Reader Mail

It's been quite a while since I've gone through the Sports As Life Mailbag - so on the first sub-40 degree day in a week here we go...


"Alright....so here is my first comment ever posted....on any site anywhere. However, as an eskimos fan who has been hearing a lot of crap lately about the riders vs. edmonton, I feel I should give you just a bit of feedback on this. First, thanks for keeping it real (as they say) about the riders success.

I actually received an email that said "it is great to be a rider fan isn't it?". Hilarious. So, welcome back to the real world rider fans.

Here are two points I wanted to mention that you didn't, and keep in mind I follow about as much CFL as to barely call myself an eskimos fan. 1. Pulling Kerry Joseph? Is that the best move? I mean, obviously Crandall threw an interception first drive out...but that is besides the point. Shouldn't you show a bit more faith in your quarterback to rally the troops? The game wasn't that out of reach.

2. And last, and again I don't watch a whole lot of CFL so I don't know the names here, but shouldn't the Defensive Back that was covering G. Simon not celebrate like he had just been given a puppy for his birthday? They were down by like 28 points and he is showing off with dance moves. Sure Simon had been shut down, but it is a team sport.

I can't imagine I will post too many comments, but I have to tell all the Rider fans out there the following. If you know an eskimos fan out there, wait until your team wins more than 2 games before you start talking trash!"
- JK

What makes JK's comments even better is they were posted before Saskatchewan's meltdown against Edmonton on Friday. Who's laughing now!

I totally agree with the dancing when you're 28 points down, I noticed this as well during the B.C game - it wasn't a DB that I saw but a defensive lineman. I can't remember if it was a sack or just a tackle for a loss but whoever made the tackle got up like he'd just stopped Walter Payton on the 1 yard line on 4th down. First of all - SCOREBOARD! If you want to dance after a tackle, do it when it means something, not when you're trailing by 4 converted touchdowns. And second of all, you're a professional - act like you've been there before. I don't get up on my desk and dance after I make a really good photocopy.


About harsher security measures at Taylor Field-
"I really like the moat idea, seriously. I am all about the over-reaction, and people seem to be great at it in this province. Crime goes up, more police, harsher punishment. Price of gas goes up, well lets drive the same amount as always and ask for a new government. People run on the field at a football game (like that doesn't happen anyplace else, moat or not) and misbehave, lets get guard dogs and explosive neck collars for all fans.

Sure people misbehave, but it happens all over the place and isn't confined to sporting events, this is life...get use to it. So you don't want your kids to hear swear words and see fights, go sit in the family fun zone (or perhaps you could cut off their ears and gouge out their eyes cause they will see and hear that stuff sooner or later). Hey riders want to do something pro-active? Have a section for adults only (then put all the lazy security guards in that section).

But I am probably wrong...more guards and a fence will fix everything, good idea Riders."
- T.H.

First of all I love the idea of explosive neck collars. I think that instantly solves all of the crowd-related problems at Taylor Field. It probably creates a couple new problems, but that's neither here nor there.

I like the idea of the Adults Only section - I'm not quite sure how the logistics of it would work. Send in your ideas about what this would look like/contain and we'll work up a proposal for the team.

If you haven't heard, apparently Woody from Jack FM here in Regina is taking donations to cover his fine when he streaks at the game on Saturday afternoon. I'm not sure about the specifics of this, as I don't listen to the radio. But if this is true and it actually happens, it could be the greatest publicity stunt of all time - especially since the rival FM rock station is a big sponsor of the team. Hilarity.

See things like that wouldn't happen at Taylor Field if they had a moat.


