Summer's time for scandal

There really is not much going on in sports in the summer, between the time the NBA and NHL playoffs wrap up and NFL preseason camps start. Sure there is a full slate of baseball games everyday, but beyond that, it's pretty sparse.

Major League Soccer? The WNBA? Hot Dog eating contests? None of these tend to get American sports fans blood pumping. Not to mention the fact that high school and college sports are on hiatus until the fall semester. Sure, the Tour de France is heating up right now, but I bet you can't name who is in the lead. Hint: It's an Dane.

And since there isn't much happening on the field in July, off the field incidents tend to get increased play in the sports media. This summer there seems to be two big scandals on the sporting landscape: Mike Vick's dogfighting indictment and the NBA referee gambling probe.

The Mike Vick dogfighting allegations are without a doubt serious. I read through the 18 pages of federal indictment and some of the counts are sickening. The worst and most publicized of them name Vick in counts of killing eight dogs by hanging, drowning and at least one case of slamming a dog into the ground. Whether Vick will play this season remains to be seen.

The other big sports story of the summer centers around NBA referee Tim Donaghy, who is under investigation for betting on games, possibly some of which he was officiating. NBA Commissioner David Stern held a press conference today to talk about the allegations; he said it was the "worst situation I've every experienced either as fan of the NBA, a lawyer for the NBA or commissioner of the NBA." Donaghy's story even has a local connection here in Chester County, when the ref's gambling was brought up during a lawsuit with his West Chester neighbor. Read about the ref's boorish behavior here.

Obviously both these stories are a big deal in the world of sports. Dogfighting is illegal and cruel. Gambling in sports is always huge issue, just look at Pete Rose.

But do you think these scandals would be making national headlines day after day if there was a full slate of pro and college football games this weekend? I doubt it.

Images from the Associated Press