SEATTLE — Commissioner Roger Goodell is beginning to focus on evaluating Michael Vick‘s future in the NFL.
That doesn’t mean a decision will come any time before the 2009 regular season begins in September.
Goodell said Thursday his decision on whether to reinstate the former Atlanta Falcons star quarterback, convicted on federal charges of running a dogfighting ring, will come “in due time.”
Goodell said he won’t sit down with Vick until after the former quarterback is released July 20 from home confinement and federal custody.
• The Kansas City Chiefs signed former Pro Bowl safety Mike Brown, who holds Chicago Bears team records with seven defensive touchdowns and three fumble return TDs.
• The Detroit Lions signed center Dominic Raiola to a four-year extension through the 2013 season.
• Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney was confirmed by the Senate as U.S. ambassador to Ireland.
Gay runs to wind-aided 9.75
EUGENE, Ore. — With a wind at his back, Tyson Gay ran the 100 in 9.75 seconds — the seventh-fastest time under any conditions — at the U.S. championships.
About a half hour after he ran, Gay’s coaches confirmed he wouldn’t be racing again this week.
“But I want to,” Gay said. “Because I ran a horrible race.”
Because of the wind, the 9.75 won’t go down as an American record, even though this was .02 seconds faster than the mark he set last year on the same track.
Earlier, Olympic decathlon champion Bryan Clay pulled out of the championships with an injured left hamstring.
Man charged in Pitino extortion
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Federal prosecutors have charged a Kentucky man with helping an alleged extortion attempt against University of Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino.
Lester Goetzinger is charged with aiding and abetting 49-year-old Karen Cunagin Sypher in her alleged attempt to extort millions from Pitino.
• Marquette guard Maurice Acker will skip his final year of eligibility because he’s on track to graduate in December.
Footnotes.
Nineteen years after defecting from the Soviet Union, forward Sergei Fedorov signed a two-year contract with Russian club Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the Kontinental Hockey League.
• German swimmer Britta Steffen set a world record of 52.85 seconds in the 100-meter freestyle in Berlin. Steffen’s record was three-hundredths of a second better than the mark set by Australia’s Lisbeth Trickett in March 2008.
• Cappie Pondexter scored 24 points and Diana Taurasi had 23 to help the Phoenix Mercury pick up its first road victory with a 93-87 win over the Washington Mystics.
• In an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court, Jeremy Mayfield denied taking methamphetamine, doesn’t know how he failed a random drug test and said his indefinite suspension from NASCAR has ruined his driving career.
The Associated Press