"Luke I must agree with you. Kent Austin was so out coached in the 2nd half it was sick. I was there gentlemen live in living color. It was part of the Walker stag extravaganza. I sat there and watched the Riders build a 20-1 first half lead. I was still waiting in line for food after half time was over. Watching on cctv as the Esks scored their first TD. I knew right then and there what was coming. But back to the coaching comparison or lack there of. What was Austin thinking in that 2nd half. Why run the same play over and over and over if it hasn't worked once. Could Joseph learn to sell a play action hand off? For the love of god! Why on 3rd and 2 would you not call an audible at the line and change the QB sneak that everyone on the Esks D can see coming. Then you get a second chance to make good and he gets sacked. I can't talk about this anymore some Wii bowling will take this of my mind."
- Walks

Welcome back to Rider Football! As Andy Fantuz was breaking off his route 2 yards short of the first down marker on 3 and 23 or whatever it was (nice awareness) - I was having a discussion about whether this team is just cursed. Well maybe not cursed but whether this is just their destiny - to be maddeningly inconsistent and finish 9-9 every season for the duration of my lifetime. I think the solution we came up with was to demolish Taylor Field, exorcise the grounds, change the team name and colour and start again.

I will say this for Austin though, at least he admitted to being out-coached. Well maybe not in so many words, but he did admit that he needs to do a better job. But he is still a rookie head coach, so there are going to be some growing pains.

One last thing about Friday's game - how about Sean Fleming's 47-yard dagger of a field goal with 2 minutes left? Out of 10, how confident would you be in Luca Congi having the leg to make that kick... 2...3?

And why on Earth does Taylor Field not have a CCTV system where the concessions and beer vendors are? With the lines at those places people usually miss substantial amounts of the game. It's probably because they're saving for the moat.


"Just a quick "told ya so" to Trebor about "he who shall not be named" in the football world. I told you they wouldn't let him play and Goodell telling him to stay away from training camp until the NFL has reviewed the charges is the first step of the NFL washing their hands of this horrible case.

Next will be the team asking him to take a leave of absence until the case is resolved...trust me, I looked into my crystal ball this morning.Oh and sorry for bringing this up, I know no one wants to talk about it, but it is not often that I am right about anything in the sporting world (especially the NFL)."
- T.H.

P.S. I hope you noticed that I didn't actually mention his name...I just alluded to him.


"damm chubby fingers and not thinking my posts through.... as for the one that adidas named 'zoom'. It made sense initially so that i wouldn't have to say the unnamed one but it came out with the wrong words ???"
- trebor

I appreciate you guys being delicate and respecting the Mike Vick moratorium - but that's officially over now - so mention him all you want. I said I didn't want to talk about him until something actually happened and with his suspension from training camp yesterday, I think that would fall in the category of something. He also makes his first court appearance tomorrow, so that's something as well. THEN it was also reported yesterday that the Falcons were going to suspend Vick four games until the NFL asked them not to so they could conduct their own investigation (you can read the story at ESPN.com). So the flood gates are open now.

If I had to guess I'd say that at the very least his career in Atlanta is over. I also have a sneaking suspicion that his NFL career is over. Even if he somehow avoids jail time on this, he'll be suspended for the year by the NFL. After that he's going to be close to untouchable for every other team. What team is going to want to bring in a public relations nightmare like that - especially one with a career completion percentage of about 54%.

My advice to every CFL team is to get this guy on your negotiation list right now.


"I just wanted to point out that if you watch the baseline replay of the first call in the Suns vs. Spurs clip, you can see that there are about 3 players in between Donaghy and the foul. What the hell? Unless they were wearing invisibility cloaks (that is the first and last Harry Potter reference I will ever make), then how the hell can he make the call. There is better reffing in Quidditch....damn it, that is the last one...Seriously...Sirius Black...ahhhhhhh"
- JK

Awesome - you just can't avoid it, Potter mania is everywhere.


"Just watched the video... wow. that first one was a good clip, though you could make the argument that from behind it looked like maybe raja followed through with the hack and didn't pull up ??? however the one at 6:20 is the one that i thought was the best even though it didn't involve donaghy.... Rush is standing 6 ft away from nash when horry slaps his arms.

I enjoy watching basketball and never bought into the conspiracy that certain games are fixed or teams given preferential treatment..even after seeing the ...1986 draft lottery... but with the report that others are being investigated... if there is more than one then this league is in a world of hurt... maybe not as much as NHL but pretty bad."
- trebor

My personal favorite bad call on that Donaghy video (this is the video in question, by the way - in case you missed it yesterday) is the blatant Bruce Bowen knee to the groin on Steve Nash. It was called as an offensive foul but that's one of the more deliberate attempts to injure I've seen in the NBA. And looking back at the video it seems like Ed Rush is involved in most of the bad calls as well - including that one.

