Vick Pleads Guilty

Anticlimactic, since the deal was already done.

Now we brace for the sympathy tour with fawning media, if any can be found.

Michael Vick pleaded guilty Monday to a federal dogfighting charge and a judge is to set a sentencing date that could send the fallen NFL superstar to prison.

The suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson. He asked Vick whether he knew what evidence the government had against him and whether he had gove over the facts of the case with his legal team.

Vick agreed.

I agree he's one of the biggest idiots to ever come along.

Stephon Marbury was unavailable for comment.

Starbury: What's So Bad About Dogfighting?

Well, it didn't take long to find some genius willing to go on record not just supporting Michael Vick, but dogfighting as well.

And that special someone is none other than New York Knicks point guard and MENSA member Stephon Marbury.

KNICK STICKS UP FOR VICK

Embattled Atlanta Falcon Michael Vick has a friend -- and fellow doggie disrespecter -- in Stephon Marbury.

"I think we don't say anything about people who shoot deer or shoot other animals," the Knick point guard told Capital News 9, an Albany TV station. "You know, from what I understand, dogfighting is a sport. It's just behind closed doors.

"I think it's tough that we build up Michael Vick and then we break him down."

So since it's "behind closed doors," it's OK. Well, most murders probably occur "behind closed doors," so I'll assume in Marbury's mind, that's a sport.

I guess when this intellectual titan named himself "Starbury," he wasn't talking "star" pupil.

Some of Vick's teammates shared Marbury's support.

"Mike is very human," Alge Crumpler, who who came into the NFL at the same time as Vick, said. I think this whole ordeal has kind of dehumanized him for the last couple of months. But he's hurting. I do know that. That's a fact. He is hurting."

Aww, the poor guy.

He should be hurting. The dumbass just flushed $100 million and is looking at jail time.

Others disagreed.

"He's not on the team," running back Warrick Dunn said. That pretty much makes him an ex-teammate."

Ouch.

My respect for Warrick Dunn, high already, just escalated.

Michael Vick Indicted

Seriously, how stupid is this guy?

Vick indicted in dogfight investigation

RICHMOND, Va. - Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick was indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury on charges related to illegal dogfighting. Vick and three others were charged with violating federal laws against competitive dogfighting, procuring and training pit bulls for fighting and conducting the enterprise across state lines.

The indictment alleges that Vick and his co-defendants began sponsoring dogfighting in early 2001, the former Virginia Tech star's rookie year with the Falcons.

It accuses Vick, Purnell A. Peace, Quanis L. Phillips and Tony Taylor of "knowingly sponsoring and exhibiting an animal fighting venture," of conducting a business enterprise involving gambling, as well as buying, transporting and receiving dogs for the purposes of an animal fighting venture.

Telephone messages left at the offices and home of Vick's attorney, Larry Woodward, were not immediately returned.

A woman who answered the phone at the home of Vick's mother said the family knew nothing about the charges.

On July 7, federal authorities conducted a second search of the Surry, Va., property owned by Vick that is the center of the dogfighting investigation.

According to court documents filed by federal authorities earlier this month, dogfights have been sponsored by "Bad Newz Kennels" at the property since at least 2002. For the events, participants and dogs traveled from South Carolina, North Carolina, Maryland, New York, Texas and other states.

Read the rest.

Expect a lengthy suspension. If found guilty, he should get booted from the NFL for at least a season.

Michael Vick's Dogfighting Problem

State and Federal officials load coolers of evidence into a truck as they search the grounds behind a home owned by Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick in Smithfield, Va., Friday, July 6, 2007. The officials were looking for evidence in a possible dog fighting investigation. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Animal-lover or not, one has to be sickened by the "sport" of dogfighting. Whether Michael Vick willingly participated in this is subject to question, but the fact it allegedly took place on his property cannot have been a mystery to him.

Vick property alleged dogfight area

SURRY, Va. -- A property owned by Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick was used as the "main staging area for housing and training the pit bulls involved" in an alleged dogfighting operation, according to court documents.

The papers, filed by federal authorities, give details for the first time about what authorities contend was a long-running dogfighting venture. Vick is not named in the documents.

Yesterday, federal agents searched the property for a second time, using a backhoe to dig in an area about 10 feet by 20 feet. They finished their work at about 4:30 p.m. and declined to answer reporters' questions as they left.

Not only do I consider this a sadistic activity, but the details to follow should sicken any decent human being.

According to the documents, dogfights have been sponsored by "Bad Newz Kennels" at the property since at least 2002. For the events, participants and dogs traveled from South Carolina, North Carolina, Maryland, New York, Texas, and other states.

Members of the venture also knowingly transported, delivered, and received dogs for animal fighting, the documents state.

Fifty-four pit bulls were recovered from the property during searches in April, along with a "rape stand" used to hold dogs in place for mating; an electric treadmill modified for dogs; and a bloodied piece of carpeting, the documents said.

Fights would end when one dog died or with the surrender of the losing dog, which was sometimes put to death by drowning, strangulation, hanging, gunshot, electrocution, or some other method, according to the documents.

During a June search of the property, investigators uncovered the graves of seven pit bulls that were killed by members of "Bad Newz Kennels" following sessions to test whether the dogs would be good fighters, the documents said.

On Vick's website, he lists his birthplace as Newport News, Va., "a.k.a. BadNews."