Regular readers of this blog will know that I am a possibly just ever-so-slightly overzealous fan of the Washington Redskins (or was, until their abysmal fourth-quarter performance against the Bills this weekend). And most people will have heard the tragic news about Redskins safety Sean Taylor, who was killed last week in what appears to have been a botched robbery attempt at his home.

Like most Skins fans, I was pretty shaken when I heard the news, and I’ve been following the story very closely over the past few days to try and make some sense of it. One of the few positive things that came up in the reports about the tragedy was that Taylor had adopted a vegetarian diet in the last few weeks of his life, which, in addition to breaking some old-school stereotypes about professional athletes, struck me as a nice, uplifting fact to latch onto as we remember Taylor this week. As well as being one of the most athletically gifted football players I’ve had the pleasure of watching, Sean Taylor was a fascinating, complex individual, and along with thousands of other football fans, I deeply regret that I will no longer have the opportunity to follow his career.

If you're looking for a good time, or maybe just an entertainment center, Craigslist is usually a great place to start. But there's a really worrying side to the online community that has directly facilitated a number of extremely disturbing cases of cruelty to animals.

Craigslist's "free to a good home" ads seem innocuous at first glance, but the fact is that giving away animals over the Internet to anyone who so much as expresses an interest is just unbelievably irresponsible, and Craigslist's ads have resulted in such hideous animal abuse cases as the recent torture and mutilation of three gray tabbies in Austin, including a 3-year-old cat named Taylor (pictured), who were evidently obtained through one of these "free to a good home" ads.

PETA has been begging the company for years to implement a policy prohibiting these ads for exactly this reason, but thus far Craigslist has done nothing beyond posting a mild warning about giving away animals on their site. So we're stepping it up a notch. If you have a moment, please click here to tell Craigslist to immediately ban these ads from its site before the company sees another incident like the Austin case.

Three dogfighters knocked out of the ring (or should that be pit) early! Two more of Michael Vick's alleged accomplices entered guilty pleas in Richmond today, and there is no doubt that Michael Vick is huddled with his attorneys, deciding whether or not he will follow suit early next week.

According to The Houston Chronicle, "A statement of facts signed by Taylor as part of his plea agreement placed Vick at the scene of several dogfights and linked him to betting. Taylor said Vick financed virtually all the "Bad Newz Kennels" operation on Vick's property in Surry County."

If Vick is ultimately tied to betting on these dogfights, it is likely to trigger a lifetime ban from the NFL under the league's personal conduct policy, which does not look kindly on illegal gambling. Does anyone else think it might be a good idea for the policy to include a similar stance against charges of electrocution and drowning?

PETA was present at the hearing, and I've posted some images for you below.

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.