Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

-  The Kirk Cousins situation in Atlanta explained.

- Profile of Kash Patel and the need to reform the FBI

- Niall Ferguson on Tucker Carlson and Vladimir Putin. I take it with a grain of salt when I remember Ferguson was for the longest time an advocate for "Chimerica" (a term he coined).

- Regrets of the dying. Always something to keep in mind when making New Year's resolutions.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Tucker Carlson Episode 04 on Telegram

- Ernest Hemingway's "Fifty Grand." Called one of the best boxing short stories ever written.

- Never Forget!

- Patriots deny ESPN report that Robert Kraft told Arthur Blank not to trust Bill Belichick

Michael Vick

People may forget but Michael Vick was traded before he was ever even drafted into the NFL. The San Diego Chargers held the 1st pick in the 2001 NFL draft but they traded that to the Atlanta Falcons for the 5th overall pick, the 67th overall NFL pick, the the 49th overall 2002 pick - plus Tim Dwight.

Those picks were used to tale LaDamian Tomlinson, Tay Cody, and Reche Caldwell by the Chargers while the Falcons picked Vick. Atlanta and got 11,478 passing yards, 71 passing TD's, 3,869 rushing yards in 6 seasons before his career was derailed by dog fighting. Meanwhile the picks of the Chargers had 9,176 rushing yards (Tomlinson) plus another 3,407 combined receiving yards from Caldwell and Dwight. Not to mention the 111 rushing and receiving TD's from Tomlinson alone.

That puts the trade about equal in terms of production but when you factor in that San Diego did not have to go through the same PR hell as Atlanta plus additional more productive seasons from Tomlinson - have to say they made out on the transaction. Glad Vick was able to turn his life around though.

Heh Heh

 

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Tim Ferriss - A dialogue with yourself: Past, present and future.

- Analysis true!

- A couple of weeks old but probably even more realistic today - is Elon Musk's SpaceX on the verge of bankruptcy?

- Heh Heh - True!

- The three equations for a happy life. Excellent life advice in this article.

- Worst acid trip ever!

Happy 3-28

Now that Tom Brady has signed with Tampa Bay - this may be the last time I celebrate today in this manner.

Happy 3-28

Happy 3-28

NFL Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous NFL thoughts and observations.

You had to know that with all the love being thrown to Atlanta and Matt Ryan on all the pre-game shows that the Falcons would end up losing yesterday. It's like talking about a pitcher having a no-hitter. As soon as you mention the no-hitter - someone gets a hit. As soon as you mention the Falcons' success - they lose a game... There were only 3 punts total by both teams in the Indy / Texans game. The three punts averaged 50 yards each... Miami was lucky to win a single game last year and yet yesterday they were a 10-point favorite over the Raiders. Ted Baxter would argue that was too many points:

The Ted Baxter theory of football betting says to take the NFL teams getting 10 or more points under the idea that both teams are professionals and how much difference could there be between two groups of professionals?

The Ted Baxter theory would have been 2-0 yesterday (the Raiders covered getting 10 and the Lions covered getting 14)... Deja vu - when the Patriots played the Rams in the Super Bowl - the Rams were the overwhelming favorite and people were talking about St. Louis being a possible dynasty. Then the Patriots upset the Rams and suddenly New England was the dynasty team. Last year the Patriots were the overwhelming favorite and were upset by the Giants. Now the Giants are the team looking like a possible dynasty... The Chiefs are just 1-9 and yet you really don't hear anyone talking about firing Herm Edwards. I don't get that. What has Herm Edwards ever won to get him such a Teflon reputation? I contend that Herm Edwards is the worst coach in the NFL... Pride goeth before a fall. Remember to the hot start Donovan McNabb got off to this season and how he was chirping about finally being healthy? Do you think there will be any chirping after his 3 INT performance yesterday. Wrap your head around this one Eagles fans - yesterday your QB was out-performed by a guy from Harvard... The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have very quietly put up a 7-3 record. Their 3 losses were by a combined 11 points... The past two weeks I bet against the Titans under the theory that they aren't going to go undefeated this season. Yesterday I didn't touch them but next week I'm going back to betting against them...

