NFL star Vick leaves prison for home confinement

RICHMOND, Va. (AP)—Suspended NFL star Michael Vick(notes) left a Kansas prison before dawn Wednesday to begin home confinement in Virginia, one of his attorneys said, the latest step on a journey that Vick hopes will lead to his reinstatement.

Vick, who turns 29 in June, slipped past waiting cameras and reporters undetected to leave a federal penitentiary in Leavenworth after serving 19 months for financing a dogfighting ring. He was headed to Virginia by car to begin two months of home confinement at his five-bedroom house in Hampton before a scheduled release from federal custody July 20.

He was accompanied by his fiance, Kijafa Frink, and they were traveling back to Virginia with several members of a security team arranged for by Vick’s team of lawyers and advisers, a person familiar with the plans told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to comment on the matter.

The traveling party also includes a videographer recording the journey, the person said, although what Vick plans to do with the footage has not been announced.

The drive from Leavenworth to Hampton is expected to take about 19 hours.

“It’s a happy day for him to be starting this part of the process,” Larry Woodward, Vick’s Virginia-based attorney, said. “He looks forward to meeting the challenges he has to meet.”

Vick’s release was first reported by The Daily Press of Newport News, Vick’s hometown.

Ultimately, Vick’s goal is to rehabilitate his image and return to the NFL, but Woodward said his first priority “is spending time with his children and his loved ones.”

Vick has much work to do to get back into some semblance of playing condition after spending two years out of the game, but his agent, Joel Segal, said his career won’t be Vick’s immediate focus. “Football is on the back-burner for now,” he said.

Commissioner Roger Goodell, who suspended Vick indefinitely in August 2007, reiterated Wednesday he will review Vick’s status after his criminal case is concluded. He has said Vick will have to persuade him and the public that he is genuinely sorry for his crime, has been changed by his experience and that he’s committed to leading a different life.

Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank said Wednesday that Vick has paid his debt to society and merits a second chance. But Blank said that second chance won’t come with the Falcons.

“We’ve made it clear Michael’s not going to play for us again, as you know,” Blank said. “Right now his salary is being tolled so it has no effect on our cap, beyond the allocation of signing bonus which happens under any circumstances. So we’ll deal with it at the time we think is correct.”

Vick, once the NFL’s highest-paid player, is scheduled to report to a probation officer Friday in Norfolk, Woodward said. He will be allowed to leave home to work a $10-an-hour job as a laborer for a construction company and for other limited purposes approved by his probation officer. He will serve three years of probation after his home confinement ends.

The Humane Society of the United States said Tuesday that Vick met its president recently in prison and wants to work on a program aimed at eradicating dogfighting among urban teens.

Retired defensive tackle Warren Sapp(notes), who played 13 seasons for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Oakland Raiders, also said Vick should be given an opportunity to resume his football career.

“We’ve always been a country of second chances. That’s the essence of us, have some contrition for what you did, go pay your price and then come back and become a better person or a little different person, whatever it is,” Sapp said last week.

Even if he is reinstated, Vick’s NFL future is uncertain. Is there a team willing to endure the wrath of some fans in exchange for a player who was perhaps the NFL’s most electrifying performer.

A public backlash isn’t the only risk. By all accounts, Vick has tried to stay in good physical shape, but there’s no telling how much his skills have eroded after two missed seasons.

Vick said in bankruptcy court last month he believes he can play another 10-12 years. The NFL career average is only 3.2 years—it’s much longer for quarterbacks, though—and Vick already has played six.

One certainty is that he will not command the kind of money he once earned. Vick supplemented his 10-year, $130 million Falcons contract with several lucrative endorsements, all lost because of the dogfighting. The minimum salary for a player with Vick’s years of experience is $620,000.

Vick filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan that would have allowed him to keep the first $750,000 of his annual pay, with a percentage of any amount over that going to his creditors. A judge has rejected that plan, in part because of uncertainty about Vick’s NFL future, and ordered him to submit a new one.

His bankruptcy lawyers have complained about the difficulty of handling Vick’s highly complex bankruptcy case while their client was in prison 1,200 miles away. Having Vick back in the area should help them wrap up the Chapter 11 reorganization case.

Vick’s startling fall began in April 2007 when authorities conducting a drug investigation of his cousin raided the former Virginia Tech star’s Surry County property and seized dozens of dogs, some injured, and equipment commonly used in dogfighting.

A federal indictment issued about three months later charged Vick and three of his “Bad Newz Kennels” associates with an interstate dogfighting conspiracy. Vick initially denied any involvement, and all four men pleaded innocent. All four eventually admitted their crimes and were sentenced to prison. Vick’s sentence was the longest.

The gruesome details outlined in the indictment—dogs were hanged, drowned and electrocuted—fueled public outrage but also brought unprecedented attention to the problem of dogfighting, prompting several states to tighten their laws.

