You let me down……BIGTIME.

As all of you know, O.J. Simpson was sentenced earlier today for up to 15 years in prison for armed robbery & kidnapping. Even though i wasn’t born in the era of Simpson’s heyday, i’m sure that a lot of my readers can remember his Heisman Trophy-winning season with USC in 1968, or his 11 year career which was spent with the Buffalo Bills & the San Francisco 49ers.

Simpson was also the first NFL player to rush for 2,000 yards in a season. But today, all of his previous accomplishments took a backseat to his recent legal woes, which will land him (at least) anywhere from 9 to 33 years in prison.

I for one, thought that Simpson’s explanation for his crime was very poor & unintellectual. If he wanted to “retrieve” personal items that were taken from him, a meeting could’ve easily been set up at a more secluded location. Simpson’s first mistake was choosing to “break into” a Palace Station hotel room in Las Vegas, as the entire incident was being taped. Simpson’s second mistake was using a deadly firearm & lying about it when his first opportunity came about to explain his side of the story.

Was this done in an attempt to “hide valuable information” from the Goldman family, who have already collected huge amounts of money AND some of Simpson’s most prized valuables, which includes his 1968 Heisman Trophy? We will never know.

One thing is for sure though. The Goldmans expressed a great deal of joy over Simpson’s sentence & believed that he “drove himself to the brink” & “pushed himself over the edge”.

I feel that O.J. should’ve used a different method to retrieve his personal items. When you force yourself into a hotel room with a deadly weapon, it’s basically telling the victim to “give me back what’s mine or i’ll hurt/kill you”, and that’s not how things should be done. We have to remember that everything Simpson has done since the day he was acquitted in a double-murder trial has been heavily scrutinized until today. So now, this man could very well never spend another day of his life on the streets, but i’m sure that he could possibly receive “star” treatment at whatever prison facility he ends up at.

O.J. Simpson, you let me down BIGTIME.

Next up is 31-year old New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress, who recently got himself into trouble by accidentally shooting himself in the leg while out at a New York nightclub.

Keep in mind that Burress is married & has a son, so imagine what explanation he had for his family once this happened. Numerous sites from around the Internet have reported that Burress‘ reason for carrying a gun with him was to protect his “flashy jewelry“.

Plaxico, the only bling you should be displaying is your Super Bowl ring that you won by catching the game-winning touchdown pass from Eli Manning to help stun the previously unbeaten & heavily favored New England Patriots in February. Any other reason is IRRELEVANT.

Burress was viewed as a national hero for months after the Super Bowl. He continues to play at a high level every Sunday despite missing big chunks of practice time due to injuries. And this is how you act to becoming a champion?

So now because of this incident, the New York Giants have decided to suspend Burress without pay for the remainder of the regular season. As for the playoff roster? Plaxico won’t be on it. The Giants are heavily favored to win the NFC & make their 2nd straight Super Bowl appearance, but thanks to Burress‘ stupid decision, he won’t be a part of it.

Plaxico Burress, you let me down BIGTIME.

Finally, i want to address the current situation involving Michael Vick. Vick is currently serving prison time for his actions involving an illegal dogfighting organization called “Bad Newz Kennels” that Vick helped start up on one of his Virginia estates. There has been some interest from the United Football League on Vick once his prison term is up in July 2009, but sadly i think that an NFL team will give him another shot once his suspension (whatever that may be) is up.

We have to remember that the NFL gave second chances to guys like Lawrence Phillips & Leonard Little, so I’m sure there is a team that’s waiting to get in contact with Vick. But how much will a team be risking to spend on him & already facing huge debt problems (Vick bought expensive vehicles for several of his family members after agreeing to his $140 million-dollar deal in 2004), how will he provide for himself?

It seems as his former team, the Atlanta Falcons have quickly put themselves to forget about this entire mess as they are enjoying a surprisingly successful season & have a chance to reach the postseason with a rookie quarterback.

Take that, Michael Vick!!

I myself was a Vick fan & supporter until he got indicted. Now i can no longer wear his jersey as he is an embarrassment & disgrace to pro athletes everywhere.

Michael Vick, you let me down BIGTIME.

Feel free to leave your comments/thoughts on my blog.

Until then,

Mattie T
Sports Writer for BMS Radio Chicago

www.BMSRadioChicago.com

2008 © BMS Radio Chicago All Rights Reserved. The written content is property of this site. All team and league information, sports logos, photos, and names contained within this site are property of their respective organizations.