Mike Vick News

"Michael Vick has lost another lawsuit to a financial institution, his second in less than a week. Vick must repay more than $1.1 million for defaulting on a loan to Wachovia Bank in a court order filed Tuesday in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia."

"He was the right pick at the right time, and here’s why: When you watch the Falcons work, your first thought is no longer about the man who isn’t there; instead your eyes keep moving until you find the new guy. And you like, it must be said, what you see. That other person, the one who’s in prison, has been rendered yesterday’s news. Tomorrow belongs to the new guy, and this franchise is better for it. The Falcons needed to move on, and how better to do it than with the first draft choice under new management? Thomas Dimitroff said he didn’t take Matt Ryan because of “symbolism. We needed a quarterback, and he was the best fit for the team.” But then Dimitroff, who grasps both the details and the big picture, concedes the ancillary point: “Now that [the need for a clean break with Michael Vick] was a sidebar.”"

"Michael Vick has been ordered to pay more than $2.5 million to the Royal Bank of Canada in a court order filed Wednesday. The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia granted a motion for summary judgment against Vick for default and breach of a promisory note from Jan. 18, 2007."

"The odds that Michael Vick recently played football for a federal prison team are about as good as the chances of escaping Alcatraz, federal prisons officials say."

"Whether or not suspended Falcons quarterback Michael Vick is staying busy in federal penitentiary by playing football with fellow inmates can't be confirmed, a federal jail officials said Monday."

"Blank told the Daily News that Vick writes that he is washing pots and pans for 12 cents an hour. He was sentenced to 23 months in December after pleading guilty to federal dogfighting charges. And in a scene straight out of the Longest Yard, Blank says Vick is playing football at Leavenworth."

"Michael Vick's trial on state dogfighting charges has been rescheduled for June 27, according to his attorney."

"The Atlanta Falcons' Michael Vick, already serving 23 months in federal lockup for his well-documented role in running the canine enterprise from a southeastern Virginia property, found out Thursday that similar charges filed against him by the state will not be heard by a court for the indefinite future. Reached Thursday, Surry County officials confirmed that Vick's April 2 trial has been postponed and that no future date has been set."

"The lingering image of Michael Vick’s dogfighting case last summer was the daily courthouse appearance by members of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals."

"Michael Vick's lawyers plan to ask a Virginia court to dismiss state charges against the Falcons quarterback because he already has pleaded guilty in federal court to what they consider the same offense, one of the lawyers said Saturday."

"The dispute between the Falcons and imprisoned quarterback Michael Vick regarding nearly $20 million of Vick's bonus money is not over. The NFL filed a motion in a U.S. District Court in Minneapolis Thursday to vacate a recent ruling in which Vick was allowed to keep more than $16 million of the money that he has already been paid."

"Imprisoned Falcons quarterback will not have to repay the full $20 million in bonus money the team sought to recover, according to a ruling Monday by U.S. District Judge David Doty. Doty's decision overturned a previous ruling by an arbitrator, who said Vick had to repay $20 million in bonuses to the team because he could not earn them in light of his suspension by the league and his imprisonment on a federal dogfighting charge."

"But there is one haunting sign that Georgia might have endured the most abuse of any of the 47 surviving pit bulls seized last April from the property of the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick in connection with an illegal dogfighting ring."

"A default judgment for $1.08 million was entered in favor of Wachovia Bank in a federal lawsuit filed against suspended Falcons quarterback Michael Vick and a business partner on Jan. 17. Attorneys for the bank requested that a writ of execution be issued against the assets belonging to Vick and Gerald Frank Jenkins. Wachovia Bank alleged that Vick and Jenkins and Atlantic Wine & Package LLCC defaulted on a $1.3 million loan for a wine store."

"Let me tell you about a potential big fight that won't happen. It would pit animal rights lovers against the Lions. It would pit Michael Vick supporters against those that loath him. "

"Suspended Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, who was sentenced to 23 months in federal prison for his guilty plea on charges related to dogfighting, plans to enter a drug treatment program that could reduce his time behind bars."

