Since Vick's arrival, dogfighting reports are up in Philly

Right, because dogfighting worked out so well for Michael Vick. I just have a very hard time believing that the whole Michael Vick/dogfighting fiasco turned anyone on to dogfighting. "Look! This guy became a national pariah, lost all of his money and spent a year in Leavenworth! Dog torture sounds terrific! Where do I sign up?"

There is no kid out there who thinks he'll get to be the Eagles' third-string quarterback if he makes two dogs tear each others' throats out. I refuse to believe that. That's like someone saying they're going to take up drinking because of all the wonderful things it's done for Mel Gibson.

Now, I might buy the "kids are doing it because Michael Vick did it" theory if Vick had done something to make dogfighting look cool or fun. But that's not the case, is it? We never saw Vick and his pals hanging out around a fighting pit and having a blast. We just saw him in handcuffs.

It's not like he did a public service announcement saying, "Hi, I'm Michael Vick, and I'd like to tell you about the joys of dogfighting." The only thing he demonstrated about it is that it can cost you everything.

Vick and the Eagles are off the hook for this one. If someone's fighting dogs, it's because they're a knucklehead, not because Michael Vick made it look like the thing to do