The Fall of My Enemies October 1, 2007

Any weekend the Dawgs and Falcons win is a great one in my book. Add to that any weekend the Gators and the Mets lose BIG is cause for celebration! If only the lamecocks and Yech had tanked as well… Dare to dream! Oh well, beggars can’t be choosers so today I’ll take what I can get.

I’ve been told a time or two that I’m a sweet, compassionate girl. And I tend to agree. I’ve also been told that I probably take too much pleasure in the fall of my enemies. Again, I tend to agree. I can’t help myself, I was raised on a steady diet of the Anti-Orange Doctrine and the Laws of Team Loyalty, by God! And the rules of conduct clearly state one is to relish with great amusement in the failures of one’s rivals. I’m talking sports rivals here; I’m not hateful y’all!

Anyways, I vowed my oath of adversarial loathing a long time ago and I take committment VERY seriously. So, let the jeering begin!

First off, to say I love the Braves is a titanic understatement. Because of said team-love, contempt for the Mets comes naturally. Let me clarify one thing though: As much as I adore those that don the Braves uniform, if you cross enemy lines and defect to the Mets you are dead to me. That’s right, I’m talking to you Tom Glavine - you greedy, selfish, back-stabbing, Benedict Arnold lovin’, bastard!!

Therefore, it is with enormous amusement I celebrate the utter collapse of the Mets in the NL East race…and at the hands of  none other than Mr. Tom “Judas” Glavine. Couldn’t have happened to a more deserving team and player, in my humble opinion. If the Braves couldn’t get the job done and regain their rightful place as East Champs, then at least the Mets couldn’t do it either, damnit!

This one’s for you Tommy boy…

somebody give this kid a lollipop!

Now onto my next favorite debacle of the weekend…the stunner in the swamp. You got it folks, the gaytors actually do suck ass and Tim Tebow is not a football god afterall. Shocking, I know.  

I’m not convinced that Auburn is a good team, but who the hell cares? The FACT is they were certainly the better team on Saturday. They beat Florida in the swamp - which immediately earns them a nomination for a Nobel Peace Prize in my book. The barners did more than kick ass & take names though; defensively they stunned the gaytors. Shock & awe are two little words that come to mind when I gleefully gazed upon the red, frantic face of Urban Meyer. And watching Tebow’s confused mug as he was stopped from plowing his jort wearin’ ass in the endzone was a thing of beauty! As I said before, couldn’t have happened to a more deserving team.

And, reason number umpteen-million on why UF losing is a banner day for all…

Seriously, this made my week

And just so you know, this betrayal of your team attitude that Charlie displays, is absolute sacrilege and goes against the laws of team loyalty mentioned above. Amen. However, this type of psycho meltdown is typical and expected from gaytor fans. My advice to poor Charlie: take a Xanax before the LSU game because believe me, the end result of this week’s impending ass whoopin’ ain’t gonna be pretty!

Yay for an awesome weekend of upsets! Further proof that dreams really do come true. My advice to all of you: If you haven’t already, take some time today to bask in the glory of the demise of your rivals…specifically the Mets and Gaytors. I did and it feels fantastic!

Go Dawgs! 

Just a side note: hopefully CMR will be giving Tuberville a call this week to find out what the hell is his secret in torching the gaytors two freakin’ years in a row. WTF?!! Why can’t we do that???

Dawg Quick Hits August 4, 2007

First off, I am so psyched that fall camp starts today, because this means that we are less than a month away from kickoff in Athens! 28 days to be exact. It feels like an eternity since the
Peach-fil-A Bowl and I am definitely jonesin’ for football season to begin. So, on that note here’s some news & thoughts on former and current players. Some of this is old news by now for y’all, but still worthy of discussion nonetheless…

Odell

I was really bummed to read that Roger Goodell denied Odell reinstatement into the NFL. Most articles I read leading up to the ruling stated Odell had a good shot to get back in. Honestly, I think he got a raw deal. He completed both inpatient & outpatient rehab, voluntarily. He jumped through all the necessary hoops & earned a welcome back from the Bengals. He settled all of his legal issues related to the DUI. He kept his nose clean, moved back to Georgia, and started working a construction job. That had to be humbling.

