One of the more fun things about the MNF booth over the past few years, was the love/hate relationship between Ron Jaworski and Tony Kornheiser. Whether you thought Tony was good or not was irrelevant, because he knew how to get under Jaws' skin, and every time he did so, it was pretty funny. Well now Jon Gruden is in the booth, and after a pretty good debut last night, the Coach didn't hold anything back after Jaws said he didn't like the Vick signing by the Eagles. Here's the clip....

I obviously agree with Gruden, and while I was skeptical of his hiring at first, it seems like this trio really could work out. The producers of MNF always wanted three different perspectives in the booth, with Tirico providing the images, Jaws providing the stats and analysis and Kornheiser providing the angles. And while those three perspectives didn't gel, replacing the writer's slant with a coach's slant, looks like a winner. Especially when you have a story like the Vick signing that will bring up many different emotions and opinions.

Jaws Jumps The Shark on the Vick Idea, ESPN Video (NESW Sports)

Every time a player is released back into the wild (the Sports Media World), it's always interesting to see what approach they take with their interviews. As I mentioned earlier today, Donte Stallworth has chosen ESPN's E:60 as his first outlet, and while there's nothing wrong with the choice, it's an interesting one at that (Why not Sports Center? Why not PTI?). Well even more interesting than that choice, is the fact that Mike Vick hasn't even made a statement since being released from prison.

Everyone, from First Take to Oprah, was interested in talking with the quarterback, but Vick has given his rights to CBS via 60 Minutes, and has chosen to lobby through his agent and more confusingly, Tony Dungy. Darren Rovell, decided to look at the reasons why Vick has taken this angle, and like me, he couldn't figure it out either....

The best strategy for Vick is to speak with and appease all his critics and to show them that he is really genuine. By shutting off access, and directing everyone to Sunday’s broadcast, he is actually creating more work for him and the team that might sign him.

The only thing I can think of is that his handlers think it's best if Vick's story could first come out in a nice little package with a bow on top so as to take some pressure off him when he has to do his first press conference. But anyone in the business knows that if an athlete has trouble talking about his past, and isn't genuine, its going to look ugly no matter what forum it's said in. Just look at A-Rod.

Vick was released from prison 82 days ago. That’s 82 wasted days. If he had the right strategy and got himself out there, I truly believe that there’s a possibility he could be with a team right now.

But no matter what Tony Dungy tells insiders about Vick, no team can sign him until they gauge the reaction from the first time he opens his mouth. In the end, Vick’s crime might not be his greatest enemy. His greatest enemy might be his own media plan.

In an era of PEDs, and shocking player arrests, I think people are more forgiving than ever. Either that, or they are just so jaded that they don't even care. To wait 82 days, without a comment, seems like a bad plan to me. I think if Vick had made a statement months ago, it would have already started the healing process, and he probably would already be in a camp by now. It'll certainly be interesting to see how this plays out after the piece on Sunday evening.

Michael Vick’s Next Mistake: His Media Plan (Sports Biz)

You knew that the story was coming out one way or another, and today we all learned where. Tony Dungy's talk with Mike Vick, during his last days in prison, will be presented as an article in this week's SI. In fact, it's already online and here's a brief snippet....

Then I went to see Michael. As I sat down with him at the table in the visitors' room, he looked just like many of the young men I have talked with in other prisons. I couldn't get over how young he still looked. I hadn't seen him in person since 2005, but his face looked the same. The Falcons' number 7 jersey, though, had been replaced by a tan jumpsuit with his inmate number on it. We talked for about two hours, and my message was the same one I've given hundreds of other inmates I've visited. "What you learn in life is the same thing you learn in football," I told Michael, who was scheduled to be released from prison this Wednesday to serve the final two months of his 23-month sentence in home confinement. "You have losses, and you have to rebound from them. The key thing is, How do you bounce back from a defeat?"

In the two hours we spent together, Michael and I learned a lot about each other, and we made a commitment to stay in touch after he is released. When I left the prison, I found myself thinking: What if Michael, who says his father was not a positive influence on his household when he grew up, had had the same family support system that Josh [Freeman] had? Would he have ended up in this situation? I really don't think so.

