Michael Vick a heavyweight in dog fighting?

[TecmoBeast]

i'm just happy that Vick is thinking about his life after football, not too many of these young guys have their minds in the future

[Big Score 1]

Buster Olney talked about it on "Mike & Mike" this morning and also the radio show I am interning for talked about it here in Chicago. It's all speculation but it does not look good.

Yeah, Colin Cowherd has brought it up. Heard it here locally on 680 The Fan, the Buck & Kincaid radio show too.

 

Strange that ever since Vick came out of College, he's never been linked to any NCAA money violations & I mean not a peep!

 

But now, because of this creeps interview & to explain away his 2000 date, all media is saying Vick must have violated the NCAA money rules.

 

And maybe he did.

 

But instead of assuming this creep's word is gospel, you'd think they'd do just a modicum of investigative reporting to confirm this, before throwing Vick & the VA football program under the bus.

[WaterMan]

 

ESPN

 

[DMD]

Man, if this mushrooms at all, the Falcons would be in a huge bind. They must be freaking if they think there is a shred of a chance that Vick could get a suspension. I found it interesting that in the film clip when the interviewer asked Vick if he would be exonerated, he said no comment. Even if you did it, you always say "yes, of course" even of you are lying through you teeth unless you want to look guilty which he sort of does now. Then again I have never understood the thrill in watching two dogs try to kill each other either.

[Big Score 1]

 

ESPN

 

 

It's not just ESPN. All they did was have the guy on & let him say what he said.

 

ALL media is guilty of sentaionalistic hype reporting.

 

It's what sells.

[Bronco Billy]

This source -- who required anonymity as a condition of our interview -- has helped law enforcement by supplying information on dog fights that has led to dozens of felony arrests.

 

That's what's known as a reliable source - and that's huge trouble for Vick. From neighbors who have stated that they have talked to Vick to Vick being registered as a licensed dog breeder to now this inside reliable source, all after Vick claimed he had never even been to the residence or know anything about the dogs there initially, sure smells like huge trouble for him.

 

Too bad he didn't spend his free time throwing footballs through a swinging tire in the backyard...

Edited May 29, 2007 by Bronco Billy

[Grits and Shins]

Too bad he didn't spend his free time throwing footballs through a swinging tire in the backyard...

 

 

That activity is too frustrating for him as he can never hit the hole.

[Fatman]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/foot...0604/index.html

 

Lengthy story from SI...good read.

[Bronco Billy]

That activity is too frustrating for him as he can never hit the hole.

 

 

Maybe he should don his Ron Mexico persona & put some fur around the hole. He doesn't seem to have any trouble "threading the needle" there...

[Grits and Shins]

Maybe he should don his Ron Mexico persona & put some fur around the hole. He doesn't seem to have any trouble "threading the needle" there...

 

 

He can run very fast at the hole though ... he can also juke the hole pretty damn good.

[Big Score 1]

This source -- who required anonymity as a condition of our interview -- has helped law enforcement by supplying information on dog fights that has led to dozens of felony arrests.

 

That's what's known as a reliable source - and that's huge trouble for Vick.

I haven't heard of any Law Enforcement Authorities come out & go on record as to the validity of this "source". ESPN does refer to a investigator David Hunt. Who the heck is investigator David Hunt & who is he affiliated with?

 

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying ESPN is hype mongering here, but they've been guilty of erroneous reporting before, in an effort to bring us sensational news.

 

Remember three years ago when ESPN got suckered into reporting Clinton Portis had broken his ankle in training camp? Or, what was it, two years ago, ESPN reported Donald Driver was unhappy with his contract & would be a holdout.

 

Here's more media hype...

The lead investigator in the case of dog-fighting accusations against Atlanta quarterback Michael Vick said Monday that she believes there is substantial evidence to eventually tie Vick directly to the felony crime.

 

That evidence could eventually include videotapes of Vick at matches. Kathy Strouse, the Animal Control coordinator for the City of Chesapeake in Virginia, said Monday that she has received a tip from what is described as a "reliable source" that tapes of Vick exist that would tie him directly to the burgeoning scandal and a possible felony charge.

Notice how this article states that Kathy Strouse is the lead investigator?

Note the "reliable source"

 

Fast forward to a different report a couple of days later...

The informant “will place him at these dog fights, yes,” said Kathy Strouse , a member of the Virginia Animal Fighting Task Force who has helped in the investigation of Surry County property owned by Vick.

Wow! Talk about your quick demotion!

 

In just two days, she goes from lead investigator to just a person who has helped in the investigation.

 

Oh! And when authorities met with the Prosecutor last week to submit their evidence for review...no witnesses & no tapes!

 

How about this early report...

