Michael Vick Inspires Miami Children to Not Fund Big-Money Dogfighting Rings

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Humane Society guy: "Remember: You hate dogfighting." Michael Vick: "I hate dogfighting."
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On Monday afternoon, as part of his I Need to Stay in the NFL Because I Owe $20 Million Tour, quarterback/dogfighter Michael Vick showed up at the Overtown Youth Center to thoroughly confuse a gymnasium full of little kids. Who is this dead-eyed man, and are we supposed to emulate him, or run away?

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"So kids, if you see Roger Goodell, be sure you tell him I was here..."
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Vick, in town for the Super Bowl festivities and accompanied by a Humane Society representative, didn't seem too sure himself. He began by relating to the Overtown kids that he had grown up in Newport News, Virginia, which is "pretty much a bad city", but "sacrificed a lot" to accomplish his dream of making it to the NFL. But (spoiler alert!) "I kept a dark secret. Everything I worked on in life I threw out the window... I had to go to prison because I was consumed and involved in dog-fighting. For the life of me, I don't know why. I don't know what happened, but what I can say is that it was because I grew up in an environment that was crime-infested."

Inspiring! Vick lacked the will to get into the ugly nitty-gritty component that's the most important part of every scared-straight speech, barely touching on what's wrong with dogfighting besides, you know, getting caught. "It's a form of violence I really didn't know was wrong at the time," he said. "I didn't know how many people I was affecting, and didn't realize I was hurting myself. Don't waste your life on things that don't make sense."

Dolphins Decision to Forgo Drew Brees Rubbed in our Face Almost Immediately

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Like most Miamians, we were pulling for the Saints last night. Yeah there's a huge part of us that wished it was the Dolphins, but we couldn't have been happier for New Orleans. 

Of course, as you're probably aware, Saints QB and MVP Drew Brees was courted by the Dolphins when he left the Chargers in 2005. The Dolphins didn't think Brees could fully recover from a shoulder injury and signed Daunte Culpepper, who was dealing with his own knee injury, instead. As we all know that didn't work out so well. 

So within a minute of the New Orleans Saints winning their first Super Bowl, we believe it was CBS announcer Jim Nantz, who decided to remind the Dolphins, and about 100 million people, of their stupid decision. 

"Brees could have ended up playing here as his home stadium, but the Dolphins, you know what, they just cast too much doubt. They were too suspicious that his shoulder wouldn't heal. But Brees didn't like their attitude, the attitude of authority."

Last Night's Super Bowl Was the Most Watched Broadcast in American History

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via The Daily What
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The Super Bowl getting high ratings isn't news as much as it is practically a law of physics, but when it breaks a 27-year-old record that's certainly something.

Last night's broadcast from Miami Gardens drew an astounding 106.5 million viewers, making it the most watched television program in the history of the United States. It breaks the record set by M*A*S*H's season finale in 1983. That was watched by 105.97 million Americans.

It's also the first sports program in history to break the 100 million mark.

Chalk it up to the feel good story of the New Orleans Saints and the Colts' Peyton Manning's appeal. Chalk it up to the inclement weather up north that kept a whole lot of viewers inside. Maybe even chalk it up a little to the appeal of South Florida? Well, whatever the case, it certainly proves that you don't need a fancy new stadium or $200 million-plus roof to host a good game.

[The Hollywood Reporter: Super Bowl dethrones 'M*A*S*H,' sets all-time record!]
Tags: Super Bowl

305 Photo of the Day: In the Garden

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Today's photo, of the garden at Vizcaya, comes from Rober1000x's Flickr. If you'd like to see your photo here, join our Flickr group.
Tags: Vizcaya

Tim Tebow's Focus on the Family Super Bowl Ad: The Aftermath

 
We weren't expecting Tim and Pam Tebow's Super Bowl ad for Focus on the Family to feature the two marching in front of the Supreme Court with a stroller full of bloodied baby dolls and duct tape over their mouths, but -- wow -- the thing came off more like an eHarmony ad than a spot taking on a controversial issue. 

Which has some people asking what all the controversy was about. 

