It seems like every industry has an email newsletter which is a “must have” for those in the biz.   But you can get really great fun stuff via email, too.  In fact, some of the best stuff you can read comes special delivered, direct to your email inbox.  And best of all, its typically free.  We scanned the World Wide Web for these great email newsletters which every man should receive, and after weeks of getting them on a regular basis, here’s our verdict: We should have been reading these beforehand.

Honorable Mentions

12: The Daily Beast. Their core offering is the snarky, Huffington Post-esque political beat, but their newsletter is pretty darn good, too — and will give you the necessary tools so you’re not that guy who thinks Nino Scalia is the lead singer of KISS.  The signup is buried in the bottom right of their homepage but if you register for an account, by default (boo!) they opt you in.  Good thing it’s a good read.

11: Links of the Week.  Best of the web, in link form, in your inbox, once a week.  LotW will make you smarter, more attractive, and bring women to you in droves.  Okay, maybe not.  But it will help you find such web gems as this 2003 Honda ad and will keep you awake enough to avoid this.

10: The Morning Bark.  A product of the Yardbarker sports network, the Morning Bark is a daily link dump of all things sports.  Like Links of the Week, above, there’s no actual content in it — just links — which is why we went with another sports list at #3 (keep scrolling…).  But if links are your thing, the Morning Bark is solid.

9: The Daily Tube. The best videos from the web, the Daily Tube offers a vertically-customizable mailer each day.  It’s not targetted toward men and certainly has its share of chick stuff, but you can avoid it (and should) pretty easily.

8: National Geographic’s Photo and News of the Week. It’s the second one down on that page.  It’s only a weekly and it’s really only worth it for the photos, but the monthly one is not as good and it comes out too rarely.  Ignore the (typically weird in a bad way) news but check out the (typically weird in a good way) photos like this one.

7: Comedy Smack. A best-of-the-web type of deal where all you get is funny, and you get it for noooo money.  (Sorry.)  Their Best of 2008 is worth twice the price.

6: The Toilet Paper.  Taglined “Daily News For the Thinking Man,” this four-times-a-weeker has become a mainstay in our toilet reading.  How else would you know that Fran Tarkenton thinks Brett Favre is a d-bag?

The awesomely! Fab Five

5: Flavorpill.  An events guide for your city, showing the hyper-trendy to just plain cool ways to enjoy the culture and happenings around town.  Focused on New York, LA, San Fran, Chicago, London, and Miami (hello South Beach!), Flavorpill does the deep dive that will make you the guy in your group who knows where the best live music is that weekend, and the endearing mensch who can talk about the hot new museum collection you think your better half will enjoy.  Live outside these cities? Their website will give you all the culture you can handle — but the mailers aren’t going to help much.

4: Tasting Table.  For the man-as-foodie, Tasting Table rules.  It’s not just about food, but where food and culture come into that perfect zen moment which makes dining out the awesome experience it can be.  They also give a great look at wine and beer, and sprinkle in a chef’s recipe or two.  But hey, if your worldview is “Big Mac, large fries, and a Coke,” it’s not for you.  Tasting Table has a New York, LA, Chicago, and a national version, with a San Fran one coming soon.

3: Daily Tailgate.  The new kid on the block is a best-in-class sports e-magazine.  I was lucky enough to be invited to be an alpha tester — it’s awesome.  Daily Tailgate gives a dose of that world of sports, but not just your top stories.  Sure, they have the ESPN nuts-and-bolts, but there’s more.  They bring you the ultimate watercooler fodder through their interviews with athletes and other sports celebs (did you know Linda Cohn was a college hockey goalie?), a shot of trivia and fantasy sports advice, and strange sports (defined loosely) like Sholf.  (Seriously, if you know of a Sholf tournament near New York City, I want in.)

2: Urban Daddy.  Yes, the title sounds like something from Michael Vick’s “Ron Mexico” conquests, but the content rocks.    For example, did you know that there’s something called a beer pager?  You know, which pages your beer?  Yeah, hit a button, and your beer starts beeping, screaming, “I’m here! Drink me!”   You would have if you were an Urban Daddy reader.

1: Thrillist.  The granddaddy of them all, Thrillist and its million of readers — literally — get first-hand news of bundles of awesomeness.  Find out about great new websites, products, bars, live shows, gear… honestly, everything a guy could ever want.  It’s a broad net but they’re masterfisherman, and make us feel more manly just by being subscribers.  Seriously, it’s that good.

