Seriously.  What the hell is going on?  Two days after my last entry (Warning: Infidelity May Be Dangerous To Your Health), we discover that Rick Pitino, in addition to successfully leading the University of Louisville's men's basketball program, enjoys sex on Italian restaurant tables with women other than his wife.  (http://www.nj.com/sports/index.ssf/2009/08/louisville_basketball_coach_ri.html)

"I can't believe you're still serving food on that table!!!"

Rick's affair was exposed when the woman he shared his Italian sausage with allegedly attempted to extort about $10 million out of him in exchange for her silence.  Rick called the Feds, and she spilled the dirt.  Of course, as he pointed out about fifteen times during his "I'm so sorry" press conference, the "indiscretion" occurred over six years ago.  Six years?  Wait a minute.  What are we even talking about here?  Isn't one affair every six years now socially accepted?  Plus, when he found out she was pregnant, he gave her $3,000 for an abortion.  Need I say more?  Get this guy an award!

Shortly after the Pitino story broke came the news that Senator John Edwards is apparently about to reveal that he fathered a love child with his mistress.
(http://www.nj.com/parenting/amber_watsontardiff/index.ssf/2009/08/sen_jon_edwards_to_admit_pater.html)
Totally unrelated to sports, but so awesome it couldn't be ignored.  So now, in the span of a mere two or three months, we have Steve McNair, Mark Sanford, Josh Hamilton, Rick Pitino and John Edwards - all demonstrating that when you let the little guy run the show, bad things are bound to happen.

So, are bad things bound to happen in Philadelphia with the addition of Michael Vick to the Eagles?  Before I went on hiatus, I made my feeling for Vick and his penchant for dog fighting perfectly clear in a couple of entries.  First, there was:
http://sportdork.com/2007/08/21/the-perfect-storm-or-thats-gonna-be-one-awesome-prison-football-team.aspx
and then came:
http://sportdork.com/2007/12/17/dirty-dirty-birds.aspx
Look, Vick engaged in abhorrent acts, and for that, I'm not a particularly big fan of the guy.  But I have no problem with his return to the NFL.  Why?  Because he suffered the consequences of his actions.  He went to trial, was convicted, spent two years in Leavenworth and lost about $100 million.  Was what he did wrong?  Yes.  But that's why we have a judicial system - to address criminal acts.  And for once, it actually worked.  Believing what Vick did was terrible and agreeing with his re-instatement to the NFL are not mutually exclusive notions, because Vick was punished for his actions.  You don't have to like the guy, and I certainly don't, but you can't say he hasn't paid a price for his actions. 

Consider this:  Vick spent two years in Leavenworth on a dog fighting conviction.  Meanwhile, Cleveland Browns wide receiver Dante Stallworth ran down and killed a pedestrian in his Bentley, while drunk, and you know what his punishment is?  Thirty days in jail.  Oh yeah - and two years of house arrest, eight years of probation, a life-time suspension of his license and blah, blah, blah.   
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4262751
If we want to get irate about something, it should be about the fact that killing someone with your Bentley while wasted gets you thirty days in jail, not that a man who spent two years in jail on a dog fighting conviction is back on the football field. 

Wow.  This week's entry is starting to bring me down, and that is NOT what SportDork.com is all about!  Enough ranting about adulterers and felons - let's end on a high note.  How about that Y.E. Yang!! I can’t tell you how happy I was to see one of Tiger's playing partners step up on the final day of a major championship, hit some amazing shots down the stretch and put a strangle-hold on the PGA Championship trophy.  I was beginning to think it was no longer possible, but my faith has been restored.  It appears that Tiger may not be the only man on the PGA tour with some cojones:

 


YE Yang doing his best Tiger Woods impersonation after defeating . . . . Tiger Woods.