However, some supporters also remained loyal to Vick, contending that while he made mistakes he was being singled out for harsh treatment because of his celebrity status.

Vick also pleaded guilty to a state dogfighting charge and was given a three-year suspended sentence.

Associated Press Writers Larry O’Dell in Richmond, Va., John Marshall in Leavenworth, Kan., AP Sports Writers Tim Reynolds in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Fred Goodall in Tampa, Fla., contributed to this report.

By: Hank Kurz, AP Sports writer.

Exposed Secrets to Muscular Pitbulls

Hey Guys, Just in case you did not know, I want to let you know that Champion Pitbull Secrets has just been released this year by Rick Avery. All the goodies, all the details, all the secrets to huge muscular pitbulls. I suggests that if you want to increase the size of your pitbull, go and get you a copy. Lots of goodies in that book. It has already been featured in many different publications such as “American Breeder, and Breeders Plus.

Here is some of the content in the book:

- How to build up to 1-3 pounds of muscle per MONTH!

- Proper Diet Do’s and Don’ts for muscle growth

- The One Big Mistake you must never make again!

- Magic to training using Commands

- Why most dog food’s are worthless!

- How to perform Massage Therapy for maximum results!

- How to maintain muscle mass between workouts

- Isolation exercises to pin-point muscle growth

I keep hearing success stories from his customers. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to add that amazing muscular body to their pitbull.

Here are a couple of testimonials from his satisfied customers:

Bull Terrier: Pitbull Family

Hello folks. I wanted to give a little in-site on a dog that is part of the pitbull family and often mistaken for the American Pitbull Terrier.

The Bull Terrier is a magnificent dog and should not be mistaken as a pitbull. Very similar in body structure, yet these are two different breeds.

History of the Bull Terrier:

The Bull Terrier is a British breed of dog.  Its predecessors were developed for the purposes of pit fighting, in the middle of the 19th century.   The “sporting enthusiasts” of that time loved to bet on dog fights, bull fights, bear fights, etc. Some of them decided to mate two formidable breeds of dog, the Bull Dog and the Black and Tan Terrier (which is now extinct).  They wanted to combine the Bull Dog’s tenacity, courage and high threshold of pain, with the terrier’s lightening speed, agility and unsurpassed ratting (eg.,killing) instinct.  What resulted was an extremely rugged dog, well suited for pit fighting, which is still popular in parts of the world to this day.  It was not a pretty dog.  It had bowed legs, and its colors have been described as “smutty”.  It was called the Bull and Terrier dog.  On the other side of this not so pretty picture, is the fact that the dog had unfaltering devotion to its owner. Read more

Chris Brown’s Diamond

Diamond. The name of the blue pitbull owned by Chris Brown. Boy has this pitbull grown into a beauty. I just wanted to share this picture with you guys. This is one handsome blue pitbull. We really take for granted the time that we spend with them. They grow into adult dogs before we know it.

Jessica Alba’s Pitbull

Fantastic Four’ star Jessica Alba and her boyfriend Cash Warren have to bundle up while walking their pit bull puppy Bowie and stepping out for coffee in downtown Vancouver, B.C

{Celebrities and their pitbulls}

Jessica Biel’s Pitbull, Justin Timberlake’s Boxers

The cute couple Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel took their dogs for a stroll at a park in Los Angeles. Jessica has a pit bull called Tina, while Justin’s two boxers are named Buckley and Brennen. Just another celeb that has a love for the infamous American Pitbull Terrier.

{Celebrities and their pitbull: Photos}

Chris Brown and his Pitbull

Hey guys, I ran across this picture with Chris Brown and his baby blue pitbull. It is such a beautiful pitbull. I hope that it does not have the temperament that Chris Brown has. We might have another Michael Vick on our hands.Lol. Just kidding guys. I hope everyone had a good weekend. Time to get back to the old grind.

Many of you have been asking for content request. If you have an articles or topic that you would like to see, please contact Dee@pitbull-secrets.com

Let me know how you guys feel, and things that you would like to see.

{Celebrities and their pitbull: Photos}

…For loads more, Subscribe to our Newsletter and RSS Feed.

Pit bull Myths

Where there are pit bulls, there are misconceptions. Here are a few common ones:

The locking jaw. The pit bull’s ability to grab hold of a target and not let go dates back to its role as a Butcher’s Dog controlling cattle by grabbing cows by the nose. This talent gave rise to the myth that these dogs have a specially engineered jaw structure that “locks” onto an object. There is no scientific evidence that pit bulls have greater bite power than many other large-breed dogs.

Fighters make good guards. If a menacing reputation can help keep a person safe, then pit bulls are a shoo-in. But historically they’ve been bred as human-friendly and aggressive to cows and other dogs.

Unfortunately, backyard breeding and hybridizing of pit bulls with large guardian breeds such as bull mastiffs and Rhodesian Ridgebacks may result in over-sized dogs with the fighting skills of a pit bull and the aggressiveness of a guard dog. Read more