Please Do Not Support Your Dog Fighting Brethern

When the Falcons faced the Saints on Monday Night Football, after Michael Vick had been sentenced to 23 months in prison, a buddy and I noticed some of the Atlanta players sporting signs and messages supporting their incarcerated teammate. My friend asked me if I thought they would get fined, and I told him that, "yeah, their paychecks are probably going to be a bit lighter in the coming weeks". Well, today we found out that five players were collectively fined $47,500.

Roddy White and four other Atlanta Falcons were fined by the NFL for violating uniform regulations with tributes to Michael Vick during last week's Monday night game.

Vick, Atlanta's suspended Pro Bowl quarterback, was sentenced to 23 months in prison on federal dogfighting charges the morning of Dec. 10. The Falcons played at home against New Orleans that night.

After scoring a touchdown, White displayed a "Free Mike Vick" T-shirt under his jersey.

He, along with tight end Alge Crumpler and cornerbacks DeAngelo Hall and Chris Houston, were fined $10,000 each. Crumpler, Hall and Houston all wore black eye strips with written tributes to Vick, which the league called "displaying an unauthorized personal message."

Wide receiver Joe Horn was fined $7,500 for pulling up White's jersey to show the black T-shirt with handwritten white lettering. The fines were confirmed Tuesday by NFL spokesman Randall Liu.

I understand that these guys make a good amount of money, but it seems to be an awfully high price to pay just to voice your opinion. Obviously they're trying to show support for their teammate, but they have to understand that he's in his current situation because of his own actions. He hasn't been framed for anything, and their messages of support could be construed by some(not me, by the way) as supporting the illegal activities that have put Vick behind bars.

Yes, You Heard Correctly, Petrino To Arkansas

It was announced last night that Bobby Petrino, now the former Atlanta Falcons' head coach after just 13 games, is leaving to take the vacant head coaching spot at Arkansas. Some are probably happy, and some are probably mad. Pat Forde says that he's worse than Nick Satan, and cautions Arkansas fans against getting too excited about anything long-term.

Back in August, I touched on the fact that the Falcons team he was preparing to coach was much different than the one that was there when he signed on. Jokingly, I wondered aloud if he would try to get his old job at Louisville back before the season even started. Looks like I was a little wrong on the timeframe, and in the wrong conference, but other than that I wasn't too far off.

Petrino has a history of making these types of moves, as Forde covers in his column, so it's not too surprising to see this. A little suspect? Yes. But certainly not surprising. Though, with the ongoing Vick debacle looming over the team, I'm sure that some feel that Petrino should get a "free pass" of sorts. Personally, since I'm not a Falcons or Razorbacks fan I can't say that I care too much one way or the other. The SEC gets another solid college coach which makes the conference stronger(for at least a few games), but outside of that Petrino's move out of Atlanta doesn't really bother me. All the parties involved knew what his tendencies were before he was hired, and no matter what he said there always had to be a belief, no matter how small, that he could bolt at any time.

Welcome To The NFL Bobby Petrino!

Somewhat lost in all of the Michael Vick hoopla is that the Falcons team Bobby Petrino agreed to coach way back on January 8 is significantly different now. Think about it, when he arrived in Atlanta he had Michael Vick starting, one of the NFL's most sought after back-ups in Matt Schaub, a decent DE in Patrick Kerney, a solid FB in Justin Griffith and an apparently healthy running back in Warrick Dunn.

Now, Coach Petrino is looking at starting Joey Harrington with Chris Redman(and his 10 total games of experience) as the lone back-up(DJ Shockley is out for the year), thanks to Vick's desire to kill dogs and the trading of Schaub to Houston. He also lost Kerney to Seattle, Griffith to Oakland and Dunn is coming off of back surgery due to a herniated disc.

The team is quite different than the one he took over the duties as head coach for a little over seven months ago. Hopefully he puts most of that $24 million over 5 years away because this stint as an NFL head coach could burn him out forever. Or maybe he could ask to opt out of his contract since this isn't really the same team he agreed to coach, and he could head back to Louisville to re-take the head coach spot with the #11 ranked Cardinals. At least there he wouldn't have to worry about Brian Brohm torturing dogs.

Michael Vick, Getting Cleaned Up For His Court Date

As the Atlanta Falcons started their offseason workouts, something was noticeably different. No, not Bobby Petrino as head coach, or Joe Horn in a Falcons jersey. It was Michael Vick without braids. You may remember that back in 2004 Vick said he wasn't going to cut his hair until he won a Super Bowl.

"I'm growing my hair out it, and I'm not going to cut it until we win a Super Bowl," Vick said. "I was going to let my hair grow last season, but I cut it three weeks before I got hurt. I'm really superstitious, so I'm going to let it grow. As bad as I want it off my head, and as hot as I am, I won't cut it off until I win a Super Bowl. I will win a Super Bowl -- someday."

Well, the Super Bowl win obviously hasn't panned out yet, but a few months of turmoil sure have.

It started with Vick giving a fan in Atlanta the one finger salute following a loss to the Saints. Then, he was busted at Miami International Airport with a fake water bottle that had a secret compartment. Early reports indicated that it contained marijuana residue. Most recently, he's been implicated in a dog-fighting operation that took place on a property he owned in Virginia.

That last incident is the most severe of the three, and if Vick is proven to truly be a "heavyweight" in the dog-fighting world he'll be facing serious jailtime.

However, that new haircut should help him look a bit more presentable should he have to face a judge in the next few weeks. Or maybe he believes that he's sort of an anti-Samson, and that cutting off his hair will actually help him not engage in stupid behavior. Either way, I'm sure the inmates at Georgia State Prison don't care whether he has braids or a new fade.

The Saga Of Mike Vick's Dogs Continues

The newest update regarding the drug raid and discovery of dog fighting at a property owned by Mike Vick is that a search warrant has been obtained to "look for as many as 30 dog carcasses". This includes seven pitbulls that were supposedly destroyed and buried in the days preceding the raid.

The odd thing is that the warrant was issued on May 23, but "has not been executed at the request of Brown and Surry County Commonwealth's Attorney Gerald G. Poindexter". Though, if there really are 30 dogs buried on the property, they're probably not going anywhere.

And if the confidential informant is correct about the destroyed dogs and Vick being into dog fighting even before he entered the NFL, then Ron Mexico will have more problems than just an extended absence from work. Obviously, he could be convicted of animal cruelty charges, and there's something about harming animals that really gets people upset. Mike Florio at Pro Football Talk has touched on this already. That when organizations like the ASPCA or Humane Society get involved, people listen and they continue to follow the story. It's almost as if we would rather hear about a person being injured or killed than a dog or cat.

And 30 dogs will provide a compelling story for a lot of people to follow and get upset about.