With these five tools arriving every day or week in your inbox, you’ll be sure to be the man with the answers.  You’ll know everything you need to about sports, music, gear, events, food, and just plain awesomeness in every facet of life.

In fact, after you subscribe to these five (or 12!) above, you’ll wonder how you made it through your week beforehand.

If you’re a Mets fan — unless you’re one who has been living this season under a rock (for which we’d not begrudge you!) — you know that Mets manager Jerry Manuel does not like former Met outfielder Ryan Church.   Manuel has subtily slandered Church a few times now, but nothing quite tops yesterday’s dump-job.  For those who missed it, here’s your 15-second chronology:

• Last year, as a Met, Church suffered a concussion and returned too quickly, and was not the same player for the rest of the year.
• A few days ago, Met superstar David Wright got beaned in the head by a Matt Cain pitch, suffering a concussion and taking a trip to the DL.
• Church told Wright to take it easy and don’t rush back.
• Wright said he wanted to get back in the game ASAP.
• Manuel called Church a “different animal” than Wright, a/k/a a pussy.

We already know what David Wright thinks about concussions and the value of one’s brain.  How?  Because he told the New York Times that, in regard to new-age helmets: “If it provides more protection, then I’m all for it.  I’m not worried about style or looking good out there. I’m worried about keeping my melon protected.”  And that quote was from before the Cain beanball.

So let’s say you, like Wright, value the use of your brain.  You do not want some doctor manager telling you that not only is it safe to come back quickly after a brain injury, but that if you think otherwise, you’re a weakling undeserving of his respect.  Are you going to play for that guy?

I wouldn’t.

So the Mets now have two options: Send a message that no, they take brain injuries to be the serious problems they are — maybe by firing Manuel for his idiocy, maybe by issuing a statement to that effect (garbage), maybe by shelving Wright for the rest of the year, who knows.    The other option?  Focus on acquiring guys who would rather not use their head and instead, think they can gut it out when their grey matter is put in jeopardy.

Sadly, it looks like they are doing the former.

Pinball has always been big on celebrity tie ins. As a result, we’ve got plenty of good machines to choose from since aside from a few missteps the industry has done a decent job of creating celebrity tie-in machines that work for their demographic and are compatible with the pinball ethos. For our best evaluation the quality of the game a factor well only be part of the criteria.

We’ll also consider the collectability of the machine, or more specifically consider if the theme enhances or detracts from the machines value to the pinball enthusiast aftermarket. This is may seem like a somewhat subjective criteria, but its actually a very important consideration to pinball collectors. Another way to look at this component is to consider the machines floor appeal in your den or rec room.

5) Eight Ball by Bally Manufacturing (1977)

Some would question if it belongs on the list at all for reasons we’ll discuss in a moment. If you didnt live through it, you have no idea of what a big deal Fonzie from the TV series Happy Days was during the mid to late 1970s. His popularity spilled over into other areas of popular culture, such as re-popularizing the leather jacket and bringing the word nerd back from the dead.

Eight Ball features the leather jacket clad Fonzie in a pool hall — or does it? The intent is certainly to suggest its the iconic Happy Days character but there’s no reference made to his name. Nor is there any other Happy Days iconography present on the machine. Debate rages to this day about whether or not it was a licensed image of Fonzie, or a lookalike doppelganger changed just enough to skirt copyright laws.

4) KISS by Bally Manufacturing (1979)

The makeup wearing, fire and blood spewing rock band almost begged to be immortalized with a pinball machine theme and in 1979 they were. You could make a case that this was a poorly timed release as by 1979 KISS was considered to be running on fumes, having just released their disco inspired album Dynasty. Fortunately, the machine depicted the band in all of their earlier glory and featured polyphonic renditions of classic songs like Rock n Roll All Night and Shout It Out Loud.

Personally, I have always liked how the graphics look more pinball like than I had first anticipated and are actually somewhat restrained (at least by KISS standards). The machine was fun to play, and was very popular with a production run of 17,000 units.

3) Wizard! by Bally Manufacturing (1974)

Inspired by the film version of Tommy,Wizard is often incorrectly named as the first licensed celebrity theme machine, but it definitely set off the flood of tie-in machines in the latter half of the 20th century. There were some pre-release rumors that it was based on the machine played by Tommy Walkers nemesis The Pinball Wizard in the film, but those are also incorrect.

