Sticks and Stones

Anthony David came out with a song in the middle of last year entitled "Words" on the album titled Acey Duecy. It was a very meaningful song featuring India Arie and the title of the song brings up a familiar saying. "Sticks and Stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me". That is true to some but false to the majority of the public.

A lot of famous athletes and politicians have been really getting underneath the skin of others.

In the wake of the Serena Williams profanity-laced tirade against a line judge, these topics of words have come across my mind. Threats in our society are taken very serious and she is fortunate that the lines judge has not pressed any charges against the 5-time winner at the U.S. Open. The emotions that came from Williams were genuine but the words that came out were as well. With a break in the communication, penality, she ultimately lost the match. An apology was issued the next day. She knew that this would affect her personally as well as financially.

The District Attorney recently dropped the charges against San Diego Chargers' pro-bowl linebacker Shawne Merriman. Before those charges were dropped, the public formed an opinion from the "he say, she say" aspect of the case. His image, already fragile, took another hit and his future with the team was in jeopardy as well as a possible suspension from the NFL commissioner hanging over his head. Merriman has been cleared of these charges, but the damage has already been done.

And finally we get to one Mr. Michael Jeffrey Jordan. "His Airness" was inducted into the basketball Hall of Fame recently. Of course it was going to happen sooner or later but with his speech, he has seemed to ruffle a lot people's feathers with his acceptance speech. He brought up Bryon Russell, who he personally crucified on multiple occasions. Russell has actually called out Jordan in the wake of his comments during his induction. A bloggers and writers across America also felt that his comments were petty.

There is potency in words and we have seen that potency in numerous cases when it comes to sports. Even in politics, the South Carolina Senator called President Barack Obama a liar last week in an address to health care. He later apologized but former president Jimmy Carter, in function at Emory University earlier this week, stated that the outburst made by the senator was a result of racism.

Words have their ways of empowerment. They also have there ways of tearing down something that took years to build. Words should be chosen wisely and used carefully. But the reality of this happening is that the majority of the time they won't be.

Will This Be Merriman's last Hoorah?

The only way that Merriman stays a San Diego Charger after this season is that he takes a tremendous paycut. Then again the Chargers could win this years' Super Bowl and he would not have to take less.

A.J. Smith is growing tired of Merriman ending up in these situations where he is bringing negative publicity to the San Diego franchise. The partying that he was doing outside of his rehabilitation of his injury was frustrating to the G.M.

With Merriman missing all but two games last season, we would think that he would probably use better jugdement. Although he is still fairly a young man, he cannot allow himself to be in situations such as this one.

This is also a contract year for For the star outside linebacker. He is a special player on this team, but the extra curricular activities may be overshadowing his first three seasons with the organization.

Larry English was also there first selection this past April. English played phenomonally at Pittsburgh University and was drafted in the middle of the first round. It can be aid that he will be the successor of Merriman if things do not go the defenses' way this season.

Basically Merriman needs to stay out of the limelight and stick to football for the rest of the season. If he does not, this could be a divorce waiting to happen.

Second Chance for Michael Vick

Michael Vick was prepared to face the media with the type of entourage that could have reminded people of the Alpha Dogs. Vick was introduced with Eagles' heavy hitters Joe Banner, Eagles President, Andy Reid, Head Coach, and Tony Dungy, former Head Coach of the Colts. The former Atlanta Falcons QB came off to me as a man who knew he was blessed to have a second chance.

The Eagles know what he was. He was "must-see TV." He was the most electrifying player in the NFL prior to his incarceration. He was a trendsetter. Vick gave opposing head coaches sleep deprivation weeks prior to coming to or welcoming in Atlanta. He was not a great QB but he was pretty good under center.

The question is how will he fit in the offensive scheme of things? The other question is how will he fit in the locker room? The locker room will be stable because he is not an overt person. Beside this episode, he has not caused any rifts in the locker room. As far as his fit, Coach Reid will find ways to fit Vick in the system. Vick is very familiar with the "west coast" offense as he quarterbacked for the Falcons. Even though the Eagles have A.J. Feeley and Kevin Kolb in the fold, I believe that Vick will eventually be the backup QB. I foresee the Wild Cat rearing its head halfway through the season.

This a great move for the team but will the Philadelphia community accept it. On ESPN radio in Philadelphia many fans chimed in and it was more hate than love for the new acquisition. For Vick to have the public embrace him, he has to be a fixture in the community. He is part of the Humane Society and has been speaking to the young people in Metro Atlanta about being part of the solution.

Philadelphia is "The city of Brotherly Love", but this is a very fickle city when it comes to professional sports. Fans booed current QB Donovan McNabb when he was drafted back in 1998. He had to show that he was capable of leading this franchise into the right direction. Once he had success on the field, he was accepted on and off the field.

Vick will not be afforded that same opportunity as he has a different situation. He must perform to keep his job and he has to do extensive work in the community at the same time. Once he does that during the course of the year, we can re-evaluate this situation with the Eagles. The result should be positive.

Trill I Am

Where is the Hate for Big Ben?

In the wake of seeing the new Dick Sporting Goods commercial in which Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is endorsing Nike cleats, I could not help but think, "Where is the hate for Big Ben?"

