Pittsburgh Post-Gazette made a funny...

A writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette speculated this week that the Patriots might have stolen the Steelers' snap counts, thus accounting for Mike Vrabel getting off the ball pretty much with the snap on just about every offensive play for the Steelers. Stealing the snap count? What, was he in the Steelers huddle when Ben Roethlisberger told the team, "on two?"

Please.

The man lines up on the line.

He was told by that organization that he would never be anything better than second string. This couldn't possibly provide any extra motivation for Vrabel. No. It couldn't be that.

I used to tell any of my defensive players that played on the line that they had certain keys to playing the line successfully, and none of it had to do with listening to the quarterback. The first thing that they had to do was look at how the lineman lined up as that would be a key to how the offensive lineman was going to block (pass/run), and the second thing was that they should always have an eye on the ball - the ball movement would be the key to quickly attacking the offense off the snap.

Stealing the counts?

Useless unless a player knows the quarterback's cadence.

This might be one of the larger stretches for an excuse as to why one's hometown team got spanked than I have seen in a long time.

I hate stupidity from reporters. It makes us all look stupid.

Double Standards

The Jets were absolved by any wrong doing by the commissioner's office this past week in regards to their taping at Gillette Stadium last year during the playoffs based on the claim by the Jets that they had permission to film from the mezzanine in the Patriots' home field. I'm puzzled by a number of questions this brings up.

If the Jets employee had permission, what is the proof that was provided to NFL offices? I think, based on the penalties meted out to the Patriots for Belichick's transgressions, the NFL owes that to the Patriot fan base.

If said employee had permission, was he wearing the proper vest and credentials that are issued to...well..credentialled personnel?

Even if the Jets were given permission, is the NFL then saying that team permission supersedes league rules? Consider the following reported by New York Newsday -

NFL rules state "no video recording devices of any kind are permitted to be in use in the coaches' booth, on the field, or in the locker room during the game." They also say all video for coaching .purposes must be shot from locations "enclosed on all sides with a roof overhead."

Last time I checked, the location the Jets noted that they were filming from was not "enclosed on all sides with a roof overhead." At least it wasn't unless the Jets set up in one of the stadium's snack stands on the mezzanine (assuming there's one with a view of the field).

Herein lies my problem with this - the Jets admitted filming. They publicly admitted filming from a location from which they are not allowed to film. The NFL essentially said, "that's okay because (you said) you got permission." To me, this is like a team going into a game, and then repeatedly committing personal fouls with the referees letting the team get away with it, because the team committing the fouls told the refs they had been given permission by the other team to commit said fouls.

The NFL either has to mete out discipline evenly for this, or the league needs to revisit the rule.

But this uneven application brings me to a baseball point.

As I have noted before, there are a number of baseball writers, including ESPN's Buster Olney, who say that they will continue to vote for the likes of Mark MacGwire, Barry Bonds, and Roger Clemens for entry into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. The excuse put forth by these writers is, "well, it's just the era they played in, and these were the best in that era."

These are the same people that want to keep Pete Rose as a pariah "in the best interests in baseball." The same people that keep Jim Rice out of the Hall because, in some eyes, his numbers aren't good enough - in spite of the fact that, without steroids, he has considerably better numbers than MacGwire in every offensive category except for homeruns. And, possibly most importantly, these are the same people who won't vote Jose Canseco in due to his steroid use.

The hypocrisy of the BBWA is palpable in the Hall of Fame voting.

There are even those writers, and many fans that like to point out that baseball in many of those years had no rule against steroid use. This is, I think, the most laughable justification. Possession and use of steroids without a prescription is a federal crime. The argument that baseball had no rule governing it is akin to employees of an Edward Jones Financial franchise flouting the federal laws enforced by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), because Edward Jones corporate had no written policies dictating the same as the SEC.

In the case of the Edward Jones employee, that person would first lose his or her job, and then that person would go to jail for violation of federal law. Baseball players appeal to an arbitrator and keep their jobs in spite of violating federal statute. Nice double standard.

Tank McNamara was for Pats fans today...

Paradise Lost

Nobody got off lightly yesterday.

There were questions as to whether or not Mitchell would avoid implicating the Red Sox due to the fact he is part of the Sox ownership group.

The Red Sox team name came up 37 times in the Mitchell Report. That's once every 11 pages.

Current or ex-Red Sox on the list?

