Michael Vick is in a fighting mood. He plead not guilty to multiple charges related to his pit bull fighting operation called Bad Newz Kennels. If the charges are true, Michael Vick has company: according to some estimates 40,000 people attend, organize, or breed for dog fighting.
Pit bulls are the dog of choice, with good reason. According to a study by Merritt Clifton, pit bulls, Rottweilers, and Presa Canarios are responsible for 74% of dog attacks. Here’s the scary part: Over two-thirds of the time, life-threatening or fatal attacks were the dog’s first known dangerous behavior.
Michael Vick knows that dogs can be dangerous. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, otherwise know as the CDC, said that each year dogs bite nearly 2% of the U.S. population – that’s 4.7 million people. Of those, nearly 800,000 require medical treatment, with over a thousand people a day visiting emergency rooms, dog bites being the second most common cause of emergency room visits by children. The annual cost to dog attack victims is estimated at over one billion dollars.
You might be surprised who else owns pit bulls. Among the estimated ten million pit bull owners in the US are Jessica Alba, Michael J. Fox, Alicia Silverstone, Jessica Biel (she has three), Rachel Ray, and Jon Stewart.
Michael Vick must have known this venture would make the news eventually. Can you imagine going on vacation and leaving your dog with Bad Newz Kennels? Well, let me give Vick the benefit of the doubt: maybe the name means they teach the dogs how to read the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, or 18-count indictments.
Showing posts with label Michael Vick. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michael Vick. Show all posts
Friday, July 27, 2007
Monday, June 18, 2007
Tiger not so ferocious
Somehow Tiger Woods failed to win the U.S. Open yesterday, despite needing just a birdie on the last hole to force a tie. Typically, and yesterday was no exception, Tiger is the only golfer who gets a news story when he doesn’t win a major. Angel Cabrera of Argentina shot a 1-under par 69 to win the tournament.
On first look the real loser in the U.S. Open may have been Jim Furyk, who tied for second with Tiger after a bogey on the 17th hole. No one’s even talking about him! But with over $33 million in career winnings – about $2m a year since he joined the tour in 1992 and the 5th largest overall – I don’t think he minds too much.
So just how much money do these golfers make? Tiger has over $70 million in career earnings. Rounding out the top five are Vijay Singh with $52 million, Phil Mickelson with $43 million, and Davis Love III with $35 million. By the way, Jack Nicklaus comes in at 143rd on the all time money list with just $5.7 million in career earnings.
These numbers are paltry compared to baseball. Barry Bonds earned $172 million so far, following by Alex Rodriguez with $147 million (who will likely become #1 given he has a $252 million contract, the largest of any sports player in history) and Randy Johnson with $143 million. Roger Clemens is baseball’s highest paid single-season player, with a one year deal pro-rated from $28 million. Of course it’s with the Yankees. And so far if that’s possible Roger appears to be earning his money.
Atlanta Falcons Michael Vick has football’s largest contract with $167 million over ten years, and Fernando Alonso has auto racing’s with $160 million over 4 years, which makes auto racing the sport with the highest individual salaries, although coming close is soccer’s David Beckham, who just signed a quarter-billion dollar deal with the LA Galaxy.
But so far no one has reached the heights of boxing promoter Don King, who accumulated $350 million in career earnings. You might say, wait a minute, boxing promotion’s not a sport. That may be true but these days, it’s hard to tell where sports end and promotion begins.
On first look the real loser in the U.S. Open may have been Jim Furyk, who tied for second with Tiger after a bogey on the 17th hole. No one’s even talking about him! But with over $33 million in career winnings – about $2m a year since he joined the tour in 1992 and the 5th largest overall – I don’t think he minds too much.
So just how much money do these golfers make? Tiger has over $70 million in career earnings. Rounding out the top five are Vijay Singh with $52 million, Phil Mickelson with $43 million, and Davis Love III with $35 million. By the way, Jack Nicklaus comes in at 143rd on the all time money list with just $5.7 million in career earnings.
These numbers are paltry compared to baseball. Barry Bonds earned $172 million so far, following by Alex Rodriguez with $147 million (who will likely become #1 given he has a $252 million contract, the largest of any sports player in history) and Randy Johnson with $143 million. Roger Clemens is baseball’s highest paid single-season player, with a one year deal pro-rated from $28 million. Of course it’s with the Yankees. And so far if that’s possible Roger appears to be earning his money.
Atlanta Falcons Michael Vick has football’s largest contract with $167 million over ten years, and Fernando Alonso has auto racing’s with $160 million over 4 years, which makes auto racing the sport with the highest individual salaries, although coming close is soccer’s David Beckham, who just signed a quarter-billion dollar deal with the LA Galaxy.
But so far no one has reached the heights of boxing promoter Don King, who accumulated $350 million in career earnings. You might say, wait a minute, boxing promotion’s not a sport. That may be true but these days, it’s hard to tell where sports end and promotion begins.
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