I haven’t quite gotten tired of hearing about Michael Vick yet. Or the NBA referee scandal (huge). Or how Barry Bonds is a cheat (and a jerk). In the wide world of sports, the three majors are chock full of drama. It’s a good time to be a lawyer and a sports fan.

Most of the pundits are on target with Vick. That the charges are federal automatically catapults Vick’s troubles past that of Pac Man Jones, or even the Duke lacrosse situation, where the case was shabby from the get-go. State prosecutors are prone to waste time and resources with less provable charges (and if indigent defendants were more often able to make bond, the state conviction rates would drop to even lower levels - the number of defendants who plead out just so they don’t spend nine months in jail waiting for a trial date is shockingly high). Federal prosecutors are a contrast in total with their state counterparts. United States attorneys do not typically pursue charges until their case is substantial. And especially not so in the Eastern District of Virginia, one of the more preeminent federal districts. Even Stephen A. Smith of ESPN gets it, and he’s usually one quick to pull out the race card.

The the burden required to convict Vick criminally is not and should not be the burden used to determine whether he gets to continue his football career at the present time. And those who support him are mystifying to me for their lack of total judgment. He’s not even a good quarterback.
The upcoming plea by one of the co-defendants also complicates things. In short, Vick is in an increasingly growing serious mess of trouble.

Meanwhile, the NBA can only hope that the Vick news drowns out the basketball-fixing news. While true it is unlikely that anything Donaghy did changed the outcome of a game, the shadow of corruption slaps down a league that was finally, desperately, attempting to climb out of a ten year old pit of despair.  It’s a big deal. And it has brought the credibility of professional basketball to heel with it.
And finally…Barry Bonds would serve the sport well if he retires now, one homer from Hank Aaron’s record. His achievement (if one laughingly wants to call it that), will never be viewed legitimately. If Roger Maris’ 1961 performance came with an asterisk, there’s not a punctuation mark in modern use fitting for Barry Bonds’ 756th home run. And no matter what Bonds says or does, short of quitting the chase, the evidence mounting is weighing against, not for, him. And that doesn’t even take into account the potentiality of a federal indictment. Then again, for those paying attention, common sense coupled with some before and after pictures tell the tale well enough without having to go too deep, and too far. Bonds won’t get “beyond a reasonable doubt” benefits until he is charged with perjury.
So there. Be wise, those of the NHL - stay out the brambles.