Vacation and more by Vegas Art Guy

So, I'll be on vacation all next week, returning to the desert on the 29th. I do have a couple of thoughts to leave you with.

The first is the dogfighting ring that Mike Vick was indicted for running out of one of his homes and travelled across state lines to fights. How stupid can people be? One, race has nothing to do with it, this is about the cruel and inhumane treatment of dogs, you know, man's best friend?

He's in deep trouble over this because they are federal charges and not state ones. The feds don't mess around and most sane people have a visceral dislike to dogfighting these days. If he gets convicted of these charges and the IRS ones that are likely to follow (think he reported his winnings as 'income'?) his career is over. Nike has already delayed the launch of his new shoe until the dust settles on this.

The second is the betting scandal that involves an NBA referee. I'll be honest, I don't think this would have happened in Las Vegas because of all the internal and external policing that goes on here. Even though the sports books are in competition with each other, they will not hesitate to contact other books when any whiff of suspicious activity goes on. Bets, betting trends, and who's laying them are all analyzed for suspicious behavior. Things go sideways when the mob gets involved, once they get their hooks in you, you're dead meat.

The NBA is really going to have it's hands full with this one. David Stern needs to be very transparent with this issue and not try to hide anything even things that make the NBA look bad because a little pain now is preferable to lots of pain later. The refs themselves are also going to have to open their closets to make sure this is an isolated incident and do everything they can to avoid this in the future.

I'll see every one in a week, try to stay cool and avoid the truthberry punch kool aid!