Showing posts with label NFL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NFL. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Vick leaves prison


Former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick left a federal prison in Leavenworth, Kansas, early Wednesday, according to his publicist and the Federal Bureau of Prisons.


He will serve the last two months of his 23-month sentence in home confinement in Virginia, his publicist Judy Smith said. He is a native of Newport News, Virginia.
Vick, 28, pleaded guilty in August 2007 to a federal charge of bankrolling a dogfighting operation at a home he owned in Virginia.
He will return to professional football as soon as September if reinstated by the NFL, according to the sports agent who negotiated Vick's 10-year, $140 million contract with the Falcons. Meanwhile, Vick's attorneys have said he will work at a Newport News construction firm following his release, and he has also agreed to participate in a documentary for $600,000.
Last month, a federal bankruptcy judge denied a Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan presented by Vick, urging him to offer the court another plan to emerge from bankruptcy. The plan called for Vick to come up with $750,000 to $1 million in cash to be paid to creditors, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Frank Santoro said, but added he saw no evidence Vick could come up with that much. Santoro suggested Vick's next plan not call for him to keep two houses and three cars, as did the rejected proposal.
In testimony, Vick acknowledged committing a "heinous" act and said he should have acted more maturely. He said he has been earning 12 cents an hour as an overnight janitor in prison. His Falcons salary, he said, was between $10 million and $12 million. He acknowledged failing to handle his money well.

NFL awards New Orleans Super Bowl XLVII

NEW ORLEANS ― In what turned out to be a mere formality, sentimental favorite New Orleans beat out Glendale, Ariz., and Miami on Tuesday, earning the city’s 10th Super Bowl and showing once again that the NFL loves the Crescent City.

New Orleans will host the 2013 Super Bowl, tying South Florida for what will by then be a league-record 10th hosting the game.
Super Bowl XLVII will be the first in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina tore through the city, damaging the Superdome. The Saints played the entire 2005 season on the road.
“This is a great accomplishment for New Orleans and the significance of bringing the Super Bowl to our city and region can’t be overstated,” Saints Owner Tom Benson said. “From every perspective, this shows that our city is on the rise, viable and thriving, and I have great faith in what we can accomplish and the impact it will have, starting today.” Said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, “I think this is a great statement about the people and the spirit of New Orleans.”
The naming of New Orleans as Super Bowl XLVII host in 2013 comes weeks after Benson, the Saints and the state of Louisiana hammered out a long-term deal that will keep the NFL franchise in the Superdome through 2025.
That turned out to be the key to getting the Super Bowl. The NFL doesn’t like to give the Super Bowl to a city without a lease, which for New Orleans, would have run out in 2010.
By the time the Superdome welcomes the NFL’s top two teams on Feb. 3, 2013, more than $80 million in renovations will be finished. Combined with post-Katrina renovations, it’ll be a new stadium inside the shell of the old one.
"This win shows that New Orleans is a premier host for major sports and entertainment events – and will be a perfect backdrop when the eyes of the world are upon us,” Gov. Bobby Jindal said. “Indeed, Louisiana is committed to making sure the 2013 Super Bowl is unparalleled.
“That’s why it was critical for the state to come together with the New Orleans Saints and the Louisiana Superdome to establish a long-term agreement that will save taxpayers money, significantly improve the playing venue and dramatically revitalize the stadium area and the surrounding neighborhood."
The last Super Bowl played in New Orleans was in 2002, when New England, led by Tom Brady, came from behind to defeat the favored St. Louis Rams with a last-second field goal.
On May 6, the city sent its official bid to NFL owners, including hand made cypress boxes containing the city’s bid specifications. Custom art work adorned the boxes and an iPod – preloaded with sites and sounds of New Orleans – was included.
"New Orleans and the Super Bowl are synonymous,” New Orleans Sports Foundation President/CEO Jay Cicero said. “We are proud to have spearheaded the bid effort with the Saints. We look forward to serving the State and City as the New Orleans Host Committee Staff for the 2013 Super Bowl.
“The Super Bowl is the preeminent event to host and it will put New Orleans in the forefront of people’s minds for years to come.”