Manny Alexander
Jose Canseco
Roger Clemens
Paxton Crawford
Brendan Donnelly
Chris Donnels
Eric Gagne
Jeremy Giambi
Mike Lansing
Josias Manzanillo
Kent Mercker
Mike Stanton
Mo Vaughn
Steve Woodard

Mitchell, by his own admission, has put together an incomplete list. There are 14 players on this list that wore a Sox uniform (Yankees fans, stuff the "where are all the Red Sox names" accusation - they're right here).

Let's address Clemens one last time, because he is the only sure candidate for the Hall. There are many writers saying that they now won't vote for him, others saying that they will because he was a hall of famer before the 'roids started in 1998. Assuming that it was 1998, and not 1996, as I suspect, when he shared a field with Jose Canseco, then this is what his numbers look like pre-1998 -

203-118, 2882 strikeouts, 3.09 ERA, and a 2-3 postseason record.

There are those that argue that Curt Schilling will only get in based on his post-season performance because he doesn't have enough regular season wins. So, if Schilling's 216 wins isn't enough, how could Clemens be a Hall-of-Famer before the rumors of steroid use?

If you adjust for when I think he started, which was the 1996 season, then he only has 172 wins.

No. Clemens was not a Hall of Fame pitcher before the rumors of juicing. He was very good. But he was and is not "the best right-handed pitcher ever," which some baseball pundits have called him over the last couple of years. That distinction still belongs to Nolan Ryan.

Absolution

As I stated in my last post - the names listed there were rumored to be in the Mitchell report. Many of those did not appear in the report - such as Trot Nixon and Jason Varitek. This, however, should not be seen as absolving players that are not on the list.

To the contrary, Mitchell even alludes to the fact that it is not a complete list. It is merely a compilation of the names that came up in the course of his investigation.

There is no relief today in major league baseball.

Some will say this only opens up Pandora's Box, and that the sins that afflict baseball can never be put back in that box. They are wrong.

As much as it pains me to say it - Jose Canseco opened the box. George Mitchell just started digging into the box's dark and fetid corners. The crud he came up with has presented the fans and the Baseball Writer's Association of America with ways to rationalize away putting their favorite player into the Hall of Fame.

Bonds had Hall of Fame numbers before he started doing it.

Clemens had three Cy Young's before 1996.

Everybody else was doing it, so it remained a level playing field.

Me? As much as I have enjoyed watching many of these players, I think as a journalist and a fan, we need to take a stand. No one from this era gets in. Going forward, no one gets in who is unwilling to submit to regular blood and urine testing.

Remember, the Hall is a private organization and it's by-laws have nothing to do with MLB. And one of the most important dictates how voting is supposed to work states, "Voting shall be based upon the player's record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played." Integrity, sportsmanship, and character are three of the key terms here.

Don't tell me that these players didn't know that it was illegal. Why else did they inject in the shadows? Why else do they avoid owning up to it? They keep it secret because they know it was wrong, that it lacked character, integrity, or sportsmanship.

Let's not rationalize away this by just calling it the Steroid Era, and putting in the best players from this era. Yes, a lot of players juiced, but not all of them did. It might even have been most of them. But the assumption has to be made that this created an uneven playing field.

Keep Bonds out. Keep McGwire out. Keep Clemens out. Keep Palmiero out.

Sure, record their records for posterity's sake. Record their numbers because they are, for better or worse, part of history. But don't enshrine them.

They haven't lived up to the standard dictated by the Hall. And it would be an insult to those who did.

Shining a light in the shadows

There are going to be many who will question the validity of the Mitchell Report due to his Red Sox links. Others will question the validity of the witnesses testifying to former Senator Mitchell.

There are a host of questions that can be asked in regards to the report. Regardless of the questions that can be asked, at the very least, it begs a closer look at each of the players named and their career statistics.

Like with any medication or drug, the impact of these "treatments" that the players underwent will vary greatly. Some people named might be innocent, some are likely as guilty as sin. And before I get some steroid apologist who likes to bring up the "well it wasn't against the rules in baseball," argument, one of the key points, made by George Mitchell as he presented the report is, "for more than a decade there has been widespread illegal use of anabolic steroids and other performance enhancing substances by Major League Baseball players in violation of federal law..."

Mitchell does not absolve MLB in this. He does say that the report identified "some of the players," who indulged.

"Each of the thirty clubs have had" a player or players involved in this drug culture, said Mitchell.

