Mike Vick in bankruptcy court today

AP

Lawyers are facing off today in a Virginia courtroom over the former Falcons quarterback’s plan to emerge from bankruptcy. Suspended Falcons quarterback Michael Vick is in federal court this morning, where teams of lawyers are facing off over his plan to emerge from bankruptcy.

The suspended NFL star’s plan partly depends on him rejoining the league. Vick, nearing the end of a 23-month federal prison sentence for his role in a dogfighting conspiracy, hopes to earn as much as $10 million a year or more, according to court filings in his bankruptcy case.

Under the plan he submitted to the court, Vick would keep the first $750,000 of his annual income over the next five years. After that, a percentage would go to his creditors based on a sliding scale.

Supporters of Vick’s plan include a committee of his unsecured creditors, including Radtke Sports, Royal Bank of Canada, Wachovia Bank and 1st Source Bank.

“The plan should be approved because it provides substantially all the benefits of the liquidation of Vick’s assets,” said Ross Reeves, one of the committee’s attorneys, “and offers the potential of recovering lots more money in the event Vick is able to rehabilitate his career and go back and play football.”
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Mike Vick must pay his way

Fallen NFL star Michael Vick must appear at a bankruptcy hearing next month but should pay his own way from the Kansas prison where he is serving time for his role in a dogfighting conspiracy, a judge ruled Wednesday.

At an hourlong hearing, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Frank J. Santoro rejected the government’s suggestions that he either postpone Vick’s April 2 bankruptcy confirmation hearing or allow the suspended player to testify by video hookup from the federal penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kan.

“I’m not going to be put in a position of determining credibility or demeanor over a television,” said Santoro, who has insisted since Vick filed for bankruptcy in July that he would have to testify in person.
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With the exit of DeAngelo Hall, Warrick Dunn, Alge Crumpler, and Mike Vick, who’s our star player now.

If you are a Falcons fan, you sitting in your house with your season ticket renewal forms thinking to yourself what in the hell should I do. Of course you love your team, but after a season like the 2007 season, how much can you really take.  Since Dimitroff has arrived, he’s found a way to get rid of any of Mike Vick’s friends that included Dunn, Crumpler and fellow VT player D. Hall.  It’s only a matter of time before they release Vick.  But who’s that player do we have that gets us excited again?  Who’s gonna help get the Dome back rockin like it was during the 2002 – 2006 seasons?  Is it Michael Turner?  Don’t know about that, I wasn’t jumping up and down about a back up running back being brought in for that amount of money.  Or is it someone in the draft?  It won’t be McFadden, hello, we just paid a boat load of cash to Turner.  Matt Ryan?  May be a good QB, but no one to get excited about. 

Who’s out there to take over that role?  The one who will help the Falcons get talked about again.  I don’t think that person is on the team now, but where is he?  Mr. Blank, you’ve cleaned house, now its time to redecorate.

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Falcons to trade D. Hall for Raiders’ second-round pick in ’08 draft

The Atlanta Falcons have reached an agreement in principle with the Oakland Raiders to trade cornerback DeAngelo Hall for the Raiders’ second-round pick in the 2008 draft, pending the Raiders finalizing a contract with Hall, according to a source close to the Falcons.

Hall is close to agreeing to a contract with the Raiders that will pay him just below what Asante Samuel signed with the Eagles, according to the source. Samuel signed a six-year deal worth a reported $57 million, with $20 million guaranteed.

Hall is a former first-rounder taken with the eighth pick in the 2004 draft.

Chris Mortensen covers the NFL for ESPN

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Atlanta Hawks spokesman says Phillips Arena apparently OK after storm

Atlanta Hawks spokesman Arthur Triche said Philips Arena apparently sustained little damage from the severe windstorm that hit downtown Atlanta on Friday night.

Inside the arena, there were no immediate signs of fallen debris, but small pieces from a ceiling tile landed on the Hawks’ practice court.

“From what I hear, we’re OK,” Triche said after the Hawks’ win over the Los Angeles Clippers. “They’re checking the roof right now in one corner, but everything looks fine so far.”