That's really just the surface of the article, as it delves into how Dungy helps a lot of inmates, so you should definitely check out the rest. I've noticed over the past few days that rarely has anything bad been said about Vick, and I'm beginning to understand why. It's human nature to want to forgive and forget, and that's what the media seems to already be doing with Vick. Either that, or they want to be the first to score an interview (*ahem* ESPN!).

Guidance With A Fatherly Touch (SI)

I mentioned last week that ESPN planned to stalk Michael Vick as he left Leavenworth today. Well apparently Vick used his once elusive Football skills, to escape the "Leader's" (and every other media outlet) cameras. Here is Hannah Storm talking about just that with on-site reporter Kelly Naqi. Via Fang's Bites....

How funny is that? On the surface you would think it'd be virtually impossible to leave undetected, but that's obviously not the case. All that work for a shot of a random reporter standing in the wind outside of a prison. Good times.

In Case You Missed Vick's Release (Fangs Bites)

Michael Vick is being released from Levanworth on May 20th, and ESPN has released the details about who they are sending and where. Three reporters will be spread out from Leavenworth, Kan, to Hampton, Va, and Atlanta, and the network will air specials throughout the day. There will even be a one hour special that Tuesday. Via ESPN PR....

Michael Vick to be Released From Prison

Michael Vick will be released from Leavenworth Federal Prison in Kansas on May 20, then head to Hampton, Va. where he will be under home confinement. ESPN will provide live coverage from Kansas, Virginia and Atlanta, detail NFL reaction, and present a one-hour special Tuesday night.

On-site coverage (Tuesday, Wednesday)
In Leavenworth, Kan: Kelly Naqi
In Hampton, Va.: George Smith
In Atlanta: Darren Lyn

NFL Reaction (debut on Tuesday SportsCenters)
Reporter Ed Werder’s piece with reaction from a variety of NFL-related personalities speculating on Vick’s NFL future.

SportsCenter Special (ESPN2, Tuesday, 7 p.m.)
Bob Ley will anchor a one-hour SportsCenter special with Mark Schlereth, Trent Dilfer, Herm Edwards, and Chris Mortensen.

ESPN.com’s Lester Munson will take an in-depth look at Michael Vick’s depleting finances and the people that targeted them, and interview Tony “Dogman” Taylor, one of the dogfighting associates who pleaded guilty and served time for the incident. John Clayton will also take a look at the five most likely landing spots for Vick when he returns to the NFL. The NFL Blog Network will also open up a discussion for debate on whether Vick should keep an open mind to switching positions. Additional columns and reactions from Len Pasquarelli and Pat Yasinskas will also be available on ESPN.com.

I guess the situation warrants the special, but to follow the guy halfway across the country is a little much. I also wonder exactly many people care that he's getting released. I'm guessing it's not as many as ESPN thinks.

You Thought Brett Favre Coverage was Overboard? Wait for Michael Vick... (Fang's Bites)

Tony Dungy is still planning on talking with Mike Vick soon, and today he went on the Dan Patrick Show, to explain why he's doing so and that he believes the former NFL QB is remorseful. He even went so far as to compare him to players that have actually murdered someone, and are still in the league....

Dungy is going to visit with Michael Vick before he leaves jail. Dungy says he heard Vick has found God and wants to talk to him about that and other things. Dungy said he's given other players second chances and it's worked out well. He pointed to kicker Mike Vanderjagt.

Dungy said that someone should give Vick a second chance because "it's the right thing to do." Dan and Tony pointed out that there are players in the NFL who have killed people and are still playing.

While he's certainly right about the current state of the NFL, everyone even said it at the time, that killing dogs is/was worse than killing a human. While, I may not necessarily agree with that stance, I can definitely understand that point of view. I still believe he deserves a second chance, but only if he truly understands what he did was wrong.

The big meet and greet is set for May 5th, and I'll keep you posted.

Tony Dungy comments on Favre, plans to meet with Vick (Sports Illustrated)

I waited a bit to post this because the only video out there had some bad audio, but luckily reader Adam came through for us. Here's the Arthur Blank "Fried Chicken" comment from last night....

