Vick selling, I ain't buying

As many of you know, I have been watching this Vick case from a personal and business perspective. I have watched it as closely as anyone, I think, in the country.

With that in mind, I watched Vick stand at the podium yesterday and speak from the "heart." Many people were giving Vick high marks from not reading from a statement and expressing his sorrow.

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury of public opinion, I ain't buying the garbage that Vick is selling.

That is not to say he doesn't deserve a second chance. Sure he does. America is a great country and Vick will possibly play in the NFL again. I have no issue with it. If someone wants to take a shot on Vick, they better invest in hotels so they can make money off of the animal rights activists that will be at their stadiums week in and week out.

The only thing that Vick is sorry for is that he got caught. Period. Sell it any way you want. It's not a black/white issue - it is a smart/dumb issue and Vick was/is dumb.

First off, he shouldn't have let this absurdly cruel sport dominate his life and destroy his opportunity at hundreds of millions of dollars. Anyone who jeopardizes his career as a superstar and more importantly, his freedom, for what he did is just dumb.

Next, once Virginia started investigating him, he should have gotten his attorneys together and told them everything from day one. If he had told the truth to the state, who knows how this would have progressed, but it wouldn't have been this bad. His arrogance and lying is what killed him. Never mind the fact that you never want to be the last one to agree to a plea. Heck, Vick wasn't even smart enough to have his boys take a hit for him ... isn't there any honor amongst thieves anymore????

Then of course was the most obvious part of yesterday, Michael found religion. Look, it's fine to find the man upstairs. I have NO issues with religion. I do have issues for people using it when it fits their needs. If you go to AJC.com, there are tons of people saying that because he found it, he should be forgiven. Fine - no issues. Doesn't anyone who is religious feel used? Do you even care or is it OK to have another one on your side of the ledger?

Finally he apologized to a bunch of people, including the little kids who looked up to him. He didn't apologize to Rick McKay, Falcons GM, who he lied to a bunch. But where Vick lost me was a simple place he should of hit right away, he NEVER mentioned the Atlanta Falcons season ticket holders. These are the people who have paid for his life and who he lied to and screwed beyond recognition. Matt Schaub gone and Joey Harrington in ... and he doesn't apologize to the the ticket holders?????? Don't tell me he forgot them in his moment in the spotlight. It wasn't his first rodeo. He faces reporters all the time. And if he had PR people helping him, they should be shot for forgetting this group of people.

The worst part was that people at the Falcons game wore Vick jersey's last night to the game versus the Cincinnati Bengals. If Arthur Blank was smart about this, he would do a jersey exchange, turn in your Vick jersey for a Warrick Dunn or Keith Brooking jersey. Heck, I would wear a Harrington jersey and he couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat.

Just flat out dumb.

There are going to be a million stories online about Vick's speech and they will cover the gamut. Michael Wilbon of the Washington Post wrote a great column on Vick's first step.

Buy whatever you want from Vick's speech. I will never buy anything from him again and no company should give him the platform to do so.

I just hope the judge didn't buy it.

I know that the dogs watching sure as heck didn't.