Vick to plead guilty....now what?

[gwyneth]

Actually, playing in Canada is less likely than, say, arena football--it's really hard for convicted felons to get the work permits, paperwork to cross border, etc.

There are two different issues concerning NFL suspension/banishment, according to lawyer Mike Florio, whose profootballtalk.com is excellent. One is the personal conduct policy, and one is the gambling policy, and they're adjudicated differently--Goodell has absolute power over one but the other is subject to the collective bargaining agreement.

The big part of the plea negotiation was probably trying to word the charge so it didn't mention gambling.

Of course, a lot of the outcome is affected by how long his prison stay is.

If Vick weren't an idiot--but of course, only an idiot would have gotten into this--he might be able to engineer a p.r. rehabilitation AFTER prison, during suspension. Lots of contrition, lots of money for animal causes, lots of work, and possibly going back to college.

But he is an idiot, and probably a psychopath (someone who doesn't understand what's wrong with torturing animals) and both work against both rehabilitation and genuine remorse.

[pierhogunn]

okay, so Vick is a scumbag, it's amazing how little shame we feel as a country about one of our "Heroes" having not only tortured, but also breeding in order to torture dogs.

You all remember dogs, most of you have them in your shop, I have one who, for what ever reason, loves me, and will on occasion sing with me and my daughter.

I for one, am in favor of a law that says if your IQ is below 120, and you are famous, you need a minder, who has the remote control for the genital shock collar/tracking device that you have to wear after your first misdemeanor, so that when you begin to believe that the laws of this country, no make that moral decency you get an almighty jolt to the "boys" that should serve to remind you that no man is an island, and you don't get to do what ever you d@mn well feel like.

[crokett]

America is the country for second chances. Always has been. He will play in the NFL again one day, unfortunately. He has too much athleticism not to. However I will not watch whatever game he is in, even if he is playing against the Bills. My greatest hope right now is that Joey Harrington shows Mike Vick up and takes the Falcons to the playoffs/Super Bowl.

I've been saying for several seasons that Vick is not a good quarterback. He is lazy and a poor worker. Had he worked (at all) at becoming a better passer he'd be much more effective since now a defense would have to deal with 2 threats.

[gwyneth]

There are still a lot of open issues, legally, that could make playing football again a moot point, practically.

First, his federal sentence. He could easily get more than the "one year" bandied around--the few sports columnists who are also attorneys are saying that 36 months may be more like it.

And though he (very narrowly) escaped the RICO charges, the IRS still has to weigh in...I'd expect his accountants are filing revised returns for the last six years as we speak.

The Virginia cruelty charges--up to five years per instance, and the eight dogs in his co-defendants' admissions are now legal fact--are potentially huge. The bumbling local prosecutor will have a difficult time ignoring the federal admissions, and if he convenes a grand jury, its members may decide to get into the extensive federal evidence that would show dozens of other instances.

Then there are the other states the operation staged fights in. I can't believe the media in those seven states haven't been digging for the local angles, and surely at least some of those jurisdictions have eager prosecutors.

If the story were to die down this week, I think it would still be 2012 at the earliest before he had any chance of re-entering the NFL.

But the story probably won't die down; he has an excellent chance of serving more time; and if the real shoe drops, alluded to by several brave columnists, and it turns out that any other player has any connection at all to dog fighting, the chances of him being allowed back drop to virtually none.

Oh, and here's another thought--what are the chances of him staying out of unrelated trouble between now and prison? He already got stopped for driving without a seatbelt, a small matter...but an indicator. I bet he gets busted for substance possession or driving drunk before he's even sentenced. While a sensible person might think this is the time to be cautious, he's probably more likely to think he has nothing to lose now.

[Ken Massingale]

Virginia http://www.abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory?id=3507786

CFL http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/248678

Goodell update http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=090...o&confirm=true

[mater]

Personally I am already tired of seeing him or hearing about him everytime I try to watch the sports news.

[germdoc]

I am a dog lover (and lover of all kinds of animals, even invertebrate ones) and can't see why a successful guy like Vick would get caught up in this.

However, if you want to understand a little of the world of dogfighting, and in particular its appeal to a certain segment of the population, check out an interesting Pulp Fiction-esque movie called "Amores Perros". (Supposedly no animals were harmed in filming that movie.)

[Ed62]

However, if you want to understand a little of the world of dogfighting, and in particular its appeal to a certain segment of the population, check out an interesting Pulp Fiction-esque movie called "Amores Perros".

I wouldn't be any more interested in why a certain segment of society would find it appealing than I would be to why a certain segment would find it appealing to molest a child. It's just plain wrong.

Ed

[germdoc]

I wouldn't be any more interested in why a certain segment of society would find it appealing than I would be to why a certain segment would find it appealing to molest a child. It's just plain wrong.

Ed

That's an interesting coincidence, in that I'm reading Nabokov's book Lolita right now. You don't have to approve of something to read about it and try to understand it.

I heartily disprove of any animal fighting--cockfighting, dogfighting, etc. If you want to see the grim details about Vick's operation read this:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...l?hpid=topnews

I became nauseous just reading about it. I'm totally disgusted with what these people do. It's indefensible, as is child molestation.

But, the movie Amores Perros is a GREAT movie that shows just a little bit of the lurid attraction of dogfighting among the poor people of Mexico City. (The movie itself, like Pulp Fiction, is an interwoven story of 3 people whose lives are bound together because of their dogs. You have to see it to get it.)

Also, I love the Sopranos, but of course I disapprove of gangland violence, murder for hire, etc., etc. Art sometimes shows us a window into real life that otherwise we would never understand.