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A sculptor who shot a dog for an art film in the 1970s has won a $750,000 contract to create public art for the Central Subway. Tom Otterness, a Brooklyn-based artist, has created public art all over Europe, Asia, Canada and the United States, with an emphasis on New York City. But he garnered notoriety in 1977 when he adopted a black-and-white dog from an animal shelter and shot it to death with the camera rolling. The footage ended up in his avant-garde movie "Shot Dog Film." Otterness has since apologized, telling the Brooklyn Daily Eagle in 2008, "Thirty years...

The 2011 NFL season is barely underway, and already handicappers are predicting who will play in next February’s Super Bowl XLVI; some are picking the Philadelphia Eagles to represent the NFC. At the same time, certain football moralists are ragging against the new contract inked by the Eagles’ quarterback, Michael Vick. They should get off Michael Vick’s rear end and let him play football. [ ... ] Liberals and conservatives alike frequently speak in support of rehabilitation and second chances; but such rhetoric often falls victim to prejudices against individual persons who have been convicted of crimes. In this instance,...

WEST COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - The people at PETS, Inc. see animals come through the door in bad shape everyday, but some there say this one takes the cake. A dog they've named "Cowboy," walked in their doors timidly Saturday with a tennis ball in his mouth, bite wounds from the nose to tail, underweight and dehydrated. When they opened his mouth to determine his age, they were shocked to see that all of his teeth had been broken or sawed off, indicating that he had been used as a "bait dog" to train juvenile Pit Bulls for fighting. The...

Nike re-signed Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick to an endorsement deal Friday, nearly four years after dropping him amid his legal troubles.

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – The Pennsylvania SPCA is working overtime this morning, raiding homes across the city breaking up what officials are calling the largest dogfighting ring they’ve ever seen in this city. Officials say this dogfighting ring has been under surveillance for awhile. And late last night, early this morning, the Pennsylvania SPCA with Philadelphia police acting on a tip that fights were happening, raided a home on the 2600 block of Gerritt Street. Pennsylvania SPCA director of law enforcement, George Bengal says when they entered the house, there were around 25 people watching a fight in progress. “They actually...

Green Bay Packers fans turned out in droves to welcome their Super Bowl championship football team back to town on Monday. Fans lined the city streets all along the Packers’ route from Austin-Straubel Airport back to Lambeau Field after the team’s plane landed around 1:45 p.m. The players and coaches traveled in a caravan of Green Bay city buses, and on some streets fans were lined up as much as five or six people deep, on both sides. The crowds grew considerably larger the closer the team got to Lambeau. Upon arriving at the stadium, thousands of fans were waiting...

The Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers met in the Super Bowl two days ago, and Packers QB Aaron Rodgers won the MVP Award for his great play. The game also featured the induction of a number of former NFL greats into the Hall of Fame, as well as celebrities and statesmen from all over the country. It was the perfect time to give out the key to the city to some deserving philanthropist, such as … Michael Vick? As it happens, one of the people attending this ceremony was not a wayward child but the caretaker of one...

DALLAS (AP) — The Mayor of Dallas says he did not sanction giving Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick a “key to the city.” Vick won The Associated Press Comeback Player of the Year award this past season, his second in the NFL since serving 18 months in prison for operating a dogfighting operation. Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway presented the key at a ceremony in Dallas last week. In a statement issued Monday, Mayor Tom Leppert distanced himself from the gift. “The action taken was not sanctioned by my office and was not an official ceremonial honor on behalf of...

On tonight’s Rachel Maddow, EP Bill Wolff (filling in for Maddow) brought in Professor Melissa Harris-Perry for a fresh take, and she delivered: Michael Vick is the victim of centuries of black oppression– from dogs? Wolff requested of Harris-Perry a “historical” take on the matter, and while she barely mentioned Vick (and said nothing of Tucker Carlson), she gave an extensive history of African-Americans and dogs. “We want to be really careful here,” she warned, “There are some complex issues at stake whenever you are talking simultaneously about African Americans and talking about issues of animal rights.” She explained that...

