In our very first apology analysis, we dogged Washington Redskins running back Clinton Portis for a fairly lame and not-terribly-sincere sounding apology for his remarks endorsing dogfighting — or at least questioning whether making two hapless hounds battle each other to the death for the amusement of onlookers should be considered a crime.

It appears that he has subsequently given the matter greater thought and reached the conclusion that dogfighting really is a bad thing:

"A couple of weeks ago, when I made those comments, I didn't understand the seriousness behind it," Portis said. "I didn't know it would affect that many people, didn't think what I said was that offensive. But after doing research and seeing how serious people take this, I shouldn't have made the comments." ("Portis changes dog fighting stance." SI.com)

He goes on to say:

"I had no idea the love that people have for animals or didn't consider it when I made those comments," Portis said. "I'm not even a pets man. I've got a fish — that's the easiest thing to keep up. I've never been into dogs, never dealt with dogs, don't like playing with dogs. But at the same time there's a lot of people who are crazy over pets."

The heat he has taken for his remarks probably helped focus his thinking on the issue:

The Washington Redskins running back spoke Tuesday of the searing criticism he has received since he made light of the dog fighting investigation involving Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick.

But he does seem, in classic TV sit-com fashion, to have learned a valuable lesson:

Portis said Tuesday that he'll be more judicious before offering an opinion that might come back to dog him.

"From now on, I don't comment on nobody," Portis said. "My life is the only thing I can control."