The Hawks were playing the Los Angeles Clippers in the fourth quarter when the storm tore a hole in the roof at the Georgia Dome, which is located in the same complex as Philips and less than a half-mile from the arena.

During the Hawks’ game, arena officials made no public announcements about the storm.

At the dome, Southeastern Conference officials stopped the next-to-last game of the night in the men’s basketball tournament, but play later resumed in Mississippi State’s overtime win over Alabama.

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Mike Vick’s Virginia trial postponed

Michael Vick’s trial on state dogfighting charges in Virginia was set for April 2, but will be re-scheduled, according to the Surry County prosecutor’s office. A continuance has been granted, but a new date for the jury trial has not been set.

The Virginia indictment charges Vick with one count of torturing and killing dogs and one count of promoting dogfighting. Each carries a maximum five-year prison term.

Vick is currently serving a 23-month sentence in federal prison after being convicted for dogfighting related charges.

Calls to Vick’s attorney, Billy Martin, were not immediately returned.

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The Atlanta Hawks win 2 games in 1 day due to the first replay game since ’83 against the Heat

The Hawks got the defensive stop they wanted, two in fact, as they finally finished off the Miami Heat in the scoreless replayed 51.9 seconds of overtime of a game they won Dec. 19.

Heat All-Star Dwyane Wade missed a contested 3-pointer from the corner with 1.5 seconds to play that would have tied the game at 114-114. The rebound bounced long, and the Hawks ran out the clock, defeating the Heat for a second time in the same game, they won 117-111 in December.

“This isn’t the biggest win of the year; the next one will be,” said Hawks forward Josh Smith, who was on the bench for the replayed portion of the game, having fouled out in the original game. “We’ve got to get the next one.”

They did. The Hawks defeated the Heat in the regularly scheduled contest 97-94 as Joe Johnson matched a season high with 39 points.

In the first game, Mark Blount missed a turnaround jumper on the Heat’s first possession, and Johnson missed a driving layup on the ensuing Hawks possession.

The Hawks started the replayed game leading 114-111, in the exact same position they were in with 51.9 seconds to play on Dec. 19.

An error by the Hawks’ official scorer that night resulted in a protest that was filed and won by the Heat that forced both teams back to the court Saturday to replay those final 51.9 seconds.

Former Heat center Shaquille O’Neal was fouled out of the original game but actually had only five fouls when he was disqualified. He has since been traded, as have four Hawks players from that night.

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Georgia Tech’s Thaddeus Young enters NBA draft, but he won’t hire agent

Thaddeus Young has made himself eligible for the NBA draft, but the Georgia Tech freshman is keeping open his option to return to the Yellow Jackets.

Young averaged 14.4 points and 4.9 rebounds last season, and will not hire an agent to protect his right to withdraw from the draft by June 18. The draft is June 29.

officials before making a decision on whether to hire an agent, which would end his NCAA eligibility.

“What we’re trying to do is get a more definitive idea where he’ll shake out,” Tech coach Paul Hewitt said. “Because of the way the NBA rules are set up, he nor his family could talk to anybody [in the NBA] unless he puts his name in. Now he can find out for sure what’s what.”

“I think the way he’s conducting himself, he’s planning on being in school unless somebody tells him something that could really change his mind.”

Young’s freshman teammate, point guard Javaris Crittenton, has until Sunday to decide whether to enter the draft. Hewitt said he has not made a decision.

Young’s father tipped a Memphis TV station about his son’s plan.

“They have a few teams out there that could use a small forward, and we want to see if his name will be in that number,” Felton Young told Channel 24, an ABC affiliate. “If not, then come June 15th we’ll withdraw his name and send him back to school.”

A few hours later, Tech officials released a statement saying Young was going to enter the draft early.

Young said in the statement, “I’m enjoying my experience at Georgia Tech, both with the basketball program and in school. Right now, my focus is on finishing out this semester and then gathering more information from the NBA people.”

Young and Hewitt may have preferred this news wait until after Tech finishes final exams next week.

