Time for the Duke case to end

The Duke Lacrosse player incident that escalated in March 2006 has seen quite enough publicity. However, the players are making headlines once again as they file lawsuits against prosecutor, Mike Nifong, the city of Durham and the police detectives that were in charge of the case.

The case began March 13, 2006 when Crystal Gail Magnum accused 3 members of the Duke men’s lacrosse team of rapping her at a team party. The players were suspended for two games but the head coach was forced to resign and the rest of the 2006 season was eventually cancelled. The trial was a long and tedious one that only contributed negative public relations to Duke University. Finally, on April 11, 2007, all charges against the Duke Lacrosse players were dropped. Attorney General of North Carolina called the entire incident a “tragic rush to accuse.”

In the suit, the players accuse the defendants which include Mike Nifong as well as the former police chief and police investigators of conspiring to keep the case open even though there was really no evidence against the players. They stated that the defendants withheld evidence, manipulated witnesses and issued a photo lineup only including Duke Lacrosse players so that Magnum would have to choose at least one of them as her accuser.

They also stated that all of this was brought about because of motivation by Mike Nifong, the initial prosecutor on the case, to win an upcoming election for district attorney. However, Nifong’s name was quickly disgraced after he was accused of withholding important DNA information. He was forced to resign and spent a night in jail in contempt of court.

In the law suit, the players ask for an independent committee to review complaints of misconduct of the police force as well as improved police training. Furthermore, the want to ban the use of any evidence provided by DNA Security inc.

A year and a half after this case began, I think it’s about time it comes to a close. The players were acquitted of their crime but I do believe they deserve some retribution for everything that they have had to endure. Their names have been smeared all over the country and most of their college experience has been ruined. They have had to pay thousands of dollars in fees for lawyers among other things. And they have had to face embarrassment in front of family and friends. I think they deserve to win this case after the injustice they have faced but I also think its time that everyone moves on with their lives.

Cubbies on Brink of Elimination

After Thursday’s 8-4 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Cubs are down 0-2, a mere one game from elimination. Their two best starting pitchers, Carlos Zambrano and Ted Lilly, should be well rested if there comes to be a game 4 and a game 5. Then again after a second straight loss that put them into the 0-2 hole, a game 5 seems very unlikely indeed. But what if they manage another winning streak such as the Boston Red Sox did just a few years ago, when they were down 0-3, also one game from elimination. The Red Sox managed to pull out the 4 games needed to beat the New York Yankees to get into the World Series, and then they won that. So it’s not completely out of the question, but it will be extremely difficult. Their fate rests in the hands of their 27 year old left hander, Rich Hill, who has an 11-8 record and a 3.92 ERA. Hill is to start game 3 at Wrigley Field. According to ESPN sources, “Hill was calm, cool and nibbling an ice cream bar after the loss.” “It’s going to be very exciting,” said Hill, “We’re in a very good position. This isn’t something to look at negatively. I know that sounds strange, but you’ve got to think positively. We’ve been in this situation, it seems, all year. We were way behind at the start of the year, we were chasing the Brewer’s (Milwaukee) for first place, we were behind in a lot of game – that’s something we need to remind ourselves. Coming back, in a way, has defined us a little.”

Lilly had a big part to do with coming back from the Cubs disastrous start. He won seven decisions in a row throughout June and July to keep the team from sinking Pittsburgh depths in the National League Central. On Thursday, however, he pretty much blew the game. To get through only 2 innings, needing only 6 outs, it took 58 pitches!! He threw 79 pitches in 3 ½ innings, only six fewer than Zambrano threw in 6 innings in game 1. “That was a nightmare,” Lilly said. “I don’t care how many games I won in the regular season. It’s the post season that matters.” Lilly can hopefully take comfort in the fact that he set an unofficial record for the hardest thrown pitch in post season history. Geovany Soto called for a curveball, with the count at 3-2, and Lilly shook it off, calling for a fastball. Soto being a rookie, only in the major leagues for only 5 weeks said “I wanted to go with what he was comfortable with. He wanted to go up and in with a fastball.” Unfortunately, Chris Young of the Diamondbacks smashed it, out of the middle of the strike zone, for a 3 run home run, giving the Diamondbacks a 3-2 lead that they never relinquished. He reacted terribly, ripping his glove off his hand and throwing it into the pitcher’s mound. Cub’s manager Lou Piniella said “I’ve never seen a pitcher throw their glove like that on the mound.” Lilly says of last night, “I’ve got absolutely no excuses. The fact of the matter is, I didn’t get my job done. I guess if I want to think up some excuses I could come up with some BS. …It’s something I’ll have a hard time with. I certainly want another opportunity.” The only way he will get that opportunity is if the Cubs win the next two games, tying the series at 2-2, as he is not scheduled to pitch again until game 5. We can hope, we can pray, and hopefully the Cubs will get it done. The last time the Cubs won a World Series was 99 years ago, in 1908. If they managed to win this series, they would be a top choice to do that, the same as the Red Sox were when they came back from 0-3 to win the series.

Vick attends animal cruelty class

According to Sports Illustrated online, Michael Vick attended a class held by PETA to teach respect for animals, and focused on animal cruelty. Dan Shannon, who was present during the entire class, said this about Vick during the class, "He was asking questions, following up on points we were making, taking notes. He seemed to be putting an honest effort into trying to get something out of the course.'' According to PETA’s website, the former Falcons quarterback first visited PETA's offices in Norfolk on Sept. 7 and met with Ingrid Newkirk, the group's president, in order to apologize for his abuse of dogs. At the end of this eight hour course, he was required to take an extensive written test, which he passed to the amazement of some PETA members. I think that this is part PR move, and part actually feeling bad for what he’s done. No one can deny that this move was probably made in part to make him look better to the jury, but I think that part of it is actually genuine repentance. Even though he took this course and demonstrated an interest in getting educated in animal cruelty, those a PETA still feel that Vick deserves prison time. This is typical, one class on why murder is bad would not keep him out of prison, but it might earn a little sympathy on the fact that he is truly sorry. Animal cruelty and murder is not as harsh or horrible as murdering another human being, but some people still feel strongly that there is little or no difference between the two. If Vick shows good behavior and demonstrates that he is truly sorry, then he may get a small break on the jail time or released earlier, however this probably isn’t very likely. Even if this move doesn’t influence his court decision, I still give him credit for trying to improve his image.

All quotes were found from www.sportsillustrated.cnn.com and the picture is from www.atlantafalcons.com.

Cubs Fans get the best fans award if anything...

So Chicago fans. This October could be the start of something exciting. Those 99 years of waiting finally boil down to this season. Can the Chicago Cubs pull through or will they make it an entire century without a World Series win?

Being a Chicago White Sox fan myself, it really doesn’t matter much to me about the future of the Cubs. If they win: awesome. If they lose: ah, whatever, they’ll get over it. The battle between most Sox fans and Cubs fans does not reflect this attitude. It’s not that I don’t like the Cubs, if anything I respect their fans more for sticking behind their team for such a long time. Cubs fans are pretty die hard. They may go to their games just to drink beer and I’d stare at their pretty ivy. But they still go and they still support their team. That’s a lot more than I can say for other teams. It really impresses me that they are so supportive especially with another baseball team in town.