Talk about a poor choice of words. I honestly don't think he meant it in the way everyone thinks he did, but he could have just gone with Grilled Cheese and been okay. As far as Roddy White....I can understand a teammate wanting to show support, but couldn't he have done it with a "We Love You Mike Vick" shirt instead of the one he chose?

Falcons WRs Think Vick Should Be Freed? Really? (The Sporting Blog)

Outside The Lines will air an in-depth look at Mike Vick's sentence this afternoon during an hour long special starting at 3pm. We all knew this day was coming, but unfortunately this is going to lead to a long night.

The amount of coverage surrounding the sentencing is sure to be overkill, and I only have one question for you. Do you even care?

Of course this is (or rather was) a big story, but we already knew he was going to jail and we all had an idea of how long. It was first mentioned on Sports Center this morning and by the time we get through OTL, ATH, PTI, and SC we'll have a nice long 3+ hour Football game featuring Vick's team to deal with.

It's going to be a fun live-blog tonight folks! Pardon me if I'm a little grouchy by the time we get to Tony's diatribe before kickoff.

Is it just me, or are we light-years beyond this Vick issue? I'm basically done with CameraGate and this "event" isn't even until next Tuesday. Strike while the iron is hot is what I always say. The meeting will be called "The Vick Divide", will take up SportsCenter for a day (6-7:30 pm) and feature some of Atlanta's finest on the panel.

Scheduled to appear: Host Bob Ley, Neal Boortz (ATL Radio Host), Terrence Mathis (former Falcon and friend of Vick), Terence Moore (ATL Journal Constitution), and Selena Roberts (New York Times)

I don't know if they waited over a month for this because Sydney J. Marcus Auditorium in Atlanta was all booked up until now, but you know what I always say.....Strike while the iron is hot.

"If you still care about Mike Vick say Aye (*crickets*)
If you don't care about Mike Vick say Nay....

NAY!!!!!!!!!!

They nays have it.....meeting adjourned."

So Vick's day in court is going to be on Monday, December 10th? It is, okay. But wait....where's Monday Night Football being played that night....oh crap.....

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MON, DEC 10
New Orleans at Atlanta 8:30 PM
ESPN

How did I miss that? We're going to have to go through a complete do-over of this past Monday. Judge Henry E. Hudson....you're on my list. I apologize if you already connected the two, but I just now figured it out. We'll never be able to escape this.....please hold my hand readers. I'm scared.

NFL Schedule (CBS Sports)

After this I promise there will be no more Vick posts, but I just wanted to share a couple of viewpoints that I found very interesting, one of which could be pretty controversial (if anyone took any stock in what Bayless spewed). Up first is a great breakdown of this morning's Sports Center by C-Mots at Mister Irrelevant. Read these stats and then take a few minutes to take them all in....I'll meet you on the other side....

* The show was 48 minutes without commercials, exactly 24 minutes and 45 seconds of which was devoted to Michael Vick.
* All or portions of Vick’s press conference from yesterday was shown five times. The terms of his plea agreement were shown four times.
* 18 different people shared an on-air opinion/thought on Vick (this obviously doesn’t count the anchors): Tom Jackson, Emmitt Smith, Keyshawn Johnson, Chris Berman, Michael Wilbon, Hank Aaron, Jim Rome, Jim Fassel, Mike Tirico, Tony K, Jaws, Kelly Naqi, George Smith, Roger Cossack, Sal Paolantonio, Joe Horn, Chris Mortensen, and some random Falcons fan.
* 30.6% on ESPN.com voters believe Vick should get a lifetime suspension. Overreact much?
* Best Quote goes to Chris Berman: “To use a sports metaphor: If the ball has hit the turf, and it hit the turf on Monday, and it’s just starting to go up, and we hope it goes high, then we can be upbeat and optimistic about it.”
* Second Best Quote: Steve Levy going into the first commercial break after 12 non-stop minutes of Vick talk: “And yes, there’s even more Michael Vick ahead on SportsCenter.”

Wow. Talk about overkill. I just don't understand this line of thinking at all. It's just my opinion, but isn't everyone done with and past this whole issue? There's some ridiculous playoff races happening in Baseball, the Yankees got slaughtered last night, and College Football is starting in two days. It just amazes me that they're pressing on with this thing.

