The NFL and NBA both have "new" faces this week ...

New Face of the National Football League

New Face of the National Basketball Association

Neither the NFL nor the NBA have ever had their reputations and images roughed up like they were this week. I happen to be an animal lover, so I was more concerned and sickened by what Michael Vick, the #1 draft choice in the NFL (picked up by the Atlanta Falcons), did than by what Tim Donaghy, the NBA referee, did. The disgusting stories of the Vicks-organized dog fights and the summary executions of the dogs who lost--done right on Vicks' property--made my blood boil.

The Federal indictment read like something out of the PETA mailers I get for donations--and will probably be in future PETA mailings.

Then, as if this weren't bad enough, this week’s news also included allegations that basketball referee Tim Donaghy was betting on games he was officiating, even possibly consorting with organized crime. Now, I happen to remember the "bad" officiating at the Super Bowl game only two or three years ago when Seattle lost when they were clearly the winners and I have to wonder ... aren't NFL referees made of the same skin and bones that NBA referees are?

Of course, half of the sports fans in America are waiting for Barry Bonds to hit that 755th home run--under the suspicion that his earlier homers were hit under the influence of steroids. And what did Gary Player say last week at the British Open about professional golfers and steroids? ... and what about the Tour d'France and blood doping (they actually get blood transfusions to pep up their blood) and ... yes, steroids there too.

But the use of and the torture and killing of helpless dogs ... that is so bad as to make me want to turn off my TV to any more NFL games ... forever!

I'd say "Let's bring back Bobby Fisher and Boris Spaasky for a rematch on worldwide TV!" but they'd probably use mind-altering drugs in 2007 ...

Yuck!