“One of the reasons we did not want to make an announcement is he’s preparing for finals,” Hewitt said. “The NBA said nothing would be announced until May 3 [in terms of an official list of underclassmen entering the draft]. We were hoping to put the paperwork in, lay low, and make an announcement then.”

Hewitt said he did not know if Young will participate in the NBA pre-draft camp May 29-June 1 in Orlando to elevate his stock, or merely take a physical and go through interviews there.

Widely projected as a top seven pick a year ago if not for the NBA’s new rule mandating that all players must wait at least one year after graduating from high school before entering the NBA, Young is not projected that highly in any major mock drafts this spring.

He generally is ranked between No. 14, the end of the lottery, to the mid-20s.

Beginning last summer, Young said that he would consider entering the NBA draft after his freshman year if he projected as a lottery pick. He was picked before the season by ACC media to be the league’s rookie of the year, but finished sixth in postseason voting for the All-Rookie team.

His season ended with an 8-point effort in a loss to UNLV in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

“He’s going to make an educated decision,” Hewitt said. “If you were going to judge it, you would say this kid is coming back to school.”

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Petrino getting roster in focus. Vick 65% Completion Percentage, Jimmy Williams at corner, return of Finneran

New Falcons coach Bobby Petrino says second-year defensive back Jimmy Williams will enter the team’s first minicamp in April as the starting right cornerback. That strengthens the possibility that Atlanta could choose a safety — LSU’s LaRon Landry is the most highly regarded — with the No. 8 overall selection in the April 28-29 NFL draft.

At Wednesday’s league meetings, Petrino offered more insight into the team’s personnel decisions, including the fact that Chauncey Davis is the likely replacement at defensive end for Patrick Kerney, and that Petrino hopes to limit the number of times quarterback Michael Vick runs with the ball.

Here’s a look at how some players and positions will be affected:

• Jimmy Williams: Very little thought has been given to moving the Falcons’ top pick last season to safety, Petrino said. Having scouted Williams in college and watched film of him in limited action last season, Petrino determined early that Williams, down to 207 pounds from 215 as a rookie, would play right corner, opposite former Virginia Tech teammate DeAngelo Hall.

“We’re excited about him,” Petrino said. “He’s been working hard. He’s got a lot of energy. It will be fun to get to know him and see exactly how he operates at corner. We drafted him as a corner and we need a corner, and that’s what he’s played. He didn’t get a lot of opportunities last year. I try to take last year and put it aside and evaluate from this point on.”

With the draft a month away, the decision to play Williams at corner could be a sign that the Falcons are targeting Landry or Florida safety Reggie Nelson with the top pick. Incumbent free safety Chris Crocker was solid against the run last season, his first with the Falcons, but a liability in deep coverage and could be replaced.

What becomes of last season’s starting right cornerback, Jason Webster, remains to be seen. Petrino saying there was a need for a right cornerback could signal his eventual release before the season.

• Michael Vick: “What I would like to change about Michael is his first instinct, when he decides to take the game over and go win it by running the ball,” Petrino said of Vick, who became the NFL’s first 1,000-yard rushing quarterback last season.

“I would like to have him say, ‘OK, I’m going to take the game over, we’ve got to win this, but I’m going to utilize my receivers, my running back, my tight end,’ and build that trust within everybody so he understands we’re going to get it done but we’re going to utilize the players around him,” Petrino said. “He’s still going to have the ability to take off and go. We’d like that to be his third instinct instead of his first.”

Petrino said he’s established a goal of Vick completing 65 percent of his passes. Vick has never completed more than 56.4 percent. Last season, he completed 52.6 percent.

• Chauncey Davis: Davis has started 18 games in his first two seasons, so serving as Kerney’s replacement at defensive end would not be a surprise. Davis is solid against the run but is still evolving as a pass rusher.

This doesn’t mean the Falcons won’t draft a defensive end. They could opt for Arkansas’ Jamaal Anderson with the first pick, or use one of their two second-round picks on a defensive end, with Georgia’s Charles Johnson a possibility if he slips that far.

