Michael Vick received a 23-month prison sentence today for his part in the dogfighting conspiracy. He will also get 3 years of probation upon his release, scheduled for October 2009.

Who knows… he’s still young enough to come back from this sentence and possibly play again in the NFL. Other pro football players have served sentences and returned to the starting lineup.

Oh, if only we could have gotten similar swift justice for Barry Bonds. Had justice been served promptly in his case, he’d have never gotten his name tied to a record he didn’t deserve.

If Barry Bonds served time — even only a year — he’d come out 40 pounds lighter due to the inability to find quality steroids and HGH in prison, and even if he returned to baseball (what is he now, 50 years old?) he’d never be able to crush a ball into the river.

Rumor has it that the White Sox are considering trading third-baseman Joe Crede to the Yankees for outfielder Johnny Damon. The Chicagoist seems to think it’s not only likely, but a good idea:

This trade seems to make a lot of sense for both teams. While Crede hit 30 home runs for the Sox in 2006, he missed most of ‘07, so Josh Fields filled in and proved he’s too good to keep down in the minors any longer. That make Crede expendable. And the Yankees need a third baseman now that Alex Rodriguez has opted out of his contract.

Meanwhile, the Sox are desperate for both a center fielder and a leadoff hitter — both rolls that Damon can fill. The Yankees have Melkey Carbrera waiting in the wings.

With a 3.5 game lead and only 6 games left to play, the Chicago Cubs would have to have a meltdown of chaotic proportions to lose their division. Not that it isn’t possible…

Popular opinion among Cubs fans — myself included — is that they’re always great, or at least close to it, so it might come as a surprise (it did to me) that this will be only the fourth time that the Cubs finish in first place since the Billy Goat curse in 1945.

From 1876-1945, the Cubs were one of the dominant franchises in baseball. During that period of 69 years they posted an incredible 51 winning seasons, finishing in first place 16 times, appearing in 10 World Series and winning two of them.

That was before October 6, 1945. Game four of the World Series against the Tigers, and the Cubs led the series 2-1. “Billy Goat” Sianis bought two tickets to the game, one for him and one for his pet goat, Murphy. Wrigley denied the goat entrance and Sianis cursed the team.

In the 61 years since the Curse of the Billy Goat, they have had only 15 winning seasons, and finished in first place only 3 times. They have neither won nor even appeared in the World Series. They haven’t even won a Pennant.

This year, they’re staring at first place. The bullpen is looking good and the big bats have finally woken up. And with Lou Piniella at the helm, the team occasionally even looks like they know what they’re doing.

Over the years, the Sianis family has claimed the curse lifted. Will this be their year?