Almost time....

[Stoke]

The Kitties open training camp in 10 days.....

Football is almost upon us again.....

[CannonBall]

This is what I have to look forward to! (http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=Apng0wX3Emk6ufBvIL.afOg5nYcB?slug=txvickindictment&prov=st&type=lgns)

[Stoke]

Ron Mexico has gotten away with far too much for far too long.... I hope they nail his ass on this one....

Sorry you have to be a Falcons fan CB....

[Stoke]

From everything I have been reading today, and Mr. Talon may have more "local" news, I believer Mr. Vicks NFL career is coming to a close.

[SilverTalon]

Only thing I've seen in the local news different from what I'm seeing on the sites you're probably reading is that in addition to the federal indictment, he's still not clear of local charges of dogfighting which could be much harsher if the federal charges stick.

The feds are limited to things that crossed state lines, but I believe the state can go after him for each of the fights and killing as their own separate charges if they can prove he was involved (which a federal conviction would make very easy).

[Grunt]

Eh, we all knew the Dirty Little Birdies weren't going to be very good again. The real question is how long it's going to take David Carr to take over them Panthers?

[Banne]

The dirty birds had a great draft though...and as far as Vick is concerned:

He was indicted by a Federal Grand Jury. The feds do not go to a grand jury unless they are 99% positive of a conviction (not just the indictment). There has been a big push in ending dog fighting since the Vick story broke. Just in my office, we have had 5 cases involving pitbull fighting come in. The judges are being ruthless in their bonds too. The state will file charges against Vick and most likely go to a grand jury as well for a direct indictment instead of a prelim hearing in front of a judge. This way they can take their time and basically hold Vick's case until the feds have their trial against him. There is no way his attorneys are going to demand trial at the state level, so the state will be in no rush. My guess is that he will probably get two years probation, some federal deal for educational purposes such as PSAs and some sort of community outreach, and some incredible fines. There is some talk that Vick could in fact be facing some more severe charges that involved the physical running of a gambling ring, which could land him in the spectrum of RICO charges in the form of racketeering charges. Im doubting that the feds will go after that because thats alot harder to prove unless his boys COMPLETELY sell him out. Which you never know, could be a possibility.

Personally I think the jerk should do some fed time for this shit. And the NFL should suspend him as soon as possible. I think any player who is Indicted in a federal crime, which shows there is probable cause for the arrest and charges, should be suspended. He is a scumbag, and in my own personal opinion, not a good team leader like a quarterback should be. Its all about him. If he worked more with his team and learned how to pass, he could be one of the best, but he doesnt.

No big loss if he is gone, the falcons could probably benefit him not being there.

As for the bears, Briggs is back. Drew Rosenhouse's stunt failed miserably. We have the second easiest schedule in the NFL again...

Even though we play the Charges, Chiefs, Eagles, Saints, Broncos, seahawks, giants and redskins, all of which were in the playoffs but the skins and broncs. The good ole Packers, Lions, and Raiders brought our sched. strength down a ton! Its crazy.

Ohhh, and I just looked at NFL.com, the Falcons are reportedly thinking heavily of releasing Vick...WOW. Awesome.
"As of July 20, the Falcons sat with $5,817,795 of salary cap space. Vick is No. 1 on the team's ledger with a $13,579,577 cap charge. But if he is released before the final 53-man roster is determined they will get back $6 million in cap space by terminating him before opening day. Combining their present space with a Vick termination and that would create $11,817,795 of cap space. Consider that Atlanta's rookie pool allocation to sign its draft picks is $6,171,000 -- so the franchise would easily have enough space to sign all the rookies and plenty left over to absorb the salary of a quarterback it might trade for, or to extend some young players."

They can afford to get rid of him too.

[SilverTalon]

Vick's other two co-defendant's rolled on him, and apparently he has until Friday to take a plea agreement or face at least two more charges of dogfighting.

