“I don’t know if [Mike Vick] was fighting dogs or not, but it’s his property, it’s his dog. If that’s what he wants to do, do it. I think people should mind their business. … It can’t be too bad of a crime.”

This was a sampling of the idiocy that dribbled from the mouth of Washington Redskins running back Clinton Portis on Monday, as he so chivalrously defended the Atlanta Falcons quarterback, who owns a residence suspected of playing host to a dog fighting ring. Apparently that memo about the NFL cracking down on criminal behavior didn’t reach the nation’s capitol. Figures.

Before going on, I should come clean. For most of my life, my family’s been privy to the companionship of man’s best friend(s). When I was 10, my birthday present was Jake - a black Lab, who was my best buddy through adolescence and those awkward teen years. After that, we got Molly. Along the way came their son, Mickey.

Just about the saddest day of my life was the day we put Jake to sleep. Just about the saddest movie I’ve ever seen was Old Yeller.

Basically, I’m a dog kinda guy.

I think people, who in any way involve themselves with or condone dog fighting, are criminals and cowards. Sickening human beings, basically. Portis might be a helluva running back and Vick might be a helluva quarterback, but character, compassion and decency are certainly lacking with these two.

Dog fighting is disgusting and deplorable. It’s not boxing or mixed-martial arts, it’s not a fight. It’s animals, pitted against each other by men with dollar signs and bloodlust dancing through their heads, killing each other.

To allow such an act to occur shows a lack of compassion and respect for animals I can’t fathom. I understand there’s different cultures, there’s different beliefs. Some believe bull fighting is glorious. I think it’s legalized slaughter sprinkled with false bravery. Here in the good ole US of A, dog fighting is a crime, though. And with the NFL’s recent run of punishment, I’m hoping for Jake, Molly, Mickey and every pit bull that was only uncaged to fight for its life, that the NFL, right along with law enforcement, comes up with a fit punishment.

From everything I’ve ever heard or read, punishments involving crimes against animals aren’t all that steep. They’re just animals, after all. A rooster here, a pit bull there. Just animals who have no choice in life, but to react to the situations that immoral deviants put them into.

“In the recent interview I gave concerning dog fighting, I want to make it clear I do not take part in dog fighting or condone dog fighting in any manner,” Portis later said in a statement.

It was as if, like many an athlete before him, he let the media know the truth, and, after a stern behind-the-scenes talking to, scrambled to take back the words that had already revealed his true feelings. He didn’t agree with his coach’s play calling. He didn’t think the defense was holding up its end. But this isn’t anything like that. This isn’t about being a bad teammate or a bad role model, it’s about being a bad person.

Plain and simple.

I just read an interesting piece by Daniel Kaplan published in SportsBusiness Journal regarding the upcoming Super Bowl bid-process. Dan, who is also a contributor to www.HOFmagazine.com, tells us the Super Bowl selection committee is about to meet in Nashville to vote on the host site of the 2011 Super Bowl. The considerations include Dallas, Indianapolis, and back to Arizona. Take a look, it’s an interesting read.

Here’s my take … where? Whatever happened to the mind-set that Super Bowls belong in warm weather cities? While games might not be effected because of domes, what about the fans and the week-long parties?

Dallas? I’ve been there in the winter and have experienced some of the worst ice-storms ever. Indy? Great sports town, which hosts the NCAA and National Federation of High Schools corporate offices, but again, a bit chilly in February … ya think? Arizona? Warm, but…

The Super Bowl is more than a game - it’s an event - especially for those attending the game. If it were up to me, the game would always be played in San Diego, LA, Miami, or New Orleans - the ultimate Super Bowl party-city.

So, forget those cold-weather cities, and please … be sure to always keep our game in America.

My favorite sites…San Diego and New Orleans.

In the glare of the headlines generated by the Duke lacrosse case, a sad story of sexual misconduct at the US Naval Academy seems to have flown under the national radar. Last Thursday, the Navy expelled former Quarterback Lamar Owens Jr. after a military jury acquitted Owens of rape charges.

The verdict followed a ten-day court martial and took only four hours of jury deliberation. The jury did, however, find Owens guilty of conduct unbecoming an officer for violating company rules regarding sexual contact on campus. Owens faced the prospect of life imprisonment had he been found guilty of the rape charges. Despite the military jury’s recommendation of no punishment for what Owens had called “consensual sex” with a female midshipman in her room, Vice Admiral Rodney Rempt, Superintendent of the Navel Academy, said after expelling Owens, “any allegation of sexual harassment, misconduct or assault is a sad event.”

Things got worse for Owens when US Secretary of the Navy Donald Winter called the behavior “unsatisfactory” and hit Owens with a bill for nearly $91,000 to reimburse the Navy for educational expenses incurred while Owens was at the Academy. The case is somewhat similar to the Black Sox scandal of the early 1920s, when a jury acquitted members of the 1919 Chicago White Sox for “throwing” the World Series only for Commissioner Kennesaw Mountain Landis to later suspend them for life “in the best interests of the game.”

Owens led Navy to a 9-4 season in 2006, culminating in a narrow 25-24 loss to #23 ranked Boston College in the Poinsettia Bowl. Just two days prior to Owens’ expulsion, a military jury sentenced another former Navy football player, Kenny Ray Morrison, to a two-year prison term for assaulting a fellow student last year.

Sexual misconduct at the military academies is yet another thorn in the defense department’s side since allegations of pervasive problems first broke at the Air Force Academy in 2003.

A quick note on the passing this week of Sid Brooks. T.J. Simers of the LA Times called Brooks a gem of a man, stating he never knew a man who had more friends. Sid was a guy who couldn’t stay retired. He retired from the Air Force after 20-plus years only to work for the San Diego Chargers for 27 more. Then he retired again only to be coaxed to USC by Trojan athletic director Mike Garrett, where “Doc” stood on the sidelines for two National Championships. The “Doc” will be sorely missed.