Michael Vick

Best Baseball Promotion EVER!!!!

http://www.tbonesbaseball.com/news/headlines/index.html?article_id=1207

T-Bones Welcome Mike Vick to Neighborhood
04/15/2008 2:04 PM
In an effort to raise awareness about animal abuse and pet adoption the Kansas City T-Bones have partnered with several animal safe havens to help put a stop to animal abuse on Michael Vick ?Welcome to the Neighborhood? night at CommunityAmerica Ballpark Wednesday, May 28. The promotion headlines the 2008 T-Bones promotional lineup that fans have come to expect at CommunityAmerica Ballpark.

?With Vick being held right up the road about 15 minutes away it was a perfect opportunity for us to take the initiative and turn something so negative and put our own positive spin on it,? said T-Bones director of promotions Colin Aldrich. ?We like to take newsworthy events and turn them into something fun for our fans, and this allows us to do that for a good cause by raising awareness for local animal shelters and other pet adoption agencies.?

Prior to the game, fans will have the opportunity to take the initial step in adopting dogs at CommunityAmerica Ballpark as several adoption agencies will be on hand showing off their dogs around the outside of the stadium. Organizations that have agreed to participate in the evening include Pets Without Partners, American Pit Bull Society, The Pet Connection, Heart of America Humane Society and the Humane Society of Greater Kansas City. Just prior to the National Anthem several dogs currently up for adoption will be paraded around the warning track of CommunityAmerica Ballpark.

?This event sponsored by the Kansas City T-Bones will be a celebration of our companion animals and is an opportunity for the Humane Society of Greater Kansas City and other organizations concerned for animal welfare to get the word out on ways we can reduce euthanasia of homeless pets and make a more joyful community for all KC's residents, both two legged and four,? said Humane Society of Greater Kansas City president Charles Vreeland.

During the game both teams will be dressed the part, the T-Bones will be wearing black and white striped jerseys while the visiting Gary SouthShore RailCats will wear bright orange jumpsuit replica jerseys. The jerseys will be auctioned off following the game with the proceeds benefiting the participating pet organizations. The park will be appropriately decorated for the prison themed night. All fans can benefit by bringing a picture of themselves with their dog to get a buy one get one free Fort Hays State Bleacher or berm ticket. The photos will be displayed on the dog display board which will be in a prominent location in the stadium.

The T-Bones are also excited to announced that the popular promotional nights are back again for this season. Mondays will once again be Free Cash Mondays presented by CommunityAmerica Credit Union where cash will be handed out to fans on selected nights; Tuesdays are giveaway nights; fans can play catch on the field following every Wednesday night game presented by Sonic; Thursdays are Family Nights sponsored by the Kansas City Star; Fridays are Theme Nights presented by the Kansas Lottery; Saturdays are Postgame Fireworks thanks to Helzberg Diamonds; and Sundays kids get to run the bases after the game.

In addition to the returning nightly promotions the T-Bones will also host the third annual Redneck Weekend June 20-22. The weekend will get started with Mullet Night on Friday night followed by special jerseys on Saturday night with the Redneck Wine and Cheese Festival. Sunday will be the always popular Redneck Olympics.

For the entire list of promotions for the 2008 season see below or click on promotions on the T-Bones webpage. Tickets are now available online or by calling (913) 328-5618.

 

...wow. Just wow.

 

*Over Walmart Intercom*
"Can I get Michael Vick to the pet department please."

 

He's backkkkkkkkkkkkkkk!!!

 

facebook status of a friend of mine: "...is never pulling for the Eagles again".

He won't be the only one.

 

Tony Dungy is the voice I trust/respect more than any other in football, including any Steeler. If he's on board with Vick and thinks he's truly changed, I'm 100% all about giving him another shot. The man has (had) otherworld skill. I'm excited to see what he can do with his head on straight, to be honest.

 

How many teams have claimed that T.O.'s changed or that they can 'handle' him?

 

You can't compare the Vick situation to anything T.O. has done....................completely 2 different situations.

 

It's the same in this way: people very, very seldom change.

 

yea, but it's vick's first chance to change, in he has someone who has major respect vouching for him on it. i'll give vick the beneefit of the doubt because dungy is saying he's changed. i'm sure that's got a helluva lot to do with why the eagles signed him, more than anything else.

TO? how many times has he said he's changed, how many chances has he had? too many. TO is never going to change, and we know that. vick at least might, but we'll have to wait and see. but i'll give him that chance.

 

That being said, when is the last time that T.O. spent 2 years in prison for malicious acts? He may be a brat, he may be obnoxious, but the media puts why to much credence in one player, to say they can ruin a locker room.

 

the thing is? we kinda have proof that TO did manage to do so. remember the eagles anyone? and the 49ers are just starting to recover from TO. i'm sorry, but he can indeed destroy locker room chemistry.

