Dude, you better live in the human society...

"As we all know in the past, I've made some mistakes. I've done some terrible things...made a horrible mistake...and now I wanna be part of the solution and not the problem."

Well Mr Vick, a mistake is getting off your bed and stepping on your dog's tail. I wouldn't classify electrocuting your dog with battery cables, drowning your dog in your pool with your bare hands while the helpless dog fights for his life, or throwing your household pets into the ring with your killer pit bulls, a mistake. According to a 1997 study done by the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and Northeastern University, animal abusers are five times more likely to commit violent crimes against people and four times more likely to commit property crimes than are individuals without a history of animal abuse. That said though, I think a lot of Vick's problems were the company he kept. My father always said, "You sleep with the dogs, you rise with the fleas." For Vick, this was true in more ways than one. I think he's truly remorseful. I think he'll be all the things he says he wants to be, but then again, he really doesn't have a choice. No athlete besides maybe Orenthal James Simpson has fallen as far as he has. I thought the press conference was sincere, but boy did he need to be brought down a few notches. This is the same guy that was awaiting trial and gets busted for marijuana. The same guy that gives the bird to his fans in Atlanta as he walked off the field. The same guy that did abhorrent things to innocent defenseless animals. I want the guy to rehab and assimilate into society and the NFL as a productive citizen and player, and as a prime example of what it costs to be an asshole in the NFL and society. After all that's said and done, guys in the NFL have done worse...runover a guy while you're hammered (Stallworth), Shoot up a strip club among coutless other offenses (A. Jones), butcher and gut your wife and an innocent restaurant waiter outside your LA home (OJ). I just think that Vick played his cards wrong and let his arrogance represent him. He's paid a price which is more than most have done. If Philly accepts him, then I guess I will...that city's full of assholes.

Vick hating dogs (does not equal) Stallworth hating pedestrians

(Pictured in their dubut appearance on exposedandnaked, Hamlet and Trooper, the most bad ass German hunting dogs to ever live...no joke).

So, Dante Stallworth was sentenced today. Here's his statement and his punishment.

"I accept full responsibility for this horrible tragedy," said Stallworth, who was accompanied at the hearing by his parents, siblings and other supporters. "I will bear this burden for the rest of my life."

Stallworth faced a maximum of 15 years in prison with a minimum of 4 years. He got 30days. After his release from jail, Stallworth must serve two years of house arrest and spend eight years on probation. Stallworth also must undergo drug and alcohol testing, will have a lifetime driver's license suspension and must perform 1,000 hours of community service. Lyons said after five years, Stallworth could win approval for limited driving such as for employment.

The NFL has said it will review the matter for possible disciplinary action. Lyons said the plea agreement will allow Stallworth to resume his football career.


Ok so here's my issue. I give the guy some credit. Since his vehicular homicide aka killing people with your car while hammered at 7:30a.m., he's said and done everything right. In fact, based on most NFL players experiences with the law, he's like Mother Teresa...excet he killed a man. I think he's shown true remorse. I want to believe that he felt he was ok to drive. Nontheless, Stallworth killed 59-year-old father, Mario Reyes, with his Bentley after a night of drinking at a hotel in Miami. Meanwhile, Michael Vick, as abhorrent as his conduct was, participated in behavior that ultimately led to the destruction to several if not many aging dogs. Dogs. Not people. Not a man. Not a father. I, as much as anyone, despise cruelty to animals, especially dogs, but I also can separate killing a human while negligent and inebriated, from killing a dog. I've been saying for years that Vick never got a fair shake. He was the fall guy for the NFL because he was the rich number 1 guy, because there had been so many run-ins with the law and NFL players, and because he had a thuggish kind of swagger that made it diffult for mainstream white Americans to identify with him. Now I don't have to think he was treated unfairly, I know. This is a complete outrage. Both guys were rich, but Stallworth pays off the family and his gets 30 days. Vick pays fines and serves nearly two years. This is simple proof that because Mike Vick was a leader of a dog fighting ring that perhaps earned and exchanged money, money that the Government couldn't get its hands on, he is hit with the book. The moral of this story is you can kill someone while drunk off your ass, but you can't earn money that the Gov't can't get its hands on. America is a mere shell of what it once was. This pisses me off beyond belief.