A Message From the Heart

Earlier today it was brought to my attention that some of our readers may have inferred from our recent Tweet of the Week post highlighting a comment by Michael Vick, that SmackJabber.com supports Michael Vick and, by extension, condones or tolerates his well-publicized crimes. Such a concern, particularly at this critical early stage of our development as an interactive sports entertainment site, presents us an invaluable opportunity to more fully elborate on the purposes and perspectives of out growing venture.

First and foremost, the views and opinions expressed in the SmackJabber blog, unless expressly stated otherwise, are solely those of the author and in no way reflect the views or opinions of other members of our organization or the organization as a whole. Further, while I cannot speak to Josh's personal opinion of Mr. Vick (Josh Beck regularly handles our Tweet of the Week feature), I can offer you my view on the topic.

I am the proud owner of a beautiful 13 1/2 year old Siberian Husky named Nikkita. And I support Michael Vick.

I love Nikkita dearly and would do anything for her. The amount of money I have spent on recent vet bills alone would make some heads spin and I would spend much much more than I can afford if it were necessary in the future. I know that not everyone has grown up with the opportunity to experience the immense love and inseparable bond that can be formed with a pet (or a dog, in particular). I have grown up loving dogs and other animals (at one point I had a dog, a hamster, 2 guinea pigs, 4 mice, 2 parakeets, a sun conure, tropical fish, and a few tree frogs... I think you get the picture). The mere thought of even minor animal cruelty turns my stomach, and there is no legitimate excuse for Michael Vick's previous actions.

But I believe that everyone deserves a second chance and I understand that some people are products of their environment. Now, I don't know Mike personally. I cannot say that he is a product of his environment. I cannot say that he has been or ever will be fully rehabilitated. And I do not know whether his stated remorse for his actions is genuine. It is quite possible that the words he has spoken and actions he has taken (e.g., work with the Humane Society) are simply politically correct and financially expedient posturing. That said, I like to think that there is some inherent good in all of us and that sometimes, unfortunately, it takes enormous mistakes and corresponding falls from grace to figure it out.

I am also hopeful that Michael Vick's story will have a happy ending (and I don't just mean success on the football field - if I'm being really honest, I may beg Justin Tuck to snap him in half on Sunday!). Men and women much wiser than me have often paraphrased a man much wiser than them in noting that if we do not learn from the mistakes of history, we are doomed to repeat them. I believe that Michael Vick's very public shaming may serve as a wake up call to a lot of people whose hearts and minds may not have been reachable in any other way.

In closing, I'd like to remind our beloved readers that a significant purpose of SmackJabber is to promote debate and conversation on controversial topics related to or influencing the world of sports. We make no bones about our aim to promote heated discussion in the spirit of competition. And we welcome you to post your views and opinions, and engage your fellow readers and contributors on this topic, as well as any others that move you. We do however ask that you do it tactfully and respectfully of course. If there should ever be material on any of our sites that you find to be offensive or ethically objectionable, we will always aim to devote our full attention to addressing your concerns.

Thank you for your continued support of SmackJabber.com.

Tweet of the Week

DeionSanders

Replacing Mcnaab with Grossman is like replacing Beyonce in destinys child with Macy Gray. She can sang but it ain't Beyonce.

3 hours ago Favorite Retweet Reply

The Knicks are BACK!!!

If you are as much of a Knicks fan as I am I know 7pm can not come soon enough! To help pass the time I highly suggest you read this story on ESPN.com. Since Amare has come here I could not say enough good things about him (and bad about Lebron), but this just elevates him to a new level. Coupled with his play of late he is easily elevating himself to one of NY's most beloved players. If you chose not to read this entire story as it is quite a long read, I leave you with this excerpt...

"Dolan about fell over when Amare said yes -- "Jim got emotional," said the player's agent, Happy Walters -- and suddenly Stoudemire was standing under a Knicks cap outside the Garden, talking about winning championships and sounding like a damned fool.

"We're going to start a dynasty-approach program here," Stoudemire said, "and today's the first step."

A dynasty. Stoudemire had never reached the Finals with Steve Nash in Phoenix, and now he was going to erect a dynasty out of the rubble of a 29-53 team?

Stoudemire called himself a "pioneer," and it sounded like another joke. He promised to help in the hunt for James, and yet LeBron wouldn't even return Stoudemire's calls or texts in the final days of his own free agency, funneling Amare off to assorted minions and reps.

....

So this is what the Knicks were left with in July: an undersized and overpaid center who hadn't won a ring and who hadn't loved the experience of playing for Mike D'Antoni while chasing one. Oh, and his knees might give out at any time, too.

Five months later, with the LeBron-Wade-Bosh Miami Heat making their first trip to the Garden, this is what the Knicks are left with now: a motivated megastar who embraces the challenges of New York that chased away LeBron, and who appears hell-bent on winning a championship or two, not to mention the title of greatest Knick of them all."

College Football

Since I'm long overdue to add some value here and because, of all the SmackJabber admins, I should obviously be the one responsible for college football content, I bring you my college football story of the day.

It appears that the University of Miami may not have intended to fire Randy Shannon on the sole basis of his 7-5 record in a season where the Canes began the season in the Top 25. As brought to my attention by the blog, SPORTSbyBROOKS, Warren Sapp, former Miami Hurricane and Tampa Bay Buccaneer under Jon Gruden, indicated in a recent radio interview that Gruden called Miami AD Kirby Hocutt before Shannon's firing to say that he was interested in the head coaching job.

Miami has since hired former Temple head coach Al Golden to replace Shannon. Offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland is expected to serve as the interim coach for Miami's December 31 showdown with historic rival Notre Dame in the Hyundai Sun Bowl.

[SHAMELESS PLUG: Will Miami regain focus under its interim coach? Or will the distraction of an increasingly controversial coaching change leave the resurgent Irish with the edge in the Sun Bowl? Think you know who will come out on top?Register for membership at SmackJabber.com and login to compete for your share of $100 in prizes in Bowl Game Blackjack: A College Football Confidence Pool brought to you FREE, by your friends at SmackJabber.com.]

Classic Clips

The term "start off with a bang" was redefined in this Super Bowl moment.

Lock It Up

My lock of the week is Chicago over Minnesota. The Vikings have problems in every department including but not limited to their Quarterback, Head Coach, Wide Receiving unit, running game, not to mention their Stadium. The Bears on the other hand seem to have no problem beating teams with a losing record.

Stay away from Celtics at Knicks. It's been a while, but I'm actually excited to watch the Knicks tonight. They could give the Celtics trouble.

Softspoken Smack Talk?

The Knicks and Celtics have been division rivals since the 1940's, I'm pretty sure that constitutes as a rivalry.

Wow

By now we've all seen it, but I can't stop watching it.

Post-Game Quote of the Week

Peyton Manning after beating the Titans -

"Someone asked if I was in a slump, if I was then that means there must have been an eight and a half year hitting streak."