Michael Vick (NFL) indicted for dog fighting

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Barmy,

I agree that the crime is disgusting. I was only surprised by the sentence because it was lighter than the two others who have already been sentenced for their actions. Those sentences were 18 and 21 months. The reason one got 21 months instead of 18 was he had been previously convicted of a crime. Since Vick did not have a previous criminal record, most people thought he would get around 18 months as well. The prosecuters recommended to the judge that Vick get 12-18 months in prison. Evidently, the judge felt a harsher sentence was merited because Vick provided the financial backing for the dogfighting ring. So the sentence was somewhat more harsh than what many in the legal arena expected. It was still far lower than the maximum sentence Vick could have received, which was 60 months.

 

I read an article about this in Yahoo sports news. From what I saw, it could've been a lot shorter but Vick just... blew it. When you're plea-bargaining, you kiss ass and if you're not repentant at least fake it. He just couldn't care less and now he's gone for nearly 2 years. yerg.

 

first time offender with good behavior, he can be out in 10 months. i really doubt he will miss more than next season.

 

Actually, the judge said 85% of the time must be served before he's eligible for parole, meaning 19 and a half months.

That means that as early as thr first of August 2009 he could be out. The concensus is that someone will give him a contract, and take the chance on him. Then we'll see if PETA will dog him...

 

I would never sign such a piece of.... But I can understand that a franchise like the Dolphins, that barted the first round draft to NE I hear, might be interested if next season goes bad also.

 

he!!, just look at allen iverson, he checked his coach & gets suspended, has the players union get him reinstated & the team pressures the coach until he doesnt press charges.
vick will definitely get a contract

 

I agree that he'll get a contract somewhere, but his days of collecting 8-digit annual paychecks are over. Just because of the public backlash that would be received for someone signing him likely means a team would be hesitant to invest that much in him. However, I think he should be allowed to return once he serves his time. His actions were despicable, but just like anyone else, once you get out of jail, if you can find someone willing to hire you, he should have a right to earn a living doing what he knows how to do.

While it is true that he should be out of jail for the 2009 season, I think 2010 is a more realistic return date. First of all, Roger Goodel could suspend him after he gets out of prison. That's not definite, and Goodel could decide that the time he missed while serving his prison term is punishment enough. Even if not suspended for the 2009 season though, he's not going to be in game shape when he gets out of prison. Sure he can work out in prison and do weight training and maybe even some cardio, but he's not going to be practicing football. I think it is unrealistic to expect him to immediately return to his old level of performance. Also keep in mind that his old level of performance wasn't that good. Vick was never more than an average QB with great athletic talent - and not using those talents for at least two and possibly three years is going to take its toll.

 

Merlanni - it was the 49ers who gave their first-round to the Patriots.

What many people are saying is that it's likely for him to receive a suspension for the 2009 season from Roger Goodell (NFL commissioner) and, since the QB is such a mental position that requires continuous training and conditioning, he will likely not start as QB for an NFL team for at least a couple years. However, he's still one of the fastest people in the sport. If he maintains fitness while in prison, he may play as a back or even a receiver. He's caught passes before on trick plays and his running ability is record-setting for a quarterback. He'll get a limited contract from someone - nothing close to the ten year hundred million plus he had with Atlanta, but something that's not to be sneezed at.