Investigators said many of the dogs were injured or neglected. They are now being held and cared for at undisclosed locations across the area. At least three of them are at the Chesapeake Animal Control Bureau, nursing facial wounds and too timid to walk on a leash.

 

Fast forwarding to a more recent report...

Since the raid, Surry County Commonwealth attorney Gerald Poindexter said erroneous reports have surfaced that the dogs were malnourished and that many had scarring and injuries consistent with dog fighting. The dogs, he said, appeared largely to have been well cared for, and the only one that required immediate veterinary care had a broken leg because of a birth defect.

Can you say oops!

From neighbors who have stated that they have talked to Vick to Vick being registered as a licensed dog breeder to now this inside reliable source, all after Vick claimed he had never even been to the residence or know anything about the dogs there initially, sure smells like huge trouble for him.

This is what the closest neighbor is saying...

Ernest Hardy, 56, is the closest neighbor to Vick's former property. Hardy has lived in his double-wide trailer there since 1973. "I have a natural gift for observing things," Hardy said, "and I haven't seen or heard any evidence of dogfighting. If it had been going on, it seems like I should have heard something.

 

"I might be totally dumb on this and missed it, but I thought he was just a lover of dogs. I mean, those dogs were living better than some people."

 

Vick has said that he rarely spend time on the property, telling the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "I'm never at the house."

 

"I've talked to (Vick) on his back porch," Hardy said. "He's saying he's never there. I'm not saying he's lying, but saying he's never there makes him look suspicious.

 

"But it's not like he's there all the time. If he had the property six years, he might have spent the equivalent of two weeks there."

www.usatoday.com

 

BTW, Vick never said he knew nothing about his kennel, but he did say that he knew nothing about his kennel being involved in an illegal activity.

Vick has said he let a cousin, Davon Boddie, live at the house, and he didn't know a large kennel on the property could be involved in criminal activity.

 

Too bad he didn't spend his free time throwing footballs through a swinging tire in the backyard...

No doubt

 

I'm sure not saying Vick is innocent in all this (where there's smoke there's usually fire), but given all the hysterical media hype & contradictory reports, I prefer not to speculate & instead will let the end result of the investigation speak for itself.

[WaterMan]

Chris Henry to block, please.

[Grits and Shins]

Big Score to Vick's rescue .... again.

[Big Score 1]

Big Score to Vick's rescue .... again.

 

Nope, not at all Blitz.

 

My post was more of an indictment on sensationalist reporting, than a defense of Vick.

 

I figure there's a 99.9% chance he's involved in some way, shape, or form. And even if it's only complicity through knowledge, that's STILL involvement and to me, is sick.

 

However, I do find it strange that when the media was pimping Vick, those who didn't appreciate what he brought to the table, claimed the reports were nothing but hype with little substance & Vick was purely a media creation.

 

But now that the media has swung 180 in their reporting on Vick, I don't hear that.

 

So when the media reports are positive on Vick, it's all BS & nothing but sensationalist media hype.

 

When the reporting on Vick is negative, it's Gospel.

 

Regardless of the inaccurate & sensationalist reporting by the media on this story, one good thing to come out of it, is a raising of the general publics awareness, to the rather large problem of organized dog fighting.

[Bronco Billy]

However, I do find it strange that when the media was pimping Vick, those who didn't appreciate what he brought to the table, claimed the reports were nothing but hype with little substance & Vick was purely a media creation.

 

But now that the media has swung 180 in their reporting on Vick, I don't hear that.

 

So when the media reports are positive on Vick, it's all BS & nothing but sensationalist media hype.

 

When the reporting on Vick is negative, it's Gospel.

 

 

 

As opposed to you, of course, who agrees with the media when they get it right and call Vick the greatest QB of all time, despite passing numbers that would embarrass a JV high school QB - much less a pro QB, and the media is just being sensationalist when Vick has, by several eyewitness accounts as well as evidence presented, been lying out his ass the whole time about his position regarding the residence where the dog fighting occurred (much less the Ron Mexico incident, the false-bottom water bottle incident, the flipping off the crowd incident which clearly establish Vick's impecable credibility when it comes to character & being truthful...).

 

Kettle, you are truly one black son-of-a-#####!

[Big Score 1]

As opposed to you, of course, who agrees with the media when they get it right and call Vick the greatest QB of all time, despite passing numbers that would embarrass a JV high school QB - much less a pro QB, and the media is just being sensationalist when Vick has, by several eyewitness accounts as well as evidence presented, been lying out his ass the whole time about his position regarding the residence where the dog fighting occurred (much less the Ron Mexico incident, the false-bottom water bottle incident, the flipping off the crowd incident which clearly establish Vick's impecable credibility when it comes to character & being truthful...).

 

Kettle, you are truly one black son-of-a-#####!

 

Now now BB, lets play nice. You know better than that.