My biggest complaint about the added year suspension is that it’s too harsh & inconsistent. I realize Goodell wants to clean up the image & lay down the law and I highly respect that. However, take a look at Tank Johnson. He’s had numerous issues over the years violating rules with coaches, the league, and the law, yet he was suspended for only 8 games. He was cut by the Bears a few weeks back, but he is still eligible to play in the league. In comparison, Odell got the hammer from the league & Tank will most likely get a deal with a team suffering some
D-line injuries.

I had a bad feeling though when Odell made the papers a couple of months ago for a “supposed incident” at a party. No charges were ever filed, however, and several witnesses at the party stated in interviews with police that Odell was innocent. Who knows. The fact is that was a pretty bone-headed move to get out of rehab only to go to a house party a week later with known shady characters in attendance. You would think after being suspended by the NFL for an entire season Odell would’ve busted his ass to earn another shot at his dream. Instead, he chooses to risk it all for some lame party & a girl. Hopefully the shock of Goodell stating he still thought Odell had some maturing to do will be his final wake-up call. If not, then I don’t think we’ll see him play on Sundays anymore. This will most surely be his last shot.

Update: unbelievable… Odell violated probation (after less than 2 freakin’ months) last week & is expected to turn himself in to the court on Aug 21^st. damn. He missed a scheduled meeting with his probation officer which holds him in contempt & levees the initial judgment of an additional 6 days in treatment or 90 days in jail - whichever the Judge chooses. I love Odell & believe “once a Dawg, always a Dawg”… but I hope to God he gets his sorry butt thrown in the slammer for this. He’s earned it. Looks like Goodell was right.

Fred Gibson & Tony Taylor

I gotta say I was pretty shocked to hear that Fred was cut by the Falcons just 3 days into training camp, especially after he got such rave reviews in the spring mini-camp. Apparently he’s been sick, didn’t bother to tell anyone (what?), and that affected his performance on the field. I don’t know what to think about Fred. I just really hope he gets another shot to make the roster of a great team.

In better news, Tony Taylor has impressed Falcon coaches & teammates. The ajc has some great quotes from Keith Brooking about Tony - which puts to rest, hopefully, any rumors about issues between the two of them. I’ve always loved Tony & will miss him in silver britches this fall. I really hope he makes the team & gets a shot at playing on Sundays in Atlanta.

NaDerris Ward, Caleb King and the Scooters

I’m not going to get into a long discussion about these ridiculous situations. Someone else already nailed it better than I ever could. Suffice it to say, I won’t be surprised when Matt Stafford gets hauled to the pokey for jaywalking.

Update: Well, well, well at least it’s nice to know they’re equal-opportunity bigots…

Vance Cuff

He got approved! This poor kid showed tremendous character and patience while dealing with a tremendously flawed NCAA clearinghouse bureaucracy. Someone please explain to me how an advanced Speech & Communication class (that required 5 researched, formal speeches) is one minute an approved core curriculum class and the next minute it’s nixed. As a former Speech & Debate competitor (insert jokes here) I can tell you that his class was no joke. In a world where written & oral communication skills are tantamount to achieving any measure of occupational success, how could any educational agency deem this class with such insignificance? Ugh. Thank God, someone got it right and cleared him to get back on campus. At any rate, Vance handled himself with humility & class. No doubt, I think we’ll all soon see what a valuable asset he is to the Dawgs.

“Going back to Athens town… to the best old place around.”

That’s it for now. Don’t look to me to write updates on the daily happenings from camp in Athens. I have neither the time, the patience, nor the football intelligence to pen the posts. But definitely look to these guys for that stuff.

Can’t wait to start tailgating again with y’all! By the way, we’ll be in a new spot this year - I’ll forward those interested the details when dad gives them to me. Also, my Florida tickets are spoken for (sorry), but I may have at least 2 available for Western Carolina, Ole Miss and Troy. I doubt I’ll be able to make those gamedays. Let me know if you’re interested - they’re free & great seats!

Justice for Ron Mexico? July 29, 2007

Ugh. That about encapsulates my feelings for Michael Vick. I am no fan, never have been. Quite frankly, I think he’s a low talent, classless, narcissistic, ass-clown. His years of continually embarrassing, bullshit, behavior eroded any respect I ever had for him as a player and especially as a man. The latest allegations of dog-fighting made me angry. After reading the 18 page indictment, I am sickened and horrified to say the least. Only a demented psycho could do what the Feds say he did.

That being said, I absolutely do not believe he should be suspended by the NFL.

Before you start sending me hate mail, let me explain.