"Falcons cornerback DeAngelo Hall said he and other players plan to visit quarterback Michael Vick in prison. Vick was sentenced to 23 months in federal custody after pleading guilty to federal charges related to dogfighting."

"In a story published in Sports Illustrated last month, reporters George Dohrmann and Farrell Evans examined the premise of "ghetto loyalty," in which young black athletes keep strong links to former neighborhoods and longtime friends, sometimes at great personal cost."

"Built like tanks with fur, the three pit bulls from Michael Vick's Virginia dogfighting ring were obviously confused and a bit frightened Friday. The trio arrived about 7:30 a.m. at a shelter in Suwanee to begin rehabilitation and, with any luck, their new lives as pets instead of fighters."

"Falcons cornerback Chris Houston and wide receiver Joe Horn, the remaining members of the 'Free Vick Five,' have appealed their fines by the league for paying tribute to incarcerated quarterback Michael Vick during the game against New Orleans on Dec. 10."

"Wide receiver Roddy White and tight end Alge Crumpler have appealed the fines that were levied by the league for their tributes to Vick in the New Orleans' game."

"Here are some of the quarterbacks who played Sunday for NFL teams: Sage Rosenfels. Kyle Boller. Brock Berlin. The McCown brothers, Josh and Luke. Shaun Hill. John Beck. Vinny Testaverde. And Michael Vick is never going to play again in the NFL? Are you kidding me?"

"Michael Vick only recently owned up to executing pit bulls, but it was too late for his sentencing judge, who threw the book at the fallen NFL star on Monday. U.S. District Court Judge Henry E. Hudson sentenced the suspended Falcons quarterback to 23 months in prison for his role in a dogfighting operation - a term at least five months longer than what Vick would have received had he been truthful."

"Hudson then sentenced Vick to 23 months in prison, more than Vick’s co-defendants in the case — and also more than the 12 to 18 months prosecutors originally suggested, as part of Vick’s plea agreement."

"Dressed in a black and white striped prison jumpsuit, Michael Vick was sentenced Monday to 23 months in a federal prison. "

"As he sits in his jail cell, contemplating the mistakes that landed him there and whether his future might include a return to the NFL, Michael Vick could draw strength from this mantra provided for him Monday by a prominent sports agent: "

"Suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick was sentenced Monday to a tougher-than-expected 23-month prison term after prosecutors revealed that he admitted to hanging two dogs as part of an illegal dogfighting ring."

"A year to the day since he last quarterbacked the Atlanta Falcons to victory, Michael Vick received a 23-month prison sentence yesterday for his pivotal role in an illegal dogfighting operation."

"In a striped prison suit straight out of the Keystone Kops, Mr. Bad Newz accepted the bad news. A grandstanding judge with a reputation for stiff sentencing slapped Pro Bowl quarterback Michael Vick with 23 months in prison for his role in a dogfighting ring, as well as a $5,000 fine and 3 years of probation. "

"Blank wouldn’t say once and for all that Vick will never again play for this team, but it’s now certain he won’t play for anyone until 2009 at the earliest. 'We’re going forward without him,' Blank said, and note the word choice."

"Surely, as I sit here on Monday inside a packed federal courtroom, this is just a fleeting nightmare. Whatever the situation, it is a self-inflicted one. You can attribute this to someone who carelessly went from wearing No. 7 for the Falcons to the black-and-white prison stripes courtesy of becoming Case No. 07CR274 for U.S. prosecutors."

"It caught most of us by surprise, the length of the sentence handed down Monday, when perhaps it shouldn't have. When two of his co-conspirators were sentenced a few weeks back to 18 and 21 months respectively, we should have known Michael Vick wasn't going to get a year or 15 months."

"The issue with Michael Vick is when, not if. As in when he will play in the NFL again. There is little doubt in my mind we have not seen the last of Vick on an NFL field. Vick has too much talent not to resurface, and the position he plays is a huge void."