Among the players rumored to be on the list that have spent some time with the Red Sox are Roger Clemens (whom I think started use before leaving the Red Sox), Dante Bichette, Wil Cordero, Johnny Damon, Carl Everett, Rich Garces, Eric Gagne, Nomar Garciaparra, Jeremy Giambi, Trot Nixon, Jose Offerman, Julian Tavarez, and Jason Varitek. So much for him slanting the report away from the Sox.

I've speculated as much in regards to Garciaparra, and have to admit I have questions as to how Jorge Posada who not only hit .061 points higher than his career average this past season, but has had his only season hitting over .287 (.336) at the age of 35, might not be on this list.

As for Clemens...

Clemens reportedly was taking winstrol in 1998, and approached his trainer at the beginning of 1998 with questions about a bottle of steroids already in his possession. Personally, I believe he was first introduced to the steroid subculture as early as 1996, when he shared a Red Sox clubhouse with Jose Canseco, and pitched over 200 innings for the first time since 1992.

As for some of the other proof - evidently, according to Mitchell, they have shipping records, other eyewitness accounts, phone records, and other evidence. This is going to come down hard on a number of players.

What it's really all about

Let's face it.

As I mentioned in a previous post, there are no innocent teams out there - and anyone who thinks their team is doing everything above board is incredibly naive. This weekend the Jets will face the Patriots for the fifth time since Mangini left New England to take over the team in The Swamp.

In light of a recent story revealing Mangini and the holier than thou Jets fans as a hypocritical finger pointers, I think the following picture is truly illustrative of this weekend, particularly in the eyes of those who are neither Pats nor Jets fans (with thanks to my wife)...

Speaking of finger pointers...

I think Mike Ditka has lost a lot of credibility in his fight to get the NFL to pay out more money in benefits to NFL veterans.

According to a report in USA Today, Ditka is in the process of dissolving the charity he established three years ago, Hall of Fame Assistance Trust. In spite of raising over $1.3 million in funds during that time, the charity distributed only $57,000.00 to ex-players in need.

The organization spent $715,000.00 on three charity golf events during that time, including $65,000.00 in appearance fees to get celebrities out to the tournaments. Somehow, in spite of being a charity, Ditka and his organization were unable to convince $65,000.00 worth of celebrities to write off their appearance fees.

For someone who has been as vocal a critic of the NFL in regards to this issue, that's one hell of a way to put one's money where their mouth is.

And this from a New York paper...

This

is

delicious...

http://www.newsday.com/sports/football/jets/ny-spjets1212,0,3978329.story

It has been confirmed that the Jets were taping in Gillette last season. The Jets claimed they were doing so with the permission of the league and the Patriots.

The league has no knowledge of the incident, or at least it has been reported that the league was unaware of it.

The Patriots removed the Jets employee from the stadium. Interesting definition of "permission" the Jets must have.

The line from Newsday - "Tuesday night the Jets admitted that they did videotape the game and their employee was confronted, but said they had permission from the Patriots to film from that location."

Once again, I ask, if they had permission to film from there, then why was the Jets employee removed?

I think this reaction from New York Newsday's response page sums it up best -

"So, the JETS catch the PATS videotaping and inform the league. The PATS catch the JETS and don't tell anyone, just remove the guy? If that's the case, it really makes Mangini seem low. Was it the game we won? Maybe that's the reason we won 10 last year and stink this year. After ratting on the PATS, the JETS stopped also.
"Great.
"It just gets better. "

-Frank, East Brunswick, NJ.
East Brunswick, NJ

Killing chances

I don't blame Bobby Petrino for wanting to get out of Dodge.

He was put in a no win situation. He was initially expected to win with (statistically) among the worst quarterbacks in the league. He was told to build his offense around Michael Vick. Weeks after taking over the team, the Falcons traded back-up and potential starting quarterback Matt Schaub to the Texans. Then the dogfighting scandal hit, and Vick was done.

Sitting on a rudderless team with petulant stars like DeAngelo Hall, all Petrino could do, if lucky, was tread water. If this team failed to win a single game, enough went wrong around the team that Petrino could have been held blameless.

Even with the limited tools at his disposal, he still managed to eke three wins out of the Falcons.

Regardless of all of the above, Petrino has just succeded in killing any chances for college coaches to move to the pro-ranks anytime in the near future.

