Today, athletes and celebrities get away with just about anything while the average American can't get away for a simple traffic ticket.

Today's society is a mark of how twisted and vile the view of what's right and what's wrong has become.

The latest edition:  Donte Stallworth.

Stallworth reached a plea deal for a 30 day sentence for the murder of Mario Reyes, who was killed by a vehicle driven by Stallworth while he was drunk.

The kick:  He only has to serve 24 days!

One day is already accounted for and because of some Florida state statute that says that anyone who is sentenced to 30 days automatically gets a five-day credit. 

That means, Stallworth already served six days.

Wow, what a break for Donte!

Is that fair?

Is 30 days, really 24 days, fair enough for murdering someone? 

Call it manslaughter, call it whatever you want.  He drove drunk and killed a man.  He took someone's loved one, someone's dad, someone's best friend, someone's son from this world because he made a stupid decision.

It's not fair; it's not fair to the family or the average American.

I don't know how the family of the late Mario Reyes feels, but no amount of money would be enough for him to get 30 days. 

I would be irate if the person who is responsible for killing my loved one got 30 days.

But Stallworth bought his way out of a lawsuit as well.  He reached a financial settlement with the family of Mario Reyes to avoid a potential lawsuit.

Hey, if the family feels that's the way to go about things, all for it! 

That's not how I feel. 

I'd much rather see the person responsible pay for it in terms of jail time.  Stallworth was facing 15 years in prison, and he should have at least got one year in jail.

That's my thinking.

What's the difference between someone killing another person because he stole from him and someone who killed someone while driving drunk? 

There is no difference, it's the same deal.  You murdered someone, it's that simple.

You can say that the alcohol altered your decisions, but that doesn't mean anything.  You decided to take that drink or two or three and so on, you got in that car, you hit that person, you did it, not the glass of Jack Daniels.

You did it. 

You are responsible.

Stallworth got a break because he's a famous athlete.  If it was an average American, would that person get just 30 days for killing someone while driving drunk? 

In some cases, I guess so, but in most, no way.  How many times have you seen, on the news, someone getting 30 days for killing another human being while driving drunk?

I don't recall seeing many.

Stallworth got off easy in my opinion. 

Getting only 24 days for killing someone is a break, and Stallworth better sober up because could you just imagine the chaos if you saw him in a bar again.

Mike Vick got everything he deserved, and he deserved everything he got.  Vick is scum.  I'm not defending Vick by any means; I'm not a fan of him as a quarterback or a human being. 

I love animals, I love dogs, and I hate dog fighting and animal cruelty.

Everyone and their mother were outraged about what Vick did, and yet there hasn't been any outrage of Stallworth.

I'll end with this: Do we really value dogs more than human beings?

According to Tim Pannacio, the Flyers have contacted goalie Robert Esche's agent about backing up Ray Emery this upcoming fall.

I am a strong supporter of the signing of Emery to be the starting netminder for the Flyers, its a low risk, high reward move that if it hits, it'll pay dividends, and if it doesn't, oh well, see ya later Ray!

However bringing back Bob isn't the way to go, at least not at a price over a million.

At one time, Esche was an OK starting goalie, but he wasn't never great.  He was just like every other goalie for the Flyers in the last decade or so, just average.  The Brian Boucher's of the world, the Roman Checkmanek's of the world, so on.  Those have been the Flyers starting goalies.

There hasn't been that clear cut No. 1 goaltender for the Flyers since well Ron Hextall, and well, although I'm a fan of Emery, he's not a clear cut No. 1 goalie either.

They are hard to find if you don't know, they don't just grow on trees.

Well you need a quality backup as well, one that you can feel confident starting in case your No. 1 goes down to injury or just needs a game or two off.

Calling "Silent Bob" isn't the way to go, he may have been good in Russia, but unlike Emery, he hasn't shown that he's a great goalie that can at least get you to the Stanley Cup.

Esche in simple words is just bad.

Emery was in Russia because he had some headaches in Ottawa and some off and on the ice problems in his last year of Ottawa, mostly with his personality and who he was hanging out with.  The reason Esche was in Russia is because no other team felt that he was good enough to even offer him a backup job.

