- RED’S ARMY comments on Phil Jackson’s decision to bring Andrew Bynum off the bench. (He’s making $12.5 million this season.)

- THE 700 LEVEL reports that Michael Vick will star in an eight-part “docu-series” (reality show?) on BET.

- STATE FARM has video of LeBron James working out with his old high school team. He says that if he wanted to, he could quit basketball and play in the NFL. Duh. Who wouldn’t want a 6′8″ phenomenal athlete playing tight end?

- Per DEADSPIN, Alabama fan (and Father of the Year candidate) Dave Grzyb is pleased that his daughter’s domestic abuse charge won’t interfere with the Crimson Tide’s season. Nice. The site also details an open letter to Ron Artest that went awry.

- WITH LEATHER has video of a hockey fight. Funny.

The Washington Post asked me to participate in their NFL blog “The League” for the 2009 season. Below is a recent post I wrote for the site about whether or not Nike should endorse Michael Vick again.

I’m over what Michael Vick did.

That might sound jarring or cruel to some people, but I am – I’m over it.

For the record, I think Vick is inhumane for what he put those dogs through. Reading what transpired on Moonlight Road made me sick and I think the punishment fit the crime.

But let’s move on. What’s done is done and he served his time, so let him rot in Philly as a backup quarterback, Wildcat formation specialist or Andy Reid’s personal dry cleaning assistant. I don’t care – and neither should Nike.

When “the swoosh” got word that Vick was involved in an illegal dog-fighting operation two years ago, they did the only thing they could: They dropped him like a bad cell phone connection.

Just recently, Vick’s agency announced that its client had struck a new deal with Nike, although the manufacturer claims that it has only agreed to supply product to Vick, as it does with numerous other athletes who are not officially under contract with them.

Either way, why should Nike bother endorsing Vick period? Because he used to be an icon? Because he used to make people’s eyes pop out of their head every time he escaped from the pocket? He went to jail – his opportunities of being endorsed by anyone should be over.

Read the entire article at the Washington Post.

Senior NFL.com analyst Pat Kirwan suggested in a recent article that now might be the best time for the Eagles to trade Michael Vick.

Michael Vick said he expected to be a starting quarterback when he reentered the NFL. When I look at some of the quarterback situations around the league, I think he’s right, but I don’t really see him as a fit in Philadelphia after watching Kevin Kolb for the past two weeks.

The return of Donovan McNabb, as well as having Jeff Garcia under contract, makes Vick a guy to consider trading. He saw limited duty in his first real game and he will get better with more work, but his contract next year probably means he will not be an Eagle after 2009.
In the past two weeks, Kolb has completed 55 of 85 passes for 718 yards (8.44 yards per attempt) with four touchdowns, three interceptions and just two sacks. Any young QB that only gets sacked once every 43.5 attempts and distributes the ball to seven different receivers every game is the future — and he’s a whole lot cheaper than Vick.

In Vick’s career, he has been sacked an average of once every 10 pass attempts. And when it comes to the Wildcat, receivers DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin can handle those duties if the Eagles care to continue using it.

I don’t think there are any real worries about the fallout from Vick’s off-the-field issues anymore and maybe a team like the Raiders would love to have him on the roster. He has to be worth a decent draft pick. Garcia is the veteran backup the Eagles need for insurance. When the Eagles activated him to the 45-man roster this weekend, they confirmed they see him that way, too.

Garcia was just released so that the Eagles could make room for middle linebacker Jeremiah Trotter, although I don’t think that would change Kirwan’s mind regarding Philly trading Vick.

Kirwan suggests that Vick “has to be worth a decent draft pick.” Not sure I agree with that. He hasn’t shown enough in his limited time back to convince any team that he can be their starting quarterback and no team is going to part with a draft pick just to use Vick in the Wildcat.

One thing I do side with Kirwan on is how teams don’t have to worry about the fallout from Vick’s off-field issues. The Eagles essentially took the first blow and they didn’t receive much criticism. But again, I don’t see any team parting with a 2nd or 3rd rounder (what I would deem a “decent” draft pick) to add Vick just based on what we’ve seen so far.

Here’s a look at what local NFL beat writers and columnists have to say following their teams’ performance on Sunday.

- Tom Powers of the St. Paul Pioneer Press writes that the Vikings got their first glimpse of Brett Favre’s legend in Minnesota’s last-second win over San Francisco.