The machine’s artwork was created by Dave Christiansen and its long on stylish symbolism and short of specific references to the film. Perhaps due to the films disappointing performance, the Wizard machine wasn’t considered a blockbuster with a production run of 10,000 units.  However, the music (and rock opera) live on, thus extending the cultural relevance of this machine.

2) Playboy by Bally Manufacturing (1978)

A pipe smoking Hugh Hefner and a bevy of bikini clad Playmates grace this homage to the magazine. With the Chicago roots of the magazine, a pinball machine tribute would have been a natural notwithstanding its significant cultural influence. This was the first of three Playboy licensed machine (subsequent releases were a 1989 35th Anniversary machine by Data East and a 2002 Stern Pinball release that offered both clothed and nude Playmate options) and in my opinion the best.

The machine art is by Paul Faris, widely considered one of the best ever by pinball geeks. The machine is a blast to play and captures all of the cool of Playboys early days including Leroy Neimans Femlin cartoon and digitized music based on the theme to the Playboy After Dark TV show composed by Cy Coleman. And, of course, Playboy’s legendary bunny head is everywhere. A perfect union of a great theme, amazing artwork and fun gameplay made this a very popular machine upon release (18,250 unit production run) and is prized by collectors even today.

1) Evel Kneivel by Bally Manufacturing (1976)

The Last of the Gladiators on a great pinball machine.

The fact that I could end the description with that sentence should convey why this is #1 on my list and completes a Bally Manufacturing sweep of the top 5. A simple, but fun to play design with all sorts of officially licensed Evel Knievel imagery. Fun gameplay combined with a theme that is off the charts in terms of cool makes this my choice for the best celebrity themed pinball machine ever.

And that racing stripe… well, at the time, it was cool, and now it just exudes campy goodness.

Have you heard that “Offense sells tickets, but defense wins championships?” I hope so, because it is true. You look at all teams and it holds water. This is because offense might not show up because shots sometimes do not go in, but defense does. Defense is always there for you no matter what if you put the hard work in.

Then why is it that casual ballplayers never practice there defense? You always see them practicing their shooting, dribbling, or passing, but never defense.  They probably do not even know how to practice it alone.  Here are six easy ways to do exactly that.

Drills to Build Quickness

1: Lines. Jump back and forth, and side to side over lines with both feet and then one foot at a time. You want quick little jumps.  Time yourself to see how many you can do in 60 seconds.  This not only builds reaction time and better motor coordination, but also endurance if you do multiple sets each workout.

2: Five Dots. Make 5 dots, 1 in the middle and 4 in the shape of a box outside of the middle one, about two feet from the center.   Hop on both feet from the outer dots onto the middle one, and repeat outward to the next dot.  Try and do some jumps backward.  This will increase your spatial awareness as well as your quickness.

3: Bounding.  This drill trains you to explode onto the scene on defense — and not just default by running. Start this drill out on one foot and then jump as far as you can in a random direction. Keep on doing this, but only do it for a short period of time. You are wanting to train your muscles to be explosive so go hard for a short amount of time.

Different Game Situations

4. Shuffle. This is good for guarding a man with the ball.  We suggest the “push slide step technique” — push with one leg; slide the other one next to it, and then step. In this technique do not overlap your feet, and you create a human wall which makes it difficult for the player to dribble or pass around.  In practicing, go from one end of the lane to the other. While doing this, you must have one almost touching the ground and one high. The one hand high is to be in the players face in game ready to block/distract shot while the low hand is the pesky hand preventing the crossover. This hand is then dictating to the ball handler which direction he can go.

5.  Crossing Out. Sometimes, you need to get to the shooter, and quickly.  This helps you practice that situation.  Start out of bounds and put a cone at the free throw line. Imagine the cone as an imaginary person. Run at it and then chop step when you get close with your but down and hands up being ready for the shot and drive. Practice like it is a real game, or you will get burned in a real game.

6: Ball Shuffle Drill. Pass the ball along the wall while shuffling your feet parallel to the wall, moving laterally the entire time. Always stay in your defensive stance while doing this.  This will allow you to improve your lateral movement against a ball-handler and will focus your concentration on the ball.  See how quickly you can get from one baseline to the other, and how many Remember that for all the defensive drills and you will get a great workout.

The iPod. The name has become the standard in MP3 players. Much like Kleenex to tissue paper, the iPod is now the thing we associate portable music with. Sometimes, we want something different. Sandisk (the company that owns Sansa) delivers this with the Sansa Fuze — its answer to the iPod Nano. It’s about the same size and it costs about the same. So why Sansa’s Fuze if Apple’s iPod is the standard?

