Where was OJ Simpson . . .

. . . when Michael Vick really needed him?

Not that Simpson's recent arrest would have helped Vick's legal case, but it certainly would have deflected a lot of press attention and public wrath from Ookie Vick.

Vick's defenders, and there are still many of them, cry that the public outcry is not in proportion to the crime. Maybe, maybe not. I think something else is at work. The come-uppance.

Vick's case isn't like Simpson's. In that regard, Vick's supporters are right. They are just dogs. Vick didn't plead guilty to murder [of people]. A lot of the umbrage in the case was fed by Vick's own attitude, showing that he was in need of a come-uppance.

His cavalier regard of the animals; his use and destruction of them for entertainment and gambling -- as opposed to food and clothing, his shifting blame to his uninvolved relatives; his seeming attitude that "everybody loves Michael Vick" no matter what he does, betrayed a hubris in need of a come-uppance.

Michael wasn't treated any different than any other come-uppance case. Leona Helmsley was a come-uppance case, as much for her haughty personality as anything. Martha Stewart went to jail for lying to investigators to protect her broker. Who was she to tell the feds that the whole matter was silly?

Watergate and Monicagate were come-uppance cases. Opponents of Nixon and Clinton could not beat them at the polls. Both scandals were prolonged by political enemies taking advantage of an opportunity. All Nixon had to do was come clean early by saying "a couple of my guys got carried away." The country was ready to believe him.

Clinton's fatal blow was "I did not have sex with that woman ...." That was the moral equivalent of Nixon's "I am not a crook." Most people would have been satisfied knowing the president had to face Hilary. That was punishment enough.

Bill Belichick is a come-uppance case. He's hardly beaten on the field since he got to New England. Yet, he was 36-44 at Cleveland. So, how exactly has he been getting those wins with the Patriots?

Belichick knew better, broke the rules anyway and got nailed by the commissioner. There's still a hue & cry for a suspension. It's a cry for a come-uppance. [Suspension would be deserved if it could be shown that used the purloined defensive signals against the Jets during the game. That would have been underhanded and deserving of a suspension.]

Helmsley, Stewart and Belichick are evidence that Micheal Vick can resume life and career after he has his come-to-Jesus experience. Maybe he will be better off for it.

[We need to get off Helmsley for providing for the care of her dog, Trouble. Twelve million dollars is only 00.3 percent of Helmsley's estate. If I provided the same proportion of my estate for my dog, who is a lot of trouble, it would only keep him in dog food for a few months.]

Photo: news.bbc.co.uk (AP)