Recent history will play big in the heads of the NFL's general managers as they search for their next head coach, and the combined 18-27 NFL records of Petrino and Nick Saban (15-17) will serve as a big warning beacon. The bigger warning beacon, however, will be how the two coaches unceremoniously left after denying interest in college coaching openings.

An interesting aside - the denial games both Petrino and Saban played with their NFL jobs are not common to NFL coaching job changes. As a matter of fact, the only instances in the NFL that I can think of in which this happened are with these two coaching changes.

Right now this is happening all over college football, where a coach signs a contract to work for a school, and leaves before even a year passes in the contract year. Sometimes it's been within weeks.

Saban and Petrino brought it to the ranks of the NFL. And the GM's aren't going to forget that anytime soon.

Cheating and fan hypocrisy

With the Patriots due to play the 3-10 New York Jets on Sunday, a lot is going to resurface in regards to Camera-gate, Tape-gate, Spy-gate, or whatever you want to call it. In the wake of every game, some fan of some team puts their foot in their mouth and wants to yell about the Patriots as cheaters.

I have not denied that the Pats were caught doing something they weren't supposed to be doing, nor would I. The irony of it is that the problem was that they were filming from the sideline. If they had done it from the coaches' booth, it wouldn't have been considered cheating (a stupid loophole, but a loophole none the less).

I would, however, point out to the Eagles fans, Steelers fans, Rams fans, and other groups that complain that the Patriots championships deserve an asterisk that, while the league frowned on the practice, the sideline camera wasn't officially outlawed by the NFL until this season. The Pats kept doing it. They got caught in the first half of the first quarter of the first game of the season.

They were nailed with an unprecedented punishment.

So it goes.

For those fans who want to continue this holier than thou farce, I give you the following -

2006-2007 Pittsburgh Steelers - in the spring, one of the team's game-day sideline doctors was fingered by a federal investigation into illegal distribution of HGh by one of Florida's anti-aging clinics. Despite claims by the doctor that the hormone was used for elderly patients, the Steelers dismissed the doctor. Considering he purchased through illegal channels, his claims come off as somewhat disingenuous.

2007 New York Jets - Accused of emulating the snap count on defense in a game against the Baltimore Ravens, a personal foul that should have resulted in at least one, if not multiple personal fouls for unsportsmanlike conduct, had the officiating crew noticed.

1998-2007 Indianapolis Colts - Repeatedly accused by opponents, including the Steelers, Jaguars, and Patriots (among others), of piping in crowd noise. In spite of the fact that the NFL absolved the team of wrong-doing in the most recent incident, rumors abound that a stadium employee has acknowledged the team's cheating.

2007 Washington Redskins - Multiple Redskins fans have blogged this season that the Skins are piping crowd noise into FedEx field. The claims are being made by people who claim to be attending the games and sitting under the speakers.

2007 Green Bay Packers - Still currently under investigation by the NFL for reports of defensive players offering "bounties." League rules prohibit teams and players "from offering or accepting bonuses to a player for his or his team's performance against a particular team, a particular opposing player or players, or a particular group of an opposing team."

2007 Dallas Cowboys - In mid-November a trainer from Plano, TX plead guilty to possession of illegal steroids. The man provided federal investigators names of FORMER and CURRENT Cowboys whom he claims to have supplied with performance enhancing drugs.

2007 New York Giants - Have faced recent allegations that certain coaching decisions have been dictated by the Las Vegas point spread. Granted, this is speculation based on Big Blue's recent game against the Bears, however, if the Vegas point spread is indeed dictating coaching decisions and proof can be found to back this allegation, this could be a bigger scandal than the NBA ref incident.

Those are just the ones that hit the fan in the last twelve months - but are the fans of the following clubs ready to give up NFC Championships, AFC Championships, and even Super Bowl wins for the following?

1997 San Francisco 49ers - According to ESPN, "Carmen Policy made secret side deals with Young and three other players to clear out some cap room for the team. This, too, crossed the boundaries, and it came to the attention of the NFL Management Council, an ownership committee.
"After hearing Policy's protestations of innocence, Jerry Jones reportedly asked fellow committee members, 'How many of us believe what he said?'
"The 49ers eventually reached a settlement with the league, which docked the club two draft picks and assessed fines against Policy and general manager Dwight Clark."

