ESPN has obtained never-before-released documents, as well as video of Adam “Pacman” Jones “making it rain” in a Las Vegas strip club, which precipitated a melee that ended in a triple shooting outside the club. The video, evidence jurors are likely to see when Jones takes the stand as a witness, will run Friday on ESPN.com, live SportsCenters, 3 p.m. Outside the Lines and ESPNEWS
July 16, 2009
Vick is Free Monday, his case has direct Impact on Dogfighting business
Outside the Lines (Sunday, 9 a.m. ET ESPN, noon ESPNEWS)
Michael Vick – Dog Fighting
The day before Michael Vick completes his 23-month sentence for running a dog fighting ring, Outside the Lines will examine how the case surrounding the most famous individual to enter this underground world has impacted the dogfighting game. Since his case was publicized, more dogfighting operations have been raided, more dogfighters have been convicted and more dogs have been rescued. Vick is now partnering with the Humane Society of the United States to help educate young people, and while some say he is using that relationship to garner positive publicity, Humane Society president Wayne Pacelle says his organization will benefit more from engaging Vick than by endlessly criticizing him. Mark Schwarz reports about how the man who became the face of dogfighting in America has impacted its future.
“It devastated the business. That’s what I do for a living — I’m a professional dog man, and that’s how I pay my mortgage, my car payments and everything else. Depending on the quality of female, they (dogs) would go anywhere between $10,000 and $15,000, and as soon as he started hitting the media and he got indicted, they dropped to $1,500-$3,000.” — Victor Lopez, a central figure in what police call, “one of the most prolific dog cartels” in the world, on the impact Vick’s indictment has had on dog fighting
“The number of raids on dog fighting operations doubled from the year before Vick’s indictment to the year after. Because some of these raids were larger, the number of people arrested jumped 150 percent and the number of dogs rescued also doubled.” — John Goodwin, manager of animal fighting issues at the Humane Society of the United States
“Our goal is simple: End dog fighting in America. And I thought we could get much further down the field by engaging with him than by endlessly flogging him.” — Wayne Pacelle, President & CEO, Humane Society of the United States
Jim Rice: Slugging Savior
Outside the Lines piece to debut on SportsCenter (10 a.m. Sunday)
As Jim Rice looks forward to his Hall of Fame induction in 10 days, he looks back 27 years to an off-the-field moment that stands out in his mind. It was the day one of the most feared sluggers of the 1970s and ‘80s rushed into the Fenway Park stands to the aid of a four year-old boy who had been struck by a line drive. Greg Garber tells the story of that boy, his father and Rice’s heroic action.
Gaps in the Road: Willie Mays Aikens’ Fight to Comeback
Outside the Lines piece is posted on ESPN.com
Willie Mays Aikens, a 1980 World Series hero who lost 14 years to prison and crack cocaine, is now trying to repair a life that once held so much promise. Elizabeth Merrill reports.
Excerpt: “He runs up and down the stairs, inhales junk food, and takes long steams in the bathtub, anything to regenerate for the next high. He has no idea how he looks, that the ‘fro once squeezed inside his batter’s helmet is receding, that he weighs 308 pounds. He’s not even sure what day it is. But when the crack rock is too big, and his heart pounds too fast, Aikens is suddenly afraid, and reaches for some kind of hope. ‘God, don’t let this kill me,’ he says to himself. ‘Don’t let anything bad happen to me.’ It is 1994, the year he reached the lowest point of his life. This is when Willie Mays Aikens’ voyage to recovery begins.”
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