I grew up around some brilliant legal minds. My uncle Bob, for instance, was a Solicitor and a US Congressman from the great state of South Carolina for 16 years. He was also one of the most intelligent & compassionate men I’ve ever known. To this day, he is still the man I admire most. He loved his country and believed that our judicial system was bar none the best in the world. He always encouraged me to have faith in the wisdom of our legal process, even though it is sometimes flawed. He taught me that without question, the greatest tenet is our constitutional right to a fair trial in which a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. The prosecution always has the burden of proof. Contrary to what the media tries often to sell, an indictment or grand jury verdict is not a result of due process or an equitable hearing. It only serves to show probable cause; probable being the operative word. Yet, somehow I’ve increasingly noticed how quick the American public leaps to judgment based on little fact and a singular point of view. Have we already forgotten about the Duke non-rape case?

To say what happened to Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty, and David Evans was a gross rush to judgment is the understatement of the century. These boys were vilified by many Americans who ignorantly bought into the vicious deceptions of a contemptible DA. At a minimum, they were branded rapists and taunted with death threats all because some people chose to believe in their guilt before the court’s ruling. Even their university, professors, fellow students, and community cast their lot with a power-hungry, devious, son-of-a bitch with his own sick agenda to advance. I realize this is an extreme example to present, but nonetheless valid. Just as the Duke Lacrosse players deserved the assumption of innocence, Michael Vick does as well.

Do I think he will be proven guilty in a court of law? You bet. Here’s why:

1. The Federal government, from statistics as late as 2005, has a conviction rate of 94.1%. That is unfathomable & phenomenal to me.
2. Michael Vick’s case is being prosecuted in the US District Court in Richmond, Virginia - this court is famously referred to as the “rocket docket”. There will be no lengthy delays in heading to trial - I can assure you. In fact, his trial date is already set for early November.
3. He will be facing a notorious hard-nosed, no-nonsense, jurist in US District Judge Henry Hudson. He’s known for denying defense motions and rejecting delays. More than 80% of his cases are heard within 4 months. Again, unfathomable.
4.  Tony Taylor (not the Dawg we all know & love), the man who started this whole case & the first defendant, will be in court tomorrow morning to presumably turn state’s evidence. Then it’s only a matter of time before the other 3 follow suit & turn against Michael.

This all leads me back to my original statement… I do not believe Michael Vick should be suspended by the NFL. I absolutely think it is a colossal mistake to condemn a person without due process. Michael Vick deserves a fair trial and his day in court. How is he to receive that when the NFL has essentially decided to advance the course of judgment outside of the law? As it stands now, Vick has been ordered to stay away from training camp until the NFL can “complete their own review of the case.” That’s incredibly suspect. In adherence with Commissioner Goodell’s ruling, Falcons owner Arthur Blank backed off his planned 4 game suspension and publicly agreed with the NFL’s stance on the situation. Not surprising. It should also be noted that the NFL is completely within their right to discipline a player even before a conviction, according to the collective bargaining agreement. Just ask Pac-Man Jones.

Deion Sanders recently penned an interesting take on this situation in his column with The Fort Myers News-Press. No surprise that his position may be a little outrageous for some, but he does raise some interesting points. Such as, what a dog means to Vick may be different than what it means to you or me. He talks about the status symbol in dog fighting - owning the biggest, baddest dog around. The most intriguing point he raises is about the importance level of this issue as compared to the murder of a human.

“Can I pause for a moment to ask you a question? Who shot Darrant Williams? Remember the Denver Bronco cornerback? I’m just more concerned about bringing to justice someone who killed a human. Or finding out who broke into Miami Heat forward Antoine Walker’s home, tied him up and robbed him at gunpoint. We should have the same passion for man that we have for man’s best friend.”

I’m not saying Deion is right, but he does add another dimension to the story. <<btw, if you didn’t click the link to read it, you should.>> Above all, he implores us to allow Michael Vick the same rights afforded you and me, to gain some perspective on the situation, and to let the legal process play out. Amen to that!

The bottom line is, I don’t know what’s the right thing to do with Michael Vick while he prepares for his trial. The NFL, the Falcons, Nike, etc. all have a brand and image to protect. This is not just about American justice; it’s about business. I get that. I simply submit that the protection of an individual’s personal freedom is more important than public pressure or marketing. I also submit that we are a better nation, a better society, when we cease to convict a man before he’s prosecuted.

Agree? Disagree? Tell me what you think! Let me have it in the comments section; I can take it.