$50,000 Reward for Safe Return of Nicki Minaj's Little Pink Friend

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via Minaj's Twitter
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Somewhere -- possibly in the busy terminals of Miami International Airport, the back seat of a cab, or anywhere else in the county -- sits a lonely stuffed pink monkey named Oscar.

Oscar, who also goes by the name "Osk," belongs to burgeoning rap superstar Nicki Minaj (who we recently called the next great hope of Cash Money records). Minaj is offering a $50,000 reward for the safe return of the plush primate, last seen publicly outside David Letterman's studios.

Minaj, who was in town for some Super Bowl parties and to shoot a video with Ludacris and Trina, took to her Twitter page for help.
Dear Barbz, have u seen Oscar? U know... pink monkey I had wen I did Letterman...? He's gone! Plz help! All Points Bulletin: Where's Oscar?!!
Tags: Nicki Minaj

Carlos Bertonatti Tossed Back Into the Slammer for Misleading Homeland Security: UPDATE

Carlos Bertonatti, the musician charged with drunkenly killing a cyclist and then speeding away on the Rickenbacker Causeway last month, was handcuffed and escorted back to jail this morning.

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via Miami Dade Corrections
Bertonatti's got a brand new mug.
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After Bertonatti pleaded not guilty to the charges of vehicular homicide, DUI manslaughter, leaving the scene of a fatal accident, and resisting arrest, prosecutors introduced a motion to return the 28-year-old Key Biscayne resident to jail.

Riptide is waiting on the motion to get the precise details, but we're told prosecutors asked that he be returned to custody for misleading Homeland Security about his place of birth.

UPDATE: Bertonatti's bail was revoked, according to the prosecutor's motion, because he lied to Judge David Miller about possessing only a Venezuelan passport and because he has a lengthy history of skipping out on court dates.

According to prosecutors, Bertonatti has "an additional passport issued by Argentina," which he didn't see fit to mention during his bond hearing.

What's more, prosecutors say that Bertonatti has missed court hearings on four seperate occassions in the past on traffic charges.

Strangely, prosecutors also testified in court that they have reason to believe that Bertonatti may actually hold a third passport that he didn't mention in his bond hearing, from Romania, of all places.

Silicon Beach: Super Bowl Monday-Morning Quarterbacking in Social Media

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Ah, the Super Bowl -- that one time of the year when even football widows pay homage to pigskin. Silicon Beach caught the Saints-beat-the-crap-out-of-the-Colts game at Brickell Irish Pub, where a dozen screens afforded great views of men's scrotums covered in tight pants. The Celtic chips were also delicious.

But it wasn't all about the game or the finger food. It was all about social media, with the NFL (@NFL) featuring Twitter in big, bold letters and graphics on its homepage and creating buzz via the hashtag #SB44. As of Monday morning, #SB44 was trending along with the other reason we love the Super Bowl: TV commercials. #Bowl Ads 2010 and #Superbowl commercials were also buzzing on Twitter.

SNL Asks What Is Burn Notice?



Confession time. We still barely have any idea what Burn Notice is about. Funny thing is we've written about it but never actually seen an episode. We know it's shot and set in Miami. Something about a spy. A spy who possibly didn't do his spy work to his bosses' expectations and someone is trying to kill him or something. Not really sure why after four seasons, they haven't been successful in killing him. Oh! There's an attractive lady he hangs out with. Um, yeah, so we do know it's not about the detective team of Michael Burn and Chet Notice. 

Which is more than we can say for the contestants on this SNL sketch game show What Is Burn Notice? See, it's funny because it's true. Despite getting solid ratings and good grades from critics, the show hasn't broken through to the general pop consciousness like lesser-rated cable shows Mad Men and, uh, Jersey Shore

Intro to Making It Rain: Chad Ochocinco Takes a High Schooler to Tootsie's Cabaret

Disco Rick will not be pleased. At some point during Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco's Hypnotiq-addled sleepless binge that was Super Bowl weekend, apparently he swept up some young, impressionable lads and showed them his advanced dollar-fluttering techniques-- at Tootsie's Cabaret strip club. From his Twitter page:

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His homie from Cincy, by the way, is Ryan Santoro -- a high school footballer in his senior year. Who says today's athletes aren't taking responsibility for the education of America's youth?
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