Two More Michael Vick Issues to Think About

Dog fighting is hundreds of years old and on matters of history regarding gambling I turn to David Schwartz fine tome Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling. Schwartz mentions dog fighting twice - first on page 141:

Blood sports like bearbaiting, dogfighting, and cockfighting, long popular in England, never become widespread in New England, where colonists generally shunned violent sports.

Then on page 261:

Gambling was so common throughout the mining frontier, from California to Montana, that dogfights, bearfights, and bearbaiting were rampant. One man even proclaimed his "killer duck" an interspecies champion and pitted it against all canine challengers.

The two points I want to make here are first - dog fighting was historically only popular on the edges of society were other entertainment options did not exist. This is not the time of Henry II or the old west of Deadwood - Michael Vick had plenty of other entertainment options available to him. That he voluntarily chose to be involved in such a cruel and felonious gambling activity speaks volumes about the character of Michael Vick.

The second point is much more important. Two things go hand in hand when it comes to dog fighting - cruelty and gambling. Everyone seems to be focusing on the cruelty involved (and given the shocking ways some of the dogs were murdered - it is understandable). However, it should not be lost on the NLF and Federal authorities that these dog fights were part of a high stakes gambling ring. Gambling seems to be a forgotten factor here.

Imagine that it was not dogfighting but some other felonious high-stakes gambling operation that was being operated on Michael Vick's property. If gambling was the focus of this investigation then I have to wonder if the NFL would be so willing to let the Falcons handle this in-house as they apparently so willing to do.

I have to ask - isn't a player who would risk staging such felonious gambling activities at his own house the exact type of player organized crime would try to get their hooks into to shave points? Michael Vick has been known as an up and down player. Great one week and inconsistent the next. Maybe there was a consistency to Vick's below expectations performances. These questions have to be asked. A person who would engage in dog fighting is capable of anything. Michael Vick does not get the benefit of a doubt.

Michael Vick

What Michael Vick is accused of doing is heinous and evil. There's no middle gound here. Heinous and evil. It is in the best interest of football that he be suspended immediately and that suspension should last as long as Vick is on trial or in jail.

Michael Vick has already been found guilty in the forum of public opinion. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell must know this and he also must know that every Atlanta Falcons game will automatically become a freak show of animal rights protest as long as Vick is in uniform. This is the very sort of negative publicity that Goodell vowed to act against. Goodell has to have the best interests of the NFL at heart and even though Vick is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law - any association with him right now is toxic to the league. Suspend him now Mr. Goodell.

Vick will be a huge distraction to the Falcons. Having a new coach and a new system to learn is tough enough in the best of times but trying to do it while under the pressure of going to jail for most of your adult life while protesters distract and impede you and teammates alike is not a condusive atmosphere to winning to say the least.

The FBI doesn't bring these charges lightly. Michael Vick will probably be going to jail. It was his house. There were dozens of corpses of mutilated dogs on his property. The witnesses who can damn him will come forward because they don't want to go to jail for an NFL star who is already going down in flames. Michael Vick is a sinking ship and the rats he called friends will turn on him gleefully as they abandon him to his fate.

The local authorities who originally investigated the allegations should also face investigation and penalties. Specifically Surry County prosecutor Gerald Poindexter should face investigation for his original handling of the allegations against Vick. It boggles the mind to think that Poindexter could have been any more obvious as he tried to bury this case. Obstruction of justice charges to begin with seems an obvious possibility here.

I truly hope that the Feds don't stop with Vick and Poindexter. The dogs had to come from somewhere. Whoever was supplying the dogs should face stiff penalties with no leniency. Anyone who was involved or profited from what happened on Vick's property should face severe consequences.

Now I've said my peace about Michael Vick. If you are interested here are some very good posts on this subject.

- Van Walker has been all over this case from the start. Here is his latest post on the subject. Van also had an earlier post that is well worth your time.

- Here's a very good post on the subject from an Atlanta sports fans perspective