Second Chances

The season for second chances
Philadelphia Quarterback Michael Vick committed a horrible crime and served time in jail. But President Obama says people like Vick deserve a second chance. What could be more in the spirit of Christmas?...

Dept of Second Chances
President Obama thanks Eagles owner for giving ex-con Michael Vick a second chance. ...

Joe Webb Leads Vikings To 24-14 Victory Over Eagles
Philadelphia — The Philadelphia Eagles got their bye a week early – and not the way they wanted. Joe Webb threw for 195 yards and ran for a touchdown in his first career start filling in for an injured Brett Favre, and the lowly Minnesota Vikings stunned Michael Vick and the NFC East champion Eagles 24-14 in the NFL's first Tuesday game since 1946. Adrian Peterson ran for 118 yards and a score, helping the Vikings (6-9) knock Philadelphia out of contention for a first-round Playoff...

OReilly Factor Panel Debates: Are We A Nation Of Wusses?
Somehow, the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles find themselves at the center of the news cycle this week. If people aren’t talking about President Obama praising team owner Jeffrey Lurie for giving Quarterback Michael Vick a second chance after his Prison sentence, then they’re talking about the assertion of Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell that the postponing of Sunday night’s scheduled Eagles game to tonight (due to the blizzard that blitzed the Northeast) represents America’...

Vick gives Eagles 7-0 lead over Vikings
Philadelphia Eagles' Michael Vick, left, is tackled by Minnesota Vikings' Antoine Winfield in the first half of an NFL football game, Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2010, in Philadelphia. Michael Vick threw a 3-yard TD pass shortly after he was selected as the NFC Pro Bowl starter to give the Philadelphia Eagles a 7-0 lead over the Minnesota Vikings after one quarter in the first Tuesday night NFL game in 46 years. Brett Favre was inactive for the Vikings because of a Concussion. Not even an extra 48 hours ...

Webb, Peterson help Vikings upset Eagles 24-14
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Joe Webb threw for 195 yards and ran for a touchdown in his first career start filling in for an injured Brett Favre, and the lowly Minnesota Vikings beat Michael Vick and the NFC East champion Philadelphia Eagles 24-14 in the NFL's first Tuesday game since 1946. Adrian Peterson ran for 117 yards and a score, helping the Vikings (6-9) knock Philadelphia out of contention for a first-round Playoff bye. The Eagles (10-5) could've secured a first-round bye with a victory over ...

Its madness: The wacky week in weather
As airports from the U.S. seaboard to Russia dig out from the snowdrifts that have stranded thousands of passengers, Australians are seeing their worst floods in years. Municipal employees in Brooklyn, N.Y., turned a vehicle retrieval into a demolition derby, totalling three vehicles in their attempts to extract a front-end loader from a snowbank. Much of the action was captured on video by an astonished resident who filmed the Keystone Kops style from his apartment and posted the result on YouT...

Pro Bowl 2011: Michael Vick, Tom Brady Named Starters
NEW YORK — Michael Vick's sensational comeback season made a big impression throughout the NFL, not just in Philadelphia. The Eagles' Quarterback, who sat out two seasons while serving a federal sentence for dogfighting, will start for the NFC in the Jan. 30 Pro Bowl in Honolulu. Vick was selected in a leaguewide vote by NFL players, coaches and fans. Vick made three Pro Bowls with Atlanta before he was suspended by the league and served jail time for running a dogfighting ring. This sea...

Ed Rendell, Pennsylvania Governor chastises "nation of wusses"
Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell spoke out against the NFL's decision move the Minnesota Vikings - Philadelphia Eagles game to Tuesday night because of the blizzard. As Cindy Boren reported: After calling the postponement "a joke" and saying that "Vince Lombardi would be spinning in his grave," on Sunday, his anger was unabated Monday, when he made frequent use of the "w" word. "My biggest beef is that this is part of what's happened in this country," ...

Obamas Katrina
I was aware in a general sense that the NFC West sucks. But on Sunday I was on a Houston-BWI flight featuring DirectTV which I naturally paid for in hopes of watching some football only to discover that the version of DirectTV the flight was carrying was featuring an NFC West game for some unfathomable reason. And only now am I becoming fully aware of the looming disaster we’re facing. To make a long story short, if the Seattle Seahawks beat the St Louis Rams on Sunday, then a team with...

Obama, Michael Vick and Second Chances
His comeback from Prison to NFL MVP contender is one of the more compelling stories in sports this year, or maybe ever. More Video ...

Vick, Brady, 4 rookies make Pro Bowl
The Philadelphia Eagles Quarterback, who sat out two seasons while serving a federal sentence for dogfighting, will start for the NFC in the Jan. 30 Pro Bowl in Honolulu. The honor is yet another major step in Vick's resurgence. Vick made three Pro Bowls with Atlanta before he was suspended by the league and served jail time for running a dogfighting ring. This season, he has gone from a seldom-used backup to the NFC's leading passer, the catalyst for Philadelphia's dynamic offense. The Eagles h...

Obama and Michael Vick: the president's American values
Barack Obama is a real American. I don't just mean that, according to some reliable accounts, he was born here. I mean that he extols some of the most American of values. Sure, President Obama is a good family man, he's hardworking, and he pulled himself up from nothing. But one of the most essential of American principles is one that doesn't get enough attention from the values crowd: the importance of giving people second chances. America, I hear, is the land of that sort of thing. See, for e...

