Retro Garlic ... How Much Is That Michael Vick In The Window ...

You might as well start an office pool, betting on which announcer, or analyst, covering a game in which the newly-chastened Michael Vick is playing in, a close game, going down to the wire, and utters "We got a real dog fight here today."

Or, some banal comment, for a game played in Cleveland, about Vick needing to stay away from "the dawg pound."



That is, of course, if the most notorious Dogfighting producer gets to play in the NFL again.

ESPN reports;

Michael Vick is back in the NFL. Now all he needs is a team to play for.

Vick, free after serving 18 months in prison for running a dogfighting ring, was reinstated with conditions by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Monday.

Vick can immediately take part in preseason practices, workouts and meetings and can play in the final two preseason games -- if he can find a team that will sign him. A number of teams have already said they would not.

Once the season begins, Vick may participate in all team activities except games, and Goodell said he would consider Vick for full reinstatement by Week 6 (Oct. 18-19) at the latest.

Hmmm ...

Aside from the obvious PR two-step any team will have to perform, they're looking at a guy, 29-years-old, having sat out two-years, and may have to sit out the first six-weeks of the season.

I wouldn't be expecting a stampede of NFL General Managers running towards Vick, with crumpled contracts balled up in their fists.

Exactly what Paul Needell, of the New Jersey's 'The Star-Ledger' says;

Breathtakingly effective as a runner but erratic -- often terrible -- as a passer. Add to that scouting report that he's now 29 and comes with all kinds of public-relations baggage and you get a mystifying part of the equation. More mystifying than how much longer Vick might have to sit in '09.

Add to that, Reid Cherner & Tom Weir's assessment, in 'USA Today';

He wasn't that much of a factor in his final two seasons of 2005-06, when the Falcons went 15-16 with Vick as a starter.

He has had one season where his passer rating was plus-80. He was drilled for 45 sacks in 2006, and his completion percentage has never topped 56.4% for a season.

Yes, he did rush for an astounding 1,039 yards in 2006, but after two seasons off can his wheels still roll like that? And is there a team that wants its quarterback running that much?

While it may be that Vick doesn't see it this way, and believes he can come back into the league with a full head of steam (which Cherner and Weir offer a link, to Top 10 Most Disappointing Comebacks, and RealClearSports is wrong to have Bob Cousy on the list; Cousey, frustrated with the team he was coaching, the Cincinnati Royals, activated himself, drawing the ire of Red Auerbach, who demanded compensation, since Cousy retired from the Boston Celtics in 1963; RealClearSports could have posted one of the great bar stumpers of all-time - Who is the only person that can say he was traded for Bob Cousy? ... Try Bill Dinwiddie), he is, as we referenced above, chastened;

Vick has already taken steps to rebuild his image.

He met with the president of the Humane Society of the United States while serving his federal sentence at Leavenworth, Kan. He plans to work with HSUS in a program designed to steer inner city youth away from dogfighting. He was not permitted to work with the program while in custody.

Ed Sayres, president of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said the organization hopes Vick "rises to the occasion and proves worthy of the rare second chance Commissioner Goodell has granted him."

"Opportunities for redemption are rare -- but that is exactly the opportunity that awaits Mr. Vick," he said.

Well, we do like second-chance opportunities, and for us today, that means a Retro Garlic, to what turned out to be one of our most popular posts;

Top Ten Cloves: Ways To Tell Your Next Door Neighbor May Be Conducting Illegal Dogfights

Bonus NFL Football Riffs

Flutie Sends "Cease-and-Desist" Letter To Media Over 'Hail Mary' References Regarding Surge ...Diminutive QB Longtime Copyright Holder; "It Still Feeds My Family"; Says Open To Negotiate On Usage

Top Ten Cloves: Possible Reasons Peyton Manning Threw Six Interceptions Last Evening

Developing Story! Tancredo: Shut Down Super Bowl; Says Two Black Coaches "Amounts To Segregation" ... Appeals To NFL Commissioner To Make Big Game "Color-Blind"; Biden Weighs In, Backs Coaches

Top Ten Cloves: Things Brett Favre Can Expect On His Return To The Green Bay Packers


Bonus Bonus

With the title we gave this, we couldn't resist ...

How Much Is That Doggie In The Window - Patti Page