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      McNabb speaks out about Vick

      August 17, 2009 /

      Over on his Yardbarker blog, Donovan McNabb details how and why the Eagles signed Michael Vick.

      I wanted Michael to come to Philadelphia and, in any way he can, help bring a Super Bowl championship to the City. There is no doubt he is a uniquely talented player that can add to our offensive weapons. For him personally, I want to see him continue to grow as a person, spend time with his family and re-establish himself as a leader on and off the field. Due to the nature of what happened and the attention it has received, it may not always be easy for him but he seems up for the challenge. Fortunately, with a tremendous individual like Tony Dungy in his corner, he will have the support he needs.

      I just caught a bit of ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” where they were discussing the Vick signing. One of the guests was Gov. Ed Rendell who said that we, as a society, preach over and over to inmates when they go to prison that if they serve their time, we’ll give them another chance. One of the other guests — I didn’t catch his name (sorry) — said that all this talk of redemption is fine, but this was a football decision.

      Well, duh, of course it was. The Eagles signed Vick because they thought he could help their team. Rendell is talking about rehabilitation and redemption as a way to justify the signing to those who would like to see Vick go and crawl under a rock and never play football again. These are two separate questions:

      1) Why did the Eagles sign Vick?
      2) How do they justify it?

      I consider myself a dog lover, so I find Vick’s history of animal abuse to be disgusting. That said, he has served his time and seems intent on proving to everyone that he is sorry for what he did and that he’s a changed man. While the Eagles’ decision to sign him may piss off a few animal lovers in Philadelphia, they’ll get over it if he’s averaging 7.0 yards per carry in the Wildcat formation.

      I just wonder what Vick says about dog-fighting behind closed doors, when it’s just him and his buddies. I hope he’s sincere, but there’s only a select few that know for sure.

      News, NFL

      Zambrano: ‘I’ve been lazy.’

      August 17, 2009 /

      Cubs’ starter Carlos Zambrano admitted that he’s been lazy in his conditioning over the years, which is one of the reasons he can’t seem to stay healthy.

      From the Chicago Tribune:

      “My problem is I’ve been lazy,” a contrite Zambrano said. “There are things in life you don’t like to do, but you have to do them. I don’t like abs [abdominal muscle workouts], but I have to do them. I have to start doing them every day and be serious about it.”

      Doctors are convinced stronger abdominal muscles will ease the pain on back discs, one of which is bulging and has caused Zambrano pain on and off for a few years.

      “I’ve got to be honest with me and with you [media] guys and the fans. I’m 28 years old, I’m not 16 anymore,” Zambrano said. “I’m a big guy and I work hard every day, [but] one of the things I don’t like to do is my abs, my core work. If I do abs every day and keep doing my job and be serious about my abs, I’ll be OK.”

      I’m sure the Cubs and their fan base are thrilled to hear that Big Z hasn’t being working as hard as he could have been over the years, especially when you factor in how much he’s making.

      I’m a little surprised that Zambrano wasn’t working on his core up until this point, given how important it is in baseball. Then again, there are a lot of players that rely solely on their God given talents and not strive to become a more complete player, so maybe this news shouldn’t come as a surprise

      MLB

      Jets glad Ryan is in, Mangini is out

      August 17, 2009 /

      According to an article by the Los Angeles Times, there’s an overwhelming notion that Jet players are happy that Rex Ryan is now their head coach, and not Eric Mangini.

      As for the Jets, the mantra uttered in every corner of their camp is that the relaxed Ryan “treats us like men,” with the implication that the rigid Mangini didn’t.

      Without naming Mangini, specifically, guard Damien Woody said not being afforded that respect “is almost degrading.”

      “Here I am 31 years old, I’ve got my own kids, and I’m married, and here’s someone that’s not that much older than me — or whatever the case may be — telling me what I can and can’t do,” Woody said. “It’s so regimented where the game is just not a game anymore. It’s not fun. Even when you win it’s not fun.”

      Mangini seems to be a wanna be Bill Belichick in the way he runs his team, which is understandable given that Mangini used to work under Belichick in New England. And who can blame Mangini if he did want to run his team that way given how many Super Bowls Belichick has won.

      That said, there’s an underlining notion that Mangini doesn’t treat his players with enough respect. Woody isn’t the only one who has griped about Mangini’s standoffish attitude, as Browns defensive tackle Shaun Rodgers also had a run-in with the head coach when Manigini was hired in Cleveland.

      Then again, maybe the players doing the griping are the ones who can’t handle a head coach who doesn’t give them cake and ice cream after every practice. After all, Romeo Crennel was a nice guy and he didn’t win. Ultimately, players will respect their head coach if his process works. Mangini’s process didn’t work the past couple years in New York, so players turned on him and his approach to coaching.

      The same will happen to Ryan if he doesn’t prove that he can win.

      NFL

      Michael Vick on 60 Minutes

      August 17, 2009 /

      James Brown interviewed Michael Vick for a segment on 60 Minutes over the weekend.

      Here’s the video:


      Watch CBS Videos Online

      I’m not an expert on reading body language, but I thought he was honest throughout the segment. I still don’t know if he fully understands the magnitude of what he did (maybe it was his constant smirking throughout the segment), but I do think that he’s regretful about what happened.

      Not to make excuses for Vick, but as he says in the video, he was introduced to dog fighting at an early age and therefore grew up thinking it was a sport instead of a sick, twisted hobby. As he got older, should he have gotten away from it knowing it was illegal? Absolutely. But again, he grew up thinking it wasn’t a big deal so the thought to get away from dog fighting never occurred to him.

      Besides the dog fighting, Vick’s biggest mistake was lying to everyone after he was caught. He thought that if he lied enough, he could evade the accusations just like he evaded defenders on Sundays. And for that, he paid a significant price.

      That said, he still has a long way to go. Now that he’s out of prison, he has to prove to everyone that he can stay out of trouble and not fall back into the pitfalls that cost him the past two years of his life. Until he does that, the general consensus will always be that he’s not remorseful for what he’s done.

      NFL, Video

      Report: Favre to Vikings not dead

      August 17, 2009 /

      According to FOX Sports.com’s Jay Glazer, the talks between the Vikings and quarterback Brett Favre may not be dead after all.

      Here are the horrifying details:

      After visiting the Vikings for two days, I am convinced — positively convinced — that Brett Favre will soon have talks with the Vikings to return to the team and could be joining them for this season after all. If my instincts are correct, all those purple Favre jerseys will have a home on Minnesota store shelves.

      Granted, my camp stop occurred before Sage Rosenfels lit up the Colts in the preseason opener to the tune of 10-of-13 passing for 91 yards. And if Rosenfels can continue like this, he could squash this prediction as the preseason continues.

      But until I see it more consistently, I’m absolutely convinced. Why? For starters, because everyone else on the Vikings seems to be convinced of the same thing. I mean damn near everybody!

      During my two days in Mankato, nearly everyone I talked to within the team talked about Favre joining not as an “if” but rather a “when.”

      So then what’s the holdup? What’s keeping the Vikings from signing Favre right now? It’s not that I don’t believe what Glazer is reporting, but something just doesn’t add up here.

      The only explanation I have is that Favre doesn’t want to go through training camp and the Vikings are waiting to sign him until just before the season starts. If they do, that would be a massive slap in the face of Rosenfels and Jackson, who would have gone through training camp with the understanding that it was their job to lose, not Favre’s.

      NFL

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