Odds and ends from Sunday's games

The most discouraging moment from Sunday's games: Atlanta fans cheering Philadelphia quarterback Michael Vick late in the game. A convicted felon who tortured and killed dogs for entertainment, the former Atlanta player should never have been allowed back into the league. His return to Atlanta as a member of the opposing team should have produced a cascade of sustained boos for three hours. Fans boo former players who defect to other teams all the time for far less serious reasons. Yet, in Atlanta, Vick continues to have substantial support, which makes me wonder about that city.

The Washington Redskins had three of the most heartbreaking mistakes possible in their 33-30 overtime loss to undefeated New Orleans. Take away any of the mistakes and the Redskins would have pulled off the upset of the year. They missed a late field goal that was essentially the same distance of an extra point. And extra points have well above a 90% success rate in the NFL. Earlier, they intercepted a pass, and while returning it, the Redskin player wasn't paying attention to how he carried the ball and a receiver from the Saints took it out of his hands and ran the other way for a touchdown. The Washington secondary has done some bonehead things this year, like lateraling after a pick or leaving receivers wide open for touchdowns, but this took the prize for carelessness. Then, the Saints punter shanked a punt for just 20 yards, which would have given Washington great field position. Instead, the ball hit a Redskins player on the back and New Orleans recovered.

What's up with the Pittsburgh Steelers? Losing to Oakland? The defending champs are now in jeopardy of not making the playoffs.

With that all said, any week that includes a Dallas Cowboys loss is a good week. Even better on Sunday because the loss came against the New York Giants, who remain in playoff contention.

Alleged Fort Hood gunman went to Va. Tech

A lot has been written about the Fort Hood (Texas) shootings in the last 24 hours. I can't really add much to the conversation about the horror of what occurred there.

But there is something that caught my eye. The alleged gunman is a graduate of Virginia Tech.

There have been so many tragedies connected to that university in the last three years that it's getting hard to keep track. Of course, April 16, 2007, when 32 students were gunned down, remains the darkest day in that school's history and is something that I have personal ties to.

There have been other tragic connections to Tech in recent months and years, including a murder near campus a few months prior to the April 16 massacre.

Last year, there was a beheading on campus. Yes, someone was killed right out in the open.

Recently, a student from VT disappeared after a Metallica concert at the University of Virginia. She has not been found.

And in 2008, two students from Virginia Tech were murdered while camping.

Throw in Michael Vick's (a former star football player at VT) horrendous dog-fighting conviction, and it's getting a little hard to comprehend how many high-profile crimes have been related to Virginia Tech in some way in a very short period of time. That is not to say these things are not just simply coincidences. Probably are. Still, I am unaware of any other university that is in national headlines as often as Tech has been since 2007. At least not for this type of stuff.

Blacksburg, Va., where the Virginia Tech is located, is a very small town in the middle of nowhere. The closest city of any mentionable size is Roanoke, about 30 miles away. Many of Tech's students are from Northern Virginia and the D.C. suburbs, about a four-hour drive.

Thirty years ago, Va. Tech was where state students went who didn't have the grades (or money) for the University of Virginia. But now Tech is considered an academically competitive school. It's known for its strong engineering program, powerhouse football team and its tight-knit community. In addition, Tech alumni, students and educators are fiercely protective of their school's image and loyal to a point of being a bit unsettling to "outsiders."

Unfortunately, and for whatever reason, Tech is also associated with some pretty horrific events in recent years. Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the accused gunman at Fort Hood, is just the latest name in the news to be connected to the school. It's getting odd, to say the least.

Limbaugh, Vick share some common traits

Has anyone noticed that many of the same people who don't want radio personality Rush Limbaugh to be allowed to buy an NFL team are the same people who were so anxious to give convicted felon and animal abuser Michael Vick another chance to play in the league? In my opinion, the day the NFL commissioner let Vick play football again is the day the league lost any right to prevent anyone from being a part of the league, including Rush Limbaugh.

These self-absorbed men are no friends to animals and probably have little positive value to society in any capacity. In my opinion, they are both broken and manipulative human beings. Limbaugh has a history of making anti-animal activist comments, not to mention some questionable racial statements. And Vick, now playing with the Philadelphia Eagles, went to jail for running a dog-fighting business in Virginia. Is anyone buying that he is truly remorseful? Seems to me he just wants another lucrative Nike contract.

Would be nice if both of these rotten apples would disappear. Instead, they continue to make millions doing what they do.