Michael Vick's younger brother deludes himself...

2006’s early nominee for Over-inflated Ego of the Year has to be Marcus Vick. Apparently, having a famous brother who plays in the NFL means you can do whatever you want and still get drafted – or so Vick believes. Check out Vick’s off-field ‘achievements’, which he hopes NFL teams will turn a blind eye to:

Vick's first brushes with the law came in 2004 (from Fox Sports ): on May 14, 2004 he was convicted of three counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and sentenced to 30 days in jail and fined $2,250. Although charged with having sex with a minor (a 15-year-old girl) he was found innocent.

Then, on July 3, 2004 he was charged with reckless driving and possession of marijuana after a traffic stop about 25 miles east of Richmond at 2:30 a.m. Police said he was clocked at 86 mph, 21 mph above the speed limit, and that the vehicle stunk of marijuana.

On Aug. 3, 2004 he was suspended from the university for the 2004 season on same day he pleads guilty to reckless driving and no contest to marijuana possession in New Kent. He is fined $300, has his driver's license suspended for 60 days and is placed in a first offender program on the marijuana charge, requiring that he perform 24 hours of community service, undergo drug counseling and random drug tests, and give up his driver's license for six months.

Finally, on Sept. 13, 2004 he accepted a plea deal, and pled no contest to one misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Receives 30-day suspended jail sentence, is fined $100, ordered to perform 24 hours of community service and stay away from the teenage girls.

Although he was suspended on July 6th (and therefore, as a scholarship athlete, kicked out of school), the University apparently thought he’d reformed himself enough to re-admit him in January of 2005. But he hadn’t.

On October 1, 2005 he makes an obscene gesture to fans at West Virginia, an act for which he apologizes a day later. Then, despite the fact that his license is suspended (again, since the aforementioned suspension expired in October of 2004), he’s pulled over on December 17, 2005 and charged with doing 38 in a 25, and, of course, driving on a suspended license.

Vick still wasn’t finished. On January 2nd, he stomps on the leg of a competitor in the Gator Bowl, an act that gets him permanently booted from the team. His response? “I’ll just take it to the next level, baby,” meaning he’d declare himself eligible for the NFL draft. Of course, he couldn’t resist still playing the bad boy – a week after the Gator Bowl incident, he was arrested for pulling a gun during a dispute.

Apparently, Vick hasn’t learned from Maurice Clarett, the Ohio State running back with his own set of troubles. Clarett decided to declare early, and then found out the NFL wouldn’t let him enter. He sued, only to lose, and be forced to sit a year. By that time, Clarett was a such a negative factor that he slipped to a late-round draft choice, and wind up being cut before the season started. To date, he’s never played in the NFL.

And then there’s T.O. At least he had the good sense to have some on-field accomplishments before letting hubris totally take over. Although he’s persona non grata now, T.O. was a hot property when Philly signed him prior to the 2004 season, despite his on-field antics. There was no doubting he had talent.

Vick hasn’t even shown that he had that. In 24 career games, the 6-foot, 212-pound Vick threw for 2,868 yards, 19 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. He also ran 184 times for 492 yards and six TDs. Not exactly stellar stuff, considering that averages out to 119 yards passing per game and 2.67 yards per rush, both far below what any first-rounder would be expected to achieve. Yet he thinks that an NFL team would jump at the opportunity to snag the younger brother of Michael Vick. In ancient Greek mythology, hubris generally led to a downfall. And Marcus Vick seems primed for a very rude awakening.