20921 <p>On Thursday my two sons, ages 14 and 7 wanted to watch one thing on tv, <strong>Michael Vick.</strong>&nbsp;Neither is an <strong><em>Eagles </em></strong>fan, and they've never mentioned wanting to watch Vick before. My wife asked both of them, "Since when do you guys become fans of Michael Vick. You know what he did right?" "He's a good football player", said my 7 year old. My 14 year old said he was curious to see how he looked after all this time and that, "he's had it rough." It was then I wondered if <em>we, </em>the media, with all our stories and coverage had some how glamorized the superstar turned felon. That certainly wasn't the intetion, not that demonizing was, but <em>glamorizing???</em> No. The intention of every news outlet is to be accurate and fair. I've told my kids that athletes aren't role models. They should be cheered not emulated. So, I figured this was a good time to remind them of that fact, and to tell my oldest that the reason Vick has "had it rough" recently is because of his own stupidity, and that being stupid can cost you dearly. No matter who you are. That's when my 7 year old said, "Can we have the remote now?" Perfect. Parenting lesson complete. Thanks Michael Vick</p> <p> <hr /> </p> <p><strong>John McEnroe and Patrick McEnroe </strong>were in the <em>Sportscenter </em>studios last week in anticipation of this week's&nbsp;<strong>US Open. </strong>Both will be calling action as part of <em>ESPN's </em>first year of broadcasting the final tennis major of the season. I was struck by how different the two men were, from their dress to their demeanor. John mentioned that he was hungry, I told him our world famous cafeteria. He then asked me if I knew what the specials of the day were. I thought for a moment, and he asked me again. I continued to think, then John shouted, "ANSWER THE QUESTION!!!" No, no, no, that didn't happen. But both were nice to take a pic with me in the studio.</p> <p><a href="../../images/981878">http://sportsnation.espn.go.com/fans/ESPN_RobertFlores/images/981878</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <hr /> <p>Last week a couple of viewers took me up on my offer to play <strong>EA Sports <em>Madden10&nbsp; </em></strong>against me online. I'm 0-3. All three times I've played as the Houston Texans. My defense is awful. I might have the worst third down defense in the history of football. I need some help. Does anyone have similar problems? If you would like to play, and improve your record, drop me a line with your gamertag.</p> true 2009-08-31T01:46:24Z 92883 0 2009-08-31T01:46:24Z