NBA commish David Stern says that Donaghy was a rogue ref but if some of the reports are true and Donaghy is going to name names and implicate other people the NBA is going to be in enormous trouble. It's going to be very interesting to see how this all plays out.

I was watching Prime Time Sports yesterday and they were discussing Donaghy's personal life and apparently he is regarded as a bit of a nut. It seems he wanted police to arrest his neighbour's 5 year old son because he was throwing mud at Donaghy's house. Sounds like the kind of stable person you want refereeing a professional sport.


"I missed the final U20, but really the whole tournament was pretty good watching. It isn't too often that you can watch a game where five empty break-aways occur in 10 minutes of play (the USA had a non-existent defense). And good for Toronto Metro for doing what they've been known for in the past. Respect through fear. Strength through discipline, strength through action.

I'm just not sure how attempts to invoke fear in all foreigners will work out for the city of Toronto in this day and age. I am more for instilling fear in a general sense. If you're going to target someone, why not make it hippies?"
- Mitch

Just the sort of comment I'd expect from long arm of the law.

Why don't you take your 1980's, made for TV, Grade 10 Social Studies, post-apocalyptic, militaristic propaganda and go elsewhere. Perhaps you'd be more comfortable at Rob Vanstone's blog.


Ok, that's it for now - the Mailbag is closed. Keep the comments coming as always, they're all appreciated.

Monday Headlines (on Tuesday)

Because of yesterday's monstrous Rider post I decided to keep the Headlines till today - I wouldn't want you guys to get spoiled.

KERRY JOSEPH HAS OBVIOUSLY NEVER PLAYED MADDEN

Did you happen to hear Kerry Joseph's reasoning for why the Saskatchewan offence faltered in the second half of Friday's game? He said it was because Edmonton switched from man-to-man defence to zone defence - and I quote, "They played a lot of man in the first half and all of a sudden in the second half were playing zone." (from the Leader-Post) Yikes. Does that give you any confidence at all? Would you want a quarterback that can't recognize and adjust to a zone defence? From 15 years of playing various football video games I can differentiate between zone and man - and know what works against each one. Now obviously it's a totally different story when you're actually on a football field. But come on, you're a professional quarterback - these are things they've gotta teach you on day one.

THE FIX IS IN

One thing I failed to mention in my NBA post on Friday was the impact the referee scandal is going to have on the fans. Sure it will give credence to every NBA conspiracy ever spouted. But there are fans out there that got legitimately screwed by this guy. I submit this video for your approval (thanks to JK for passing it along). This has to be definitive proof of something shady happening in the Suns - Spurs series this year. There is no other explanation for this. Watch the first call of the clip, Donaghy makes a cross-court, behind the play call - as JK said, that's one of the major officiating rules, if you're behind and on the other side of the play, you can't make a call - it's not yours to make, you're simply not in position. Don't forget too that Donaghy worked the Raptors final game of the season - a one point loss to New Jersey in Game 6 of their first round playoff series. Bears keeping in mind.

CANADA CANNOT BEAT ANYONE ON THE FIELD,

SO BEATS THEM OFF THE FIELD

Police in Toronto apparently decided to avenge Canada's loss to the Chilean team in the Under 20 World Cup by beating them senseless. It seems that the police prevented some members of the Chilean team from getting to their own fans and then a melee broke out and police clubbed, handcuffed, pepper sprayed, and Tasered them (not necessarily in that order). That's a pretty big black eye on a tournament that otherwise seemed to be a big success. I honestly didn't watch any of it, probably for the same reasons that I can't get into junior hockey - it's slower and less skilled than the professional games. And apparently there was a lot of flopping in the final (which I also can't stand) - Trevor called the final "the U-20 Diving Competition."

