While I Was Gone
Posted July 22, 2007, 4:01 PM ET

I'm back from a great vacation in Wyoming.

Before I get into the wonderful world of sports, I would highly suggest Yellowstone National Park, the Grand Teton and Jackson Hole. It is hard to believe that there is a more beautiful area on the planet.

While I was purposely out of touch from the real world during my getaway with the family, I wasn't surprised to see all the crazy happenings in the world of sports in the past week to ten days. I'm still trying to figure out what was the more outrageous, hideous act.

Let's start with the NFL. This has been the worst off-season in the league's history. You can practically predict at least two league arrests per week since Peyton Manning and the Colts won the Super Bowl in Miami in early February. The National "Foolball" League is out of control. But as long as the fantasy football leagues and gambling outlets are living large, nobody seems to be overly concerned about the image of the league.

Commissioner Roger Goodell and the NFL now have to deal with one of their superstars being indicted in the grotesque act of dogfighting. It has been reported for months that the Falcons' Michael Vick was somehow involved with a dogfighting ring that surrounds one of his homes in Virginia. Michael Vick has been indicted by the Feds, and his future will be determined by the courts.

Quite simply, if he is found guilty, his career is over in the NFL. Unless, of course, the NFL turns its head and pretends that nothing really happened. The league has taken the stance that they will allow Vick to play while the court process plays out. Of course, this is the same NFL that allowed Tank Johnson to play in the Super Bowl while serving house arrest. You've got to love the backbone of the NFL.

As a dog-lover, I find Vick to be a disgusting human being. I really don't care what the courts decide; the fact that he is indirectly involved is enough for me to form an opinion on the guy's character and class. There have been too many instances in the past year surrounding Vick to play them off as irrelevant. Flipping off the fans at home, ridiculous outbursts, water bottle compartments in the Miami Airport, and now the dogfighting gig...enough is enough. The guy is a problem. Arthur Blank deserves our thoughts and prayers....he needs them.

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Since the NFL has been stealing all the headlines, leave it to the NBA and Paris Hilton to be feeling left out of all the media attention. I have zero respect for Paris Hilton; that ends that portion of the discussion, so I'll turn my interest to the National Basketball Association.

It looks like the NFL hasn't cornered the market on stupidity. A guy by the name of Tim Donaghy, an NBA referee, is being investigated by the FBI on allegations that he bet on games he worked and perhaps influenced the outcomes of those respective games.

When does this garbage end?

If it turns out that this claim is true, that Donaghy gambled on games he worked and that he has a tie to organized crime...it will dwarf the Michael Vick dogfighting story. This is absolutely the worst story that any professional sports league could face.

David Stern has no choice. He has to get out of the way and pray that one of his referees was not betting on NBA games. Once you lose the trust of the fans that your game isn't rigged and that games aren't being tampered with, you're officially out of business. Reading the press releases from Stern's office makes you realize the severity of this issue. This story has eliminated the spin control from Stern. If you think Arthur Blank has had trouble sleeping lately, wait until you get a look at the bags under David Stern's eyes.

It's also ironic that the NBA is having discussions with Las Vegas as a potential future home to an NBA franchise. Yeah, that's a good idea....let's put the NBA in Vegas, full-time. Throw in some gambling accusations surrounding your refs, and you've got the perfect concoction for disaster.

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I normally pay zero attention to soccer, unless it involves checking out the babes from Brazil during the World Cup. I'm the typical American when it comes to the "world's greatest sport". Even in Wyoming, I came across the endless hyping of the arrival of David Beckham.

Since HYPE, the "Worldwide Leader in Sports", has the rights to something called the MLS (Major league Soccer for all of you typical American sports fans) you knew that they would Bend Beckham 24/7. The network did a phenomenal job telling us what he ate for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They told us what his overrated wife, Posh Spice, did while shopping on Rodeo Drive.....you get the picture.

By the time I arrived back to the Carolinas, I happened to turn on the tube and actually laughed myself into hysteria at the pre-game (or is that "pre-match"?) buildup of Beckham's debut with the LA Galaxy. (For all of you typical American sports fans, that is a team that Beckham plays for in the MLS.)

As it turns it, all the A-list stars in LA were in attendance to watch the monumental event when Beckham turns our country into a soccer hotbed....Look over there, it's Drew Carey...he's the star of ? .....Hey, in that skybox is Kevin Garnett. I guess there weren't any Laker or Clipper players that were willing to take a free ticket.

Bottom line, the greatest "futbol player" to ever grace the pit this side of Pelé sat on his butt and rode the pine until the final ten minutes of the match. It was truly pathetic. The ESPN announcing crew actually dissected the way his ass collected splinters while watching his team get blown out 1-nil.

Soccer fans in this country are overly-sensitive to the criticism that their sport is a red-headed stepchild in the American sports family. Yeah, it is the most popular sport in the world....every kid in Belgium plays soccer; the same thing goes for kids in South Africa, too.

I still contend that Beckham's wife, "Posh", will have a bigger impact in the States. All she has to do is hang out with Paris Hilton, and the rest will be history.

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I'll have more time to write and talk about Gary Player's claims that many pro golfers are taking steroids. While the legendary golfer makes those claims, perhaps some doctors can find a cure for all the choking that was taking place on the final round at Carnoustie.

As of this blog, Barry Bonds is still chasing Hank Aaron's home run record. As a Giants fan, this season has been a complete waste. The Giants are slowly but surely proving that they are the worst team in the National League....where would they be without Bonds?

One more item about Major League Baseball....I read a fact in the Orlando paper that Holiday Inn was the "Official Hotel of MLB". Ironically, there isn't one single team in Major League Baseball that stays in Holiday Inns while they travel during the season.

Speaking of marketing and branding, Dale, Jr. and Budweiser parted ways. Junior is the most popular driver on the circuit and I thought his relationship and partnership with Budweiser was a perfect fit. This was a mistake by Junior. Given the major moves and changes by NASCAR's "Most Popular", it is going to be imperative that he wins and wins big in 2008.

It's good to be back....but if you want to get away from all of these bizarre stories in sports....I've got just the place where you won't have to read a paper, watch TV, listen to the radio....it's called "Wyoming".