1996-1998 Denver Broncos - Found to be in violation of multiple salary cap issues, were fined $950,000.00 and a third round draft pick in the third round of the 2005 draft by the less strict Paul Tagliabue. During that same time period, Broncos coach Mike Shanahan was caught filming (gasp! Not filming!) a Chargers practice...during the week...from a hill overlooking San Diego's practice facility.

1999 DenverBroncos/1998 Miami Dolphins - According to an article at ESPN..."In an interview published in the September 1999 issue of Muscular Development magazine, Conte said BALCO had 'provided testing and consultation for over 250 NFL players, including the entire Denver Broncos Super Bowl championship team, as well the entire Miami Dolphins team.'
"A Broncos spokesman told the Chronicle that the team was never a client of BALCO's and that any players who used the company did so on their own. Dolphins strength and conditioning coach John Gamble said that in 1998 Conte tested all of the Dolphins players for mineral deficiencies and that he subsequently sent supplements to counteract those deficiencies. Gamble said, though, that he did not believe Conte was paid for his services."

That's eleven teams (including the Pats) over the course of the last decade against which serious allegations were made, or were outright caught. Eight within the last year alone. And that was just based on a cursory search on a handful of teams.

I didn't include recent allegations by Shawn Merriman that Jeff Fischer "ordered a hit," this past weekend for three reasons - one; the blocks he's complaining about were clean and legal. Two; he's a whiner. Three; he was nailed for steroid use and hasn't exactly been the force he was since getting nailed.

I am by no means condoning what the Patriots coaching staff did earlier this season. To the contrary, I think it was mind-bogglingly stupid and unnecessary. They got caught, they got punished - and they should have been punished.

My point here is different.

My point is that the sanctimonious fans of other teams need to get off their high horse. I have no problem with those fans screaming about the Pats cheating, as long as those fans are acknowledging that their own team isn't a group of saints either...well, except of course for the Saints fans...but you get what I mean.

There is no such thing as an innocent team, there are only the ones that haven't been caught yet - and if you don't believe that with millions of dollars on the line in coaching contracts, player contract, endorsement deals, and various bonuses are going to prompt the most competitive people in our society to cheat, then you are truly among the most naive in society. Remember, part of the idea behind cheating is to not get caught.

For those who scream, "what does this teach the children," it teaches them that professional sports is a cold, hard business in which winning is the bottom line. If these people are using professional athletes as roll models for their children, well they're just morons.

Cheating in professional sports is a long standing tradition - from Ty Cobb sharpening his spikes and sliding with his feet high in order to cleat an opponent's shins, to Todd Bertuzzi's ordered hit on ice, to NASCAR pit crews making alterations to cars that violate NASCAR's rules, every sport, every team has a dark side to it's history that it doesn't want to see dredged into the light.

The White Sox have, arguably, the darkest story in all professional sports being the centerpiece of the 1919 Black Sox Scandal. Rumors abound that the 1970's Steelers, one of the most dominant teams in the NFL during the Super Bowl Era, were practically pioneers in the use of steroids (note, I did say rumors, although at least one Steelers lineman from the 1979 team came forward in 2000 to talk about his steroid use). Baseball Hall-of-Famer Gaylord Perry admitted to throwing the spitball. In 1963 the NFL suspended Packer Paul Hornung and Lion Alex Karras for gambling.

If you have a big problem with cheating, then give up on professional sports. If you want to believe that what each of these teams is doing creates an uneven playing field (which all of this is intended to do), then maybe it's time for you to walk away from the games. If you're looking for a villain because you need a bad guy - that's fine too, but admit, at least to yourself that's what you're doing. But don't pretend that there's a team out there that isn't doing everything it can in order to get an edge.

On another note -

The weighing in - 185, down 3.5 from my start weight last week.

Vick sentenced to 23 months

Michael Vick has been sentenced to almost two years in prison and three years of probation for his roll in the dog-fighting ring. Considering that the co-defendants received 18 and 21 months respectively, the court evidently found Vick to have greater culpability in regards to the crimes involved.

Not including any punitive measures by NFL offices, Vick will be unable to return to the NFL before October of 2009. I would guess there will be a suspension imposed that will not be allowed to serve concurrently with his jail time. As Vick is the first active player to be convicted and sentenced to jail time, my guess would be that the suspension will be indefinite, to be revisited at the beginning of each season, pending Vick's behavior while serving his probation.

I'm still not convinced we will ever see him under center in an NFL uniform again.