Could the NFL now stand for “No Fun League”? It sure sounds that way in the eyes of many Philadelphia Eagles fans when the Sunday evening NFL game between the Eagles and the Vikings got canceled and moved to Tuesday evening, a first since 1948 for two pro football teams to play.

Was Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell right to call us a nation of "wussies" after the Eagles-Vikings game was postponed because of the snowstorm? No, Rendell is a public official and should've been more concerned with safety Ignore him. Rendell's being a typically ornery Eagles fan. Rendell's comments were a larger statement about the world, and U.S. willingness to fight to keep our supremacy If the roads and public transportation were as clear as he said, there was no reason for the game to be held Yes. Seriously, when did the big, bad NFL start worrying about weather conditions?

The commentary about President Obama's call to the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles regarding that adjudicated dog killer Michael Vick has now reached an apogee of stupidity that strongly suggest that too many otherwise smart people have lost their ability to reason. Obama, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie recounted, said, "'So many people who serve time never get a fair second chance.' He said, 'It's never a level playing field for prisoners when they get out of jail.' And he was happy that we did something on such a national stage that showed our faith in giving someone a second chance...

In 1948, the Eagles won an NFL championship at Shibe Park in a raging blizzard, a game that was never forgotten by the 36,309 die-hards who didn't think twice about braving those conditions to watch history in the making. Then there was the "Snow-Plow" game in New England and the Pats' memorable playoff victory over Oakland in a snowstorm years later, and the frigid 1967 Ice Bowl in Green Bay. To paraphrase Frank Capra this Christmas season, for a true football fan it would not have been as wonderful a life had those remarkable games never been born. That's why...

Mel does not care who will be starting at quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles against the Dallas Cowboys today. They don't watch pro football at Mel's house. I don't care, either, especially not after meeting Mel. As fond as any journalist of a thumping good tale about disgrace and redemption, I can't stomach the rosy narrative surrounding Michael Vick's wondrous comeback. Why on earth the president chose to pay sentimental homage this past week to the Eagles for offering a "second chance" to a spoiled millionaire sociopath is an imponderable mystery.

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick continued his unlikely dominance of this week’s news cycle today, when TV pundits still found themselves with nothing better to talk about. The latest of those pundits to be brought on the air, faced with the unenviable task (especially when you don’t get enough time to do it) of voicing an opinion on this story that hasn’t been heard already: CNN’s Max Kellerman, who went on the network today to vehemently disagree with his friend Tucker Carlson’s now-infamous position on Vick…and advocate for pigs. After saying he “would have crushed” Carlson in a debate on...

ATLANTA -- The head of the Atlanta chapter of the NAACP said Wednesday Michael Vick is not guilty of dogfighting charges. Dr. R.L. White of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People said at a news conference that he believes someone was out to get Vick. Lawyers for the Falcons quarterback said Monday that Vick will plead guilty to the dogfighting charges next Monday. [Snip] When asked who would have set up Vick, White responded, "His demeanor and I've heard for years that his image with the do-rag on and not being that particularly articulate rub some people...

Sean Hannity is on vacation this week, so his Fox News show is being hosted by Tucker Carlson. During a discussion tonight about President Obama's controversial defense of Michael Vick,Carlson said that Vick "should have been executed." Watch inside. Tucker Carlson:‘Michael Vick Should Be Executed’

Did you really think the media would give up on their president that easily? Not a chance – they’ve got too much invested. And we’re starting to see the emergence of their new sales pitch. Call it “Barry from the block.” The Smartest Human Being Ever to Draw Breath suffered a “shellacking” in the midterms from an electorate too dim to appreciate the beneficence of his policies. Well then, time to dumb it down a bit and talk in terms the booboise can relate to. Hence on Dec. 28 we have one of the dopiest articles ever to appear in...

Tucker Carlson says Michael Vick should have been killed for cruelty to dogs. On last night’s Hannity on FNC, Carlson was filling in for the vacationing Sean Hannity (going on two weeks, now) when the conversation turned to Vick during the "Great American Panel" segment. More specifically, the conversation centered on Barack Obama’s recent support to the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles for giving Vick a second chance. While that is an issue in and of itself, Carlson eventually took the conversation into no man’s land by saying that he wished Vick would have been executed for killing dogs. Interestingly,...

