Vick told a news conference Tuesday that he supports a House bill that would prohibit attendance at organized animal fights. The bill also would impose additional penalties for anyone causing a minor to attend.

Vick said he wants to teach kids not to get mixed up in animal fights and to take away profits from sponsors of these events.

The football star appeared with officials of the Humane Society of the United States and two sponsors of the legislation, Virginia Democrat Jim Moran and Ohio Democrat Betty Sutton. Pennsylvania Republican Tom Marino of Pennsylvania is the bill’s third co-sponsor.

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The cellphone app is called “Dog Wars” and lets players feed, water, train and fight their virtual dogs against others.

“I’ve come to learn the hard way that dogfighting is a dead-end street,” Vick said in a statement posted on the Humane Society’s website. “Now, I am on the right side of this issue, and I think it’s important to send the smart message to kids, and not glorify this form of animal cruelty, even in an Android app.”

The app is by Kage Games, whose website features an illustration of a pit bull with a bloody muzzle next to the ‘Dog Wars’ logo.

A website where the app can be downloaded stresses that it is only a video game. “Perhaps one day we will make gerbil wars or beta fish wars for people who can’t understand fantasy role play games,” it says.

Humane Society President Wayne Pacelle said, however, the game could be used as virtual training ground for would-be dogfighters.

“Android should drop ‘Dog Wars’ from its online market and join the national movement to save dogs from this violent practice,” Pacelle said in a statement.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and other groups also called for the app to be pulled.

Vick was once the NFL’s highest-paid player but was arrested in 2007 and convicted on dogfighting charges, for which he served 18 months in federal prison. He returned to the league in 2009 and is now a star quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles.

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If Michael Vick should be executed and given the same treatment that he gave the dogs, shouldn’t Peyton Manning and his brother Eli be shot like the deers they shoot when they go deer hunting? What about Dick Cheney? Should he be executed by firing squads like the poor birds he was shooting at when he shot his friend in the face?

What about Tucker Carlson’s fellow Fox News host Mike Huckabee? His son was charged with torturing and murdering a stray dog. Should young Huckabee be tortured and murdered too? What does Tucker Carlson have to say about that.

What about his other fellow Fox News host, Karl Rove who hunts doves, the international symbol of peace for fun during his off time. Should he be shot for killing harmless animals?

I’m not going to defend Michael Vick’s dogfighting, but he did his time and has repented. In many urban areas, pitbulls are used as a form of protection against burglars and robbers. They are trained and bred to be fierce and at times deadly. Many people who train and fight pits have a close relationships with those animals not unlike trainers who train boxers or jockeys or animal trainers.

It is true that some dogs who were injured in battle were electrocuted but how is that different than horse trainers who kill horses after the horses are injured in races According to PETA thousands of Greyhound dogs are killed as puppies in the name of “selective breeding” but the Greyhound industry hasn’t faced close to the criticism that Vick has.

The fact that PETA and others choose to go after Michael Vick is another way Black people are used as scapegoats for national problems. America is built on the killing of animals, from the clothes we wear to the food we eat. Hunting is still legal in several states, not so people can feed their families, but so a small group of people can amuse themselves by killing animals. The beef, chicken, pork, leather and dairy industries are all based on the killing and abuse of animals.

How is taking animals bred to fight and fighting them worse than shooting innocent animals for fun? How come PETA never criticizes squeaky clean All-American Quarterback Peyton Manning for his execution of deers but vilifies Michael Vick at every opportunity, despite everything he has done to repent? If Tucker Carlson is going to call for Vick’s execution shouldn’t he call for the execution of the Manning Brothers, and Fox News favorites Cheney and Rove?

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VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Michael Vick was not involved or present when a shooting took place outside a nightclub where he had celebrated his birthday, his lawyer said Friday.

Larry Woodward, one of the Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterback’s attorneys in his federal dogfighting case, said Vick wasn’t at the club when the shooting took place just after 2 a.m. Friday outside the club Guadalajara at Town Center shopping center.

At a football camp he is holding at Hampton University, Vick was asked by a reporter Friday afternoon whether he had any comment on the incident.