Sad isn't it?

There are plenty of options to look at for the backup job, you could resign Antero Niittymaki, sign Boucher again, sign another free agent goalie that isn't horrid, or give it to Johan Backlund or Scott Munroe.

Now the only was that I would be able to accept Esche back—as a fan—is if he would sign a one year pact under a million dollars, but that's unlikely.

Silent Bob can stay silent in Russia for all I care, I want no part in him.

Of course, that answer is yes on all accounts. There would probably be one or two saying no out of a survey of 100 people, but the large majority would answer that question with a yes, maybe with an adjective or two along with it.

Well, I know how to get Roy Halladay a spot in the Phillies rotation.

First, I'm going to hire a group of the top five scientists and engineers to figure out a way to create a time machine. Maybe Dr. Emmett Brown can help out a little.

The year we would go back to would be 1995.

Why 1995, you ask?

Well, here's that answer: In the 1995 MLB Draft, the Philadelphia Phillies drafted outfielder Reggie Taylor with the 14th overall selection. Like 16 other teams, the Phils passed over high school pitcher Roy Halladay, who was drafted at No. 17 by the Toronto Blue Jays.

Mike Arbuckle, who is now the senior advisor to general manager Dayton Moore of the Kansas City Royals, was responsible for the scouting of players and the core of the current Phillies team, which includes Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Cole Hamels.

Arbuckle said that drafting Taylor over Halladay was his biggest regret with the Phillies, via Sam Mellinger's Twitter. Take it as it is (Twitter you're saying), but that's not much of a surprise. It's pretty obvious that would be one of this biggest mistakes.

Let's compare Taylor to Halladay.

Taylor played just 14 games with the Phillies and 235 games with the Cincinnati Reds. While with the Reds he had 14 home runs and 57 RBI. In four seasons in the National League, Taylor had a .141 batting average. He didn't fare any better in the American League; he had a .182 average in 11 at-bats with Tampa Bay.

He was a bust.

On the other hand, Halladay has been nothing less than a joy to watch. He's arguably the best pitcher in baseball; he has been this season. "Doc" has a career record of 141-67 with a career ERA of 3.46. Halladay has 43 complete games in his career and 38 since 2003.

Those numbers are just a small indicator of how great he really has been. Last season, he was 20-11 with a 2.78 ERA with nine complete games. This season, he has been the same great Doc Halladay, with the MLB-best record of 10-1 and an ERA of 2.52 with three complete games and a shutout. He has 100 innings pitched in 13 games.

By the numbers, and common sense, Halladay was the better player. He was the best pick of that draft far and beyond.

Another way is to sell the farm and give another one or two major league players for Halladay. That's, of course, if the Jays would trade Halladay. Why would they anyway?  They are still in contention, but with Dustin McGowan coming back, the Jays could trade Halladay because they do have some holes on their roster.

The best way of getting Halladay into the Phillies' uniform is to find Dr. Brown and the time machine, and convince Arbuckle and the Phils to draft him in 1995.

Of course, that answer is yes on all accounts. There would probably be one or two saying no out of a survey of 100 people, but the large majority would answer that question with a yes, maybe with an adjective or two along with it.

Well, I know how to get Roy Halladay a spot in the Phillies rotation.

First, I'm going to hire a group of the top five scientists and engineers to figure out a way to create a time machine. Maybe Dr. Emmett Brown can help out a little.

The year we would go back to would be 1995.

Why 1995, you ask?

Well, here's that answer: In the 1995 MLB Draft, the Philadelphia Phillies drafted outfielder Reggie Taylor with the 14th overall selection. Like 16 other teams, the Phils passed over high school pitcher Roy Halladay, who was drafted at No. 17 by the Toronto Blue Jays.

Mike Arbuckle, who is now the senior advisor to general manager Dayton Moore of the Kansas City Royals, was responsible for the scouting of players and the core of the current Phillies team, which includes Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Cole Hamels.

Arbuckle said that drafting Taylor over Halladay was his biggest regret with the Phillies, via Sam Mellinger's Twitter. Take it as it is (Twitter you're saying), but that's not much of a surprise. It's pretty obvious that would be one of this biggest mistakes.

