Way to go, Ron Mexico (Michael Vick)!

UPDATE: 1/24/2007 @ 2:40 p.m. ET
A couple of days ago, the following story became a non-story when the substance found hidden in Michael Vick's water bottle was determined to be nothing that was illegal. However, it is apparent that he tried to hide something in this water bottle and take it onto a commercial airliner. How is that not at least a minor criminal act? Shouldn't he at least be fined or something? And then I saw this story, which just makes all of this really, really weird.

But here is my original post...

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Well, it seems the most overrated quarterback in NFL history, Michael Vick of the Atlanta Falcons, reportedly tried to sneak a substance "closely associated with marijuana" onto an Atlanta-bound plane at Miami International Airport by storing it in a secret compartment in a water bottle that he reluctantly surrendered to security personnel.

USA Today: Michael Vick's water bottle raises suspicion at Miami airport

...The Atlanta Falcons' quarterback entered a concourse Wednesday morning at the airport with the 20-ounce bottle. He eventually handed it over and boarded his flight to Atlanta. But his initial reluctance to turn over the bottle aroused suspicion among airport security screeners, a police report said.

The bottle was found to have a hidden compartment that contained "a small amount of dark particulate and a pungent aroma closely associated with marijuana," the report said. The compartment was hidden by the bottle's label so that it appeared to be a full bottle of water when held upright, police said.

No charges have been filed but police said the bottle would be sent to a lab for analysis...

You can read the incident report here (PDF).

The most shocking thing I found in the incident report? Vick was a passenger on an AirTran Airways flight. What the heck was Michael Vick doing flying on AirTran?! AirTran only has business class and coach. The guy signed a 10-year, $130 million contract in December 2004...can't he afford to fly on an airline with first class? I'm sure there were other carriers offering flights from Miami to Atlanta.

Then again, maybe he is trying to save his money. After all, when you a) allegedly spread herpes while using the alias of Ron Mexico, b) tell your team's own fans "they are No. 1" with both hands, and c) are barely a mediocre quarterback, maybe Vick thinks the Falcons--and new head coach Bobby Petrino--will realize he is getting overpaid by, well, $130 million, and the team will try to void that big contract for conduct reasons?

Honestly, Vick is a tremendous athlete...I do not dispute that. He might be, as many claim, the most "electric" (whatever that means) player in NFL history...although those people should really watch some NFL Films footage of Fran Tarkenton (Vikings, Giants), who was ridiculously elusive and could actually make big-time passes (by the way, you should really get to know about the remarkable life Tarkenton has lived). I also think Randall Cunningham was a far better quarterback than Vick, but that might be the Eagles fan in me (even though Cunningham had his best days as a passer with the Vikings).

When it comes to being a quarterback, though, Vick just isn't any good. His passing game is weak and he is not a good decision-maker...especially when it comes to deciding on an alias, apparently.

And he is definitely not worth $130 million.

(Photo credit: Jason Getz/Atlanta Journal-Constitution)