“Watch what you do. Pick and choose your friends carefully. You just can’t put yourself in vulnerable situations,” Vick said.

The shooting victim was taken to a hospital, but his injuries were not life-threatening, Virginia Beach Police spokesman Adam Bernstein said. However, several news outlets identified him as Quanis Phillips, one of the co-defendants in the federal dogfighting case that landed Vick an 18-month federal prison sentence.

Phillips, who was sentenced to 21 months in prison for his role in the dogfighting operation, was admitted to Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital overnight, health system spokesman Dale Gauding said. He was discharged early Friday afternoon. Gauding said he was not able to discuss the nature of Phillips’ injuries because of privacy laws.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league is looking into the shooting.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell reinstated Vick after being suspended for two years last July, and said at the time that Vick’s margin for error would be “extremely limited.”

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A statement from the Eagles said the team was still gathering facts about the incident and would not comment further.

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From The Chicago Tribune

Some Bears fans became anxious and perhaps a bit nervous when they spotted  Michael Vick at O’Hare International Airport on Wednesday.

Turns out he was not in town to discuss the idea of becoming a backup quarterback.

Part of Vick’s probationary obligation regarding his sentencing on dogfighting charges includes speaking to at-risk inner-city kids about the dangers of animal cruelty. He was spotted in the Englewood neighborhood, giving a speech at the Liberation Christian Center.

“We spoke with dozens of young people, and Michael shared his story, expressed remorse for his actions, urged the community to stand up to dogfighting, and asked them to help with the campaign,” Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society, said in a statement.

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I felt like I was re-watching the scene in Roots where Kunte Kinte is forced to accept that his new name will be “Toby” upon hearing that Michael Vick had actually thanked NFL commissioner Pete Goodell for reinstating him into the NFL after a 6 game suspension due to a dog fighting conviction.

As you might have read, I didn’t think Vick should have done a day in jail or spent a penny in fines because the dogs he fought were, after all, his dogs. Feel free to disagree, but for my money, the only contrary argument I’ll even entertain must come from a complete vegan (that includes fish) who opposes pet ownership on the grounds that all God’s creatures are born free.

We all know, however, this won’t be the case. The most vocal of Vick’s critics will surely be the guy pulling out of the McDonald’s parking lot with a McChicken for wifey, a Double Quarterpounder for himself and Spot chained up in the rain to a spike in the yard.

This guy’ll go to one of Vick’s games, order a bratwurst and curse Vick as an animal killer through a mouth full of dead meat.

Meanwhile, this guy-

has been accused of pulling a “Kobe” on a woman in a hotel room.

Two-time NFL champion and Super Bowl 43 MVP, Pittsburgh Steeler quarterback Ben Roethlisberger allegedly raped a female hotel employee in Lake Tahoe, Nevada who was, in her words, “lured” into his room to fix his television set.

Roethlisberger’s alleged parting quote upon completing the deed was “If anyone asks you, you fixed my television. Now go!”

Roethlisberger hasn’t been suspended by the NFL nor should we expect him to be. He’s facing “allegations” and that’s the key word. These “allegations” are also coming from a woman-and as anyone knows, in America, if you’ve got enough money and your last name isn’t Tyson, you can do anything you want to women, including; make them fight.

Maybe that’s where Vick went wrong. He picked the wrong combatants.

From MSNBC

NEW YORK – NFL commissioner Roger Goodell isn’t revealing when he’ll decide whether to reinstate Michael Vick now that the former Atlanta Falcons star quarterback has been released from federal custody.

Meanwhile, ESPN.com reported that a meeting could take place Thursday or Friday, which would mean a conditional reinstatement as early as next week.

NFL training camps open for veterans next week. The first day for mandatory roster cuts in Sept. 1, which has opened speculation that any additional suspension or conclusive reinstatement would be decided by that time.

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From EURweb.com:

In his ongoing quest to secure employment upon release from prison, former NFL quarterback Michael Vick has pitched TV producers a reality series that would show him trying to “make amends for his past.”

According to the Hollywood Reporter, cameras would follow Vick beginning July 20, the day of his scheduled release from federal custody. He is currently serving a 23-month sentence for dogfighting conspiracy.