Webb and Vikings Upset Vick, Eagles 24-14
Joe Webb of the Minnesota Vikings runs off the field after defeating the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on Dec. 28, 2010, in Philadelphia, Pa. The Vikings defeated the Eagles 24 - 14. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) (AP) PHILADELPHIA — Considering everything else the Minnesota Vikings have endured this season, it was silly to think two extra days sitting around a Hotel Room would bring 'em down. No way a determined rookie Quarterback named Joe Webb was going to let that happen. ...

Ezra Klein: Why Obama weighed in on behalf of Michael Vick
The weirdest story of the morning is President Obama's call to Jeffrey Lurie, the owner of the NFL Eagles. Two things apparently happened during the call: Obama praised the team for giving Michael Vick a second chance, and then he asked some questions about the Eagles' plans to use alternative-energy sources to power the stadium. Now Bill Burton is spinning the call as the sort of everyday inquiry the president makes into eco-friendly architecture. "The president did place a call to Mr. L...

Michael Vick Is the Giants' Best Friend Right Now
The last time Giants fans saw Michael Vick and DeSean Jackson, the two Eagles were etching nightmares that will not soon leave the brains of anyone who witnessed the Meadowlands Meltdown. They will be back on television screens on Tuesday night and those fans, still in the throes of the spiral set off during that fateful Fourth Quarter, will be in a very strange position as they settle in for this unusual night of football. They will be in a position that pretty much forces them to root for the ...

Barack Obama And Michael Vick
President Obama was correct to commend the Eagles for giving Michael Vick a chance to redeem himself....

Talkback: Obama and Vick
There were a lot of good comments on my earlier post regarding President Obama's praise for the Eagles' decision to play Michael Vick. First, on the question of offering moral support to businesses that hire ex-convicts, jckdoors writes: No. What the President should have done was visited a Small Business in D.C. that gives ex-cons a second chance. An ex-con willing to go straight on Minimum Wage or a tad higher. He should not be heaping praise on a multi-millionaire about a player making millio...

Ed Rendell: We're a 'nation of wusses'
It's worth noting that while Michael Bloomberg is chastising his constituents for not reacting well to the Northeast snowstorm, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell (D) has gone a step farther, railing against the whole country over the rescheduling of a football game. From the Early Lead: Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell really disliked the NFL's decision to move the Sunday night game between the Minnesota Vikings and Philadelphia Eagles to tonight because of a blizzard forecast. After calling the pos...

Tucker Carlson: I Think Personally [Michael Vick] Should Have Been Executed
Tucker Carlson again filled in for Sean Hannity on Hannity tonight, and couldn’t resist, as others already had, delving into the issue of President Obama praising Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie for giving Quarterback Michael Vick a second chance following Vick’s Prison sentence for Dog Fighting. And while Carlson said he “believe[s] fervently in second chances,” he didn’t in Vick’s case. At all. Carlson differentiated between Vick and others because V...

Fox News Tucker Carlson: Vick should be Executed
During a panel discussion surrounding President Obama’s call of support to Eagles QB Michael Vick, Fox News contributor Tucker Carlson called for the execution of Vick for his crimes against dogs. It is really over-the-top for Carlson to suggest such a punishment in my opinion. Vick served over 18 months in Federal Prison for his crimes. I think he got the message. Just hope I am right. What do you think? H/T to GAWKER for the Vid ...

Vick, Brady, 4 rookies make Pro Bowl
NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Vick’s comeback now includes a Pro Bowl start after he was voted to the team on Tuesday. The Philadelphia Eagles Quarterback, who sat out two seasons while serving a federal sentence for dogfighting, will start for the NFC in the Jan. 30 Pro Bowl in Honolulu. Atlanta, which leads the NFC with a 12-3 record, has the most Pro Bowlers with seven, including quarterback Matt Ryan, receiver Roddy White and Defensive End John Abraham. New England (13-2), the AFC lead...

Blizzard blasts Northeastern pols (Politico)
There’s nothing like a bitter winter storm to put Northeastern pols in the hot seat. And this week’s massive Snowfall across much of New England and the northern Mid-Atlantic region seems to have done the trick. In New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg spent a second day Tuesday batting back questions about his administration’s response to the Christmas weekend deluge, urging citizens to stay calm while city agencies work to clear the streets. Across the river in New Jersey,...

Barack Obama, Social Commentator
President Obama's call to Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie to commend him for providing Michael Vick with a second chance after the quaterback spent time in Prison on a dog-fighting conviction serves as a reminder of the president's willingness to weigh in on potentially Controversial news stories with a racial element. This should not be totally surprising coming from America's first African American president. But the Vick comments, revealed as they were during the slow post-Christmas ...

Fox News dogs Obama about Michael Vick
It's no victory Mosque being built in the smoldering ruins at Ground Zero, but for a slow cycle in the political news biz, Fox has its Scandal and, if you'll excuse the expression, like a dog with a bone they're not letting it go. First, the story: President Obama praised Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie for giving NFL MVP Candidate Michael Vick a second chance after his dog-fighting conviction. Lurie told Peter King of NBC and Sports Illustrated that he recently received a phone call fr...