The second item today comes from an email sent to me yesterday. I missed 1st Take (as I normally do), but I think this reader submission is a perfect synopsis. Skip Bayless has been the same for years, but I'm with the reader and think this is waaaay over the top.....

I start the day with Mike and Mike (listen to TV) and more than a few times stayed with ESPN until Skip Bonehead started spewing his uninformed and racist opinions. I've heard him criticize black athletes for celebrating and other on/off field acts that he never mentions about white athletes - or if he does it's with a "boys will be boys" spin. Today topped it all. His comments offended me as much as the Imus comments did and I think he should suffer the same fate.

My blood pressure is at about a billion because I'm still listening to ESPNs coverage - waiting for the Arthur Blank news conference - and I'm listening to the two Stews making intelligent, logical, informed comments while Skip Bonehead continues with his thinly veiled racist crap. Check out the tapes if you're not watching/listening. Sometimes I just wonder how people get their jobs and keep them. (E-bleeping-gads! Now he's pretending to support Vick by slamming Upshaw - he never misses an opportunity to slap the black folks!! If I listen to much more, my ears will start bleeding!)

-SR

FYI - I'm a lily-white grandmother from MA, now retired in NH. Was a peace activist in the 60s and haven't lost my sense of what's inherently wrong. This guy - Skip Bonehead - qualifies for Olbermann's Worst Person in the World award today.

Way to skew my demographic SR....just kidding. I'm glad people from all backgrounds can contribute to the site. A good rant is healthy for everyone, and I too have noticed this from Bayless over the years. It just amazes me that with as much criticism that ESPN takes on certain people that they never even think of getting rid of them.

I also really thought the Nation had moved past the Race Card regarding most issues, but the Vick Case and the Imus Incident showed that's certainly not the case.

SportsCenter: One Part Vick, One Part Every Other Sporting Topic on Earth (Mister Irrelevant)

Here's the Michael Vick speech in its entirety immediately following his guilty plea this morning in Richmond, VA.

For what it's worth....it was a very good speech and he seemed genuine and apologetic. I hope like everyone else (including Vick) that we can let the man serve out his time, and that we can get on with the football season now.

P.S.- Sorry for the grainy quality, but that's what you get when you record it with a Fisher Price "My First Camcorder" (or record it from the internet).

With an awesome set athletes in a new campaign called "Quick is Deadly". Up first is LaDanian Tomlinson (video below), but also included are Steve Nash, runner Lauren Fleshman and Olympic sprinters Asafa Powell and Sanya Richards.

(For a better view of the video Click Here.)

Mike Vick who? That commercial is just plain badass. They also have an entire section where LT teaches you spin moves and the like.

Good work by Nike as they try to put everything Vick behind them. Speaking of which.....let's do another one of those Briscoe High Football Videos. I think Matt Leinart was the backup. He'll do.

Quick Is Deadly (Nike.com)
New Nike Commercial (YouTube)

Look, I get what these people are trying to do. The public outcry for this Vick thing is amazing and out of control at the same time. You then try to compare it to some other arrests that have been made in the league. Yada, Yada, Yada.

Again, guys....all guys....never compare anything to rape. It's classless and it's never going to fly. Especially with Nancy Grace, CNN Sports Anchor Larry Smith...

Out to Larry Smith, CNN sports correspondent and CNN anchor. What`s Vick afraid of? Come on. He`s been in front of the camera a million times. What`s so hard about declaring your innocence?

LARRY SMITH, CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, that`s -- he`s been in a lot of trouble lately, when you think about all the other incidents, and this is just the worst one of all. Keep in mind, too, that while Kobe Bryant is a situation we can sort of compare this to, this really is much worse. Not only can you argue that the crimes are much worse in terms of, you know, killing dogs and that kind of thing, but as an NFL starting quarterback, you are the most visible face in that city. I`ve said all along, in fact, you know, if you go through and, you know, very quickly name 10 mayors of major cities in the country...

GRACE: Larry Smith, did I just hear you say...

SMITH: ... you could have a harder time doing that...

GRACE: ... mistreatment of...

SMITH: ... than naming 10 NFL starting quarterbacks.

