One in...One out...

Transatlantic sports news today is dominated by two 'prison' stories that caught my eye...

In England, a reasonably famous and successful (retired) international cricketer, Chris Lewis, was put away for 13 years for smuggling cocaine into the UK; at the same time in Kansas, Michael Vick, one time superstar quarterback for the NFL Atlanta Falcons, was released after spending nearly 2 years in Leavenworth for running a dog-fighting ring - he gets to spend the next 3 months confined at home before trying to rebuild his NFL career. Vick is only 29, whilst Lewis will be in his mid 50's before he gets out of sing-sing.

Whatever sport you follow, we all have our heroes...Cantona, Botham, Jordan, Beckham... whether Vick or Lewis are among them is debatable. But to young cricket fans in Nottinghamshire or Surrey in the early 90s or a young Falcons fans just a few years ago in Atlanta, it's time to tear the posters down.

Once touted as the successor to Ian Botham's England hero crown, Lewis was a shining star in the early 90s - the next great all-rounder to help us beat those damned Aussies - but his star never really burned as brightly as it should have. Off the field events caused him grief long before this life-changing poor decision - shaving his head whilst on tour with England in the West Indies, then suffering from sunstroke and missing a match was one such incident that caused him ridicule in the press. A failed comeback last year at the age of 40 may have been his last chance saloon...leading to the situation he now faces.

For Vick, he has a different challenge facing him in the coming years. He's done his time, but in a country that loves it's animals, can a convicted dog-fighter ever win back the crowds or his locker room? Will he find a way back...? Is he truly sorry? Or is he just truly sorry he was caught? Personally I think he should be banned for life; he had all the opportunities that money and fame can offer and he chose to &*$$ it all away. Even though he lost his endorsements and paid a $1 million fine, he's not going to be poor, so maybe the only way he can truly pay his debt is to miss out on playing the game that he supposedly loves...

And as a dog-lover I'm just sorry he didn't get 13 years...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/8059400.stm
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4183786