And considering he got nailed for using pot while awaiting sentencing, I'm not convinced he can remain clean for three years of probation.

The Jets are next

I usually don't guarantee victories. It's not my way. Not that I haven't done it before, but as a former player and coach (high school/semi-pro), I know that too much can go wrong on the field.

Next week the Patriots will win, and it won't even be close.

I just want to throw out these numbers - numbers I have mentioned before...

72 - It's the most points scored in a game by one team (Redskins over NY Giants, Nov 27, 1966. Final, 72-41).

64 - That was the most scored by a team (Philadelphia over Cincinnati, Nov. 6, 1934) in a shut-out victory.

5 - The number of touchdown passes that Brady needs to break Peyton Manning's record. I would not be surprised if he broke the record against the Jets.

7 - The most touchdowns thrown by a quarterback in a game, shared by Sid Luckman, Adrian Burk, George Blanda, YA Tittle, and Joe Kapp. The last time was in 1969 by Joe Kapp. This Sunday may very well be the first time since then.

4 - The number of touchdown receptions that Randy Moss needs to pass Jerry Rice for the most in a season.

Those are just some of the numbers that I think will become relevant this Sunday. At 4:00 Sunday afternoon, several of those records are going to fall - and it will be at the hands of the Jets. Make no mistake that this is going to happen, and Belichick will make sure that it happens against the Jets.

This isn't going to be a game. It's going to be a clinic - and Belichick is going to show Eric Mangini how little he knows.

Eat it, Anthony Smith

"People keep asking me if we're ready for the Patriots, they should be asking if they're ready for us...We got our swagger back on defense. We're playing great ball, and they're playing great on the offensive side too, so I think we've got a real good chance to win the game. We will win the game...Yeah, I can guarantee a win." - Steelers safety Anthony Smith, December 5, 2007

"Never heard of him." - Rodney Harrison, December 6, 2007.

"You know, I think Rodney put it the best, so I'll just leave it at that. But we've played against a lot better safeties than him, I'll tell you." - Bill Belichick, postgame press conference December 9, 2007. Final score, 34 - 13.

For those that believe that Smith's comments fell on deaf ears, consider the following -

The Patriots burned Smith deep three times, twice for touchdowns - one by Randy Moss and one by Jabar Gaffney. The third time was a pass to Gaffney deep in the middle. Smith tried to lay a knock-out hit on Gaffney, bounced off him, and Gaffney picked up another six yards after the hit.

The Patriots picked on Smith. Period.

Way to walk the walk there.

Pyrrhic defense -

The 1972 Dolphins do a lot of moaning about being the only team with an undefeated season. Make no mistake, it is, at best, Pyrrhic.

Sure, they spent an undefeated season in 1972 against one of the weakest schedules of any team in the Super Bowl Era. Their streak of regular season wins started with the opening day of 1972 and ended in the second game of 1973, giving them a streak of 15 regular season wins, and a total of 18 (including post season).

The Pats have now beaten the 'Phins regular season run twice in the Brady era with 18 and 16 game regular season winning streaks, giving the Patriots first and second in terms of longest winning streaks in league history. The 18 game streak was part of a 21-game-including-Super-Bowl-win winning streak.

The longest winning streak the 'Phins had subsequent to 1972 was the 10-game streak in 1973. The Dolphins never again came close to matching that record. If the Pats win their final three (against the 3-10 Jets, the 0-13 Dolphins, and the 9-4 Giants), the Patriots will set a new record for consecutive wins in a season with 19. If they go on to win the Super Bowl, then they will be two games shy of tying their own record of 21 consecutive including the post season.

Somebody needs to tell former Dolphins running back Mercury Morris that the Patriots have been in his neighborhood - twice. But, with three Super Bowl rings during the era, they live in a nicer one.

Vick-tim of his own stupidity -

Michael Vick will be sentenced today. The news leaking out of Virginia is that prosecutors don't believe that Vick has been very forthcoming in his so called cooperation with authorities. If that's the case, and the prosecution is expected to call two witnesses to rebut Vick's allocution today, Vick could end up serving the maximum possible sentence.

As part of any plea deal, the guilty party is expected to detail his/her part in a crime. If the judge determines that the party who has taken the plea has not been straight with the State, then the judge can reject the terms of the plea and impose any sentence that fits sentencing guidelines in relation to the crime.

Vick could easily get the full five years. If that happens, I will go on record now - Michael Vick has taken his last NFL snap.