Joy Tiz ©2010 The President of the United States took time out from his grueling party schedule to honor, not one of our brave troops, but a vicious animal abuser. Obama called Eagles owner, Jeff Lurie, to passionately gush his admiration for Michael Vick who served prison time for his “dog fighting” ring. But, this is not some backwater ignoramus staging fights in his back yard. Vick was all that and so much more. He tortured and killed helpless dogs. He used puppies as pit bull fighting bait. He mutilated animals who refused to fight. He slaughtered these helpless creatures...

Eagles quarterback Michael Vick is having a phenomenal season, of course, but he’s still a divisive figure. Some credit him for making the most of another chance following his prison sentence, while others still can’t bring themselves to forgive Vick for the suffering he inflicted on innocent dogs. But according to information reported last night by Peter King of Sports Illustrated, Vick has at least one supporter in high places: President Barack Obama. Obama, it seems, is squarely in the “credit Vick for making good on another chance” camp. King said last night that Obama called Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie...

First, a disclaimer. I am not particularly a Michael Vick fan. Nor have I ever cheered for the Philadelphia Eagles. The NFL is not a top priority for me. However, for the rest of this season, I will be a fan of Vick and the Eagles, which means I will spend more time than usual following the NFL. Why? Because of the R words. The real American R words have been experiencing a renascence just across the line from New Jersey in Philadelphia, the new home of Michael Vick. “Redemption.” In 2007, Michael Vick experienced professional death. When he pleaded...

VIRGINIA BEACH — A man was shot outside of a Virginia Beach club early this morning, and sources have said that the incident occurred at a birthday party for NFL star Michael Vick.

Maher will have to go a long way to stoop lower than this. What a disgusting and hate-filled person Video Link

According to Philadelphia Eagles players, the most courageous man on the team in 2009 was one who started the year serving time in prison for an act of extreme cowardice. Today, the Eagles announced that Michael Vick was the 2009 winner of the Ed Block Courage Award, an honor given to a player who shows courage in the face of adversity. Vick's teammates voted for the award, thus demonstrating how tone-deaf and out-of-touch NFL players are with reality. ... According to the Ed Block Courage Award Foundation Web site: The Ed Block Courage Award recipient symbolizes professionalism, great strength and...

Call it a Hail Mary pass that sailed out of bounds. The National Football League, represented by Covington & Burling and Faegre & Benson, claimed in an appeal to the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals that Minneapolis federal District Court Judge David Doty had shown bias against the league in his appointed role resolving labor disputes between the league and the players. In particular the NFL asserted that the 79-year-old judge abused his authority when he overturned an arbitrator's decision and let quarterback Michael Vick keep a $20 million bonus paid by the Atlanta Falcons. It also pointed to...

Beloved cartoonist Berkeley Breathed had an unusual inspiration for his latest children's book, "Flawed Dogs." No it wasn't one of the Santa Barbaran's many rescued pit bulls, but it was one of Michael Vick's infamous dogs who was set to be put down. "The book happened because I came across both a picture and a quote at about the same time -- a picture of one of Michael Vick's fight dogs. It was set to be put down, but a shelter in Utah decided to take the dog and a few others at the same time and try to rehabilitate...

Talk radio virtuoso Rush Limbaugh is distasteful to the NFL as part owner of a football team. Barack Obama’s boss, unrepentant Nazi collaborator, George Soros apparently, meets the NFL’s “very high standard”. Barbarian Michael Vick who superintended a dog fighting ring, tortured and executed dogs, including family pets, has been embraced by the same league. Limbaugh, who is guilty of being an forthright conservative, but has never served prison time, nor abetted the dispatch of credulous Jews to death camps, fails to meet the benchmarks for integrity set by the NFL.