• Brian Finneran: The veteran wide receiver, who missed all of last season after tearing knee ligaments, is on track to be ready for training camp, but there is still some uncertainty about his health, Petrino said.

Petrino thinks the receivers, with the addition of veteran Joe Horn, have the capability to do well but must prove themselves.

“We’re waiting to see,” Petrino said. “They’re committed and excited that we’re going to spend a lot of time practicing the passing game and going through the progression that I believe in, and that’s learning the game together; everybody putting all the parts together.”

This could still be a position addressed in the draft.

• Daniel Fells: Backup tight end Daniel Fells made the Falcons roster as an undrafted free agent last season, and early evaluations are positive. Petrino said he is looking forward to seeing Fells in action, particularly in sets where an H-back is utilized.

The optimism around Fells (6-4, 252) might not be a good sign for veteran Eric Beverly, 33, who was used exclusively as a blocking tight end.

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Grady Jackson not closing door on Falcons. Wants to play for Falcons despite lawsuit.

Despite filing a lawsuit against the Falcons, including three team officials, defensive tackle Grady Jackson said he hopes to remain with the team.

“I’d love to play in Atlanta,” Jackson said by telephone from Jackson, Miss., Wednesday. “I like playing there. Atlanta is good. I had fun playing with the Atlanta Falcons, and hopefully I can continue being an Atlanta

Jackson was a free agent coming off a $10 million contract with Green Bay when he visited the Falcons and took a physical last March, according the complaint.

Jackson alleges that a medical exam by the team’s doctor, Scott Gillogly, was reported to team trainer Ron Medlin and that the team’s director of player personnel, Les Snead, released erroneous information to some media outlets that Jackson had failed his March 24 physical. Gillogly, Medlin and Snead are named in the lawsuit.

The Falcons later signed Jackson in August to an incentive-laden three-year contract. He received a bonus of $300,000 and played for the league veteran minimum of $710,000 last season. Jackson is scheduled to make base salaries of $1.5 million in 2007 and 2008.

Falcons general manager Rich McKay was in Arizona for the NFL owners meetings and refused to comment on the lawsuit. The Falcons contended in a prepared statement Tuesday that Jackson just wants to re-negotiate his contract.

The lawsuit contends that Jackson was given an Echo Scan, a heart stress test, using a machine not made for a person of his size, and therefore the results were not reliable. The Falcons list Jackson as 6 feet 2, 345 pounds on their Web site.

Jackson has been a no-show for the team’s voluntary offseason workouts. As a player under contract, he would be required to attend the upcoming mandatory minicamp in April.

“I’m working out in Atlanta, but I won’t be going to the facilities,” Jackson said.

If the information about a “failed” physical had not been released, Jackson contends, he could have signed a bigger contract.

The lawsuit alleges that reports of Jackson’s failed physical were released to a reporter from KFFL.com, an Internet site that covers the league, and to the Sporting News magazine, and it was repeated and further published by the national media.

The lawsuit alleges that the information was released in order to enhance the Falcons’ leverage in negotiating a contract with Jackson, “to chill any interest by other NFL teams in signing Plaintiff Jackson and to reduce and impede … Jackson’s marketability in the free-agent market so that … the Falcons would later be able to sign … Jackson for considerably less money than his true market value.”

Jackson also says the Falcons might have limited his playing time and kept him from reaching a $500,000 bonus that required him to play nearly 60 percent of the snaps.

“If a player is performing up to his capabilities then you can’t say he’s not valuable or can’t play a lot of snaps,” Jackson said. “Everybody is using seven or eight defensive lineman now. Nobody plays the whole game. That I’m old, that’s a bunch of B.S. If you still got it, you’ve still got it.”

In Wednesday’s interview, Jackson did not accuse the Falcons of cutting his playing time to keep him from the bonus.

“I kind of feel like it, but it’s hard to say,” he said.

Jackson, 34, played in all 16 games last season and helped improve the Falcons’ run defense. He made no qualms about not being pleased with his contract.

“I look at it like this, I played the whole season, and it’s not about age,” Jackson said. “I still do what I do. I’m still playing great ball, and I feel like it’s [not] about age.”

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