Michael Vick Pleads Guilty

Not a big surprise really. Did he have any other choice??? With all the evidence and witnesses that the fed's are claiming to have against him, it's a no brainer on Vick's part.

The big question is, why would the fed's choose to go this route? They've made claims to the fact that they believe Michael Vick was the kingpin in this dogfighting operation and the one who financed it. So if this is true, why even negotiate a plea agreement?

If this case had gone to trial, Vick could have been sentenced to up to five years in prison. But that doesn't even begin tell the whole story. More charges would have been brought against him, including gambling and tax evasion that could have brought a sentence of over 20 years easy. Plus, the state of Virginia could have brought charges against him as well that could have seen a sentence of up to five years for every dog that he participated in killing.

The rumor has it that as part of the plea agreement Vick will have to serve anywhere from 12 to 36 months in the slammer. Plus, he most likely will not have to worry about any further charges in this incident from the fed's or the state.

Let's face it Vick got off easy. So what message does this send??? Is this another case of a celebrity getting a break that an average Joe wouldn't??? Or is this a fair sentence for such a barbaric and inhumane crime?

Either way, I still believe in my earlier prediction that Vick has already played his last game in the NFL. Whenever he eventually gets out of jail, he would still have to serve his suspension that the NFL will hand down, which could be anything from one year to a lifetime ban. Plus, there is going to be serious financial repercussion from the Atlanta Falcons as they will seek to recover a large portion of the $37 million in bonuses he received as part of his last contract signed in 2004.

Thursday Bullet Points

In the World of Hockey:

• Brooks Laich was awarded a $725,000 one year one-way contract through arbitration. That amounts to a 19.6% raise for a player that totaled a whopping 18 points last season while failing to secure the second line center position despite being given plenty of opportunities to do so. I guess my only response to that is what kind of season does it take for a player to actually lose an arbitration hearing?

  
  

• Milan Jurcina's arbitration hearing is scheduled for Monday. He made $500,000 last season while manning the top defensive pairing with Shaone Morrisonn last season. You can forget the numbers he put up in Boston as he received limited playing time at best after falling out of favor with the team. In 30 games with the Caps, Jurcina tallied 2 goals and 7 assists for 9 points and was a +5 defensively. I wouldn't be surprised to see a ruling around $1 million for a defenseman that has a lot of potential ahead of him.

• Goaltender Ray Emery re-signed with the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday. The three year deal will see him take home an average of $3.16 million a season after putting together a career year last season . In what is another sign of how screwed up professional athlete contracts are, Emery will make $2.75 million next year which is about $1 million less than the man he took the starting job from this past season, Martin Gerber. The Senators are desperately trying to rid themselves of Gerber but are having trouble finding another team to take on his current contract. While it was previously rumored that the team might send him to Binghamton of the AHL to free up salary cap space, general manager Bryan Murray denies that option in this article found on Canada.com.
  
  

In the World of Sports:

• After the news of the past week, fans of the NBA have now been given justification for complaining about the league's officiating. The question now is when will be find out the details involving Tim Donaghy and what games he fixed and to what extent he decided their outcome. One thing you can guarantee is that this will only fuel the fire of enraged fans, coaches, and players when questionable calls are made in the future. David Stern has said that this is an isolated incident, while Donaghy has said that he can name other officials and players in connection with this scandal. Stern better hope that he is right or the NBA is in serious trouble.

  
  

• Michael Vick will be in court today and ESPN will be there with five hours of coverage beginning at 1pm. I know that we need to reserve our judgment on Vick until the trial plays out, but it is hard to believe that he is anything but guilty. The guy owned the kennel called "Bad Newz" that was involved in organizing the dog fights, and approximately 60 dog remains were found on his property. Anybody that is involved in dog fighting is just plain sick. My prediction: Michael Vick has already played his last game in the NFL.

In the World Itself:

• Lindsay Lohan was arrested early Tuesday for her second DUI in the past three months. On top of that TMZ.com reports that "Lohan was popped for possession of cocaine, transporting a narcotic into a custodial facility and driving on a suspended license." This comes after she recently spent six weeks in rehab.
  

Analysis: It's hard not to believe that this girl is not trying to kill herself. How can a body stand so much abuse and still keep on ticking? First, Lohan needs to go to jail for a while as any normal person would should they be arrested for the charges brought against her. Second, she needs to find some friends that care about her because no good friend would allow her to get so inebriated and behind the wheel of a car, especially given her history of drug and alcohol abuse. Lohan desperately needs to turn her life around before it's too late.