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I know this has been touched on in other threads, but I wanted to add an article I read today in it's own thread since this story isn't dying, as I expected it would:

Vick issues a nightmare for Blank
By Jeff Schultz

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

In a recent Forbes list of the 400 wealthiest Americans, Arthur Blank ranked 297th with a net worth of $1.3 billion. The assumption here is that even if 297th out of 400 doesn’t get you to the gold card playoffs, $1.3 billion keeps the image fairly well intact.

At the end of the 2004 season, Michael Vick was the centerpiece of this city. He was 23-12-1 as a starter, had just led the Falcons to within a win of the Super Bowl and radiated like a 100-watt bulb. Since then, he is 15-16 as a starter and the bulb has been crushed.

If image if everything, Vick is on the way to bankruptcy.

The herpes case, which led to lampooning (Ron Mexico) and an out-of-court settlement.

The picture of Vick possible holding a “blunt” on his girlfriend’s MySpace page.

Flipping off home fans.

The fake water bottle with alleged marijuana particulates (later cleared) at the Miami airport, a situation Joe Montana and most leaders have managed to avoid in their career.

Subsequent suggestions he might’ve been “framed” by Miami police and claims of his explanation for the water bottle, which were disputed.

Blowing off Congress, then giving an alibi that even his own endorsement partner (AirTran) stomped on.

Now comes possibly the worst of all: Allegations of a connection to dogfighting. It’s not merely a felony, it’s a pastime for the bottom-feeders of society.

If anything that has been alleged in this case is true, there’s one thing I never want to hear about Michael Vick again: “He’s a good kid, he just hangs around bad people.”

That Vick may not be a very good quarterback is suddenly the least of his problems. It’s certainly the least of Arthur Blank’s problems.

The Falcons’ owner longs for the days when his biggest concerns were fitting Vick with the right offense. Now he finds himself trying to pitch a headache to the masses. He is all about team and presenting a unified front. But if you believe that everybody in the Falcons’ organization is universal in their belief in Vick, you’re deluded.

Blank knows all about image. He must know that Vick’s has been damaged beyond repair, regardless of whether the quarterback gets charged or suspended in the dog case. The Humane Society, PETA, a California congressman — who hasn’t weighed in? Blank can read. He can hear. He can sense. The man made his fortune reading the retail tea leaves better than anybody.

There was a time when Vick pulled this city’s fans together. Now, he divides them.

Welcome to Blank’s nightmare. The Falcons are married to a quarterback with a 10-year, $130 million contract. Dumping Vick at some point projects salary cap hell. But the Falcons’ fan base is divided: half angry, half defensive. There’s no middle. Another concern is that much of the split may be along racial lines.

It’s one thing to lose a game. It’s another to have your team’s identity hinged to an image wrecking ball. Repeated incidents diminish Vick’s already in-question ability to lead and Blank’s ability to sell.

“There’s no doubt Vick’s image has taken a huge hit,” said Frank Mahar of Genesco Sports Enterprises, a sports marketing firm in New York. “It’s been one incident on top of another. For some people now, the question isn’t, ‘When is it going to stop?’ but ‘What’s next?’

“When Vick came into the league, he had multiple TV spots — Nike, a video game, Powerade. I would guess we’re not going to see him on much this year.”

The national and local perception of an athlete often differ. Barry Bonds is vilified in every stadium but one — his home park in San Francisco. But Vick is no longer universally embraced here. Boos and no-shows at home games provided sufficient evidence last season. So do sports talk shows today.

“Blank’s in a hard place,” Mahar said. “If the town is really that split, it almost like no matter what he does he’s going to upset somebody. He wants to sell tickets but he doesn’t want to upset people in the process. It almost comes down to, ‘What’s the lesser of two evils?’ “

Nobody could have predicted that a case involving fighting pitbulls may provide that answer.

That alone should tell you that Blank has a problem.

Well, at least they know that if Vick isn't effective they have a decent backup in Matt Schaub that has.....oh, wait...

So the team has married itself to a QB with almost no trade value, who's on-the-field potential has been maxed out, learning another offense from yet another head coach, and who's popularity makes fans long for the days of Jerry Glanville.

At some point they have to figure that they either have to let Vick go, or try to get an offense that plays to his strengths. Either way, this team is not playoff bound for a while.

Of course, we've all been waiting for Clinton Portis to chime in:

I don't know if he was fighting dogs or not, but its his property and his dogs, what people do behind closed doors...