 

I have never ever called Vick the greatest QB of all time.

 

All I've said over & over & over again, is that he's nowhere near as bad as some would have us believe.

 

You don't like his skill set & that's cool.

 

However, others do appreciate his skill set & that's cool too.

 

Just because others have a different opinion of Vick than you do, is no reason for you to get your knickers in a knot.

 

I'm content to let the investigators do their job & once all the evidence is in, then let the judical system run it's course.

 

But that's just me.

 

It's certainly your right to try & convict just from media reports if that's what you want to do & I'll not think any less of you for it.

[Big Score 1]

Here's a piece that exposes some the motives of the people & organizations who have been the media darlings because of their inflamatory quotes in this investigation. The reporters think they've got something juicy & the media in it's efforts to outscoop the competition, runs with it.

 

All the while, they're just being played to further a persons, or organizations, agenda

 

Accused athletes often claim they're targets of smear campaigns. In this case Vick indeed seems a marked man. To Strouse and others, including officials from the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), who have seen dogfighting grow into what they call a multimillion-dollar industry with its own magazines, underground highlight DVDs and even music (videos by rappers such as DMX and Jay-Z pay homage to the sport), seeing Vick implicated in a dogfighting case would be like landing the great white whale. They've been building a case against Vick in the press and have forwarded material to Surry County law enforcement to help the investigation. Their motives are twofold: They believe Vick was involved, claiming they've heard from informants for years that he was into dogfighting. And, perhaps more important, an indictment filed against one of the NFL's signature stars would boost their broader efforts to combat the grisly pastime of dogfighting, which is a felony in every state but Idaho and Wyoming (where it is a misdemeanor).

Another thing I have failed to see the media mention anywhere, is that there are substantial cash rewards available for information in regards to dog fighting.

HSUS officials, who pay for information that leads to a conviction, say they regularly get tips about athletes' participation in dogfights and pass leads on to local law enforcement.

All of a sudden people start popping up with supposed info. What authorities end up finding out, is that by & large, the majority of the info is quickly discredited, because people are simply make things up for a quick score on some easy money.

 

Again, in a sense, I applaud the media's sensationalist reporting of this investigation.

 

It has most definitely raised public awareness to the horrors of dog fighting & just how prevelant it really is.

 

But as far as trying & convicting Vick through the press, based on hyped up media reports that were influenced by people & organizations with an agenda? I think not.

 

I'll let the authorities actual investigation, the concrete evidence they bring & then courts handle that.

 

But as I said, that's just me voicing my opinion & how I'm looking at this.

Edited May 30, 2007 by Big Score 1

[Randall]

 

But as far as trying & convicting Vick through the press, based on hyped up media reports that were influenced by people & organizations with an agenda? I think not.

 

I'll let the authorities actual investigation, the concrete evidence they bring & then courts handle that.

 

But as I said, that's just me voicing my opinion & how I'm looking at this.

 

 

 

This can be a problem when trying to find un-corrupted jurors or grand jurors.

[Big Score 1]

This can be a problem when trying to find un-corrupted jurors or grand jurors.

 

Of course anything is possible, but I'm not too worried about Vick going all Al Capone on us.

Edited May 30, 2007 by Big Score 1

[broncosn05]

Man, if this mushrooms at all, the Falcons would be in a huge bind. They must be freaking if they think there is a shred of a chance that Vick could get a suspension. I found it interesting that in the film clip when the interviewer asked Vick if he would be exonerated, he said no comment. Even if you did it, you always say "yes, of course" even of you are lying through you teeth unless you want to look guilty which he sort of does now. Then again I have never understood the thrill in watching two dogs try to kill each other either.

 

Remember the interview to the media after no charges were brought for the water bottle where Vick defended himself not saying anything then?

Edited May 30, 2007 by broncosn05

[Big Score 1]

I found it interesting that in the film clip when the interviewer asked Vick if he would be exonerated, he said no comment.

I think that's because Vick's so dumb, he didn't know what exonerated meant.

[broncosn05]

I think that's because Vick's so dumb, he didn't know what exonerated meant.

 

Or maybe because when he was asked at that previous press conference he said he would not comment...

[Randall]

Of course anything is possible, but I'm not too worried about Vick going all Al Capone on us.

 

 

 

I meant finding jurors that haven't been corrupted by the media coverage. They usually look for people who know nothing about the cases.

[Big Score 1]

I meant finding jurors that haven't been corrupted by the media coverage. They usually look for people who know nothing about the cases.

 

Gotcha.

 

They'll move it if necessary.

[Randall]

From that other site

 

"I'm wondering how he will be greated by the Dog Pound the first time he appears in cleveland.

 

I'm betting he will hear "Who let the Dogs Out" over many a P.A. system this year.