SERGIO DOES WHAT SERGIO DOES BEST - NOT WIN

Seriously, for a guy who has never won anything, is anybody more over-hyped than Sergio Garcia? And I like the guy. I didn't get to watch much of the final round of The Open (that's the British Open to people who don't know), as Harry Potter was taking up much of my time, but what I did see was pretty exciting. Isn't it infinitely more exciting to see guys making birdies and eagles down the stretch instead of struggling to make par like at the U.S Open and even the Masters. I'd much rather see two guys duelling down the back nine with birdies and eagles than two guys just trying to outlast each other with pars and bogeys. Although the U.S Open is kind of funny to watch just to see the best golfers in the world brought to their knees - but the course set ups are usually pretty unfair.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to .500

Good afternoon - or whatever time of day greeting is appropriate when you are reading this. I know everybody has been waiting patiently for the inevitable Saskatchewan Roughrider analysis, in light of their Three Mile Island-like meltdown on Friday night. There were 2 reasons for the delay.

First was Harry Potter - I'm sorry but sports, especially CFL football, came in a distant second when compared to the release of the 7th Harry Potter book.

The second reason is that I had no idea what I was going to say about the game and the team. With so much media saturation about the Roughriders it's sometimes difficult to come up with something fresh. But I've done it and it only took 2 days - actually it didn't it only took an hour of sitting at my desk this morning. I was too busy reading over the last 2 days to think about the Riders. See there is life outside the CFL - I told you.

However, before we get to the meat of today's discussion, here are some of the story lines that didn't end up making the cut for today:

- Luca on his way to getting Congi'd out of town: If you're a professional kicker, you can't miss 19 yard field goals. It's as simple as that - you can't. The last guy that pulled a stunt like that had manure dumped on his neighbour's driveway...oohh, vindictive.

- Meet the new boss, same as the old boss: Kent Austin got out coached in that game, at least in the second half. There is no way to refute that argument. 20-1 lead at halftime. 21-20 loss. You do the math. Danny Maciocia went in at halftime and absolutely peeled the paint off the walls of the Eskimo dressing room - you can be sure of that. Saskatchewan came out after halftime satisfied with their status quo and had no answer for the adjustments Edmonton made. But he's a rookie head and things like this are bound to happen - just ask Flames fans who went through the Jim Playfair experiment last year and lived to tell about it.

- The Curse of Dave Ridgeway: That's what I've decided to call the slump that Saskatchewan's sophomore's are in. Those who know me know that I often speak of the ghost of Dave Ridgeway haunting Taylor Field - although I'm 100% certain that Dave Ridgeway is still alive. Anyway, Luca Congi is suddenly pulling Paul McAllum's and not talking to the media. And Andy Fantuz suddenly has worse hands than an American Airlines pilot after 3 or 4 Whiskey Sour's. Eerie

- Paint drying was looking better and better: Wow, was the first half of that game not the most boring half of football you've ever watched. Besides Fred Perry being a destroyer of men and Jason Armstead returning a punt while half of the Edmonton team was lying on the ground, there was very little entertainment value there. I was so bored that I turned to the NFL Network to watch the story of the 2000 Baltimore Ravens, the most boring Super Bowl champs of all time - and that was still more exciting. I also threw a little Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels in there for good measure, just to kill some time between 2 and outs.

- Management blasts fans upset with Rider Football: Here's a nice little tidbit I came across while reading Rod Pedersen's blog this morning. Apparently Eric Tillman was patrolling the Roughrider message board and decided to respond to some derogatory comments about himself and the football team. Here's a link to what transpired, just scroll down a little ways. I would rate this about a 7 out of 10 on the Roy Shiver's Bad Decision Scale - but at least Tillman is showing some passion about the team and building a winner.

Ok, now that we've gotten through all the second-tier stuff - although I think there's some good things in there - it's time to move on to the main event. And it's this...

Over the past few weeks everybody has been asking me what I thought of the team and how I thought they were going to fare against different opponents. And my answer has always been some variation of, "I don't know, we'll have to wait and see." Then, even after 'waiting and seeing' I still didn't have any answers. First the B.C game was supposed to be the litmus test. And after the Roughriders got crushed, the away game in Edmonton was going to be the measuring stick for team. Then after the Chernobyl game on Friday last proved so unsettling, this Saturday's game at home against Edmonton is going to reveal some truths about the team. Uh huh. So as I was sitting here this morning thinking about this constant search for answers only being greeted by more and more questions and it hit me...