Let's compare Taylor to Halladay.

Taylor played just 14 games with the Phillies and 235 games with the Cincinnati Reds. While with the Reds he had 14 home runs and 57 RBI. In four seasons in the National League, Taylor had a .141 batting average. He didn't fare any better in the American League; he had a .182 average in 11 at-bats with Tampa Bay.

He was a bust.

On the other hand, Halladay has been nothing less than a joy to watch. He's arguably the best pitcher in baseball; he has been this season. "Doc" has a career record of 141-67 with a career ERA of 3.46. Halladay has 43 complete games in his career and 38 since 2003.

Those numbers are just a small indicator of how great he really has been. Last season, he was 20-11 with a 2.78 ERA with nine complete games. This season, he has been the same great Doc Halladay, with the MLB-best record of 10-1 and an ERA of 2.52 with three complete games and a shutout. He has 100 innings pitched in 13 games.

By the numbers, and common sense, Halladay was the better player. He was the best pick of that draft far and beyond.

Another way is to sell the farm and give another one or two major league players for Halladay. That's, of course, if the Jays would trade Halladay. Why would they anyway?  They are still in contention, but with Dustin McGowan coming back, the Jays could trade Halladay because they do have some holes on their roster.

The best way of getting Halladay into the Phillies' uniform is to find Dr. Brown and the time machine, and convince Arbuckle and the Phils to draft him in 1995.

Panaccio says the deal will be a one-year pact worth $1.5 million.

In his article, Panaccio says that NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly told CSNPhilly.com via e-mail that the team are allowed to announce that they have a deal with Emery, but they can't officially sign it until July 1.

Now that the numbers leaked out, I like this move even more than I did in the first place.  For $1,5 million, Emery could end up being a huge bargain and if he flops, it wouldn't be hard to get rid of him.

When it was first announced that the Flyers were going to sign Emery, chaos broke out through the fandom of the Flyers, so many haters over the signing.  Well now the numbers out in the open, the signing of Emery makes a lot of sense when you look at it.

Lets take a look at what Martin Biron wants:  $5 million over three-four years.

Emery will make $1.5 over one year.

Which makes more sense to you, a long term contract worth $5 million a year with a goalie that gives you a lot headaches at times or a one year deal worth $1.5 million for a goalie that, if it he's right, can win a lot of games and be a lot more solid than Biron, and if he doesn't, you can easily get rid of him.

Whether you like it or not, this is a good signing, and hopefully time will prove it to be better.

Names like Erik Bedard, Roy Oswalt, and Jake Peavy have been linked to the Phillies in the last week or so, but the lower-end pitchers have also been somehow linked with the Phillies.

With Brett Myers season likely over after hip surgery, the Phillies are in need for another pitcher, preferably a top-of-the-rotation guy. However, they have been also looking at a middle-to-low guy as well.

Take Brad Penny for instance.

Penny signed a one-year deal with a base salary of $5 million after struggling in 2008 and having a injury-filled season for the Dodgers, which got his option dropped and made him a free agent. He later signed with the Boston Red Sox.

Thus far into the season, Penny is 5-1 with a 5.63 ERA in 10 starts. The record is nice, but the ERA is way too high for my liking. He worries me too much, but you would think that he wouldn't cost much.

Well that assumption is wrong.

Buster Olney of ESPN reported that the Phillies heard the Red Sox would want Jason Donald for Penny. I would have hung up the phone the second they said Jason and told them no thank you. Penny is not even close of a prospect of Donald's caliber.

Why waste a talent like Donald on an average pitcher at best? Why not package Donald along with some other top prospects for a guy with the talent of Oswalt or Peavy? That makes more sense to me.

BaseballDigest.com suggested that the Phillies are going to sign either Tom Glavine or Vincente Padilla. Five year ago, I would have said yes to Glavine. Now, that reply would be an easy no thank you. Don't get me started on the situation with the classless Atlanta Braves and how they handled his Glavine's release, but he isn't what the Phils need.

