No, it's not a comic book story, but real life in an artist's rendering of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick being sentenced to 23 months in federal prison. Vick was the posterchild of how not to handle yourself while awaiting sentencing. First of all, U.S. District Judge, Henry Hudson has a reputation of being a tough sentencer, who also happens to be a big dog fan. So, lying about killing the dogs and smoking marijuana in the interim only helped to lengthen Vick's sentence. You know it's going to be a tough defense when your lawyer Billy Martin is reduced to defending Vick's illegal drug use as "self-medication." Vick will likely miss at least three full NFL seasons, but when he's released in 2009 at age 29, he may get to resume his career in some place not called Atlanta if NFL Commissioner Roger Goddell lifts his suspension.
Falcons owner Arthur Blank says having to use four quarterbacks this season has destroyed the team's chances to compete, now at (3-10). Hmmm, sound familiar Panthers fans? Wonder how much of a genius Bill Belichick would be if he had Joey Harrington instead of Tom Brady at the controls.
Good to see former Panthers punter, Todd Sauerbrun, is straightening out his life in Denver. Sauerbrun faces an assault charge for an incident outside a Denver restaurant, which could bring more discipline from the NFL. After having a previous league suspension for using a banned substance, Broncos coach Mike Shanahan brought him back to the team for a second time asking one thing, "just stay clean, just stay out of trouble." Seriously, you're the punter.
Looking for more positive football news, you can latch on to the Appalachian State bandwagon. The Moutaineers play for their third consecutive I-AA title versus Delaware. How did all of the bigger schools miss on quarterback Armanti Edwards who accounted for 495 yards and seven touchdowns in their semi-final win over Richmond last week?
Nice move by East Carolina and their fans to buy tickets to the Pirates December 23 bowl game in Hawaii. Most of them are not buying for themselves, but as a donation to military personnel throughout the islands. One fan donated 25 tickets at $40 a pop.
If you're depressed over the Panthers having lost six of their last seven games, take in a Bobcats game. They've only lost eight of their last nine games at this writing. Or if you really, really want to cheer yourself up, check out the held-over Body Works display featuring dead people with lung disease, etc. at Discovery Place. I see a theme developing uptown.
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