- After 19 straight losses, Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press says that there’s finally relief for the lowly Lions.

- After getting a taste of action in a win over the Chiefs on Sunday, Ashley Fox of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes that Michael Vick is fine with his role with the Eagles, for now.

- Steve Serby of the New York Post says that Jets’ rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez uses his head to make history.

- Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe notes that the 2-1 Patriots are still a work in progress despite their 26-10 win over the Falcons at Foxboro.

- David Climer of the Tennessean says that the 0-3 Titans buried their playoff hopes with a loss to the Jets on Sunday.

- Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post writes that the Redskins’ focused disappeared long ago.

- Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch ably points out that the brutal Rams are now the new Lions.

- David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune writes that Johnny Knox and the Bears’ wideouts are making quarterback Jay Cutler look good.

- Will Leitch of the New York Magazine says that the contract extension Eli Manning signed in the offseason might be a bargain with how well he’s playing so far this season.

Michael Vick is a little confused. He figured that even though he had been out of football for two years, the Eagles would still start him on Sunday because Donovan McNabb is hurt.

From the USA Today:

Vick, in an interview with CBS to air Sunday, said he thought he would be a starting quarterback upon his return to the NFL.

“This is not the exact scenario I thought would play out,” Vick told CBS. “I thought I’d be playing with a team and actually starting.”

Eagles offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg confirmed Thursday that Vick will play against the Chiefs on Sunday. It is the first game Vick will be eligible for since 2006, before he served a 20-month federal sentence for a dogfighting conviction.

“He’ll play,” Mornhinweg said. “How much? We’ll see as the week goes on. I think he’s in top physical condition. We’ll see how he handles the few things that we have in for him.”

Mikey picked the wrong team if he thought he was going to walk out of prison and be handed a starting quarterback job. Quite frankly, he’s lucky to be on any team and it’s a little surprising (appalling even?) that he didn’t think he would have to work his way back into a starting gig.

Take it slow, Mike. Enjoy the fact that you’re not in prison and let everything else take care of itself.

The Eagles thumped the Panthers 38-10 on Sunday in Charlotte, but their mood went from jubilation to concern after quarterback Donovan McNabb suffered a rib injury after rushing for a touchdown in the third quarter.

McNabb was able to walk off the field under his own power, but he was clearly in discomfort when he returned to the sidelines in the fourth quarter. The Eagles haven’t announced how long McNabb will be out for, or if he’ll be out at all.

What’s interesting about this injury is that Philadelphia’s backup quarterback is Michael Vick, who won’t be available until Week 4 until after he’s done serving a three-game suspension. Kevin Kolb will start next week if McNabb can’t play.

Even though Vick brings an added dimension to the field as a runner, him starting would be a worst-case scenario for the Eagles. Philadelphia is a serious Super Bowl contender and need McNabb (who is the far superior passer to Vick) under center. Outside of a couple of preseason games, Vick hasn’t played in two years and would need time to shake off the rust following his suspension.

But maybe this is all a moot point. McNabb might not miss any time and even if he does, Kolb is going to get the chance to start while Vick is out. If he plays well, it’s highly doubtful that Andy Reid would turn the keys of the offense over to Vick.

As for the Eagles’ opponents on Sunday, this was a worst-case scenario for a Panthers team that was hoping to put their disastrous performance against the Cardinals in last year’s divisional round of the playoffs behind them.

Quarterback Jake Delhomme had another awful performance while completing just 7 of 17 pass attempts for 73 yards and four interceptions. Why Carolina refuses to develop a young signal caller behind Delhomme is beyond me. If his performance on Sunday was any indication of how he’ll do the rest of the year, then the Panthers are in serious trouble.

Update: ESPN.com is reporting that McNabb fractured a rib, but Reid stated that the quarterback might still play next week.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has announced that Michael Vick will be eligible to play in the Eagles’ third regular season game in 2009.

From ESPN.com:

Goodell and Vick had met Thursday morning for 45 to 50 minutes in New Jersey to discuss when Vick might be reinstated. After that, Goodell said, he consulted with Vick’s mentor, former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy, for another 45 minutes.

“Hopefully we can have a success story here, which would be good for society in general,” Goodell said. “He’s realistic about the challenges ahead. And anxious to play football.”