I have my girlfriend’s iPod Nano here to compare with my Sansa Fuze. The iPod Nano is thinner and is slightly longer than the Fuze. The Nano is also slightly lighter than the Fuze. The screen on the Sansa is larger. It looks almost twice as big. The Nano feels very slick and smooth. The Fuze seem to have a glossy coating on the front face and a rubbery backside for added grip. It feels good. It does not look or feel cheap. Both the Nano and the Fuze are well made and they feel like high quality mp3 Players.

My girlfriend’s Nano holds 2 GB of songs. There is no option to add extra storage. My Fuze holds 8 GB of music. I purchased the high-end Fuze, but hey have a standard 4 GB Fuze, which is roughly 25% cheaper than the Nano for twice the storage.  The Fuze also has a micro-SD slot that I took advantage of and added an 8 GB micro card making for a total of 16 GB or music storage!

Sound quality?  I have listened to many mp3 Players. I have experienced Archos, Iriver, Creative Zen, Phillips, and of course, the Nano and Sansa. I can say without a doubt that the Sansa Fuze has the highest sound quality of them all. Reviews on Amazon.com support this.  In fact, most dissent comes from the iPod’s incredible headphones, which are best-in-class — but replacable.  If you buy a Fuze, I suggest you to get a good pair of headphones that cover your entire ear, and you will be blown away by the sound quality of the Fuze (who cares if you look foolish on the bus!). The treble is very crisp and the bass thumps well.

Feature set?  The Fuze wins, hands down.  It can show pictures and video, and even comes with a microphone.  It does a lot more than the Nano and does it all well.

I love my Fuze. The added space and features are killer, but also, it has the distinct advantage of not being an Apple product — and therefore, can be discounted by retailers regularly.  Go to Target, Best Buy, Radio Shack, and even Amazon online and you’ll see something on SanDisk products that you’ll rarely see on Apple ones: sales.

The Houston Astros are an interesting breed of baseball team. With some of the oldest active players in major league baseball, a new wave of younger players are beginning to make their presence felt in Houston. The older players have been hit with all kinds of injuries through the course of the season, but none strong enough to effectively end their seasons.

Interestingly enough, the three players on the team most prone to injury really haven’t missed much time, if any at all. Pudge Rodriguez, Miguel Tejada, and Carlos Lee have all been generally healthy through the season. Despite the health of the team’s veterans, my focus has shifted to the youth of the Astros, a core of solid players who look like they could form the foundation of a great team for the next few years.

This all begins with 26-year-old Michael Bourne. A player who’s always had some of the best speed in the majors, it seems like he finally got his batting situation figured out this season, with an average of .289 at the moment. This is over 60 points higher than his 2008 numbers. He’s tops in the majors in SBs and triples, and I believe that he’ll continue to improve.

Hunter Pence made the All-Star team this year, at just 26 years of age, has a bright future ahead of himself. His numbers are slowly improving, and while his power is down a bit this season, I expect it to rise back as he matures some more.

The Astros see their catcher of the future in Jason Castro, 22, who is hitting over .300 at AA Corpus Christi and is penciled in to arrive in Houston no later than 2011. Should an opening develop in the outfield, Brian Bogusevic, 25, a converted pitcher, could find a home at Minute Maid. He’s batting .279 at AAA Round Rock and is making a crash course of becoming a professional hitter. The infield is lacking in top prospects right now but the franchise is high on 3B Chris Johnson, 24, who has power but is still raw and had trouble staying healthy this year. Jiovanni Mier, 18, is a shortstop who was the Astros’ first-round pick this year.

On the mound, injuries have already forced some young pitchers to make an appearance. Bud Norris, 24, has a 3-0 start to his big league career with an ERA of 3.00. Yorman Bazardo, 24, who is with his fifth organization, was recently called up and credits Round Rock pitching coach Burt Hooton with getting his career back on track. Felipe Paulino, 25, could also have a bright career if he improves his control. Further down on the farm, the Astros are expecting big things from 2008 draft picks Jordan Lyles and Ross Seaton, both 19. They could reach Houston by 2012 or 2013.

