
ESPN ---
Michael Vick said Thursday that he is getting close to signing with a professional football team but refused to elaborate.
Vick made the comment to reporters as he left a courtroom after a hearing in his bankruptcy case. Asked about his progress in signing with a team, Vick said: “We’re getting close.” He declined to answer additional questions.
NFL commissioner
Roger Goodell conditionally reinstated Vick on Monday, a week after the former Atlanta Falcons star completed his 23-month sentence for running a dogfighting ring. Vick is free to sign with a team and could be playing in the NFL by Week 6. He could also play in one of a couple football minor leagues if no NFL team signs him. His agent, Joel Segal, did not immediately return a telephone message.
Vick, 29, did not speak during the hearing. Afterward, the U.S. bankruptcy trustee and a lawyer for Vick’s creditors shook Vick’s hand and congratulated him on his NFL reinstatement. Vick thanked them and said, “It’s exactly what I needed at this point in my life.”
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Frank Santoro postponed until Friday a decision on whether to approve $1.5 million in legal fees sought by Crowell & Moring, the Madison Avenue law firm representing Vick in the Chapter 11 case. Santoro was astonished that the firm is billing Vick for 8,000 hours of work over about 10 months.