Padilla is a quick no because of a number of reasons. He failed here before, and he hasn't been all-too-well in Texas. So what makes you think he can do anything with the Phillies this time?  He was waived because he is making way too much money and well frankly, he doesn't deserve anything over a million or two.

What I would do is keep Antonio Bastardo in the rotation for another week or two, maybe a little longer. See if you can acquire a big-name guy who can not only help this team get by without Myers, but make their rotation dominate and give Cole Hamels another guy to take the pressure off of him (not that he can't handle it).

Go put together a package for Peavy, have the Padres accept the deal, and then have them go ask Peavy whether he'll accept the deal to Philadelphia. If not, go after Oswalt and see if he'll come to Philly. If not, go get Bedard or someone else on the market that we don't know about yet.

Want to shoot for the moon, call Toronto and offer them a package of your top-five prospect and J.A. Happ in exchange for Roy Halladay. Do something that will make a huge impact on the team instead of small one that won't help the team get back to the World Series.

A few weeks ago, the prospects of this deal was brought up with a report from TSN.ca saying that the Flyers are interested in Emery, that was during the Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes series.

Emery was playing with HC Atlanta Moscow Oblast of the KHL this past year after being chased out of the NHL with his diva attitude and his personality.  In Russia, he won 22 games and lost 8 while having a 1.86 GAA and a .926 save percentage.

I know its Russia, but those are some pretty good numbers in a league that has Jaromir Jagr and other former NHL players.  He deserves another shot in the National Hockey League and apparently, the Flyers are going to give it to him.

In his last season with the Ottawa Senators, he was 12-13-4 with a 3.13 GAA and a .890 save percentage, along with some other off-the-ice issues that basically got him out of the NHL.  He left for Russia, and may have matured, I don't know.

Everyone deserve a second chance, and Emery does too.  Remember, this guy brought the Senators to the Stanley Cup in the 2006-07 NHL season, even though the Sens lost 4-1 to the Anaheim Ducks.

In that season, Emery was 33-16-6 with a 2.47 GAA and .918 save percentage.  He also had five shutouts.

With the signing, that means Martin Biron and Antero Niittymaki are most likely not returning to the Flyers this upcoming year.  Obviously, the Flyers don't think either can be a No. 1 goalie since they went with Emery, who has proved in the past that he can win it all despite not winning the Cup.

There are off-the-ice problems that come with Emery and some on-the-ice problems as well, but if they can be fixed, Emery could be a huge addition to the Flyers.  Lets hope they are fixed!

Like it or not, Ray Emery will be minding the net for the Philadelphia Flyers next season, most likely, and I am excited to see what he can do, but I know most Flyers fans will not be happy with this signing—at first.

I actually like this move because its a high risk and a higher reward type move, and if his cap hit proves to be considerably lower than what Biron's or Niittymaki's would be, I think this move can help lead to other moves such as acquiring a 30-minute-a-night a.

There's a concept in Economics:  The higher the risk, the higher potential reward, the lower the risk, the lower potential reward.

I am one who likes to take risks, and this risk is appealing to me, I just hope all you fans out there give him a chance to prove himself before you make your judgement on the move.

I figured out the answer to that question.

Yes, he would.

This is what I believe. I think that he hasn't said that he would or would not accept a trade to Philly, because he wanted to see how good they were in person, and after his one inning of work on Tuesday night, he figured out the answer to that question.

Here would be his response:

"As long as I don't have to face those guys again, I'll go!"

Peavy had the start on Tuesday against the Phillies, and lasted only one inning against the defending champions. He allowed four runs on three hits, and two walks in just one lousy inning.

Sure, maybe he had the flu, and maybe that ankle was bothering him, but it just comes to prove, the Phillies are for real, they're contenders, and he saw that in person.

Peavy refused to answer any questions about trades until after he pitched against the Phillies. I wonder why he chose not to answer any questions until after he faced the Phillies—a team he's been linked to lately.

Is it because he wanted to see how good the Phillies are? If he would accept a trade to Philly, is there a good enough chance to win the World Series to move his family across the United States? Maybe the reason why he only threw one inning is because he'll be suiting up for the Phillies in the series finale against the Padres?

