What's wrong with a change of heart? Apparently more than what's wrong with killing dogs.

I can't believe that there are people out there cheering for Michael Vick and booing Brett Favre. And yet I see plenty of football fans saying that Vick has "the right to an occupation", but at the same time getting ticked off at Brett.

Hello? Anybody home?! Vick tortured and killed several dogs. All Brett did was come out of retirement. Does retiring somehow terminate your "right to an occupation"? Is that "right" still there in spite of what you do off the field?

And if any of you had forgotten, let me remind you that Vick hung dogs from trees, electrocuted them with jumper cables, drowned them in water, and even had them enter into a pit against other dogs. Vick did all that, and laughed.

Of course that's not nearly as bad as (gasp) announcing retirement and then (double gasp!) deciding to return. No, it's perfectly fine for Vick to be extremely cruel to dogs, but for Brett Favre to come out of retirement is just terrible.

First things first: there is no such thing as a "right to an occupation". If there was, I'd take my hockey stick, walk up to the nearest NHL team and drop that line so they would have to let me play.

Come on, people. Playing in the NFL is a privilege. What Vick did should have made him lose the privilege. But it's not just the fact that Vick is returning that's ridiculous, it's the fact that he wasn't jailed for a good ten years plus. If life were a giant monopoly game, all the star atheletes, and celebrities for that matter, would be loaded with "get out of jail free" cards. To suggest that Vick received the sentence he deserved, is practically laughable. None of the big names do. That much is evident when over 100 MLB players are juiced up on steriods

But the sad truth is that fans often don't see things as right or wrong. They tend to only care about what's going to happen on the field. They want Favre to retire so the story can go away and they can move on. And they want Vick to return so, well, the story can go away and they can move on. I know a lot of this is the media's fault. They practically spent an entire day discussing Vick's signing with the Eagles, and another day talking about Favre's return.

Whatever. I have two words for you: go Vikings. I'm really happy to see Favre on one of my favorite teams. The addition of him makes them, in many people's opinion, NFC favorites.

As for Vick, the day the first Eagles game comes on this year is the day I turn off my TV and go for a walk with my dog.

Mail Time

To: ESPN, Sports Illustrated, and all other "experts"

From: Rafael Nadal and Andy Roddick



NADAL: Hey, sorry to bother you. I know you all are probably busy writing yet another article about how dominant Roger Federer is and therefore don't have time to read this, which is ok. I don't mind. Go ahead and continue. No, really...



Ok, who am I kidding? I'm sick and tired of the Roger Federer appreciation tour. Have you all forgotten that I hold a large lead over him in the head-to-head category? Are you all too busy marveling at his 15 major titles? Psh, by the time I'm done I'll have more than 20 of those.



Can't you see that my Swiss rival's time as king is running out? You sure seemed to be getting the hint a few months ago after I beat him for, what, the 5th time straight or something like that? You were all getting ready to hop from one bandwagon to the next. Then I lose a couple matches, hurt my knee, and all of sudden we're back where we started? Gimme a break.



RODDICK: I haven't forgotten about what happened last Wimbeldon. Although you may have forgotten that I played in it. I won 39 games while Roger took 38, yet I still lost. Now I know how Al Gore must have felt.

You all are talking about what a great match that was, but it seems the whole thing is about Federer, Federer, Federer. I don't mean to sound bitter, but, hey, I was part of that match, too. I played my heart out and kept it close. Yet it seems I'm nothing but a minor side note. This certainly isn't the treatment Roger got when he lost to Nadal a year ago.

And it's not like I haven't done anything else recently. I beat Federer a few times. I have the fastest serve ever. I'm the best tennis player in America. I may not be as good as Federer but I am very close. Yet he gets ten times the hype that I get.

NADAL: It's ridiculous to say that Roger Federer dominates tennis as much as Tiger Woods dominates golf. I have beaten Federer about twice as many times as he beat me. If anyone dominates the rivalry, it's me. And I'm not the only one who can take him down. Other skilled players like Roddick have beaten him a few times.

I am the future. And soon Roger will be nothing but the past. I have already put a dent in his crown, even if you can't see it. Soon it will be gone. I will shatter any records that he sets. Only then will you finally see that I was the better player all along.

Hopefully you will, anyway.