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A hearing is set in Virginia on whether Michael Vick should be brought from a Kansas prison to testify in his bankruptcy case.

Federal authorities have objected to U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Frank Santoro’s demand that the suspended NFL star testify in person at his Chapter 11 confirmation hearing early next month. Santoro scheduled a hearing on the objection for Wednesday morning in Norfolk.

The U.S. attorney’s office in Alexandria says it would be burdensome and expensive for federal marshals to move Vick. They propose four alternatives: delay the confirmation hearing, rely on depositions, allow testimony by video hookup from prison, or require Vick to pay for the trip to Virginia.

Former NFL quarterback Michael Vick pleaded guilty Tuesday to a state dogfighting charge, a move that could make him eligible to leave prison early and potentially speed up a return to pro football.

Vick, 28, arrived wearing a gray suit and wrist and ankle shackles, but the restraints were removed by the time he entered his plea. The one-time Atlanta Falcons star also pleaded not guilty to a count of cruelty to animals, but that charge was dropped under his plea deal.

He received a three-year suspended sentence — far less than the maximum of 10 years he could have faced.

“I want to apologize to the court, my family, and to all the kids who looked up to me as a role model,” Vick told the judge.

Vick’s mother Brenda Boddie, brother Marcus Vick and fiancee Kijafa Frink walked in together and sat together in the front row of the gallery with other family and friends. Vick’s mother declined to comment to reporters but Marcus Vick acknowledged the family was glad the ordeal was nearly over.

Vick was stoic throughout the approximately 20-minute hearing. Afterward, he turned to his young daughter and winked.

After the hearing, Surry County Commonwealth Attorney Gerald Poindexter approached Vick’s mother and hugged her, saying, “At least some of this is over.”

Vick already is serving a 23-month sentence in Leavenworth, Kan. on federal charges of bankrolling a dogfighting operation at a home he owned in eastern Virginia’s rural Surry County, southeast of Richmond. He also admitted to participating in the killing of several underperforming dogs.

Vick is scheduled for release on July 20, 2009, and will serve three years of probation. His latest plea is important because it resolves the remaining charges against him, which is required under federal law if he is to move into a halfway house.

Vick’s agent Joel Segal attended the hearing and afterwards wouldn’t talk specifically about a possible return to the NFL, saying only, “Mike takes full responsibility for his actions and is ready to more forward and will let his actions speak for him.”

Once the highest paid player in the NFL, Vick appeared about as trim Tuesday as when he entered prison a year ago. His lawyer, Billy Martin, said Vick’s legal team hasn’t been involved in any preliminary steps to revive the suspended player’s career, focusing instead on reuniting him with his family.

“Michael as a human being is clearly somebody that we want to salvage,” Martin said. “Michael as a football player is somebody that down the road may get a chance to look again.”

The trick may be finding a team ready to take a risk on the former quarterback.

Atlanta still has Vick under contract. But Falcons owner Arthur Blank made clear late last month the three-time Pro Bowl selection won’t wear that team’s uniform again.

“I hope they’re prepared to face the dog lovers of America,” Kansas City Chiefs president and general manager Carl Peterson said earlier of a team that acquires Vick. “There are going to be a lot of problems. People love their pets, and particularly dogs. There will be protests, people expressing their thoughts — even though he’s served his time.”

Vick’s problems have compounded since his federal conviction in 2007. He’s landed in bankruptcy court after losing nearly all of his record-breaking $130 million from a 10-year deal he signed with Atlanta in December 2004.

Nine protesters from the animal rights group PETA stood quietly outside the courthouse before the hearing, holding signs with photographs of bloodied fighting dogs and others that read “Dogfighters repent.”

Asked how activists would respond if the NFL takes Vick back, Dan Shannon, assistant director of PETA, said Vick must speak out against dogfighting as someone who “participated in dogfighting and saw it ruin everything he built for himself and take away all his fame, all his fortune, all of his respect.”

“If he chooses to do that, that’s the only way I think he could ever be seen as any kind of a positive public figure,” Shannon said.