Obama Praises Vick Ahead of “Wuss” Bowl; Pakistani Problems

“Wuss” Bowl Stars Obama’s Pick Vick

"He said, 'So many people who serve time never get a fair second chance.’ He was ... passionate about it. He said it's never a level playing field for prisoners when they get out of jail.''

-- Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie relaying to Sports Illustrated President Obama’s praise to him for signing quarterback Michael Vick despite Vick’s conviction on dog-fighting charges.

First Fan Barack Obama took time to call Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie to praise Lurie’s decision to sign Michael Vick after Vick’s 2009 completion of a 21-month federal sentence for being part of a dog-fighting ring.

Lurie, a major Democratic donor, gushed about the call to Sports Illustrated columnist Peter King, saying how good it felt to be recognized for “our faith in giving someone a second chance.”

While the White House said that the purpose of the call was to congratulate Lurie for a plan to install wind turbines and solar panels at Lincoln Financial Field, a spokesman did confirm that the president talked about Vick and restated the president’s position on the need for ex-convicts to find opportunities for rehabilitation.

Vick, second on the all-time rushing list for NFL quarterbacks, and the recipient of a $1.5 million bonus on top of a contract worth $5 million this year, is hardly typical of most of the folks rotating out of America’s prisons. But his return to mainstream acceptability following public outrage over an extensive dog-fighting ring has been a favorite story in the sports press. ESPN even had a reality series.

The ex-cons looking for gigs after being in the joint aren’t generally subjects of bidding wars. Some team was going to hire Michael Vick and make millions from his high profile and prodigious talents. The same is not true of the guy looking for a dish washing job after prison. Obama may feel Lurie has done a good deed, but it is one for which the Eagles owner has profited handsomely.

Vick has returned to his pre-prison form on the field, winning the starting job in Philly and is on track to surpass his best performance with the Atlanta Falcons, the team that dropped him after the charges emerged. He has led the team to a 10-4 record and a playoff berth as the NFC East division champions.

But many remain unsatisfied that Vick, who had a string of legal troubles before the conviction, and failed a drug test while on bail, is a deserving recipient of the wealth and praise that have come with his return. Animal rights activists are particularly incensed that Vick, who backed the dog fighting enterprise called “barbaric” on the floor of the U.S. Senate, has so quickly returned to mainstream acceptance.

In an interesting twist, the next game for the Eagles comes tonight because of the snowstorm that walloped the East Coast on Sunday. The NFL cancelled the Sunday game between the Eagles and the Minnesota Vikings because of snow, a decision that in itself has touched off a blizzard of controversy.

"We've become a nation of wusses. The Chinese are kicking our butt in everything. If this was in China do you think the Chinese would have called off the game?” Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell said Monday on radio station 97.5 The Fanatic in Philadelphia. “People would have been marching down to the stadium, they would have walked and they would have been doing calculus on the way down."

Power Play has never seen street corner calculus in Philadelphia, but has seen quick computations on the cost of a Pat’s Cheesesteak “wit” by even the most inebriated football fans, so maybe the governor is underestimating the computational skills of his citizens.

But many agree with Rendell’s sentiment that founding fathers of the NFL, like Vince Lombardi, would blanch at the thought of canceling a game because of snow. If you play football outside in Philadelphia in December it seems like a contingency you would prepare for.

Either way, tonight’s “Wuss” Bowl will feature Vick, lauded for not getting back into trouble for nearly two years after a major federal felony conviction, versus the Vikings, led by QB Brett Favre, currently in trouble for allegedly sending pictures of his genitals to a sideline reporter/nude model. Favre is considered unlikely to start because of a series on concussions and other ailments, but the game marks what is likely his last chance for an NFL appearance because the decrepit Vikings did not make the playoffs.