...the Saskatchewan Roughrider's season so far has been like a season of Lost.

Think about it for a second. Every week you think you're going to get some answers but when that week ends, not only do you not have answers to your original questions but now you have about a dozen new questions. Lost is the potentially the most frustrating show in the history of TV and Rider fans know that their football team is definitely the most frustrating in the history of the CFL. However, at least fans of Lost know that at some point their perseverance is going to pay off. Roughrider fans on the other hand have no such assurance.

The more I thought about this comparison, the more similarities I saw - not only in the overall theme (that of never knowing anything about anything) - but between characters on Lost and members of the Roughrider organization. All of these comparisons are based on the first season of Lost, which I sort of thought was the most maddening. But in any case this is the first season of the new Roughrider regime, so we'll compare both first seasons.

...Obviously the easiest comparison is between Norm Fong, the Roughrider Equipment Manager and Hurley, the Lost Island's resident humourist and food aficionado. Insert your own joke here.

...Roughrider General Manager Eric Tillman is John Locke. Locke is the man who seems to have inside information and a connection to the Island. He always seems to have a plan and sees 2-3 moves ahead of everyone else. That seems like a description you'd want your General Manager to have isn't it? Foresight, intuition, knowledge, leadership all sound like good qualities for a GM. Of course Locke has been known to make mistakes - and Henri "Jackie" Childs did drop the only pass thrown to him on Friday. Spooky.

...If Eric Tillman is Locke, then Kent Austin has to be Walt. Austin was Tillman's hand-picked choice to save the Roughriders. He is the adopted prodigal son, returned home to lead the Roughriders back to glory. Tillman obviously saw something in Austin that nobody else had and these special skills are what led him to put his faith in Kent. Chillingly similar to Locke and Walt. Of course Walt did end up getting kidnapped, so let's hope that the Roughrider's start winning again because Kent and Walt are not far from sharing the same fate. I also hope that Kent does not summon any polar bears with his mind. Polar bears could not survive in this heat.

...Kerry Joseph has gotta be Jack - the leader that everybody has put their faith in for some reason, only Jack ends up having more problems than people first thought and might not be the best guy for the job. Sound familiar. I should also mention that Jack has long been one of my least favorite characters.

...It's days like today that I wish Jason French was still with the team. He was a perfect Sawyer - the guy you could never count on. Oh sure he might surprise you every once in a while. But when the pressure was on and you needed him the most - you could be sure that both would fold like a cheap suit.

...I'd say that Ritchie Hall would be Sayid. Calm, cool, calculating - and ruthless when they need to be - at least Ritchie's defence.

...And Kate, who could the Roughrider version of Kate be? Too bad Kenton Keith and Trevis Smith are gone - they would have been obvious matches, due to their troubles with the law. But I think now it's got to be Eddie Davis - not because of any legal troubles but because like Kate he's a crafty veteran and has some tricks up his sleeve. Kate was on the lam for many years and was always a step ahead of the authorities. Davis has been in the league longer than anyone can remember and is still the best at what he does. And both seem to be natural leaders and are willing to do what ever it takes for the team. Kate is slightly more attractive though.

...Thinking about this a little more closely, I suppose that if the players are characters from Lost, then the fans of the football team are the Island. They're always going to be there and make their presence felt. They may be inhospitable and cruel at times but they can also be welcoming and give you everything you need to survive. No matter what group of misfits crashes into it, you know the Island is always going to be there doing what it does - just like Rider fans.

So there you have it. The next time you're looking for definitive answers about the Saskatchewan Roughriders just remember that the team is like Lost - there are no answers, only more questions.

Conspiracy Theories 1 - Regular Theories 1,000,000

Ok, that headline is from Futurama - I admit it.

There will be no Roughrider talk here today. It's a crutch that's just too easy to lean on. For CFL football talk see: every other sports-related website in Saskatchewan. And besides, how can you intelligently analyze something that hasn't happened yet - speculate all you want, it doesn't add up to much. Watch the game and draw your own conclusions. Or don't, its up to you. There seems to an attitude around here that some geographic imperative exists that requires you to cheer for the Roughriders or love CFL football. Well no such thing exists, so make up your own mind.