About 30 animal rights protesters gathered outside the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on Sunday, waving signs decrying dogfighting in response to Michael Vick's arrival with the Philadelphia Eagles and drawing mostly praise from Raiders fans entering the stadium. Oakland has been the happy ending for many of the animals rescued from Vick's dogfighting and gambling operation in Virginia. Ten of the dogs in Vick's pit bull collection -- the ones that could be saved and rehabilitated -- found new lives in San Francisco's East Bay, fostered and treated by the group BAD RAP (Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pitbulls). On Sunday,...

Media Bias: Not long after pro football welcomed a convicted felon back on the playing field, Rush Limbaugh is dropped for his opinions from a group seeking to buy an NFL franchise. Won't someone throw a flag? When even Keith Olbermann says back off, you know the politically correct critics of the conservative icon and megaradio talk host's proposed part ownership of the St. Louis Rams are guilty of piling on. The prospect of the leading conservative voice in America participating in the purchase of a football team sent the liberal elites into cardiac arrest and into a frenzied campaign...

NEW YORK — Michael Vick is back with Nike more than two years after the company severed ties over the quarterback's involvement in a dogfighting ring. The managing director of the agency that represents Vick announced the deal Wednesday while participating on a panel at the Sports Sponsorship Symposium. Michael Principe of BEST referred questions to Vick's agent, Joel Segal, who did not return calls from The Associated Press. Segal told SportsBusiness Journal that Vick will wear Nike shoes, gear and apparel, but would not reveal the terms of the agreement "Mike has had a great relationship with Nike and...

Five sacks of dog food for every sack? A heap of chow for each kapow? Today, Main Line Animal Rescue, in an ad in the Washington Post, has put a pledge behind its distaste for Michael Vick, the convicted Bad Newz Kennels conspirator. Each time the Eagles new gadget guy / backup quarterback is tackled during the Oct. 26 away game against the Redskins, five bags of dog food will be donated to a D.C. animal shelter...

In an unexpected move, Michael Vick might not be feeling venom outside of Lincoln Financial Field Thursday night but rather he will be feeling some puppy love as supporters planned to march the night that the controversial QB returns to the NFL. The Philadelphia Chapter of the NAACP, the Black Clergy of Philadelphia and other Philly-area civil rights groups were planning a “massive demonstration” outside of the Eagles preseason game against Jacksonville -- the game where Vick is expected to make his Eagles’ debut

In Texas this week former Colts NFL coach Tony Dungy talked about faith and Michael Vick's return to the NFL. Dungy who visited Vick while he was in prison on the dog fighting conviction asked Vick: "I asked Michael, 'Where was the Lord in all of this?' because I wanted to know about his personal faith in Jesus."

Eagles meet with animal rights groups ESPN.com news services PHILADELPHIA -- Animal rights groups and the Philadelphia Eagles are looking at ways they can join forces to combat dogfighting. The team drew criticism after hiring convicted dogfighting ringleader Michael Vick. He wasn't in attendance at Monday's meeting. Tom Hickey, chairman and founder of DogPAC, said he believes the upshot of the meeting was that the Eagles have a responsibility to battle dogfighting because they have employed Vick. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, Hickey spearheaded a petition last week demanding the Eagles match Vick's salary in donations to local dog shelters...

So Michael Vick is an Eagle now. That’s ok with me. I’m a Giants fan. Or I was a Giants fan, when I could stand to follow pro football. For a long time now, I haven’t been able to bring myself to watch more than a few games a season. These days, I feel nearly as out-of-place at a Super Bowl party as I would at an Oscar party. Here in the DC area, the Redskins religion has begun its sacramental advent count-down to opening Sunday. I wish I could share the excitement. Part of the problem is that I’m...

Here is video of Fox News' Megyn Kelly going ballistic during a segment discussing Michael Vick's public plea for forgiveness in a 60 Minutes interview last night, and his return to the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles. Kelly does not believe he should be given a second chance in the NFL. As she discussed the topic with panelists, she got increasingly upset as what Vick did was described as a "mistake." That's when she went ballistic, saying: "How can do you condone giving anybody that shows that side of his character a second chance."Kelly clearly believes Donte Stallworth's manslaughter conviction...

