Vick: 'I Cried So Many Nights'

Forbes list of most disliked athletes has a new name: Tiger Woods

(NEWSER) - Michael Vick has been out of federal prison for almost a year , but the Eagles quarterback still has some image-polishing to do: For the second straight year, he tops the Forbes list of most disliked people in sports . New for 2010 are Ben Roethlisberger and how-the-mighty-have-fallen poster child Tiger Woods, the only non-football figure in the top five:

1. Michael Vick: Disliked by 69% of 1,100 poll respondents, "Vick was a popular and dynamic player before the dog-fighting episode" and "still appears poised for a recovery with the public."

Redemption is there in spades, but little talk of horrid crime

(NEWSER) - Critics agree BET's The Michael Vick Project is conveniently focused more on the NFL star's comeback than on the horrid crime that laid him low in the first place. Still, some find the 8-episode "quasi-documentary" appealing:

• Vick presents himself as reformed, Robert Lloyd writes in the Los Angeles Times , but in visiting his old dogfighting compound, he " seems more nostalgic than contrite." No matter. "For many, his redemption will be strictly a matter of his playing football well. And if he doesn't, well, at least he won't be shot, drowned or hanged for it."

QB: 'I'm glad to have a second chance'

(NEWSER) - Michael Vick says he “won’t disappoint” as a player for of the Eagles, the Philadelphia Daily News reports. “I’m glad to have an opportunity at a second chance,” said the convicted felon and newly signed quarterback. He said at a press conference today he had “ done some terrible things, made a horrible mistake,” but “now I want to be part of the solution and not the problem,” the AP reports. More»

Meghan Daum: Our 'pure rage' on animal cruelty stories is hard to overcome

(NEWSER) - Michael Vick's stated desire to get a dog someday has people seething with predictable intensity, and Meghan Daum doesn't expect it will ever quite go away. "There's just something profoundly upsetting about an animal being hurt," she writes in the Los Angeles Times . Her point isn't to bash Vick or weigh in on the sincerity of his redemption, but to ponder our "visceral reactions" to animal cruelty. She wonders: If he had been convicted of abusing his wife, would there be a similar uproar if he got out of jail and announced he was marrying again? More»

Athletic-apparel company cut ties with QB over dogfighting rap

(NEWSER) - Nike, which ate a reported $1.5 million when it severed ties with Michael Vick over his dogfighting rap in 2007, has signed the quarterback to a new endorsement deal. “He has always been a fan of the brand and looks forward to the relationship,” his agent tells SportsBusiness Journal of Vick, 29, who Sunday played his first NFL game in nearly 3 years. More»