"The bigger question is whether Vick will be able to make an NFL team when he gets out of the slammer. He received a 23-month sentence yesterday from U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson for his involvement in a Virginia dogfighting operation."

"Roger Goodell will decide when Vick, once the most electrifying player in the league, wears an NFL uniform again after Vick is allowed to turn in his prison stripes following nearly two years in jail. For now, Vick's next pass over the middle or sprint for the end zone will be on the "Longest Yard" team, assuming there's pickup football games in prison to occupy his time. He surely will be the first player selected. "

"Michael Vick on Monday was sentenced to 23 months in prison and there are people who believe the sentence was too harsh. Likewise, there are those who think the sentence was too lenient. Whatever – and who cares? Michael Vick is going to prison, and in my mind is the image of Michael Vick looking into a TV camera earlier this year and saying something to the effect of, "No matter what happens, people always are going to love Mike Vick." Well, Mike Vick, who loves ya, baby? "

" ONE CAN'T help but wonder how Barry Bonds took the news of Michael Vick's sentencing on Monday. Was he impassive? Did he have empathy considering his own legal predicament? Or did he simply swallow hard at the reality of a high-profile athletic peer getting two years in federal lock-up?"

"Falcons owner Arthur Blank would not say that imprisoned quarterback Michael Vick would never play for the franchise again, but he might as well have."

"When Michael Vick, the suspended Falcons quarterback, has completed his 23-month sentence in federal prison on dogfighting charges, there are expected to be teams seeking his services."

"Before Michael Vick's sentencing, his mother, Brenda Boddie, had to be taken from a federal courtroom to compose herself."

"By either coincidence or sick twist of fate, ESPN brought the national spotlight to Atlanta the day Michael Vick entered a guilty plea to dogfighting charges on Aug. 27 and again on Monday against New Orleans, the day he was sentenced to 23 months in prison."

"A look at the staggering financial losses — totaling an estimated $142 million — incurred by Falcons quarterback Michael Vick: $71 million: Salary in the final seven seasons of his Falcons contract, which the team is expected to terminate when salary-cap ramifications are resolved."

"As this season went along, the Broncos picked up several of Michael Vick's former teammates. Jordan Beck had been with the Atlanta Falcons the previous two years and early this season. Josh Mallard, Paul Carrington and P.J. Alexander were Falcons last year and earlier this season. They were all there for the circus that was the Falcons' training camp. They were interested spectators from Dove Valley when Vick, their former star quarterback, was sentenced Monday to 23 months in prison for his lead role in a dogfighting operation."

"Michael Vick received a 23-month prison sentence Monday for his role in a dogfighting operation. The sentence, handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Henry E. Hudson, ended an eight month legal odyssey for Vick that saw him go from NFL star and the face of the Atlanta Falcons franchise to a prison inmate. "

"Michael Vick will find out Monday what only one man knows — how much prison time he will receive for his role in a dogfighting operation."

"Michael Vick will be sentenced Monday. The Falcons will play Monday night. We have lived at this intersection for too long."

"Another chapter in the demise of the Falcons' season will be written like a Shakespearean tragedy Monday, with little left by the start of a football game but hope that a win can temporarily salvage the ugliness. The scene will open in a Richmond, Va., courtroom with quarterback Michael Vick, the franchise's one-time hero and one of the NFL's largest attractions, being sentenced to prison for his role in a dogfighting operation."

"Three sealed documents may seal Michael Vick's fate. The documents filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Richmond, Va., include a memorandum on sentencing and a psychiatric report on the fallen quarterback."

"Seven days before former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick is expected to be sentenced for his alleged role in an illegal dogfighting operation, about 40 supporters gathered in the chapel of a southeast Atlanta church Monday night for a prayer vigil for Vick."

"While suspended Falcons quarterback Michael Vick spends his days in a federal jail in Virginia awaiting sentencing on felony dogfighting charges Dec. 10, Falcons tight end Alge Crumpler said he's concerned for his friend."