Not surprised

Is anyone really shocked with Michael Vick?

How many more one-finger salutes does the guy have to give before people actually come to their senses and realize this is a truly disturbed individual?

Vick entered a plea deal partly because his defense team raised the white flag and partly because he knew deep down that this was his only chance at getting back on a NFL field.

Now Vick's supporters will scream to the hills that Vick may not have been at the dogfighting matches (Is that what they're called?). But, the indictment soiled the speedy quarterback's future at least for the next 1-2 years.

And if procuring a dog genocide on his property isn't enough, it has been a string of events that has followed this strange family.

Remember Vick's impressionable younger brother Marcus? Well, when he was a quarterback at Virginia Tech, he stomped on a Clemson players throat which resulted in a melee between the two schools.

Michael should not be allowed back in the NFL. Especially the new and improved NFL that commissioner Roger Goodall is trying to clean up. As if Vick didn't learn from Pacman Jones and Tank Johnson, Vick is now going to have to pay a penalty not just for the sickly acts he did to dogs, but also for bankrolling a gambling ring.

And I applaud Goodall for waiting for the Feds. After Vick is taken to the cleaners by the those guys, he's going to implement his own punishment and don't expect it to concurrently while he serves his legal time.

Vick has to learn that the street punk is no longer vogue. It's OK to be an upstanding citizen, even if that means cutting ties to your boys who you've been friends with since high school.

He's 27 years old. It's high time he takes responsibility for his actions and starts being a man.

Because it's obvious that his mother failed miserably.

It's finally here

After witnessing another banner in the stands and the TV ratings, college football is right around the corner.

This year's looks a like last year. Of course, there's perennial powerhouse in USC that is looking to improve on last year's Rose Bowl win. With John David Booty manning the controls, it looks the Trojans are going to breeze through the Pac 10 and make reservations for another national title game.

The one glaring this year is scheduling. In this era of BCS and computers you would think that schools would be seeking out quality opponents. However, more and more teams continue to play nobody's. Look at Florida. The defending national champs are taking on Florida Atlantic. The Owls are barely a Division I team yet they are scheduling the Gators for an old-fashioned butt-whooping.

West Virginia plays in the Big East, which is a top-heavy conference with Rutgers and Louisville, but the Mountaineers don't help themselves out by playing Western Michigan, East Carolina and Mississippi State. What's even worse is, the Mountaineers are ranked No. 6 in the USA Today preseason coaches poll.

The best conference in the nation remains the SEC. Top to bottom, it's still the best football around. However, that is going to hurt this conference's title hopes. LSU, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina will knock each other out of the national picture.

So who do I like?

If you read the first graf, I am going with USC. There is no one in the Pac 10 that will challenge them. Actually, barring injury, I don't think there's anyone that will come within 14 points of this team.

Not too many people are talking about Virginia Tech. The Hokies' defense remains the same and their special teams is still the best in the nation. Barring an early-season hiccup at LSU, Va. Tech could run the table with home games against Florida State and Miami. By advancing to the national championship game it would do a lot to heal the wounds from last April's shooting.

BCS Championship Game: USC 27, Virginia Tech 14

Let the questions mount

As Barry Lamar Bonds rose his hands in triumph, an entire nation began to wonder.

Sports' biggest achievement has now turned into history's biggest question.

Bonds may be able to sleep soundly, now that he uprooted Hank Aaron as the all-time home run king. However, this bout isn't even close to being over and judging from Bud Selig's expression after No. 755, there's still a lot of ground to cover. As Bonds tied Hammerin' Hank, Selig stood in a cocoon of disappointment and doubt. He didn't stand to recognize the blast until fans around him practically prodded him to stand, which he did, with his hands housed in his pockets.

This issue isn't about race. Anyone that thinks that is just plain wrong. Bonds and Aaron were both black.

No, this is about doing things the right way. It's about injecting yourself with enough animal hormone to sprout horns. It's about using your infinite amount of money for research and development of the cream and the clear which are undetectable by the most refined tests. It's about facing the Grand Jury and lying to their face about unknowingly taking steroids.

But these questions won't go away for Bonds. Just because ESPN reporter Pedro Gomez is being pulled from his three-year Bonds beat doesn't mean this thing is dying down.

In the end, what did Bonds prove? He proved that for one night, baseball can be compared to the WWE. Bonds and wrestling both have bowling balls popping out of their arms and what's more important is that it's all just a dramatic show.

Last night, after Bonds hit the homer, he quickly raised his hands before trotting around the bases. He then apparently broke down as he looked to the sky to honor his father Bobby, who wouldn't have been able to recognize his behemoth son anyway.

The entire Bonds saga is just too good to be true. Seventy-three homers at age 36, an increasing head size and the fits of rage.

Bonds may be the new home run leader, but his legacy will be remembered as the drama king.