Uproar over a tweet on an Eagle

It began with a phone call, became a tweet, and passed to a website and an online magazine. From there, during one of the year's slowest news weeks, it blazed like a brushfire into blogs, social media, talk radio - and cable TV, where a single comment threw gasoline on the blaze.

The topic: a call from President Obama to Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie that touched on star quarterback Michael Vick - who, before joining the Eagles in August 2009, served 19 months on a felony charge stemming from his involvement in a dogfighting ring in which dogs were tortured and killed.

It's a study in how media trickles become tidal waves, and it started, as so many news stories now do, with a tweet.

Peter King, a reporter for Sports Illustrated and NBC Sports, posted on Monday night: "Yes, Obama called Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie to praise the Eagles for giving Vick a chance. Said too many prisoners never get fair 2d chance."

It's unclear exactly when Obama called (Lurie has not said, and neither the Eagles nor Vick had further comments as of Wednesday), or what his main subject was. King's tweet suggests it was Vick-related praise; White House spokesman Bill Burton, seeking to plug the dike, said talk also concerned plans for windmills, solar panels, and other green-energy measures at Lincoln Financial Field.

Burton also said Obama "of course condemns the crimes that Michael Vick was convicted of, but, as he's said previously, he does think that individuals who have paid for their crimes should have an opportunity to contribute to society again."

Largely ignoring Burton's spin, blogs throughout the land picked up the story, with edge. The Source.com blared: OBAMA GIVES VICK AN EARLY PARDON. DeathBy1000PaperCuts.com ran with: OBAMA CALL SUPPORTING MICHAEL VICK LEAVES PRESIDENT IN DOGHOUSE. And the Washington Post mainstreamed it on the front page Tuesday: ON VICK, OBAMA AGAIN STEPS OUTSIDE LINES.

Old questions reignited: Was Vick's fine play this season a sign of "redemption"? Had his punishment been equal to the crime? Did sports have anything to do with such moral questions in the first place? Had the president overstepped or not?