Good for you, Clinton. Whether or not you're a champion of a person's right to abuse animals, sharing your feelings was probably a great idea.

more portis...

"Everyone brings up OJ, shit man, its his house and his wife, what he does on his property is his buissness"

He didn't just say that.

Makes me wonder what's going on in the Portis household, and if it involves transsexual Muslim eskimos...

i heard the portis comments earlier today... what a living and breathing disgrace for a human.

Vick is the Michael Jackson of the NFL.

Does that make Portis = Tito?

"I don't know if he was fighting dogs or not, but its his property and his dogs, what people do behind closed doors...

"...will eventually be covered by Fred Smoot, so it's pointless."

Portis= Jermaine

Marcus = Joe

Aaron Brooks="the retarded cousin who reminds me of RADIO" Jackson

The role of Latoya will be played by one of Ron's most talented herpes sores.

Supporting Vick

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) -- Washington Redskins players Clinton Portis and Chris Samuels defended Michael Vick on Monday by ridiculing the notion that dog fighting is considered a crime.

In an interview with WAVY-TV, Portis said that if the Atlanta Falcons quarterback is charged and convicted of being involved in a dog fighting operation, then authorities would be "putting him behind bars for no reason."

"I don't know if he was fighting dogs or not," Portis said. "But it's his property; it's his dogs. If that's what he wants to do, do it."

Portis said dog fighting is a "prevalent" part of life.

Portis, a native of Laurel, Mississippi, added: "I know a lot of back roads that got a dog fight if you want to go see it. But they're not bothering those people because those people are not big names. I'm sure there's some police got some dogs that are fighting them, some judges got dogs and everything else."

"Politicians," added Samuels, who found it hard to keep from giggling while Portis was talking.

"Presidents," added Portis with a laugh.

Vick has been under investigation since April 25 when police conducting a drug investigation raided the house owned by the quarterback in rural Surry County and found dozens of dogs. They also found items associated with dog fighting, including a "pry bar" used to pry apart a dog's jaws. No charges have been filed.

Dog fighting is a felony in Virginia, but Portis said that if Vick is charged and convicted, "Then I think he got cheated. ... You're putting him behind bars for no reason -- over a dog fight."

"Haven't you seen Animal Planet?" Samuels added with a giggle.

Hours after making light of the possible crime in the television interview, Portis issued a statement late Monday through the Redskins.

"In the recent interview I gave concerning dog fighting, I want to make it clear I do not take part in dog fighting or condone dog fighting in any manner," the statement said.

Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Does Vick have the largest contract in the NFL? I know it was when he signed it at the time but I can't remember if Manning re-upped for more money per year.

And it makes you wonder if maybe the Chargers knew something when they traded that #1 overall pick to the Falcons six years ago...

Good read from FoxSports...


Kevin Hench / FOXSports.com
Posted: 19 minutes ago

Is it not sufficient for man to absorb the useful labors and lives of the inferior creation, without superadding excessive anguish, want and misery?
— Julius Ames, The Spirit of Humanity

If somebody is too stupid to understand the fundamental immorality of dog fighting, you're never going to be able to explain it to him.

So don't waste your breath on Clinton Portis.

You could show him scripture, wherein man's dominion over animals comes with an insistence on "holiness and justice."
You could photocopy Gandhi's essay on animal rights for him.

Heck, you could even give him a copy of Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man in the hopes that he might see a parallel in the inhumanity between Ellison's battle royal — a brutal free-for-all fought by black men for the entertainment of whites — and a bunch of men standing around and cheering as two dogs tear each other apart.

But none of it would take. So this isn't a column with an educational purpose. This is a more retributive exercise with the aim of adding just a sliver of anguish and misery to the otherwise great life of multi-millionaire jackass Clinton Portis, written on behalf of my dog Sam.

In what could have been a completely inconsequential off-season interview, the idiot Portis, for no apparent reason, decided to weigh in on behalf of Michael Vick and in favor of dog fighting.

When I saw the headline I thought it must have been one ill-conceived comment — perhaps blown out of proportion or taken the wrong way — but, oh no, Portis went out of his way to reiterate again and again in different ways that he has no problems with dog owners fighting their dogs.

If you thought Ted Koppel tried to throw Al Campanis a lifeline, check out how many times the interviewer gives Portis opportunities to backtrack.

