Vick Gains New Fans, Supporters on the Road to Redemption

My partner works in the drug and alcohol rehabilitation field. She is a licensed and certified drug counselor, has a masters of divinity degree and is a seminary-trained ordained minister. She works in the field of Redemption, where people who have made mistakes and messed up their lives try and make amends and become better people.

It's hard work. It requires patience, commitment and forgiveness. It's also not always successful. Life's highways are littered with ruined lives. It's nice to see when someone can get up, dust themselves off and try to walk the straight and narrow.

Weekends, she likes to relax by watching cooking shows and knitting. This past weekend, I watched the first half of the Giants-Eagles game, thought the Giants were going to win and retired to read, turning the remote over to my partner.

It was with some surprise that a few chapters in I heard a "Woo Hoo!" coming from the living room.

Mmm, I thought, must have been a great recipe.

A few minutes later, another "Woo Hoo!" That can't be a cooking show, I thought.

Sure enough, it wasn't. During the commercials for the cooking show, she had turned over to the Eagles-Giants game and watched the Eagles recover an onside kick. The second whoop was from a Mike Vick touchdown pass that brought the Eagles within a touchdown.

My partner is a Mike Vick supporter. She was excited to see him doing well. She had read the Sports Illustrated article on Vick and was moved by it. The Eagles coach, Andy Reid, knows about Redemption as his sons have struggled with addictions.

I sat down with her and watched the rest of the game. It was wonderful to see Vick playing the way I saw him play in college for Virginia Tech. He was unstoppable.

Vick played two years for the Hokies. His record in games he started was 22-1. The only loss came in a national championship game against Florida State.

Vick's fall from Grace has been well documented. He spent 18 months in jail. It has been pointed out that people are more upset and less forgiving of Vick than other athletes who beat their wives, cheat on their wives and sexually assault women.

There are some people who will never forgive Vick. My partner works every day with people who have ruined other people's lives, spent time in jail, and are struggling to become better. She shares Vick's story with those she counsels. They understand.

They understand there are no guarantees, that every day is a struggle and that there will be setbacks. But they get up, dust themselves off and try and walk the straight and narrow.

It's good to see Vick doing well on and off the field.

There are few people that have Vick's athletic abilities, but there are many people that have fallen from Grace. They are in rehab facilities across the country. They are looking to turn their lives around. Not all of them will make it. But like Vick, if they do, they deserve Redemption, too.
Here's a 'Holiday Shout Out' for all those trying to turn their lives around. "Woo Hoo!"

Hokies Smack Seminoles; Win ACC Championship

Eleven in a row. It may take awhile for that to sink in. Looks like we get a month to savor it. Saturday's 44-33 win was the 11th in a row for the Virginia Tech Hokies since the loss to James Madison in September.
I am partying like its 1999. That's the last time the Hokies won 11 in a row. Michael Vick was the quarterback. Virginia Tech went 11-0 in the regular season, the Hokies were in the Big East, and played Florida State for the National Championship.
The Hokies led 29-28 going into the fourth quarter before falling to the Seminoles, then coached by Bobby Bowden. Saturday, the Hokies played Florida State for the ACC Championship, no longer coached by Bowden.
Tyrod Taylor, who reminds some people of Vick, quarterbacked the Hokies, still coached by Frank Beamer, to a convincing 11 point win over Florida State. The turning points in the game, all in the first quarter, set the tone and momentum.
Whenever the Hokies win the opening toss, they defer to the second half, the other team gets the ball, and marches down the field to score a touchdown.
The Hokies start slow, get close at halftime and then dominate the second half to seal the deal. This game was different.
The first turning point was a 3rd and 2 at the Hokies 14 yard line. Safety Eddie Whitley broke up a pass intended for Taiwan Easterling in the corner of the end zone. The Seminoles settled for a field goal. That made it 3-0 Seminoles.
On a wet, slippery field, Taylor had three incomplete passes opening drive and the Hokies had to punt. That was a shame, because Ryan Williams looked good, rushing three times for 31 yards.
One play after the punt, Seminole quarterback E.J. Manuel's pass was tipped by lunging linebacker Bruce Taylor. Instinctively, Jeron Gouveia-Wilson gathered the pass in and ran 24 yards for the score. The extra point by Chris Hazely put Tech up 7-3.
The next turning point was on the Seminoles' next possession. On a 2nd and 8, Steven Friday tackled Manuel for a three yard loss. Manuel's eight yard gain on third down wasn't enough and Florida State had to punt.
After a touch pass to Williams for five yards, Darren Evans burst through the middle for a 51 yard gain. On the next play, Evans scored from nine yards out. With Hazley's kick, the Hokies were up 14-3. They never relinquished the lead and never let the Seminoles back in the game. The Hokies were in control rest of the way.
Remarkably, both teams went on to score 30 points each. Sometimes a bad field can favor the offense.
Taylor was magnificent, throwing for 263 yards and three touchdowns. The Seminoles for some reason decided not to cover Danny Coales, who was wide open for many of his six catches. But Taylor's signature moment in the game was a run.
On a third and goal from the five yard line, Taylor weaved and juked his way through numerous Seminoles for a touchdown. Even a botched extra point didn't detract, putting the Hokies up 41-26.
It has been a joy watching Taylor take snaps for the Hokies these past four years. Knowing there will be one more game, the Orange Bowl, is something to look forward to, a sports memory to treasure.
What a year! It would be nice to be playing for the national championship. Looking at other teams, TCU seems to be the only one that could beat the Hokies. They aren't playing for a national championship, either.
By the way, JMU finished 6-5.