shhh!

From the "sometimes it's better to let sleeping (in heaven or otherwise) dogs lie" files, ladies and gentleman... Stephon Marbury:

Stephon Marbury Defends Michael Vick, Calls Dogfighting a Sport
August 22, 2007

NEW YORK (AP) -- New York Knicks guard Stephon Marbury defended Michael Vick, calling dogfighting a sport and comparing it to hunting.

Marbury spoke Monday about the federal dogfighting conspiracy charges against Vick while promoting his basketball shoe in Albany, N.Y.

"I think it's tough," Marbury said, according to Albany TV station Capital News 9. "I think, you know, we don't say anything about people who shoot deer or shoot other animals. You know, from what I hear, dogfighting is a sport. It's just behind closed doors."

On Monday, Vick said through a lawyer that he will plead guilty to a federal charge of conspiracy to travel in interstate commerce in aid of unlawful activities and conspiracy to sponsor a dog in an animal fighting venture. He also faces possible prosecution in Virginia.

"I think it's tough that we build Michael Vick up and then we break him down," Marbury said. "I think he's one of the superb athletes, and he's a good human being. I just think that he fell into a bad situation."

Just a tip to Stephon... if you want to keep peddling your own low-priced kicks (which is actually quite a noble endeavor), maybe it would be a good idea to steer clear of supporting a "sport" that results in electrocuting, beating, and hanging dogs, not to mention watching them tear each other to pieces.

starbury isn't all that bad, i guess

I had heard a while back about New York Knicks guard, Stephon Marbury (or as he refers to himself, "Starbury"), endorsing a line of sneakers that cost only $14.98 a pair, but I never thought much about it at the time. Earlier today, it was reported that Marbury has enlisted Ben Wallace to join the effort to bring affordable footwear to the market.

"Kids don't really understand what it takes to go out and buy a pair of $300 pair of shoes," Wallace said at a news conference on Tuesday. "We don't understand the pressure we put on our parents when we're growing up. This is one of the things where I think the parents will appreciate it a lot more than the kids right now because it eliminates so much stress from the parents. All parents want to see their kids have nice things."

Launched a year ago, the Starbury line is expanding from 50 products to 200 — nearly all available for $14.98 or less at Steve & Barry's University Sportswear. It includes a joggers shoe, skater shoe, casual shoe, gym shoe, woven shirts, jackets, jeans, T-shirts, shorts, hats and other accessories.

At a time when youngsters feel pressure to wear expensive brands of shoes and clothing and are even being killed for what's on their feet, Marbury and Wallace are trying to provide an alternative.

I was never a big Stephon Marbury fan, but applaud this cause. These shoes are no worse in quality than shoes sold for 7, 8, 9 or even over 10 times the price by Nike, Adidas, and Puma. There have always been cheap sneaker alternatives (like the infamous Payless Shoe Source, ProWings brand), but none with the cache of two NBA hoop stars standing behind the product (which could save today's kids from the "cheapskate!" taunts that plagued me during my elementary school years -- hey, I'm Chinese... that's how we roll).

In any case, the shoes actually look pretty nifty. You can reserve your own pair here. I recommend the patriotic red, white and blues. If nothing else, you can hang them up on your flagpole if you end up not liking them.