Oh, yes. In prison.

Via Extra Mustard, who have the money quote:

What are the chances of ESPN televising one of these games? We’d bet it’d get better ratings than Arena Foootball.

Should I just stop mentioning Vick?

okay, granted i stole the idea from metroblogging los angeles, but it sounded like fun so why the hell not.

basically i am looking for your help to choose atlanta’s grinch of the year.

the idea is to pick any individual or group who has impacted a cross section of atlanta, or the city as a whole, in any negative way. they define “grinch” or “scrooge.”

some suggestions to get the ball rolling could include mike ‘the dog fighter’ vick, the army corps of ‘protect the oysters’ engineers, bobby ‘defectin’ to arkansas’ petrino, sonny ‘pray for rain’ perdue, the atlanta narcotics squad, etc.

anyway, you get the idea. leave your nominations in the comments between now and new year’s eve. the metblog writers will pick the five finalists and in the first week of the year we’ll ballot by comments.

okay, nominations are now open.

as i walked into the office this morning i gave the security guard at the desk my obligatory, “how you doing today?”

his response, rather than the usual “well,” was, “a hell of a lot better than arthur blank.”

and you gotta say even with billions you almost have to feel bad for the week the guy is having.

first the qb he bet his franchise on and once pushed around in a wheelchair is sentenced to 23 months in prison in what has to be the most spectacular fall of any professional athelete.

then you go on tv to talk about it and say something that almost instantly gets the race card going.

and then finally your coach quits with no warning and shows up the next day in ARKANSAS of all places, taking another job.

which i guess all goes to show that it’s probably a million times easier to build a multi-national retail corporation than raise the atlanta falcons to prominence.

All over the homepages of CNN.com and SI.com.

the day after the story of atlanta-based rapper t.i.’s arrest on federal gun charges broke i was listening to the a-team on hot 107.9 (yes, don’t be so surprised, i have some pretty broad tastes.) anyway, they had an entertaiment lawyer on who was basically speculating that t.i. was probably set-up and he was probably set-up because white america doesn’t like the music he was selling to their kids.

so the question of whether t.i. was set-up or not is a factual one that will eventually be determined by a jury. if t.i. really did attempt to purchase machine guns and silencers as a convicted felon there is no doubt he is in violation of federal law. and if half the facts in the complain affidavit are true than he is certainly guilty. for example the complaint says that the atf has t.i. on tape asking for change from the $12K he gave his bodyguard to procure the guns.

the move to stand-up for t.i., or speculate about whether he was set-up, reminds me of a post i made a while back linking to a story about vick and his defenders. the story explained why there are many in the black community who rally almost instinctively to the defense of a black man accused of a crime.

and i get it. i understand that if the justice system has been used for decades to systematically ‘keep you in your place,’ you would be distrustful of it. i appreciate that if you image of law enforcement includes bull connor and his dogs, you might be reticent about a black man being taken down in a parking lot on piedmont and north.

i guess my real question is, is t.i. worth the defense though?

at what point is reflexively defending people like t.i. and mike vick doing a disservice to people who may really be the victims of inequality in the justice system.

cynthia tucker makes many of these points in her ajc editorial today, saying:

Last year, T.I. attended the funeral of Philant Johnson, 26, his best friend and personal assistant, who was shot dead in a gun battle among moving cars on I-75 near Cincinnati. Police said the gunfire followed an argument involving unidentified locals and T.I.’s entourage at a Cincinnati nightclub. If Harris had regrets about Johnson’s death, they apparently didn’t manifest as pacifism. He kept a small arsenal at his College Park home, according to police.

The criminal justice system — notorious for grinding black men down — gave the young rapper T.I. a second chance after he was convicted for selling cocaine. Not only has he launched a highly successful music career, but he has also won notice as an actor. He has a role in the new movie, “American Gangster,” starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe.

But given that second chance, what did Harris do? If he had machine guns, as police say, at whom did he intend to point them?

Homicide is the leading cause of death among black men between the ages of 15 and 30. And it is a fratricidal enterprise. Young black men are killed by other young black men.