Anyway...

If you haven't already heard a major story is developing in the NBA today. It involves a referee, betting on NBA games, a serious gambling addiction, the FBI, the mafia, influencing the outcome of games, and point shaving. From that little synopsis I'm sure that you can tell this is going to be a big deal. The ESPN.com story can be found here. It has all the details about this story, so I'm going to operate under the assumption that you've read it and not going go over them again.

Depending on how this plays out, it could be potentially devastating to the NBA. Above all else in professional sports, the integrity of the officials must be without question. If a league's officials are found to not be on the up-and-up, then the validity of the league must be called in to question. Or at least the validity of the results of those games that official worked.

What happens if this official in question, who's name is not being released - probably for very good reason, worked this year's NBA Finals or last year's Finals - when there was an extraordinary amount of suspect calls. I think if this official worked even one game in either of those Finals series' then those Championships are tainted. Mark Cuban's head is going to explode if this turns out to be the case.

One of the worst things about this is that it's going to give some satisfaction to people like me. I wouldn't call myself a conspiracy theorist per se but I would say that a lot of the time I think there's more going on in sports than meets the eye. This whole scandal just goes to show that there can be an outside influence on a professional sporting event.

It could potentially be the rallying cry for sports conspiracy theorists for decades - "If an NBA official could influence games, why couldn't __________ happen?"

This is really not what the NBA needed either. After an earlier referee scandal, the debacle with the new basketball and a championship series that nobody watched, the NBA has not been in great shape the last year or so. And this is really not going to help. Shaving points is not quite fixing games but its still a pretty serious black eye for the league.

Between this and the Michael Vick saga, this has turned into quite an interesting week in the world of sport - but unfortunately for none of the right reasons.

A couple other quick things I wanted to mention but not related to anything above:

First, as part of my ongoing crusade against Rod Black as a CFL commentator, I thought I would pass this along. I didn't watch much of the Winnipeg/Montreal game last night but I did happen to catch this beauty from Black. He was comparing Milt Stegall trying to break the CFL's all-time touchdown mark to Roger Maris chasing Babe Ruth's home run record in baseball. Is that right Rod? Do you think Milt is getting many death threats? Is Mike Pringle calling him in the middle of the night and threatening to slash his tires? Is Milt's hair falling out - ok, well Milt doesn't have any hair, but if he did do you think it would be falling out? Let's not delude ourselves into thinking the CFL is any more important than it is. There is absolutely nothing similar about what Stegall is going through and what Maris went through. On some level I hope that Rod Black is calling the Roughrider game tonight - that man is a wealth of material.

Secondly, JK just sent this link to me and it's so good I had to put it in here. It's following in the theme of the Mentos link from this morning.

And thirdly, here's something I should have included in this morning's Links. If you want 45 minutes of intelligent sports discussion - something we don't get much of around here, follow this link and click on the BS Report on the right hand side (it's the one above Jimmy Kimmel). It's Bill Simmons' podcast and his guest this week was Michael Wilbon, best know as the co-host of Pardon the Interruption. If you want to hear what sports discussion can be at its best - listen to this podcast. It'll probably be the best 45 minutes of your week.

If Harry Potter doesn't live to see Monday morning I could be a changed person.

The Links

Well it looks like the pressure I put on Nike yesterday, in regards to Mike Vick's new shoe, has worked (let's all pretend that's possible for a second). Nike has announced that they're going to suspend the release of the Air Zoom Vick V. You can get more details from ESPN.com.

So this weeks theme is things that have blown up, in light of Nike's marketing campaign blowing up...

... and because I came across this video yesterday, of a giant (dead) whale being blown up with dynamite. It's all fun and games till those pieces of whale start falling from the sky.

... if I had a talk show Richard Simmons would be on twice a week.

... I swear I will put up Letterman clips all day long if you let me. I'd like to know who the poor sap is that first figured out this Mentos and Diet Coke thing. One day he was eating a mint and decided to wash it down with some diet soda and then all of a sudden his mouth is exploding.

... let's just pretend that something blows up in this video cause I gotta put it up. I'm assuming this game show is sponsored by Swiffer. And apparently they stuff a rag soaked in ammonia in your face when you lose.