If he pleads guilty, he can expect a heavy suspension at a minimum due to the gambling aspect of the charges, and it's doubtful any NFL team would put a convicted felon on their roster outside of the Raiders who have enough annoying QBs on their hands at the moment.

Legal analysts are saying if he takes a plea it's not a question of jail time as much as it is how much jail time.

Gooooooooooooooo Atlanta!

[Stoke]

Vick is screwed....

[SilverTalon]

Vick is screwed....

Which is more than Stoke or I can say of late! /rimshot

Oooooh...I made myself sad... :(

[SilverTalon]

For Stoke on his anti-Mexico leanings:

http://www.wvec.com/news/topstories/stories/wvec_local_081707_poindexter_on_pleadings.428eb3b2.html

Ooooooooooooh SNAP!

For the too lazy to click, Vick and Co. will also likely face two state charges in connection to their activities, with a possible sentence of 5 years per charge. Granted, if they plead guilty it'll probably be an identical length sentence to run concurrent with their federal one, but if Vick doesn't plead out and ends up getting slapped by the feds, the state might slap him one too.

[Stang]

They need to do more than slapping.

[SilverTalon]

Tis Official. (http://media.hamptonroads.com/verticals/mvick_deal.html)

[Stoke]

They keep talking about him playing again....I just can't see it happening.... even the Raiders aren't that low....

[SilverTalon]

I don't know what the sentence will be, but most sources are citing 18 to 36 months. Assuming they give him protection from state charges (as part of a "rat out other operations" clause), he won't begin serving his sentence until about January-ish since the other defendants are scheduled for sentencing in November and December.

So let's say January...18 months from there will put us in June that he'll be released from prison. He'll be just about 30 and effectively out of football for two years. I don't know that anyone would take a gamble (or the PR hit) to try him in the NFL. As you say, not even the Raiders are that low.

This is also assuming he isn't outright banned by the NFL. There is a clause that would allow him to receive a lifetime ban from the NFL a la Pete Rose from MLB. Not as serious a situation from the gambling perspective (since Rose was betting on games he was involved in), but given the other circusmtances (the brutality of the fights and the lies to the commissioner and owner) they might exercise it anyway.

Someone said he might make it on an Arena league team where few people care anyway or onto another scheme like the XFL, but he'll probably never have a shot at the NFL or that kind of money again. All to "keep it real with the homies"...stupid, stupid, stupid.

But, that's what you get out of such an inferior school system... :p hehe

[Stoke]

But, that's what you get out of such an inferior school system... :p hehe

I blame their IT department.

[SilverTalon]

Yeah...I can tell you some stories about them...

Like they had enough money to wire up and put computers into half the schools...in essence they decided to be fair and put the computers in one half of the schools and wired the other half. True story.

Good thing I don't work for them...

[Stoke]

Its going to be interesting to see how this all works out come game day. There is a pretty intense rivalry between the Falcons and the Panthers and there is an immense overall hatred for Michael Vick here in Kittyland.

The Vickless Birds dont come to town until November 11. I guess since Charlotte is still a somewhat "new" NFL city, it seems that more often than not, there is a large - and I mean large contingent of fans from the opposing team in the stadium on game days. I have been to games that if I didnt know I was in Charlotte, I could have sworn it was a Pittsburgh or Green Bay home game... (Sometimes during the NFL season, Charlotte is often referred to as the south side of Pittsburgh - there is a HUGE Steeler fan base here.)

Anyway, due to the closeness of Atlanta and Charlotte geographically, BoA Stadium is always overrun with Black and Red #7's when the birds come to town. Out of the many games I've attended over the years, the Falcons fans seem to be the most obnoxious of them all.... I wonder how many of them will show up sporting those 7's this year.

[SilverTalon]

The Falcons will have to come to terms with the fact that having an offensive line who's philosophical symbol is Swiss cheese isn't a good idea. Vick allowed them to hide how bad their line was, I don't think Harrington will do the same.

On the flip side, Harrington will probably be a much better passer...now to see if his receivers can catch...

In other news, 27-10.