impressive player on the show. Wideout Andrew Hawkins, who played at Toledo and in the CFL, made scintillating plays on a weekly basis.

In the end, Hawkins' size (5-8, 165) probably ended his chances of winning Dallas' 80th roster spot.

Irvin thinks Holley can compete in training camp.

"Outside of Roy Williams, I'm not looking at a guy that is head and shoulders above Jesse," Irvin said.

Former Cowboys special teams coach Joe Avezzano, who worked on the show, said Holley can be better than some of the backups the Cowboys have right now.

That remains to be seen. Holley will be one of eleven receivers in camp and most spots are accounted for. He will have to be a special teams demon.

The odds on Holley actually make the Cowboys roster or practice squad seem slim at best, but that was part of the show's charm. ...

Click here for the full story...

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