Every summer, I start to think about NCAA two-zero-fill-in-the-blank, and Madden two-zero-fill-in-the-blank. This year will be NCAA 2010, and Madden 2010, and given that both of my teams should be good (Georgia Tech and the Falcons), I feel a little more excited than most.

[Falcons Message Board]

And by now, he should be used to that. He does have his brother, mom, dad, friends, fiancee — everyone, really — that have used him in the past, so it should come as no shock that the Humane Society is now using the ex-superstar. The surprising thing? They’re admitting it. Just ask Wayne Pacelle, CEO of the Humane Society.

“We’re using Mike Vick. We’re both using each other,” Pacelle told KNBR radio in San Francisco Wednesday when asked about criticism that the Humane Society is being used.

“We have an agenda to eradicate dogfighting in America. He can be a valuable instrument in that. If he can demonstrate that he’s a changed person, good for him.”

I don’t know if volunteering for something that isn’t really volunteering because he can’t get back into the NFL without it…. I don’t know if that counts as being a changed man. It’s not as if Vick is bursting at the seams to work a $10 an hour construction job and help the same animals that are responsible for sending him to jail.

[AJC]

Since Michael Vick has been out of jail, there hasn’t been much heard from him. Or at least I think not. I’ve been in Cancun for the last week, so really don’t know. That said, over the next couple of months Vick is going to have to show “genuine remorse,” per Roger Goodell, if he intends on playing in the NFL again.

So… do you think he’s learning his lesson? Do you think he’s sorry for what he did? Well, according to Michael Boddie, Vick’s father, the star will “be a better man” because of his 18 month stint in federal prison.

“You have a lot of time to reflect,” he told the newspaper. “Looks like he came through it in one piece. I think he’ll be a better man for it.”

Boddie, 47, and Vick have a strained relationship, but they visited for 10 to 15 minutes last Friday at the Hampton home where Vick is serving two months of home confinement.

“I told him, ‘Son, what don’t kill you will make you stronger,’” Boddie told the newspaper.

Better man? Maybe. Better passer? Unlikely. And given that he’s in about a trillion dollars of debt, better man isn’t going to cut it. Better man who’s a better passer and a better runner and better decision maker and better guy at making fans forget that he killed dogs…. that’s what he needs to be shooting for.

[AJC]

You’d think that since Jim Mora is going to be taking over the Seahawks, Seattle might be a likely spot for Michael Vick to end up once he does indeed get back into the NFL. Well, not according to Pro Football Talk, who pulled up some quotes from an interview conducted by ESPN with the coach, himself. Here you go, what Mora thinks of Mr. Vick:

“I don’t know that everybody sees him as a quarterback,” Mora said in a pre-taped segment. “I spent three years with the guy, and the most consistent question I got was, ‘Does he have the skill set of an NFL quarterback or is he better suited to play another position?’”

Said ESPN’s Ed Werder in response, “But you always stated your belief that he was a quarterback, and could succeed at the position.”

Replied Mora, followed by a slight ish-eating grin: “Because he was my quarterback.”

I side with Mora. He’s right. That said, Mora is one of the dumbest head coaches I’ve ever seen, and that’s coming from someone who watches 16 Falcons’ games a year, plus the preseason and playoffs. He instilled Greg Knapp, arguably the worst offensive coordinator ever, as his offensive coordinator. He was known for being a guy that was a friend to the players, not a coach. Anyway… I don’t want to get off on too much of a rant. Michael Vick won’t be the QB of the Seahawks. Have fun with Mora, Seattle. You’ll never see a more loosely run team. Trust me.

[Pro Football Talk]

In an effort to repair his incredibly damaged image, Michael Vick is going to team up with the Humane Society in a program aimed at eradicating dog fighting amongst urban teens.

“He indicated that he’s tremendously remorseful about this, and now he wants to be an agent of change, to work to end dogfighting and to specifically get young kids to cease any involvement in these activities,” Pacelle said.

I’m going to assume what everyone’s assuming, and that’s that Mike is only doing this to better his chances at getting back in the NFL. That said, give the guy some credit for swallowing his pride and teaming up in an effort he more than likely couldn’t care less about.

Next thing on everyone’s mind: Where does he sign? The obvious choice is Oakland, because Batshit Crazy Al Davis runs the team, but they’ve got their quarterback (”JaMarcus Russell is a great quarterback — get over it!”). Other teams would be the Minnesota Vikings, San Francisco 49′ers, Seattle Seahawks, St. Louis Rams, Buffalo Bills, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, or, in something I consdier a long shot, the Tennessee Titans. The Falcons still have him under contract, and are currently asking for a 7th round draft pick in the year 2029.

