The eBay auction for 22 Michael Vick football cards, chewed up and slobbered on by two Missouri dogs, ended Wednesday as the winning bidder dished out $7,400 -- with the money expected to be donated to the Humane Society.

Falcons QB Michael Vick will get a chance to explain himself to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, although no date has been set for a meeting. The first thing Vick may want to tell Goodell is why he lied to him at the draft on April 28 when he denied any involvement in dogfighting. In fact, he told Goodell, "I love dogs." NFL spokesman Greg Aiello confirmed yesterday that Goodell expects to meet with Vick "at some point in the future" but nothing has been scheduled. Aiello would not say if the meeting would take place before Vick is sentenced Dec. 10, but that would seem likely.

In what will likely be a season-long running back controversy, Jerious Norwood outplayed Warrick Dunn in Atlanta's 24-19 win over the Bengals. Norwood caught a 12-yard touchdown pass from Joey Harrington, while rushing for 25 yards on nine carries. Dunn carried the ball six times for eight yards total.

Cutting quarterback Michael Vick now that he's pleaded guilty to dogfighting and acknowledged lying to team owner Arthur Blank might make a lot of people feel better, Blank said. Emotions have to be pushed aside for the financial benefit of the team, though, which is why, Blank said, Vick will remain on the roster ? he will be on a suspended list ? while the franchise "aggressively" pursues roughly $22 million in bonuses already paid to Vick. "This is not as simple as standing here today and saying we're terminating Michael's rights," Blank said at a news conference in his Buckhead office Monday. "We simply cannot do that. It's not in our fans' or franchise's best interest. It would be a short-term fix at the expense of our long-term success. "We cannot tell you today that Michael is cut from the team. Cutting him may feel better, today, emotionally for us and many of our fans but it's not in the long-term best interest of our franchise."

There were plenty of Falcons fans wearing No. 7 jerseys at the Georgia Dome. They got a chance to cheer for Michael Vick's replacement. Joey Harrington made a good first impression on Atlanta fans by throwing two touchdown passes Monday night in a 24-19 preseason win over the Bengals.

Michael Vick apologized to the NFL and his Atlanta Falcons teammates Monday for "using bad judgment and making bad decisions" and vowed to redeem himself of charges in a dogfighting case. Shortly before making his first public statements, the star quarterback pleaded guilty to a federal dogfighting charge and awaited a Dec. 10 sentencing date that likely will send him to prison. "First I want to apologize for all the things that I've done and that I have allowed to happen," Vick said at a news conference following his appearance in U.S. District Court. "I made a mistake in using bad judgment and making bad decisions," he said. "Dogfighting is a terrible thing." He concluded by saying, "I offer my deepest apologies to everyone. And I will redeem myself. I have to."

The Falcons apparently are not through with Michael Vick yet -- not when the team still hopes to recover millions of dollars it already paid the quarterback. Vick was suspended indefinitely without pay by commissioner Roger Goodell on Friday, only hours after Vick acknowledged his guilt to some dogfighting charges. In announcing the suspension, Goodell also opened the way for the Falcons to attempt to recover $22 million of Vick's signing bonus from the 10-year, $130 million contract he signed in 2004.

Commissioner Roger Goodell notified Falcons QB Michael Vick on Friday that he is suspended indefinitely without pay from the National Football League, effective immediately. Following are excerpts from Commissioner Goodell?s letter to Vick: "Your admitted conduct was not only illegal, but also cruel and reprehensible. Your team, the NFL, and NFL fans have all been hurt by your actions. "Your plea agreement and the plea agreements of your co-defendants also demonstrate your significant involvement in illegal gambling. Even if you personally did not place bets, as you contend, your actions in funding the betting and your association with illegal gambling both violate the terms of your NFL Player Contract and expose you to corrupting influences in derogation of one of the most fundamental responsibilities of an NFL player. "You have engaged in conduct detrimental to the welfare of the NFL and have violated the league?s Personal Conduct Policy. "I will review the status of your suspension following the conclusion of the legal proceedings. As part of that review, I will take into account a number of factors, including the resolution of any other charges that may be brought against you, whether in Surry County, Virginia, or other jurisdictions, your conduct going forward, the specifics of the sentence imposed by Judge Hudson and any related findings he might make, and the extent to which you are truthful and cooperative with law enforcement and league staff who are investigating these matters. "I have advised the Falcons that, with my decision today, they are no longer prohibited from acting and are now free to assert any claims or remedies available to them under the Collective Bargaining Agreement or your NFL Player Contract."

Michael Vick filed his plea agreement in federal court Friday admitting to conspiracy in a dogfighting ring and helping kill pit bulls. He denied ever betting on the fights, only bankrolling them. The Atlanta Falcons quarterback is scheduled to formally enter his plea Monday in U.S. District Court. He signed the plea agreement Thursday. "Most of the Bad Newz Kennels operation and gambling monies were provided by Vick," a summary of facts in the case said, echoing language in plea agreements by three co-defendants who previously pleaded guilty. The statement said when the kennel's dogs won, the gambling proceeds and were generally shared by Vick's three co-defendants -- Tony Taylor, Purnell Peace and Quanis Phillips. "Vick did not gamble by placing side bets on any of the fights. Vick did not receive any of the proceeds of the purses that were won by Bad Newz Kennels," the summary said. According to the statement, Vick also was involved in killing six to eight dogs that did not perform well in test sessions last April. The dogs were executed by drowning or hanging. "Vick agrees and stipulates that these dogs all died as a result of the collective efforts" of Vick and two of the co-defendants, Phillips and Peace, the statement says.

Michael Vick's father said he asked his son to give up dogfighting, or to at least put property used in the venture in the names of others to avoid being implicated, according to a report in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. In The Journal-Constitution report posted on the newspaper's Web site Thursday night, Michael Boddie, who is estranged from Vick and the quarterback's mother, also said some time around 2001 his son staged dogfights in the garage of the family home in Newport News, Va. Boddie told the newspaper Vick kept fighting dogs in the family's backyard, including dogs that were "bit up, chewed up, exhausted." Boddie claimed to have nursed the dogs back to health.