GRACE: Did I just hear Larry Smith, CNN sports correspondent and anchor, state that crimes on a dog are much worse than crimes on a woman? Did I hear that?

SMITH: I`m sorry. You -- I`m saying they could be. I`m not arguing for which is worse, which one is worse. I`m just saying that in terms of his visibility is much worse. His visibility is much worse than what Kobe Bryant`s is. Kobe Bryant is a superstar in the NBA, but at the same time, he plays in Los Angeles, which is a city full of stars. Michael Vick is the most visible person in the city of Atlanta, maybe ever in the history of Atlanta sports.

Hey....when Nancy Grace wants the "Rape Stats"....she GETS the rape stats! But in all seriousness.....just stop men. You'll never win any argument, let alone a rape comparison. Especially when it's idiotic to begin with.

CNN Anchor Suggests Killing Dogs Worse Than Rape, Where’s the Outrage? (News Busters)

I guess in all seriousness it's hard to keep track of what all your employees are doing. I mean I've maintained a 6 post a day blog all while continuing a 50-hour a week full-time job. Well the NFL Network is claiming that they had no idea that Deion Sanders even wrote a blog (editorial is such a fancy word) until his Vick story became National News....

Palansky (NFL-N Spokesman) said the NFL Network was not aware that Sanders was writing a newspaper column until one appeared July 22 under the headline, “Don’t be too quick to judge.” In that column, Sanders urged perspective regarding Vick.

Requests for comment from Sanders, made through both the NFL Network and the News-Press, were not successful.

“We won’t make him available,” Palansky said.

The weirdest part of the article is an apparent ultimatum from The NFL-N that reads, "Palansky refused to provide wording from Sanders’s contract that forbid him from writing his opinion on football in newspapers, but he said Sanders could continue to write about other subjects as long as his columns are approved in advance by the NFL Network."

I understand the need to police your employees, but really what's wrong with an article that asks for Vick to get his day in court? Sure it looks bad for him, but we're all so quick to judge these days (see: Duke Lax).

The big loser in all of this is obviously the News-Press who will not get nearly the same hits from the Vick article as their Reader Photo Submissions of their pets.

Sanders’s Opinion Is Limited by N.F.L. (NY Times)

I was listening to Vick Attorney Billy Martin give his client's statement yesterday, and there is no way in hell Michael Vick wrote that statement for him to read. Martin started the following statement by stating that this statement was "in his (Vick's) words".......

"I pleaded innocent to the allegations made against me. I take these charges seriously and look forward to clearing my name. I respectfully ask you all to hold your judgment until all the facts are shown. Above all, I'm sorry my mom has to go through this most trying time and the pain it has caused my family. I also want to apologize to my Falcon teammates for not being with them today at the beginning of spring training. There is nowhere in the world I'd rather be today than in camp with my team."

What's the one thing wrong with that statement? I'm sure a Football player would call Training Camp, Spring Training. Umm....Billy...It's almost August! This guy may be 1231 and 2 in trials, but I'd fire his ass if he didn't know the difference between the two.

Here's the video....



I love how he has to reaffirm that Vick's been playing his whole life. Doesn't seemed ad-libbed to me at all.

This is obviously a bit of a freudian slip, but hilarious none the less....

Via TBL)

Darren Rovell already reported today that you now can't get an NFL Jersey with the word "Ookie" on it, but now he's breaking even more breaking news...Via DR's SportsBiz...

Nike has a new statement, which I have just received. They are suspending the release of the Vick V shoe, which was scheduled to be in stores on Aug. 23. Below is the statement...

"Nike is concerned by the serious and highly disturbing allegations made against Michael Vick and we consider any cruelty to animals inhumane and abhorrent. We do believe that Michael Vick should be afforded the same due process as any citizen; therefore, we have not terminated our relationship. We have however made the decision to suspend the release of the Zoom Vick V and related marketing communications. Nike will continue to monitor the situation closely and have no further comment at this time."

Dagger. I'm with Rovell on this one though...they HAD to do this. This is only going to get worse for Michael I'm afraid.