In the bullpen, some shrewd moves by General Manager Ed Wade have brought Wesley Wright, 24, Alberto Arias, 25, and Jeff Fulchino, 29, to Houston that have already paid dividends. Sammy Gervacio, 24, is also getting a second chance to impress the Astros this year. Young players are known for their inconsistency and fans will have to endure their ups and downs, showing patience as they learn how to be effective at the major league level. But a nucleus is there to make the Astros competitive while staying affordable. Veterans Wandy Rodriguez, Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman are likely to still be around for a few more years, perhaps joined by Lee and Tejada.

Since the Astros most likely won’t catch the Cardinals or the Cubs, I’d say they should let their youth play some baseball. You never know who might catch on. This is a team with great youth, and it’s time to bring the future stars to the big league.

You probably remember Mets outfielder Jeff Francoeur from this exceptional defensive play pictured right.  We’ve always known that  Francoeur was a little bit on the un-SMRT side.   In May, as a member of the Atlanta Braves, he told ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick that on-base precentage — which stat geeks often look at as a hugely important metric — as garbage:

“If on-base percentage is so important, then why don’t they put it up on the scoreboard?”

But rest assured, Jeff, they do, in fact, put it up on the scoreboard.  FanIQ comes in with this shot of the Braves home marquee, replete with Marcus Giles’ .368 OBP.

Reasonable minds can differ on the value of OBP, of course, so our insistance that Francoeur is dumber than dirt was, back then, an assertion.  No more.

Today, the New York Times has an article up discussing a next-gen batting helmet which can absorb fastballs at the noggin up to a speed of 100 mph, much better than the estimated 70 mph of current helmets.  They quote Mets All-Star David Wright as a proponent for its use:

“If it provides more protection, then I’m all for it,” said Mets third baseman David Wright, who last week dodged a Brad Thompson fastball traveling on a frightening vector toward his head. “I’m not worried about style or looking good out there. I’m worried about keeping my melon protected.”

Smart guy, that David Wright.  And we were sure most players would agree, or at least justify their objections by saying something to the effect of “… unless it interferes with my swing.”   But not Jeff Francoeur.  Having no brain, it seems, means that there’s no reason to wear such a helmet:

“No, I am absolutely not wearing that,” Mets right fielder Jeff Francoeur said with a laugh after seeing a prototype, as if he were being asked to put a pumpkin on his head. “I could care less what they say, I’m not wearing it. There’s got to be a way to have a more protective helmet without all that padding. It’s brutal. We’re going to look like a bunch of clowns out there.”

No word on whether Francoeur believes in seat belts or jock straps.

Michael Crabtree has been in the news a lot recently, for his contract holdout against the 49′ers. His reason is simple enough: He should have been a top 5 pick, but was not. Thus, he should be payed like a top 5 pick, regardless of him falling to 10th. His decision to hold out on the 49′ers doesn’t surprise me in the least bit. Why, you ask?

This kid’s ego is bigger than the collection of alts we’ve built on this site. Did you know, that when he was at Tech, if he didn’t like the clubhouse food, he’d make (yes, he would force someone) to go to a restaurant to get him food. He’s the perfect example of what is wrong with athletes. Yes, money is important. But he’s a class-A a-hole……a prima donna, if you will. So what will the effects of his holdout be? Say the 49′ers do not offer him the money he wants, and he DOES sit out the 2009 NFL season….while the 49′ers would be dealt a big blow, Crabtree would take the bigger hit.

Here’s why: Michael Crabtree is not a top five pick next year.

He may not be top 10, for all it matters, because the 2010 Draft Class may be one of the most stacked classes in recent memory. Not many teams are going to want to build around a selfish, egotistical WR who sat out one year. We’ve seen what has happened with TO and Chad Johnson…..no team wants to go through that, regardless of the talent of the receiver. In the 2010 NFL Draft, you’re looking at top-rated prospects such as DT Ndamukong Suh, FS Taylor Mays, QB’s Colt McCoy and Tim Tebow….and possibly even players like Brandon Spikes, Sam Bradford, Jevan Snead, Jahvid Best, Eric Berry, etc. Now I’m not saying that all of these will go top 5, or even top 10, but they’re definitely candidates to be picked high, should all of them enter the draft.

So….this brings to light another question. Should Crabtree re-enter the 2010 NFL Draft….will he even be the top WR? We all know Crabtree put together an AMAZING 2007 Campaign, going for nearly 2000 receiving yards and 22 TD’s. He fell off a bit, yet still put together a great campaign in 2008, going for 1,165 yards and 19 scores. But there may be an even better wide-out coming into the draft next year.

