Thursday, July 19, 2007

Vanderbilt Hotline: Thrusday Edition

Great comments on the Michael Vick situation from yesterday. To my knowledge, there hasn't been much more surface other than his arraignment date, which is set for the July 26th, the first day of practice according to ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli. I thought Michael Wilbon made a great point on PTI last night about how Vick and Kobe Bryant's legal situation are different vis-a-vie their ability to play. Basketball, particularly regular season basketball, is such that there is not a lot of preparation required before going out on the court. That's not the case in football, where the entire week leading up to Sunday's game is spent preparing, scouting, and putting in place your game plan. If Michael Vick is standing trial during the week, his ability to be an effective quarterback, forgetting for just a second that his mind will inevitably be on other things (like Federal "Office Space line" Prison), will be severely compromised. Joe Theismann, who I typically think is a blowhard, made a surprisingly cogent point on Mike and Mike: he'd sit Vick, not for his conduct, but for himself and his team's sanity. I don't think this story is going anywhere, and due to the lack of other Vanderbilt topics to delve into until we get off our asses and post our football previews (any day, we swear). Not surprisingly, Nike is starting to get pressure to drop Michael Vick according to today's Atlanta Journal-Constitution. BREAKING NEWS from ESPN Radio's Mike and Mike in the Morning: Nike Chief Marketing Officer says the Michael Vick shoes will be released as scheduled on July 26th. Apparently, Vick's legal troubles will, according to the release, "not change Nike's marketing plan."

Vanderbilt Head Football Coach Bobby Johnson gets some ink from Football Capital of the South as the 9th best coach in the SEC. I think it's a little low, but I never claimed not to be biased.

Vanderbilt hired it's first African-American coach by hiring D'Andre Hill to run the women's track and field program. VUCommodores.com and the Tennessean's Mike Organ have the stories.

Get excited about basketball season, because Andrew Ogilvy is coming to Nashville. Australia beat Spain 86-84, lead by Andrew's 32 points on 11-16 shooting, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks. That's a line if I've ever seen one.

Even though I missed "Don't Forget the Lyircs" last night, fear not, I tivoed my new favorite show and will be able to double-dip tonight. Keep the comments coming.

Bobby, OUT.

10 comments:

Stanimal said...

Sources have told the AJC that the Falcons and the League have decided not to pursue punishment until more information is revealed or Vick's due process is set.

Sitting Vick until the process plays out is a fine idea as far as I'm concerned. I think myself and all other Falcons fans have come to the conclusion that our season will be miserable. Let's see if Joey Heisman can make a miraculous career recovery.

Regardless of the outcome, I am hopeful that in some way, shape, or form, Vick will not be the QB of the Falcons next year. I would put a lot of money on it that even if he beats the charges, he won't be. The guy has selfishly brought disgrace to a franchise that was pretty disgraceful before he got there. Arthur Blank is a good guy and Atlanta is a good city, and neither deserve to be smeared by the actions of an immature individual.

It's pretty sickening down here. As you can imagine, the AJC makes sure it hits you in the face every day.

Stanimal said...

Oh yeah, not to mention now Vick is going to face local charges too.

What a nightmare. I can't believe this is happening.

Douglas James said...

I'm tired of the Vick thing, lets talk about Crocodile OG. Anyone have any idea what kind of competition is in this thing? For instance is the American team high school kids or college freshman and sophmores? I love his stats but Australia's group seems pretty weak. That being said US and Australia are on a collision course (the only undefeated teams) I highly recommend checking out the Under 19 website. Check out his overall stats too. http://www.serbia2007.fiba.com/pages/eng/fe/07/fiba/u19men/stat/p/openNodeIDs/4449/selNodeID/4449/fe_stat_playLead.html

Stanimal said...

Fair point by Douglas James and an excellent nickname to boot.

I'm pretty excited about the way Ogilvy is playing. In part because I firmly believe that international play has gotten much much tougher. American basketball doesn't neccessarily rule the roost anymore, and Ogilvy's play in international competition, regardless of who its against, is spectacular.

I think we might have gotten ourselves a steal.

Anonymous said...

Not to keep beating this Vick story like a (nope... not going to say it), but check this out: http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/eagles/20070719_Bill_Conlin___NFL_cant_really_let_Vick_play__can_it_.html

Pretty good opinion column... doesn't make me want to shoot myself in the head like most of the others focusing on "Whatever will Michael Vick do when companies start pulling his endorsement contracts?" or "I can't comment on anything until a protracted legal battle runs its course, but let me go out on a limb and say I'm against murdering dogs..."

Anonymous said...

I'm wishin' and hopin' that Ogilvy is the true big man that Vandy has been missing for so long now.

Bobby O'Shea said...

Update on Nike: Nike has decided to suspend the release of the new Michael Vick shoe according to a report that was just read over Triple-X ESPN Radio in Washington, DC

Stanimal said...

I just read that opinion article.

About to surpass OJ in the sports fame hall of infamy? REALLY? That sounds A BIT aggressive...

Anonymous said...

yeah that's a little much....killing a dog, bad, killing your ex-wife and some guy just dropping off the purse she left in a booth, evil.

Anonymous said...

but i bet Mike wishes Johnny Cochran was alive