Vick-owned property is dog-fighting central

You'd think it would be, Roscoe, but I think he would only get six years in jail and probably be out in five with good behavior. Seems like he could resume his NFL career after that if he's not ostracized by the league, and I'm not sure he would be. Football is king in the U.S. and people are willing to forgive A LOT if it means more people getting paid.

I'm with you, I kind of hope he's done if found guilty. Maybe they could do a real life "Longest Yard" about his life.

If he's found guilty, or if he pleads guilty, there isn't much doubt that he would be suspended by the NFL for a long time. At least one full season, probably more.

Of course we don't want to leap to conclusions, but it does look pretty bad for him at this point. From what I understand, the most serious federal charge he's been indicted on is conspiracy, which essentially means that everyone who's entered into an agreement with each other to do something illegal (dog-fighting, in this case) is legally responsible for what follows, even if they don't specifically participate in it themselves. My guess is that Vick didn't grasp how the law worked on that point; he thought that as long as he wasn't too involved in any direct way (though it seems like he might have been), he wouldn't get in any real trouble over it.

With Goodell now telling him to stay away from training camp and the Falcons management throwing him under the bus, it seems that Vick is most likely done for this coming season, at a minimum. It's pretty amazing how quickly this has gone downhill for him. It really looks like his career might be completely derailed because of this, regardless of how the legal scenario plays out.

One point I heard on the radio today is that his position makes a difference here--receivers, defensive backs, etc. might be able to survive a black eye like this, but since a quarterback is expected to be "the man" in so many ways on any team, the lingering effects of this whole affair on his reputation (even if he goes to trial and gets acquitted) could be enough to prevent any other team from signing him. A player as talented as he is will usually get a second chance, or more, but the PR headaches that would inevitably follow from signing him might make all the other owners out there think twice about picking him up, if he becomes available. Although I did just think of something: various people have been saying for several years that he'd be a better player if he just became a running back (though obviously not as highly paid), so if he gets a chance to come back to the league but can't find anyone to sign him as a QB, maybe he can re-invent himself as a running back.

Wonder why this situation has received WAY more pub than the WWF wrestler who killed his whole family?

Well, Vick is a lot more famous, and his story is an ongoing case. What happened with the wrestler was a horrible story, but the only thing left to say about it afterwards was speculation about why it might have happened.

Stories that involve investigations have a lot longer half life. The Benoit story sort of had it's own conclusion right off the bat (with him killing himself and all). The steroid investigation of the WWE is sort of too obvious to be interesting. It would be like investigating baseball for chewing tabbacco usage.

That's a good point. It's not right to breed animals for the purpose of fighting...and then killing them. But the man is not a rapist or a murderer...Kobe Bryant? Zach Randolph? Have they done worse things than Vick?

I eat cows.
Maybe Michael can blame it on his brother.

Vick is supposed to enter a Plea today in court. Apparently, he paid a man $24,000 because the man's pit bulls beat the dogs at Vick's house.

He pleaded innocent!
No training camp for Vick.

I heard a former NFL player say on the radio today that the NFL has a rule that prohibits a person convicted of a felony from playing in the NFL. So if he is found guilty or he cops a plea his career is over.

I also read that the Feds are playing hard ball and trying to force Vick in to a plea bargin. If he doesn't take the deal by mid August the Feds are going to up that ante and add more charges that carry heavy jail time like rackteering, illegal gambling, tax evasion, and the Travel Act which is when you cross state lines in comitting a crime. All of those charges could land Vick with a sentence of 20 years on top of the 5 years he might get for the dog fighting.

If I was Vick I would be very afraid right now.

Those Vick boys are some Bad Boys.
Man o Man

They'll probably get creamed in court...but the idea's pretty clever:

Take a bite out of Vick, with a Dog Chew Toy - NFL - MSNBC.com

More problems for Vick. The other two guys who hadn't flipped on him yet are going to plead guilty by the end of this week. Apparently if Vick doesn't do that as well, he'll face even more charges.

You get the feeling that it's no longer about Vick playing football again. The main thrust seems to be Vick and his ability to avoid jail time.....

He'll still be able to play in the CFL, right?

If he goes to Canada, that makes him a draft dodger..............

Sad series of events. In April, Vick was denying any knowledge of what was happening at the house that his cousin lived in. Now, he is being thumbed by his posse. His best friend is telling all to avoid the big sentence. The feds will be adding Gambling charges since the new witnesses are indicating that Michael Vick was the financial arm for major stakes gambling on the dog fights. Gambling carries a lifetime ban from the NFL. I really don't think he'll ever play football again at this point.

Too bad the dogs can't testify.