Look at Dez Bryant, for example, who put up better numbers than Crabtree in 2008 and may have a better 2009. Bryant could very well be deemed more valuable than Crabtree should they both be eligible in 2010.

Crabtree was also the beneficiary of Mike Leach’s offense. This is a much more college-friendly offense than NFL-friendly, and Crabtree’s success may not translate to the NFL the way that it did in college.

So Crabtree will sit out a year, and he won’t even be able to get into camp this year…..which makes no sense for him. He’s recovering from an injury, so it’s vital that he gets time in to adapt to the NFL’s basic offensive schemes. Not only that, but he needs to take time to get to know the franchise. Meanwhile, Dez Bryant will have another year of experience under his belt, and will likely get drafted high in the first round, barring some freak injury or terrible season. So while Crabtree does think he’s the most interesting man in the world at this point in time….he’s really turning out to be one of the stupidest players coming out of college. He thinks he has it made.

Well, flip the switch, let the reality check turn on……Crabtree will likely be offered less money next year, than he is being offered right now. But alas, let him hold out…..the NFL does not need any more overinflated ego’s. Remember what happened to Mike Williams? If he sits out, then good for him, and even better for the league. He seems to forget that even if he puts together a Hall of Fame worthy career…..he’s not going to be the best WR the Bay Area has seen.

Alfred Hitchcock was born 110 years ago today.   The master filmmaker was the dominating icon of his era and industry, making movies which are still watched and still scare the living daylights out of those born nearly a century after him.

Prolific as he was grand, Hitchcock directed over 50 feature films over his six decade career, quite literally writing his last, unfinished script until his health had prevented him from continuing.  He also produced and hosted his own television show, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, which Time magazine named one of the top 100 shows of all time.  (And Hitchcock even drew the silhouette logo used by the show himself!)

But what sets Hitchcock apart is his passion for his craft.   Even the trailers to movies were meaningful productions; check out this incredible six-plus minute theatrical trailer for his masterpiece, Psycho.  Watch the whole thing, because it is awesome defined in its most classic sense:

Hitchcock also, in a non-douchey way, appeared in almost all of his films, typically at an inflection point in the plot line.  Not only did viewers accept his self-insertion, but they appreciated it — playing the game of “Find Alfred”.  That?  That’s respect.

Here’s to you, Alfred Hitchcock.

The Green Bay Packers have gone on record by saying they have not ruled out signing free agent Michael Vick. As a Packers fan, I am not a big fan of Vick — not just with the dog fighting, but also after beating the Packers on Wild Card Weekend in 2002.  Yet, he could be a good asset to an already good offensive team. He could add that extra dimension that the Packers are looking for.  And when I’m torn, I make a list.

Pros: Michael Vick, in addition to playing quarterback, can also be featured as a wide receiver. The potential for creative plays is huge once two men on the field can capably throw the ball. Vick’s rushing abilities (reverse plays, etc.) can’t be discounted either in these situations.

Vick would obviously be a backup to Rodgers should he join the team, but a team never knows when its backup will be called upon. So many teams have seen their chances blown when their starting QB goes down with injury, and the prospect of Michael Vick as backup to Rodgers could somewhat shield the team should Rodgers be hurt.

Cons: Vick, at the quarterback position, is extremely fast, but erratic and shaky as well. Vick typically tries to do more as a running back than a quarterback should, which often works out, but often ends up hurting the team. He is sacked more than any other NFL quarterback, and loses 6 yards per sack on average.

Additionally, his completion percentage as a quarterback is historically low, at just 54%. He throws a fair number of interceptions too, leading to a low QB rating of 75.7.

Yet another draw back that may come with Michael Vick is the negative media coverage his involvement could bring. With all of the Brett Favre drama of the past few years, the team and its fans are hungry for a break from the spotlight. This may bring the Packers back to the center of attention.

All in all, would the team be better off with Vick or without him? I’m inclined to say they should take the chance and go for it, especially if he is a bargain. The NFC North will be a competitive division this season, and any edge will help.

Then again, Green Bay is one of the smallest media markets in the country, so Vick may not attract the attention that he would in a major city. Perhaps we should really focus our attention on Aaron Rodgers, who may have the most at stake from a Michael Vick signing. Would the speedy quarterback help or hurt him?

Conrad Argent can be found at the RootZoo Sports NFL forum where he dominates in sports trivia . . . and in wearing cheeseheads.