hes a vick and hes drowning slowly.

ike vick finally plead guilty yesterday. from espn.com: Vick admitted to helping kill six to eight pit bulls and supplying money for gambling on the fights. He said he did not personally place any bets or share in any winnings. He also said monkeys frequently fly out of his butt, and perhaps they placed some bets and shared in some winnings, without his knowledge. Ok, I made that last part up.

to recap, i interviewed him on may 18. at that pt, the controversy was just beginning to leak out. it was obvious to everyone that vick had engaged in something illegal involving dogfighting, but i dont think any of us could have imagined he would soon admit to such depravity. and i especially dont think any of us could have imagined that not only would he not be playing in the nfl at all this year (he's been suspended indefinitely), but that furthermore, vick might never take another snap in the nfl again. and that hes gonna go to prison for at least a year!

i had little time with him, and it was a puff-piece to be sure, but i was prolly one of the last journalists to have a live, one-on-one interview with the man before all this went down. pretty cool. the q & a is never gonna be published now, so whoomp here it is. who woulda thunk it:

When did you first realize that you were faster than everyone else?
When I was a young kid. I was about fourteen years old. When you got talent, you just stick out. When you’re playing with a group of guys, you know what guy is special. I could always run faster than everybody, I always had the arm, and when we played football in the neighborhood, I was always the first guy to be picked.

What goes on on the field that we’d never know watching at home?
The game just moves so fast. You would not be able to imagine, in your wildest dreams, how fast the game moves. When the ball is snapped, you see guys, it’s like a Chinese firedrill! But it’s not everybody running away. Everybody’s coming at you. It’s different. At the same time, until you experience it, you would never know.

When was the first time you saw someone faster than you?
Sophomore year in high school playing against Ronald Curry. I thought I was the man. I saw Ronald, it was just a totally different athlete. A freak of nature. Unbelievable skills. Skills that were unimaginable. I had people bowing down to me, but I saw him, and I felt that way myself. (Curry is a receiver with the Oakland Raiders.)

How did you feel when you heard about the Virginia Tech news (Vick attended college there)?
I was shocked. I honestly didn’t believe that that happened on our campus. I knew exactly where they were. I knew where it took place. I had a class at Norris Hall. I just started thinking about a bunch of things. There but for the grace of God. If it happened in 2007, it could have happened in 1999, when I was there.

What other sports do you like to play?
Basketball. I’m a shooting guard. But I can play the point too.

How do you inspire your teammates in the huddle?
I give them words of encouragement. Unless I need to jump on somebody. Sometimes you need to jump on somebody. You can’t jump on someone for missing a block, because that’s gonna happen. But there are times when things aren’t going well, you gotta jump on someone.

How do you enjoy your money?
Things that I like. Cars, fishing poles. I like jewelry too. Different golf bags, clubs.

What do you like to watch on TV?
I like to watch comedies, fishing shows, a lot of golf. But my favorite TV show is Martin.

Which wideout would you most like to line up with?
I would love to line up with Terrell Owens. He’s one of the premier receivers in the game. I still think he’s got a lot left in him.

Which defensive player scares you the most?
The defensive back that scares me the most is D’Angelo Hall. I’m glad he’s on my team! If I had to choose somebody else, it would be Sean Taylor. He’s big, fast, strong, and if he can get his hands on you, he’s gonna hurt you.

Which other QB’s do you admire?
First and foremost, Peyton. Brady.

Does winning a ring change the way a QB is looked at by his peers?
Winning a ring changes your status, it’s true. You’re in that elite group. In that higher echelon with those guys who have had an opportunity to win a Super Bowl, and it’s special. Everybody can’t do it. There’s been millions of quarterbacks who have come through the league, and it’s so hard to accomplish that. When you do it, you’re looked upon as great.

Is there a QB fraternity?
Yeah, we all know what we have to go through as quarterbacks. How tough our job is. The type of responsibility we have. The weight we carry on our shoulders. So we all respect each other. We all can relate because we know it’s not just about the quarterback, it’s about the players around you too.

knowing what we know now, his mentioning of fishing (twice!) strikes me as a bit bizarre. i mean, a dude who has all this action on pit bulls ripping each other to shreds is gonna get pumped at the prospect of sitting in a boat holding a rod, hoping an earring at the end of a string is gonna catch the cheek of a trout? i dunno about that.

ps - the miss teen thang i posted yesterday is even better with subtitles.