Is It Just Me Or...?: Mike Vick Finds Jesus

Is it just me, or...

...is Dice-K Mania losing steam?

His latest loss to the Yankees dropped Daisuke Matsuzaka to 13-11 with a 3.88 ERA. Not exactly $104 million worth of production, is it?

And let's be serious: If the Yanks had signed this guy, people would still be screaming about how Steinbrenner spends his way to championships. Hypocrites.

...was Mike Vick not very sorry?

Okay, he apologized—but how's he going to back it up? Also, isn't it funny how many guys "find Jesus" in prison? Vick got the jump and found him beforehand. Guess J.C. was in the courthouse bathroom—who knew?

...are Kerry Wood and Pudge Rodriguez each about 100 pounds lighter?

I just saw Wood for the first time in awhile...and didn't even recognize him. He also lost about seven MPH off his fastball—wonder what happened there. Same for Pudge—wow, what a transformation. He looks like a utility infielder now.

...has Jeff Bagwell done the incredible shrinking act too?

Bagwell had his number retired in Houston the other night...and holy cow was he small. When you consider that his numbers went in the toilet after steroid testing was instituted...and that his best friend was admitted 'roid user Ken Caminiti...well, you can draw your own conclusions.

Hard not to wonder why Sammy Sosa gets so much scrutiny on less evidence while Bags gets a free pass.

...is Dale Earnhardt Jr. feeling the heat?

After this week's race Junior actually claimed to be "stoked about finishing fifth." Hmm—seems like's he aiming pretty low here.

His dad would have been throwing things after a fifth-place finish...but maybe Junior is more into being a star than a champion these days.

...is this the best time of year?

Baseball pennant races, NFL hype, college football kickoffs...what a great time to be a sports fan and a sportswriter. See you all next week.