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I watched an interview on one of the larger cable news networks, though I don't recall which one, that featured a woman defending the "sport' of dogfighting.

Personally, I don't see dogfighting as any more of a sport than horse racing, dog racing or any other activity where something other than a human being is actually performing some feat of physical endurance. Football, soccer, track, basketball, hockey...those are sports. Training a dog to tear apart another dog is not a sport. Outfitting roosters with spurs and betting on which one will survive a fight is not a sport. Riding a horse and whipping it to make it run faster is not a sport, in my opinion (though I am sure some will disagree).

The woman's face was obscured in the interview, but she spoke of dogfighting like it was a real sport--as though it was somehow "legitimate." The interviewer took it easy on her, never asking her if she murdered dogs who didn't perform well. She was not asked if she performed the acts for which Vick is condemned (though we know she performs at least some of the acts for which he is charged). She acted as though the dogs were nothing more than machines that fought each other for her enjoyment and she touched on none of the more gruesome aspects of the Vick case.

I'm looking over at my 8-year-old son hugging our dog goodnight and telling the dog what a good boy he is. I'm contrasting that with the mental image of Vick slamming a dog to the ground to kill it for not being ready to fight another dog to the death. Just how f***ed up does one have to be to do that or to electrocute an animal for fun?

Vick and his buddies need to go down. Their "hobby" (not a sport) encourages the abduction of family pets to be used as a bait of sorts. It is sick and senseless. Perhaps if Vick and his fellow animal torturers got the maximum sentence allowable, a message might be sent to others who torture animals for "fun" and profit that they will be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

Vick lied to the public, to his team owner and to the NFL. Surely that violates the personal conduct codes. Surely, torturing animals and bankrolling the breeding, fighting and torture of animals must violate personal conduct codes. Betting on the outcome of illegal dogfights must violate the personal conduct code. I say, can him.

I actually agree, HJB; but I just think that after sentence is imposed and served and/or paid; the most the Falcons will do is release Vick. Because of his obvious talent, you can bet he will be picked up soon. The Chicago Bears released Tank Johnson after his fiasco, but you can bet he will soon be signed by another team. Ron Jaworski and Mike Tirico were talking about how teams will look for "good character players" nowadays during the Bears-Colts game tonight. Nice thought, but good character does not win games. Good talent does. I am glad to see how your son values your pet; HBJ. I won't get into the definition of what classifies real sports, as we all have our different viewpoints. I just believe that if Vick wanted to bet on dogs, he should have gone to a greyhound track. (Incidentally, the fate of these dogs after not performing is not much more different than what Vick and his cohorts did. The only difference is that some tracks will allow adoption of the dogs first before killing them).

That woman can't be serious, can she!? Geezes Louise!!!

I love your comment about your 8-year-old boy. It demonstrates our love and affection for a member of the family - our dogs.

Everyday I hug my dogs, pet them, play with them, let them out to go potty, feed them. The second dog, my sister's dog, which I care for when she is away recuperating or housesitting, loves playing "peek-a-boo" with me. I always cover eyes, then take my hands off, and say "peek-a-boo." She loves it.

My dog, a Black German Shepherd, is 11 years old. In the first year of her life, she was abused by a former owner. When she came into my house while I was away, she was scared of me when I walked in after landing from Dallas. But after seeing that I was good, she came to my side. That's when she knew I would be good to her, and when she knew that she came into a loving home.

Why owners, like Michael Vick, abuse dogs, is beyond me.

Every morning, my dog is always at my side, making sure I am awake and wanting love. Dogs need our love, not to be fighters. That woman got a bunch of screws loose inside her noggin.

Great post, JHB.

Agreed about the greyhound track, Joe. I saw one the other day, and they are also beautiful dogs. No matter what kind of dog we own, they are beautiful in our eyes.

I would not be surprised if even Al Davis of the Raiders would land Vick somewhere in the future.

At least the Falcons get out of that contract. Maybe he'll go on to be a great running back or something. He sucks as a QB.

He'll have time to learn in prison. I would hope it is a wake up call for every player in the NFL.

I don't think the Chargers will have to worry about #21 La Danian Tomlinson. He is so much a gentleman and a great player.

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Vick's got legs, I'll give him that. A QB shouldn't be rushing for 1000 yards. A QB that rushes for 1000 yards lacks the ability to stand in the pocket and lead the team. I watched it with Kordell Stewart. Great legs and strong arm on that guy, but he got rattled easily and took off as soon as there was any pressure on him. yeah, he could take off for 80 yards and yeah, it was exciting, but his throwing skills were hard to watch. He'd throw the ball to the wrong team or throw it so low his receivers couldn't catch it. Once in a while, he'd make it seem like it was all worth it, but the Kordell years were long and miserable for this Steeler fan.

Vick is really no different. The best and winningest QBs don't have huge rushing stats because they can get the ball to their receivers. They can read the field and make plays without resorting to running. When Vick starts to slow down, if he allowed to play again, he'll be through.

And we could well see that in Vince Young, too. I will never forget the TD he scored against USC in last year's (2006) Rose Bowl.

You brought up a good point. What goes into the mind of a QB like Michael Vick, Kordell Stewart, and Vince Young? Would they rather run the ball instead of throwing it. Seems to me that they should be RB's instead.

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Thanks. My boys love their dog. They're growing up with him and they just adore him. My older son loves to lay on the floor and let the dog rest his head on his chest. My younger son (age 6) likes to rest his head on the dog and get dog kisses. He says that the dog is his brother. They pretend that all superhero dogs they see in cartoons and movies is their dog. He's an Australian Shepherd and he can almost fly. Our last Aussie never jumped this high or jumped off of stuff that was so high. He's almost a year old and we absolutely love him. The plants in our yard don't quite love him yet, but he's a good boy and is getting even better.

We have a swing in the backyard. The boys sit on the seat (one at a time) and the dog pulls the rope with his teeth and gives them a ride. It's perfect and beautiful in a Norman Rockwell-balanced sort of way.

It's wonderful that you have a rescue dog and the she now knows love and kindness. The

Michael Vick is apparently a father. How can he even defend himself to his kids or explain what he was thinking when he drowned a dog for not being aggressive enough? What kind of example does it set?

When Michael Irvin was inducted into the NFL Hall of fame, he made a hell of a speech. I'm not an Irvin fan and never was, but this speech showed me something. He grew up. He laid it all out on national TV and cried. he cried for the example he'd set for his sons and the mistakes he had made. Oh, yeah, there were plenty of mistakes, but none of them involved torturing animals or abusing anyone or anything smaller than him. Drugs and sex shadowed Irvin's career. Torture, death, abuse, gambling and lies will dog (pun intended) Vick's career.

Michael irvin will always be remembered for his legal woes as well as his athleticism. Vick will be remembered for dogfighting and rushing for 1000 yards. I doubt he'll be remembered for much else.

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Kordell made his name with a hail mary pass at colorado. He showed a big arm then and a certain amount of promise. The Steelers languished with him for *years* before letting him go. He was a terrific receiver, though, and that's where I thought his skills were best used. I can't recall him ever fumbling or dropping a ball thrown to him. His ego didn't want to "step down" from QB to WR.

Vince Young will wash out in no time. His stock will drop and he'll be out.

As a Steelers fan, I am glad to see them go back to a traditional QB like Ben Roethlisberger. I think Ben has had his "duh" moments (motorcycle accident), but he can throw, he can play and he can get the job done.
He doesn't have to rush for mileage to win the game.