I watch former Falcons QB Michael Vick try to land a job in the NFL and pay debtors off. I also form another question, "Why isn't Big Ben getting the same treatment as Mike Vick received?"

Well one difference is that the Steelers QB apparently has not been charged with any crime. According to a report on July 20 by NBC Sports Pro Football Talk, a civil suit has been filed against the two-time Super Bowl Winner.

The good thing about what is going on with Roethlisberger is that he has already come out and stated that he will be fighting the suit until he is cleared of any wrong doing. Pittsburgh does not want this to be a distraction during training camp like it was in the 07 season with Atlanta and Vick. The Falcons also were dealing with a lot of other factors including the hiring of former Arkansas Head Coach Bobby Petrino and implementing his new system.

There is not an organization protesting Ben Roethlisberger for the crime he is allegedly being sued for. It is still allegations but it was still allegations for Vick as well. Soon as those allegations came for Vick, so came PETA and the rest is history. To this day Vick still has to deal with PETA, the media, Roger Goodell, and the general public's perception of him.

Leonard Little, defensive end for the St. Louis Rams, had Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) to deal with when he killed Susan Gutweiler back in 1998. Even though Little was not a face for the NFL, he became a perennial Pro Bowler. Little did not receive the treatment or scrutiny that Vick has to go through everyday for what he has done. Where is the organization that protest against men who rape women?

This commercial proves to me that various companies will stand behind Big Ben. Dick Sporting Goods released this commercial to the public around the time the civil suit was out. Vick, on the other hand, was not even convicted before he saw a change. He began to see his endorsements fall expeditiously until he did not have any more.

Bankruptcy, prison time, house arrest, probation, and being a convicted felon are Vick's consequences and repercussions. The worst thing that could happen to Roethlisberger is that he would lose the civil suit and he may get suspended.

The truth of the matter is that the public loves a winner. Sports companies love a winner. Franchises love a winner. They all love a winner, unless you are Plaxico Burress, which is another story.

Is the Media Against Michael Vick?

The question has to be asked in the wake of his freedom. Outside The Lines has done another follow-up on the dog-fighting conspiracy that is surrounding Michael Vick.

It is already bad enough that Vick has become the face of dog-fighting in America, but should the media continue to perpetuate this? All of the images of dog-fighting that are being associated with this story are not necessary.

Ratings is one thing, but this has been going on for the past 20 months. When Vick rehabilitates his image publicly, then the media will positively reinforce how Vick is portrayed. Inadvertently, the media is still painting Vick as a villain instead of a person trying to redeem himself.

Hopefully Vick is not fighting a losing battle. He has a lot on his plate right now. He has financial woes to handle. He also has a career to resurrect. Add in the torn reputation that he must rebuild and it is a TMZ frenzy. Why make matters worse for someone who is actually trying to get things back on the right path?

J-Chil back to Greece

Josh Childress is returning to Greece. Childress understands that his time in Atlanta is over. The reality of his situation is clear. If a deal could not get hammered out last year during his restricted free agent status, what would have made it different this year.

It is a shame that he can't get a deal done. I believe he is worth the full mid-level exception, but no one wants to pay him that kind of money. The Atlanta Hawks still own the rights to him, but have pretty much let him know that he is not in the future plans.

Childress was in Milwaukee last week in an attempt to get a sign-and-trade done. The Bucks are a team needing to fill a void at the small forward position after trading Richard Jefferson to the Spurs for cap space. Obviously the deal did not have enough compensation for the Hawks, hence Childress is on his way back to Olympiakos.

"At the end of the day it's a business," Childress said. "I was basically in the same situation last summer. Again, it's a business and you have to treat it as such."

Ariza, Please Fire Your Agent

Greed, past success, listening to the wrong people? What made Trevor Ariza act like he was worth more that he actually will receive from the Houston Rockets? The answer can be complicated, but it is rather simple. David Lee, Ariza's agent, told his client that he would get him at around $7-8 million. I'm sure that Lee based that figure upon the success of Ariza in the playoffs.

Lee stuck to his guns. Something that you don't want to do is play hardball with the champs. He fought the Lakers' brass, and the Lakers won.

The problem was that Lee was trying to use the press saying, "The Lakers don't believe that he'll leave." On the contrary, Lee didn't think that the Lakers would let his client walk.

Ariza only tried to save face when Ron Artest had agreed verbally that he would be joining Los Angeles. The Ariza camp quickly agreed to terms with, coincidentally, the Rockets, Artest's former team. "I think that this a great opportunity and I have to do what's best for me and my family."

Wipe the egg off your face Ariza, because if I'm you, it is an omelet already. Fire Lee because not only did you not get the money that you were looking for, but he got you a contract that was substantially the same one that the Lakers offered. Then the Lakers got, essentially, a better player albeit older and more experienced for the same price in the form of "The Artest formally known as Ron."

You were key in winning a title with the Lakers, your hometown team, and you and your agent had the gall to challenge Jerry Buss, shame on you both. Deep down inside, I'm sure that it hurts knowing that you could and should still be a Laker. Greed, past success, and the wrong people in your corner, is what led to this debacle.

We will definitely see who gets the last laugh at next season's end.