This whole Michael Vick saga is just beginning to get getting interesting now that Vick has agreed to plea bargain with prosecutors. The legal issues, those are pretty clear and of course, I, like everyone else on the planet, will use the standard disclaimer that what Vick did was heinous. 

The part that intrigues me is what happens when the trials are all over and the jail time is all over and the Roger Goodell mandated suspensions are over and Michael Vick is ready to return to the National Football League.  And, make no mistake, he WILL, at some point want to return to the National Football League.  So, what then?

What team would take a chance on a quarterback (probably 30 or so) with the kind of baggage that Michael Vick carries with him (including whatever he has in the secret compartment of his water bottle.)  The boos from the fans are not an issue inside a stadium as they resonate for a lot of players (i.e. Rex Grossman at Soldier Field). I'm thinking about the hordes of animal rights wackos who will line up in front of stadiums and protest the very fact that he would be allowed to make a living.  Or the local sponsors who will be pressured not to advertise with the team because Vick is on it. Or the national sponsors who will tell the networks that they don't want to be associated with a broadcast where Michael Vick could potentially play. Or, the talk show hosts and newspaper columnists who will vilify the guy (and perhaps, justifiably so) before he even takes his first snap.

Do we forget that Ray Lewis was tried for murder (of a human being) and went right back to work after his acquittal?  Do we forget that there are players in this league who trafficked drugs?  Yet everything I see or read about Vick indicates that after this storm has finally blown over and the all clear is sounded, he may be blackballed from ever playing football again.

I own a dog and I am not unsympathetic to the rights of animals.  And again, I don't condone nor support what Vick did.  But to possibly make it so he will never be given an opportunity again to make a living is equally egregious in my mind.  And I wonder if he will ever get that opportunity again.  Because, in the world of the NFL  and the NFL's partners and sponsors, cash is king.  And if there is a roadblock to making that cash, it usually goes away.  Thus, Michael Vick's opportunity to play pro football again may be decided by how impacted the revenue stream is rather than whether or not he has the right to attempt to come back.

Being blackballed from anything is wrong.  Look, I'm not saying that Michael Vick should play football again, I'm saying that he should get the opportunity if he is legally entitled to do so.  I've read blog after blog where they treat his ability to play in the NFL like it was his driver's license or something, that playing football is a privilege.  It is to the people that have the ability to do so. But the NFL isn't accountable to anyone besides those that feed the money making machine, and as long as they say it's okay, then it's okay.

People do rotten things all the time.  Boo Michael Vick, sure.  Make jokes, fantastic.  Hang with Bob Barker and hurl tomatoes at your TV, why not?  But the man should get the opportunity to make a living provided he has the ability to do so.

Oh, and ironically enough, the dogs confiscated from Vick's compound may be put down if they can't be placed.  Your federal government cares about animals.

Lightning Round

• Giving up five runs with two outs to anyone, let alone the Royals, is unacceptable.  Not covering third base on a steal attempt or having your head so far up your ass in the clouds to attempt to throw to home with two outs because you had no clue how many outs there were is unacceptable.  Having a catcher who throws like a 4 year-old little leaguer decide a ballgame is unacceptable. Losing a game you desperately need to win to a team you should beat everytime you play them is unacceptable. Hey Ozzie, it's time for the steel toed boot this time. Tonight, it won't be easy.
  
• The good news is the Brewers ended Brandon Webb's scoreless inning streak.  The bad news is they lost the game.  The good news for the Cubs is that they got a clutch hit from Cliff Floyd in the top of the tenth and a gift from Rich Aurelia.  Add to that a perfectly executed suicide squeeze and you have a win over the Giants, good enough for first place and a game lead in the NL Central.
  
• Ah August.  Pennant races, thunderstorms, humidity and the Bears lining up in unison to support their starting quarterback.  The Bears lining up in unison to support their starting quarterback.  That's some powerful kool-aid you got theire, Lovie.
  
• 
  This all-time gold glove team is just ridiculous.  I saw both bench and Pudge Rodriquez play and defensively, Pudge is clearly better.  Same with Robbie Alomar over Joe "I'm the Greatest Just Ask Me" Morgan  at second base.  And the best you could do at first was Wes Parker?
  
• Bears fans take their seats VERY seriously.
• Columbus makes a splash by signing a little Peca.
• A 59 year-old grandfather gives hope and inspiration to all of us with hope, dreams and remaining eligibility.
• Gary Bettman is just the kind of commissioner who would put a team in Vegas.  Hey Gary, have a talk with your mentor and ask him how the gampbling investigation of his officials in going before you consider it, okay?
  
• 
  If this were the Ravens and Cowboys, we wouldn't be talking about it.  But because it was the Orioles and Rangers, we are.  To their credit, the Orioles got closer in the second game.  That's right, this was a doubleheader.  Please hide all the sharp objects in the Baltimore clubhouse.  By the way, the people I feel the most empathy for are the announcers.  What do you say when it's 30-3 in the bottom of the ninth.  "Okay, if the Orioles can just get a couple of men on, we can get right back in this thing?"  I did a MVC tournament game once where Wichita State put an 11 spot up on Indiana State (the team I was announcing for) and won 22-5.  Boy, that was a miserable, miserable inning to call.
• John Elway is now Coach Elway.
• Here in Wisconsin, we're rallying around an Olympic hopeful whose dreams were dashed by an idiot driver.
• Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz
• Okay, I know this is from the Onion, but I can totally see it happening.
  
• Looks like Stephen A. Smith is about to become an ex-writer.
• I know, it's only ta-bacc-o but I like it.
• IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: DO NOT click this link if you are eating or have just finished a meal.  This story contains graphic content that may turn your stomach or cause problems with more sensitive readers.  Caution is advised.  Thanks.  Now click.
  
• In 100 years, people like me will no longer exist.
• Mattel apparently feels they own the name Barbie.
• Having a woman in a bikini cut your lawn is good business not morally repugnant.  Too bad life doesn't come with a clue memo.
• Today's list: Players recovering from slow starts.  Except you forgot to name Jermaine Dye.