During their meeting Thursday, the topic of Vick’s past experiences and why he got involved in dogfighting came up. One of Vick’s representatives was explaining it, when Vick stepped in and took responsibility. “He was genuinely remorseful,” Goodell said.

Goodell said he did discuss with Vick the report that he was seen drinking an alcoholic beverage in a restaurant at the hotel where he was staying. Goodell said it was not a violation of his probation.

Just because he’ll be allowed to play in Week 3 doesn’t mean that Goodell won’t watch Vick like a hawk. He’ll be on an extremely short leash and he better be on his absolute best behavior.

It’ll be interesting to see how Vick does tonight in the Eagles’ final preseason game. He’s supposed to see extended snaps while Donovan McNabb sits in preparation for the regular season opener.

Michael Vick entered Thursday night’s game against the Jaguars to a rousing ovation and then proceeded to complete 4-of-4 passes for 19 yards and rushed for one yard on one rushing attempt.

From ESPN.com’s recap of the Eagles’ 33-32 win:

“It’s been a long journey for me,” Vick said. “I just want to do it right this time around.”

“It was awesome. When I was running out onto the field I was listening to see what the reaction was going to be,” Vick said. “I was very pleased. I really didn’t expect that reaction, but I was very thankful.”

So much for all those protesters and anti-Vick factions. Some fans even chanted “We want Vick!” after he left the game.

It’s no shock that fans in Philadelphia embraced Vick now that he’s an Eagle. The real test will be when he goes on the road.

As far as his performance went, to say that Vick looked sharp would be a stretch. Outside of a 13-yard completion to Hank Baskett, all of his pass attempts were short and he looked hesitant on the one rush attempt.

But Andy Reid and Marty Mornhinweg are smart if they’re going to limit Vick to read-and-react-type plays like they did on Thursday night. He never developed into a great pocket passer, so if the Eagles plan on using him in the Wildcat or as a decoy, then they’re adding a pretty good offensive weapon this year. (Especially once Vick shakes off the rust.)

After multiple attempts, a judge has finally approved Michael Vick’s plan to get out of $20 million of debt.

From ESPN.com:

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Frank Santoro said while Vick is “at the pinnacle of his profession,” he has proven unable to manage his finances in the past and ordered him to retain a financial planner as a condition of the plan. The plan was overwhelmingly approved in a ballot of creditors.

Vick, 29, hustled away from the courthouse with his fiancee, Kijafa Frink, to catch a flight back to Philadelphia and make his debut with the Eagles in a preseason game.
“I’m happy it’s over. I can move on with my life,” Vick said.

“I’m excited about the game,” he said. Asked if he was nervous, he said, “Not at all.”

The plan approved by Santoro was supported by all creditors or representatives in court, save for one creditor owed $13,000. It hinges on Vick liquidating an estimated $9 million in assets, including houses, boats and high-end sport utility vehicles. He would not have to pay creditors during the first year with the Eagles.

Vick is “at the pinnacle of his profession?” Uh, okay.

The only reason this deal was approved was because Vick signed a two-year (the second year is a team option) contract with the Eagles. Had he not been signed, I don’t know how Vick would have been approved since he was denied multiple times before today.

From a football standpoint, it’ll be interesting to see how Vick fairs tonight. Even though Andy Reid says that Vick has looked good in practice, he’s been out of the league for two years so it stands to reason that the game will look fast to him tonight. Can he still get out of the pocket? Does he still have the zip on his passes? Can he absorb a hit?

Stay tuned.

…not really – Michael Vick just got The Onion treatment:

PHILADELPHIA—Newly acquired Eagles quarterback Michael Vick was “humiliated” Tuesday after an iron he had left unattended inside the team’s locker room sparked a blaze that eventually burned Lincoln Financial Field to the ground. “I just wanted to press some shirts so I could look nice and make a good impression on the team, but now everybody is going to hate me,” said Vick, choking back tears as he surveyed the still smoldering remains of the $518 million stadium. “I didn’t mean to do it. I tried really hard to put out the fire, but when I smothered the flames they just got bigger and everything started burning. I’m super sorry. I promise it won’t happen again.” Vick, who said he did not notify police or the fire department because it would violate the conditions of his reinstatement, added that the stadium might be fine once it cools down.

That’s pretty funny.

On a related note, Andy Reid said that Vick would make his Eagles debut next Thursday against the Jaguars.