 

If an entire football squad of 52 can be busted up by one player's ego, than who's at fault there? I'd say that makes the majority of the squad a bunch of whiny *******.

It's still incredibly different than comparing him to people convicted of actual crimes. When it comes down to it, it's a game. It's not real life, so it's unfair to compare the two, to begin with.

 

oh, i agree. i'm not the one to make the initial comparison.

 

The two can't be compared. One of them has a horrible over blown ego that wont stop and the other made a horrible RL decision and ended up paying. Though some may say not enough. I do believe in giving people chances. Ray Lewis got a chance why not Vick.

 

Oh, I believe in seconds chances too. Plus, Vick did do his time, and whether it's sincere or not, he is at least speaking up against the practice of dog fighting, and hopefully that educates others.

My argument was against comparing someone to being a brat in the locker room to actual criminal offenses.

 

Would I watch or go to a game with him in it?

Nah.

 

That TO is a locker room distraction is pretty well established. Admittedly, it probably wouldn't be possible for him to take such to the extent he does without the help from the media, but that doesn't change the fact that he is a major distraction within a team. He had his second chance in Philly, which failed, a third chance in Dallas, which likewise failed, and is now on his fourth chance with Buffalo, and has not really given any indication that he's changed (reality show, anyone?)

On the other hand, there's Michael Vick, whose offenses are much worse than TO's, which is why he spent quite a while in jail. However, he's served his time for that, is giving every indication of being repentant and wanting to change - whether or not he is sincere is another question, but he at least appears to be so. He's now on his second chance with the Eagles.

Honestly, I'm more inclined to give Vick a second chance, even from much worse offenses, than I am to give TO a fourth chance. Do I have hesitations about Vick? Certainly. But he hasn't come anywhere near exhausting my patience, like TO has.

I'd also like to point out that the decision chain for the two is markedly different - any further punishment from Vick has to come from the commissioner; TO's fate is entirely up to individual teams. Given what they've done, this is exactly as it should be, though I don't understand why teams still take TO at this point.

 

But look at it from this viewpoint: yes, you get a good player for (probably) not much money. But you attract all sorts of negative attention from fans and the press.

 

And that's the risk the team has to take when signing him.

 

personally i find dog fighting so repulsive that i can't pull for this guy no matter how repentant he seems. but from the reactions i've seen on messageboards and in the press i actually seem to be in the minority.

 

I agree with you on both counts.

I don't know why this guy should be given another chance at all. The sadism involved in the offense is not the sort of thing that changes quickly, or much.

 

One fact that I didn't know until recently is that Michael Vick was introduced to dogfighting when he was seven or eight years old. Having grown up in a nice, middle class environment, I'm not going to pretend that if I had been introduced to dogfighting at that age that I would have turned my back and walked off to go volunteer at the soup kitchen or circumcise children in the Philippines. And while I'm not saying that growing up in a bad environment excuses every bad thing one does, it should certainly be taken into account as a mitigating factor. No one is born evil.

Also, America is unusual because we give dogs the same status as people, to some degree. Making animals suffer is a horrible thing to do. I just don't think it's worse than making human beings suffer, as so many people seem to. For instance, there is nowhere near the outrage toward Pacman Jones, who leaves (human) bodies behind every time his entourage exits a strip club; nowhere near the outrage over Ray Lewis, who probably killed someone; nowhere near the outrage over the tens of players each year who beat and abuse their wives and girlfriends (why aren't we protesting Brandon Marshall, for one?). Simply, violence against dogs should not be given more sympathy than violence against women.

As an attorney, this discussion is fascinating to me because it begs broader questions about penology in general. What is a sufficient punishment for what he did? The law said that what he did warranted a 23 month sentence, but based on peoples' reactions, we don't think this is sufficient. Should he get a life sentence? Should taxpayers pay $26,000 a year (average cost to incarcerate someone) to keep this guy behind bars for the rest of his life? As a society, is he a danger to us right now? Also, after someone is released from prison, should they be allowed to get a job? If they are not allowed to work, what do you think they're going to do to survive? One of my professors made a good point that if a newly-released criminal has a full-time job, that's eight hours of supervision we have over him each day; if people are occupied, they are less likely to get into trouble.

If you're arguing that dogfighting should warrant a life sentence, I may not agree with you, but at least that's a logically consistent argument. But if you agree with the courts that 23 months is sufficient, then once those 23 months are up he should be allowed back into society to engage in the pursuit of happiness.

And for what it's worth, as nutty as T.O. is, he's NEVER hurt a fly. No dogs. No men. No women. And strangely, we still compare him to violent felons. Really?

 

Ask T. O.'s quarterbacks whether or not he's hurt anybody.

 

I'm sure they love having him to throw to, since he's still a very good WR (at least for a season at each new team). Otherwise he wouldn't keep getting a job.

Really, this attempt to equate his ego with Vick's dog ring is rather ludicrous.