Nike Suspends Michael Vick Shoe: Right Step To Take? (Sports Biz)

Photo via Sneaker Files

We here at Awful Announcing can in no way condone the practice of making animals fight for our pleasure. It's wrong, and nothing you say can sway us from that viewpoint. Now, if you want to put them on an oval track and have them race for your amusement (and profit)? That we're OK with.

However, this week I thought it was high time we looked into the local press coverage of Michael Vick's little legal problem. As you may know, he is one of the many phenomenal athletes to come out of the Hampton Roads hotbed, which includes Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Hampton itself, and several other townships surrounding the Virginia portion of the Chesapeake Bay. The alleged house where the alleged crimes allegedly occurred is in the area, so let's hop over and read up on the local reaction.

Uh-oh, Mike. The President hates you, dude. According to the Virginian-Pilot article by Dave Forster and Warren Fiske, President Bush signed a dogfighting bill only eight days after the Vick story broke.

Under the old federal law, dogfighting carried a maximum prison sentence of one year per animal. The new law raised that to a maximum of three years in prison.

Sounds bad, right? But the article goes on to report that Virginia's law is even stiffer:

Under Virginia law, participating in dogfights is a felony punishable by as many as five years in prison.

So, hey, like people have been saying... let's not make a Federal case out of this, OK?

And, in a sidebar item in the same article, it looks like the unwanted attention has caused Vick to skip out on a few earlier commitments.

Vick camp canceled

Michael Vick has canceled his four-day football camp at Christopher Newport University, which had been scheduled to start June 30.

Tommy Reamon, Vick’s high school football coach in Newport News, called C.J. Woolum, CNU’s athletic director, on Wednesday to cancel the camp. Reamon cited scheduling issues, said Carolyn Cuthrell, a CNU spokeswoman.

The camp’s Web site, michaelvickfootballcamp.com, has been taken down.

Sounds like a great name for a blog - wonder how much they want for the domain?

Roanoke, VA is the nearest urban area to Virginia Tech, where Michael and his brother Marcus played college football. The Roanoke Times had an interesting letter to the editor from a reader who just doesn't think it's newsworthy.

The front page has five columns devoted to the problems of Michael Vick ("Conflicting images"), plus on page 10 the entire page is devoted to this issue. Granted, he is a popular sports figure with a local connection, but this is a bit much.

How ironic it is that on page 11 there is a much smaller headline announcing that "9 U.S. troops die in Iraq" with only one paragraph in the article about it.

That's right, lunatic QB gets all of page 10, dead U.S. servicemen, a bit of page 11. Who says our priorities are out of whack?

Well, the Surry district attorney does, for one. According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, he can't for the life of him figure out why the federal government swooped in on the day his search warrant expired without being executed.

(W)hat's driving this? Is it this boy's celebrity? Would they have done this if it wasn't Michael Vick?"

I'm gonna go ahead and say that the high profile nature of the case probably has something to do with it, yes.

And it sounds to me like there are going to be some nasty revelations coming, if I read this right:

As car after car — and one evidence collection truck belonging to the Virginia State Police — darted out of the fenced yard surrounding Michael Vick's property, the officers inside gave barely a glance to reporters waiting across the street.

Pulling the gate closed, though, one of the last men to leave Thursday night said investigators had done some digging and that he didn't expect to be back anytime soon.

"I hope I never see this place again," the man said, refusing to identify himself.

With news helicopters circling overhead and confirming that investigators were digging with shovels, they were only seen removing a cardboard box and a large sheet of plywood.

So, they did some digging, hauled away some plywood and a box, and the only man who spoke to reporters sounded thoroughly disgusted.

If I were a betting man, I'd bet that this goes the way the Ray Lewis trial did. In this case, it will be Vick's cousin who gets the bulk of the punishment, and Vick will probably get probation, or that sweet Jamal Lewis/Tank Johnson deal where you get to serve time only when your team isn't playing football.

Dog fighting.... and you think you live in an enlightened society....

--Extra P.

You would think after all of the incidents this guy has been involved in that his publicist would tell him to just be quiet. But alas.....

The guy just doesn't get it. I'm all for second chances, but you have to draw the line at chances five and six. Also, does anyone know where the hell this interview is being conducted? It looks like the Luxor.

P.S.- Do you think he says "no comment" because he has no idea what the word exonerated means?