Lets face the facts: The Phillies are the best team in the National League, no matter what the Dodgers are doing. To me, the Phillies will remain the best team in baseball this year, until someone beats them in the playoffs, or wins that championship. That's how it is for any team: you win the championship, you're the best team...until someone takes it from you.

The Dodgers may be the best, record-wise in the N.L., but when push comes to shove, can they win in October against the Phillies? Who knows. Last year they proved they can't. This year is probably a different story, but we won't know that answer until October, when they meet in the NLCS again.

Back to Peavy. I wonder what really was going through his mind when he was walking off the mound after the first inning. Was it, "Damn, these guys are good!"

It's a known fact that Peavy is not a fan of Citizens Bank Park, he said so two years ago. But he wants to come to a National League contender, preferably on the West Coast. The only contender on the west coast that is in the N.L. is Los Angeles, and if Peavy thinks that the Padres would trade him to L.A., he's insane.

The only way he can go to a National League team that is a contender is if he packs his bag and move east, whether to Philly, St. Louis, Milwaukee, or even New York, to play for those measly Mets that have no chance.

Peavy, you'll have to make your decision soon; July 31 will be here before you know it.  Do you want to stay on the West Coast and play for the Padres, who aren't going anywhere, or do you really want to play for a contender in the National League?

The answers will come, although I doubt he'll be a Phillie.

In case you don't know, that is what Colin Campbell—who just happens to be the Director of Hockey Operations for the National Hockey League—phoned Penguins' center Evgeni Malkin moments after Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals was over because Evgeni Malkin broke a rule and by law, was going to be suspended for Game 3.

Don't believe me? Read the rule yourself, here it is:

Rule 47.22 in the NHL Rulebook states:

"A player or goalkeeper who is deemed to be the instigator of an altercation in the final five minutes of regulation time or at any time in overtime, shall automatically be suspended for one game."

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Evgeni Malkin is a player that plays in the NHL, so that means, he is automatically suspended for Game 3 for starting a fight with Henrik Zetterberg in the final five minutes of Detroit's 3-1 win over the Penguins on Sunday night.

So that means the Penguins are shorthanded for their first game on home ice in the Stanley Cup Finals in which they find themselves down 0-2 to the Red Wings.

Unfortunately, that's not the case

According to Campbell, he doesn't think any of the criteria fits to the situation with Malkin, and he also doesn't think that Malkin or the Pens were trying to send a message by taking an extra whack at Wings' goalie Chris Osgood in the final minute when the game was already decided.

Well, Mr. Campbell, Malkin is a player who instigated a fight in the final five minutes of regulation time and by your league's rule, he should be suspended one game, no ifs, ands, or buts.

Not only did Malkin instigate the fight, he also whacked Zetterberg with his stick while, what seemed to be, throwing punches. That sounds a little dirty to me, something that needs to be taken out of the game.

Now lets go way back to Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals between the Penguins and the Philadelphia Flyers. Daniel Carcillo was given the instigator penalty for a fight and used his butt-end of his stick during a faceoff which got him suspended for Game 2. Campbell, were you trying to make an example of Carcillo? I mean you did.

How about Sidney Crosby's actions at the end of Game 1 during this year's Finals? He slashed Kirk Maltby at the end of the game in which the Wings won. Not only does that show poor sportsmanship from the league's pretty boy, but it shows that the league doesn't care what Crosby or Malkin do because they'll get away with it.

Crosby wasn't suspended, penalized or fined for his actions. Instead, he wasn't even talked to for doing it. Malkin wasn't suspended for instigating a fight in the final five minutes of the game either.

Now I understand why Campbell and Gary Bettman don't want to suspend Crosby or Malkin; they're the league's poster boy hand-picked by Bettman. Taking these players out of the game because of bad sportsmanship and dirty tactics is bad for the game because viewership will be down.

Well Gary, not a lot of people are watching anyways and the reason why I'll miss the remaining two or three games of the series is because I'm tired of seeing the babying of Crosby and Malkin.

They are no better than anyone else; they are no exception to the rules. If you suspend Carcillo for instigating a fight in the final five minutes, then Malkin must go as well.

From a die-hearted hocked fan, stop protecting your babies because it makes your league look like a joke.