On the topic of Vick facing possible charges for dog fighting, Portis opened with, "I think people should mind their business, you know. I don't know if he was fighting dogs or not, but it's his property, his dog, if that's what he wants to do, do it."

When apprised by the startled interviewer that dog fighting is a felony, Portis was fairly incredulous. It seems to be the first he's heard of that development within our justice system. But he's ready with a rebuttal.

"It can't be too bad of a crime. There's a lot of stuff that's crimes, you know. It's killers on the loose over here and you want to hunt down Michael Vick over fighting some dogs."

Sam reacts after hearing Clinton Portis' anti-canine remarks. ( / Special to FOXSports.com)

Well said, Clint. Well said. But he was just getting started.

"I think behind closed doors the same people who do all the judging are probably some of the harshest people around. They're Internet predators and everything else."

Smart. Use the Karl Rove strategy, go on the attack. The people — law enforcement officers, district attorneys, judges — condemning others for dog fighting are Internet predators. Nice.

Come to think of it, we've got to get Chris Hansen and his crew to surprise the gang at one of these dog fights. Those would be some choice interviews. Smart crowd, the dog fighting fan base.

Apparently Portis was no stranger to these Mensa meetings when he was growing up.

"I'm from Laurel, Mississippi, so I know a lot of backroads that got a dog fight if you want to go see it." Perhaps the FBI can take up Clinton on this offer.

After suggesting that he suspected cops and judges were staging dogfights too, Portis was asked what he would think if Vick is charged and convicted.

Still unclear on the illegal nature of the activity, Portis asks, "How could you convict somebody on a dog fight?"

Okay, knucklehead, hypothetically, what if Vick were convicted?

"Then I think he got cheated. You take a positive role model...and put him behind bars for no reason, over a dog fight."

Poll

Positive role model? Wow, this interview just gets nuttier and nuttier. Was it his airport antics, flipping off the fans, or throwing coaches under the bus that made Vick a positive role model? I forget.

Portis seems genuinely confused at why we can't do whatever we want to our animals in the privacy of our massive compounds. He seems to be asking, if you own the animals and you keep it on your property, who's to say you can't torture them? Civil society, Clinton, that's who.

A few hours after yucking it up for the camera and leaving no doubt that he absolutely positively condones dog fighting, Portis issued a statement through the Redskins (the only team nickname almost as offensive as dog fighting):

"In the recent interview I gave concerning dog fighting, I want to make it clear I do not take part in dog fighting or condone dog fighting in any manner," the statement said.

Except, of course, at Michael Vick's house and on the back roads of Mississippi. No, Clinton, that weak, after-the-fact, half-hearted retraction won't convince anybody that you didn't mean what you said. Over and over. Cutting a big check to the ASPCA probably won't convince anyone either, but at least it would do some good.

Daniel Snyder might even go halves with you. (He only believes in cruel and unusual punishment for coaches waiting to be fired.)

The sad part is I had always liked Clinton Portis. I thought the costumes were great and his sound bites consistently funny. But he's lost me now.

When I think about pro athletes siccing dogs on one another it makes me consider rooting for catastrophic knee injuries.

But I guess I'm not that cruel. If, however, Portis missed another batch of games in '07 with his chronic shoulder problems, well, maybe it would be karma.

Anyone who flippantly condones animal cruelty deserves no better.

And it makes you wonder if maybe the Chargers knew something when they traded that #1 overall pick to the Falcons six years ago...

maybe their just damn shrewd at taking advantage of over-zealous, second-rate organizations to build an elite team:

vick and manning become tomlinson, brees, merriman, kaeding and rivers.

you quite literally couldn't do better if you had a crystal ball.

If somebody is too stupid to understand the fundamental immorality of dog fighting, you're never going to be able to explain it to him.

Sadly, the same logic to discussing the minimal importance of pre-season success with most Redskins fans.

"Sadly, the same logic to discussing the minimal importance of offseason success with most Redskins fans."

Fixed

"Sadly, the same logic to discussing the minimal importance of offseason success with most Redskins fans."

OK, NOW it's fixed.

Forget off-season, preseason, whatever. Success, period.

Not quite. One could reasonably argue that in-season and post-season success is reasobably important.

The more I study at anvill's post, the more convinced I am that he's drunk at 6:52 AM

Dozens of Vick dogs may be euthanized

Shitheads like this help give my pitbull a bad rep.

Shitheads like this help give my pitbull a bad rep.

your dog makes you more of a badass.

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