[AJC]

The rumor is that Michael Vick will be released from prison tonight and head to his 3,800 square foot home in Virginia. It should be a lot of room to adjust to, given that he’s spent the last 20 months in a cell that’s no bigger than the bathrooms of most homes.

Now that he’s back, he can get his life in order, but that doesn’t mean he’s focusing on football. Not yet.

The agent for Michael Vick said Tuesday that the quarterback “will place football on the back burner” during his immediate home confinement and that there are no meetings scheduled with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to discuss reinstatement for the 2009 season.

“Michael’s looking forward to reacquainting himself with his family, his fiancée, Kiafa, his children and his mom,” Joel Segal, Vick’s agent, said. “When he gets home, that’s his priority, along with reinserting himself into society and being a positive influence in his community. This is going to be a special time for him, just being around family.”

I completely agree with Vick. He should get reacquainted with his family and settle back in. Besides that, word on the street is that Grand Master Pitbull Brodie is fighting two time champion Zeus, also a purebread. One will win. One will die. It’ll be like old times again.

(On a more serious note, ESPN has a really good piece on Vick and his unravelings that you can get here.)

[ESPN]

Mike Vick doesn’t have a whole ton of friends these days, so it’s nice to see that Tony Dungy, former coach of the Indianapolis Colts and widely known christian, visited the convicted felon in prison. Though the reports are that the discussions were “private,” but “positive,” Tony Dungy did touch on what he hoped to talk about before he visited the former QB.

“I am going out there to really talk about life. To talk about the Lord,” Dungy said on the show. “I know he has made a profession that he has accepted the Lord into his life. Talk to him about what he’s going to face. Most people are going to be against him. He’s got to understand that.”

I’m not certain most people will be against him. I know most people often forgive people who hang and beat dogs. Just like we do pedofiles and rapists.

[ESPN]

I’m not somebody that really cares about draft grades the day after a draft — how many times have these so-called “experts” been wrong in the past? — but since NFL is officially over, and since we’re stuck with a few boring NBA series right now and 145 more MLB games, I figure I may as well milk this post for what it’s worth.

It’s the last time we’ll be discussing the NFL until a Bengals player gets arrested in the offseason.

How’d your team do over the weekend? I’ve got lots of different opinions from lots of different people. Click here and you can see how Pete Prisco of CBS Sportsline rates the picks; click here to see how Larry Weisman, writer for USA Today, breaks down all seven rounds. Clifton Brown, writer for Sporting News Today, has his take here; for Yahoo! Sports, go here.

I’d give you Todd McShay or Mel Kiper, Jr., but they’re douche bags and charge you $39.95 a year for their services — if I could charge everyone $39.95 to be completely wrong about how a player will turn out, I would. McShay isn’t that bad, but Kiper’s looked like a weatherman with some of his recent predictions.

Enjoy the grades. They mean nothing. At the end of the day, Calvin Johnson has to catch Matthew Stafford’s passes, and DHB wasn’t a stretch by Oakland until he officially busts in Oakland. I think I speak for a lot of people when I say I’m counting down to September. Fall, you couldn’t get here soon enough.

As an Atlanta Falcons fan, this has been a move I’ve been torn over since I first heard the rumors a few weeks back. Last year, the Falcons offense was fine — Matt Ryan and Roddy White and Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood all worked perfectly together. The defense, though not that bad statistically when it came to giving up points (they were 12th in the league), was atrocious to watch at times. They couldn’t stop the run. Or the pass. Somehow, though, they’d keep teams out of the end zone.

So when I first heard that Tony Gonzalez was going to cost a second round pick this year, I wasn’t so certain. The Falcons parted ways with Lawyer Milloy, Grady Jackson, Keith Brooking, and two other starters.

Now that the deal is official, the Falcons will give a second round pick in 2010 for the Hall of Fame tight end. And this makes me happy. Because it’s next year, not this year. This is just the type of deal that will make me mad next year, but just the type of deal that makes me happy this year.

I’m not saying the Falcons’ offense will be that of the ‘07 Patriots. But Michael Turner, Roddy White, Tony G and Matt Ryan are a pretty solid combo. Let’s just hope that defense can stop teams enough to get some W’s on the board.

It’s fun each year wondering who’s going to be cursed, but this year we won’t have to wonder if AP will get just 900 yards and five touchdowns all season. Per PFT, he’s said no to the Madden cover, something that used to be a real priviledge and has now become a chore. Even if you aren’t cursed, some how Madden-a-holics will twist your stats around to somehow say you were victim. And your life will never be the same.

Ask Daunte Culpepper.

Or, better yet, take a stroll down Leavensworth, and ask our boy Michael Vick.

[Pro Football Talk]