Here is the complete video of the Michael Vick interview with CBS News' 60 Minutes which aired tonight. The video contains the entire 60 Minutes program for August 16, 2009. But the Vick interview is up first in it's entirety following the opening introduction to the program. Vick talks about how he ever got into dog-fighting, how he feels about it now, and where he goes from here. . . . (Watch Complete Video)

Here is a video clip from tonight's interview to air on CBS News 60 Minutes with NFL Quarterback Michael Vick, who has signed to play with the Philadelphia Eagles after leaving prison a few weeks ago. James Brown interviewed Vick and asked him "What About the Dogs?" He was asking why he beat, shot, and electrocuted dogs in a dog-fighting operation that landed the former Atlanta Falcons Quarterback in prison. Vick responded "It was wrong, J.B., it was wrong." . . . . (Watch Video)

The most talked abut and controversial sports story surrounds the signing of Michael Vick by the Philadelphia Eagles. Before I weigh in, I should disclose a few things. First, Vick was a favorite of mine in fantasy football. That's because his out of this world talent made him the perfect, potentially, fantasy football player. There was nothing more exciting in fantasy football than watching Michael Vick when he was on your team. Also, I am not especially an animal lover. I don't have any pets and I never have had any pets. (as I say, I have enough trouble taking...

ESPN just reports that Michael Vick signed 2 year contract with PHiladelphia Eagles.

Just heard on ESPN that the Philadelphia Eagles have signed Michael Vick to a 2 year contract!

Michael Vick(notes) is back in the NFL, landing a job with the Philadelphia Eagles. Vick’s agent, Joel Segal, confirmed Thursday that the sides had a deal.

"60 Minutes" just announced that Michael Vick will sit down for his first interview since admitting to dogfighting and serving time in prison for the crime. The interview is not being done by one of the "60 Minutes" regulars, but rather by CBS Sports NFL TODAY anchor James Brown. The segment will also include interviews with Wayne Pacelle, head of the Humane Society of the U.S., and Tony Dungy, the former NFL coach who will be a special adviser to Vick. The former Atlanta Falcon's quarterback was released from federal custody last month and was given a conditional reinstatement to...

Some people just cannot wait for dog killer Michael Vick to return to professional football. The only thing this inter-species sadist deserves is universal derision. Let’s recap exactly why this former Atlanta Falcons quarterback pleaded guilty to running a dog-fighting ring, earning him 18 months in federal prison and house arrest until July 20. Vick helped kill eight dogs and injure dozens of others. According to his federal court filings, “Vick agrees and stipulates that these dogs all died as a result of the collective efforts of [co-defendants Purnell] Peace, [Quanis] Phillips and himself, Vick.” Other legal papers detail Vick’s...

There's Michael Vick, former starting quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, cruel torturer of helpless animals, and sometime promoter of dogfights. Vick personifies the modern comeback story in sports. His horrific acts of barbaric cruelty visited upon dogs in his kennel, as well as his part ownership of a statewide ring of dogfighting venues, led to his conviction in 2007 on several counts of participating in illegal dogfighting activities and supplying money for the gambling operation. He was sentenced to 23 months and was released in May of this year. After his arrest, Vick held what has become the obligatory mea...

NEW YORK – Michael Vick has been conditionally reinstated by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. Vick can participate without delay in preseason practices, workouts and meetings and can play in the final two preseason games — if he can find a team that will sign him.

Michael Vick was released from federal custody Monday, with the sentence for his role in a dogfighting operation in Virginia expiring after he was imprisoned in Leavenworth, Kan., then on home confinement in Hampton, Va. There still is no indication, however, about whether he'll be reinstated by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. Goodell suspended Vick indefinitely prior to the 2007 season, and has not given a timetable for ruling on Vick's possible reinstatement. Goodell has said in recent months that he would not begin the decision-making process until after Vick's legal case concluded. He has said that Vick must demonstrate genuine...

Disgraced NFL star Michael Vick is scheduled to be released from federal prison soon, and many expect his release to come either overnight or sometime tomorrow. The Federal Bureau of Prisons is being deliberately vague about the timing of Vick's release, ESPN reports, because of concerns over his security. He'll serve the remainder of his sentence at home due to lack of space in a halfway house.