VICK GETS 23 MONTHS IN PRISON

RICHMOND, Va. -- Michael Vick was sentenced to 23 months in prison Monday for his role in a dogfighting conspiracy.

Federal sentencing guidelines suggested a year to 18 months.

The suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback also received three years' probation at his sentencing before U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson.

With nearly a month already served, going by Hudson's sentencing, Vick would be scheduled for release in October 2009.

4 SALE, MIKE VICK PUTS ATLANTA LAKEFRONT HOME ON MARKET

ATLANTA -- In the latest indication that Michael Vick won't be returning to the Atlanta Falcons, the suspended quarterback has listed his suburban home here for sale, with a price tag of $4.5 million.

Vick purchased the sprawling lakefront home, which is in the exclusive Sugarloaf Country Club gated community in Duluth, Ga., and sits on a 1½-acre tract, in April 2005 for $3.8 million. It carries a monthly mortgage of $23,063 and the annual property taxes are $26,700.

The European-style home features a white, stucco exterior, Cathedral ceilings, eight bedrooms, 8½ baths, two fireplaces, hardwood floors, a two-story foyer and a garage for at least four cars. The home was built in 2004.

The home is listed with a local real estate agent.and featured on the Web site Realtor.com.

A source close to Vick said that, while the banished quarterback has not conceded that he won't resume his career with the Falcons at some point in the future, he has spent very little time lately in the Atlanta area.

Instead, Vick, who has been suspended indefinitely by the NFL, has mostly been with family in his hometown of Newport News, Va., where he is awaiting sentencing in December after pleading guilty to federal dogfighting charges. Vick also faces state charges in Virginia stemming from the dogfighting activities to which he has admitted in federal court.

Within the past five weeks, three banks, most recently Wachovia Bank, have filed suit against Vick and other defendants connected to him, charging that he has defaulted on loans.

Earlier this month, an arbitrator ruled that the Falcons were entitled to pursue repayment of nearly $20 million of the $37 million in bonuses that team had paid Vick as part of the 10-year, $130 million contract extension he signed on Christmas Eve, 2004.

Through the NFL Players Association, Vick has appealed the ruling. It is believed the appeal will not be heard before December.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.

WE WANT OUR MONEY BACK

VICK GETS $ACKED

By CLEMENTE LISI


October 10, 2007 -- Disgraced quarterback Michael Vick has to return $20 million in bonuses to the Atlanta Falcons, an arbitrator ruled yesterday.
The decision came in the wake of the former NFL superstar's guilty plea to federal dogfighting conspiracy charges, team officials said.

The Falcons argued that Vick violated his $130 million contract when he admitted his role in a dogfighting ring.

The team also argued that Vick used proceeds from his contract to bankroll the illegal operation, and sought the repayment of $19.97 million in bonuses he was paid since 2004.

Vick, who has been indefinitely suspended by the NFL, will be sentenced Dec. 10.

He faces up to five years in prison.

He is also facing state charges in Virginia.

Stephen Burbank, a University of Pennsylvania law professor who presided over last week's arbitration hearing, sided with the Falcons after hearing from team officials and NFL Players Association lawyers, who represented Vick. The union plans to appeal the decision. With Post Wire Services

FALCONS WANT MICHAEL VICK'S BONUS MONEY BACK

Suspended NFL quarterback Michael Vick stands to lose $22 million in bonus money from the Atlanta Falcons, who sent reps to Philadelphia Thursday to plead their case before an arbitrator.

The Falcons, represented by team president and general manager Rich McKay and three more team officials, argued that Vick knew he was in violation of the contract when he signed the $130 million deal in December of 2004, and that he used proceeds from the deal to fund his dogfighting operation, reports the Associated Press.

New York-based attorney Jeffrey Kessler, who represented Vick and the NFL Players Association, countered that the collective bargaining extension agreed to last year prevents forfeiture of bonus money even if the player contract says otherwise, union spokesman Carl Francis said.

A decision on the matter is expected sometime before Oct. 12, according to Stephen B. Burbank, the University of Pennsylvania law professor and special master who led the arbitration hearing.

Vick has pleaded guilty to helping to kill six to eight dogs and bankrolling the dogfighting operation that was based in Virginia and extended into other states.

Vick also faces new state felony charges in Virginia on two counts — beating or killing or causing dogs to fight other dogs and engaging in or promoting dogfighting. An attorney for the suspended player appeared in Surry County Circuit Court Wednesday and was asked to return Nov. 27 to set a trial date.

MICHAEL VICK SCHOOLED BY PETA

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals headquarters in Norfolk, VA quietly welcomed suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick last month for an eight-hour course on empathy and animal protection in connection with his dogfighting scandal.

Vick was the only student at the Sept. 18 class, which was taught by several PETA staff members according to Dan Shannon, Vick's escort for the day. The NFL star passed a "very rigorous" written test at the end of the course, he added.

"He was asking questions, following up on points we were making, taking notes," Shannon said. "He seemed to be putting an honest effort into trying to get something out of the course."

Shannon said Vick told him "he wished he had gotten to take a course like this five years ago."

Vick's first trip to PETA's office was on Sept. 7, when he met with the group's president, Ingrid Newkirk. According to PETA's Web site, Vick apologized for his abuse of dogs. It was Newkirk's idea to make the course available to Vick, Shannon said.

"Actually, we were very surprised he took us up on it," he said. "We made it clear to him that this was something he needed to try to get something out of. We weren't interested in some kind of PR ploy."

He said PETA officials also told Vick they still believe he deserves prison time. The quarterback is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 10 on a federal dogfighting conspiracy conviction and faces up to five years in prison. He also has been indicted on state dogfighting charges.

In other Vick news, a team of dog behavioral experts assembled by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to test the 49 dogs seized from his property found that only one of them should be euthanized.

According to a motion filed Monday in U.S. District Court, the dogs fall into five categories that include eventual adoption and specialized training for law enforcement work. Some of the dogs either exhibited fear toward people or suffered from a medical condition.

The motion doesn't indicate how many dogs were placed in each category other than to suggest one, identified as number 2621, is an immediate candidate for euthanasia because its aggression toward humans made a complete examination unsafe.

The motion also requests that the court appoint a guardian to oversee the disposition and possible placement of the 48 remaining dogs. The motion now goes before U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson, who is handling the dogfighting case. He can either grant it with all its provisions or deny it.