... genius at work.

... not really related to anything today but Trevor sent this link last night and I figured I'd pass it along. I'm not sure I can ever match that pace, regardless of how sensational my headlines become.

Live From the Murder Capital of Canada

Now that's something we should be printing on buttons.

...Oh, and the crime rate capital of Canada too. I suppose it's not worth being one unless you can be both and unify the titles. And judging by the way the first half of 2007 has gone, I'd say Regina is well on its way to retaining the Unified Crime Capital of Canada titles. It's too bad we lost that car theft capital title - that was really something to hang our hats on. Oldsmobile Gang, where have you gone?

But don't worry, we're getting a new subdivision by the airport - I'm sure that'll solve everything.

Anyway, since we're on the subject of crime, I have a couple more Michael Vick related items and then I don't want to write about it again until something actually happens. This story is going to be beaten to death...ok, probably a bad choice of words...over the next few months. It'll be in every sports publication you read, unless of course you read the Leader-Post.

First of all, it looks like Nike is still going ahead with the release of Vick's new shoe, the Nike Zoom Vick V (after all, he hasn't been convicted of anything yet). If Nike does end up releasing the shoe I think that at least 10% of the profit from every pair of shoes sold (retail price, $100 US) should be donated to the United States Humane Society or PETA. I think that's about the only way they can save some face in releasing Vick's shoe. Although, that might not end up amounting to much money. After all, as Dan Shannon of PETA said, "Nobody wants to go out and buy the shoes that Michael Vick wears when he goes to a dogfight. That's not really a good pitch." (from ESPN.com)

The second thing I want to say about this today is to suggest a possibly sentence for Vick, if he is found guilty of participating in dogfighting at some point. My suggestion is this - if a guilty verdict is reached, Vick should be sentenced to being thrown into a dogfighting pit with three of his hand-trained pit bulls - those that survived the shootings, hangings, beatings, electrocutions and strangulations. I honestly think that would be the most appropriate punishment for Vick. And just so he gets the full experience and truly ends up knowing what it feels like, people should be allowed to stand around and wager on whether he makes it out of the pit in one piece.

That sounds fair.

Michael Vick vs. Nuclear Energy

So who do you think had a worse day yesterday - The Tokyo Electric Power Company or Michael Vick?

The Tokyo Electric Power Company did spill about 1,200 litres of radioactive water into the Sea of Japan, then lied (misreported) about how radioactive the water actually was, admitted that Chromium-51 and Cobalt-60 (both radioactive) had been leaked into the air, and then realized that their the nuclear facility in question was probably built on a fault line (from CBC.ca). Oh, and there was an earthquake too, did I mention that?

So...that would rate about, what...a 9 out of 10 on the Bad Day Scale?

Even at that, I think I still have to give it to Vick, with a whopping 17 out of 10 on the Bad Day Scale.

In case you haven't heard, Michael Vick - quarterback for the NFL's Atlanta Falcons - was federally indicted yesterday on charges of, "...competitive dogfighting, procuring and training pit bulls for fighting and conducting the enterprise across state lines." (from ESPN.com) Property Vick owns in Virgina has been the center of a dogfighting investigation for many months, although Vick had claimed he rarely visited the property and was not involved in what went on there. Well apparently federal investigators felt differently.

Now I know what you may be thinking, isn't leaking radioactive material and potentially poisoning hundreds of people and the environment worse than being involved in a dogfighting ring?

Well first of all, the mess at the nuclear plant in Japan was caused by a sizeable earthquake, so it's not like they were tossing buckets of contaminated water into the Sea of Japan. And secondly, because of the strong feelings people have towards household pets - dogs especially - Michael Vick is going to be absolutely vilified - like spat at on the street vilified. It would not surprise me if the reaction to all of this is that strong. I can foresee a scenario in which he is booed by his hometown fans, not for his poor play on the field but for his poor choices off the field.

At the very least I imagine that yesterday was a pretty bad day for Vick - and I suspect that there will many more bad days to come.

Let this be a lesson to all of you who are thinking about breaking into the world of getting two animals to fight to the death. It's really a cautionary tale for the ages is what it is.