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Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Even LeBron can’t overshadow Vick’s presence
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mark Bradley
Michael Vick sat courtside at the Hawks-Cavaliers game last night, and at halftime he held court. Making his first public statements since the NFL postseason began without his Falcons and since his brother was kicked off his college team, Vick offered commentary on both himself and Marcus. The former, he allowed, “didn’t have the season I expected to have.” The latter, Vick said, “didn’t do anything wrong.”
Other than the broken leg that essentially washed out his 2003 season, Michael Vick’s time as a Falcon has been a string of shining successes. He took his team to the playoffs and to a famous road victory at Lambeau Field in 2002, his first year as a starter, and in 2004 he steered the Falcons to the NFC championship game. He stands as Atlanta’s brightest sports star of the new millennium, but what happened in the season just completed did little to burnish his image.
His team lost its last three games, missing the playoffs and failing to post even a winning record. Worse still, Vick seemed to become confused at how he should play. Was it better to keep running, which is what made him famous in the first place, or to try and become a more polished pocket passer and thereby appease a growing coterie of critics? He never found an answer. Still hasn’t.
“In a way, I think I [had a good year],” Vick said. “In a way, I didn’t. I didn’t take over games at times, and I wish I would have. It just wasn’t our year.” With an eye toward making 2006 a better year, the Falcons jettisoned quarterbacks coach Mike Johnson, under whose tutelage Vick twice made the Pro Bowl, and hired Bill Musgrave from the Washington Redskins. Was Vick consulted on either move? Uh, no.
“I haven’t spoken to anybody [within the Falcons’ front office],” he said. “I didn’t want to see [Johnson] go… . I wish they would have [consulted him], but it’s all good. That’s why they coach.”
In the weeks since the Falcons’ season ended with that crushing loss to Carolina on New Year’s Day, Vick has spent some time with his family in Newport News, Va. There, he said, he has “been reflecting on things.” What happened during the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville on Jan. 2 — Vick was in attendance as Virginia Tech beat Louisville — surely gave the Vicks more to ponder.
Marcus Vick, the Hokies’ quarterback, stepped on the back of a fallen Louisville defender’s leg during the game. Michael Vick, who said he saw it happen, refused to condemn his brother.
“Sometimes your emotions just take over,” he said. “I know Marcus, and he’s not the kind of kid who’s going to do something like that. It’s just something he’s going to have to live with, and now it’s time to move on.”
The Gator Bowl stomp was only the beginning of Marcus Vick’s woes. Within the week he was kicked off the team, and three days after that he surrendered to police in Suffolk, Va., on three misdemeanor charges levied after he allegedly brandished a gun in the parking lot of a McDonald’s. He’s free on $10,000 bond.
Is his older brother mad at the younger Vick? No, Michael Vick said, because “he didn’t do anything wrong. The world will know when the truth comes out.”
For the moment, Michael Vick said his brother is living with him in Duluth, “working out” in preparation for the April NFL draft. (The younger Vick wasn’t, however, alongside at Philips Arena.)
In the few moments Vick spoke with two reporters, a queue of youngsters, all wanting the famous quarterback’s autograph, formed at center court. Even on a night when LeBron James was in the house — he scored 38 points as the Cavs beat the hapless Hawks — Michael Vick was still the biggest name in this town.
Permalink | Comments (201) | Categories: Falcons / NFL, Mark Bradley
Retirement? Yeah, right
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Terence Moore
What Mario Lemieux’s retirement (well, his latest one) tells you is something that you already should know. That is, nobody retires in sports these days – not unless they absolutely have to.
In this case, Lemieux couldn’t overcome the triple combination of a heart problem, possible surgery and side effects from medication. If not for those issues, the 40-year-old Hall of Famer would attempt to play in the NHL from now until a group of scientists discovered ways in another century to pry the skates from his feet.
Athletes are addicted to adrenaline. That’s why it’s a joke to think that Brett Favre actually will retire from the Green Bay Packers before this season or any other season when he still can move his right arm forward and scramble a little.
Roger Clemens retiring?
Puhleeze.
This adrenaline thing also applies to coaches. I mean, 80-something Marv Levy was threatening to coach the Buffalo Bills again. And don’t think ancient Jack McKeon is fully retired after resigning from the Florida Marlins last season.
The word “retirement� in professional sports is just another way of saying “I’m resting until I can get back out there.�
Permalink | Comments (12) | Categories: Quick Hit, Terence Moore