If white entertainers were making millions singing about the slaughter of black men and mistreatment of black women, city streets would clog with protesters. Demonstrators would pack the halls of Congress. Commerce would grind to a halt as black activists demanded boycotts. But somehow, the violence and misogyny of T.I., 50 Cent and Nelly are less inflammatory.

Yes, a lot of their music is purchased by white consumers, as a lot of it is marketed by white executives. But blaming The Man seems shallow and irresponsible when black Americans are abetting their own destruction.

add to that that t.i. will be able to afford the best lawyers in the country, that he has the resources to mount as effective a defense as anyone else, and the question becomes, again, is rallying around him doing the cause of greater equality in the justice system really a disservice?

i don’t know the answer, but it’s sure worth asking.

(oh and i am betting we will not get universal agreement in the comments either)

coming out in support of michael vick is one ron artest.

“I want to call him and support him, you know, be there for him,” Artest said. “[He] lied and then came back and apologized to everybody, I felt that was classy. … I was touched that he took full responsibility. I felt that was a real man. I know for a fact he’ll come out a better person.”

it bring to mind an old saying…

‘with friends like these…..’

ah yes, who can forget ron artest.

Michael
Vick
Pleads
Guilty

Anyone else ready to move on?

When do the Falcons play a meaningful, non-preseason game?

Are you tired of those that want Michael to be the “Vick-tim” (groan)?

there is a fascinating article in espn magazine about why many black atlantans are standing behind michael vick.

vick has been roundly condemned both here on this site and in most of the general media and even from progressive-leaning publications like creative loafing. any defense of vick has been pretty much roundly condemned (an example here courtesy of the atlmalcontent.)

interviewing a broad range of black leaders in atlanta from juanita and kwame abernathy to frank ski to joseph lowery, the espn article traces the history of black/white relations in atlanta and attempts to frame the controversy over vick in that context.

an example -

The Vick montage continues on the television. More experts. More people screaming for his head. More gory details of the death of the dogs, death by electrocution and by bodyslam. Before Vick first came to Atlanta, she hadn’t cared enough to watch football. There was something about finally having an African-American quarterback in town that excited her. Maybe Juanita felt like it was a small realization of the work she, Ralph and their friends had done.

“I come home from church,” she says, “and I sit in my stadium in the middle of my bed and play ball. Or I will come up here and sit in my easy chair and play ball. So nobody can criticize Michael Vick.”

There is a connection there. Vick was a symbol for Black Atlanta, and now he’s gone. That troubles many in the community. Not everyone, but many, especially those who have felt racism in their own lives and find themselves attuned to it. Yes, he’s created many of his own problems, but the lens for viewing his problems was created many years ago. And so the question arises: Are people like Juanita Abernathy stuck in the past or are they the only ones seeing the situation with eyes wide open?

it’s a fascinating piece and i highly recommend reading it. while it certainly didn’t change my opinion of vick, it did give me a better appreciation for why some have stood behind him

h/t to deborah a for suggesting via suggest a story.

Well, from a purely numerical standpoint, Barry Bonds is the major league record holder, but myself (and most other Atlantans and baseball fans in general) would say that Hank Aaron is still (and, potentially, will always be) the home run king.

Maybe I’m splitting hairs and getting caught up in syntax and nuance, but in an era of alleged steroid use by Bonds and others and the reprehensible neglect and potential animal cruelty of our own Michael Vick, it’s refreshing that someone like Hank Aaron, who lives and works here in Atlanta, has only grown in stature over the years. Sure, he’s still not getting his full due, but maybe Bonds usurping his record will only make folks appreciate Aaron that much more.

So, love or hate Bonds, we all now have to deal with this number. Personally, I vote for an asterisk or at the very least a reconsideration of his elbow armor.

Either way, I’m a little bit sad this morning. Maybe the San Francisco Metbloggers can grace us with their thoughts here or on their blog, but I doubt it’ll change many minds.

My final words: Hank Aaron*

*Home Run King

UPDATE: The DC Metblog has some ire for Bonds, who hit his home run off a Nationals pitcher.

Offered without comment, though my Weimaraner hopes to have a review penned by the weekend.

Stay tuned.