Timetable for Michael Vick, NFL: Not for Year, if Ever

Children, please turn away. I'm here to remind a nation about the specifics of Michael Vick's crimes. This is a man whose Bad Newz Kennels killed dogs by slamming them to the ground, shooting them with a .22-caliber pistol or electrocuting them. Or drowned dogs by shoving their heads into five-gallon buckets of water. Or hanged dogs via a nylon cord attached to two trees. Or approved of "a rape stand,'' used to strap down aggressive female dogs so male dogs could mount them.

This was sick and twisted activity, the sort of disturbia that doesn't vanish from the American consciousness simply because Vick served 18 months in prison and the past two months in home confinement. Admittedly, I was very weirded out by the images Monday when Vick's federal dogfighting sentence ended and he became a free man, shedding the electronic monitor worn on his ankle. Not nearly enough time has passed for anyone with a heart, let alone an intense love of dogs, to forgive him for his warped behavior.

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So, no, I won't be urging Roger Goodell to have mercy on Vick. Before the justice-minded NFL commissioner has any leniency in a case unprecedented for its gruesome, fan-unfriendly stench, Vick must prove for at least another year that he is contrite and a completely changed man. It's important that he has volunteered to work with the Humane Society. It's encouraging that he is seeking advice from Tony Dungy, the most respected man in pro football. It's a shame he is $20 million in debt after once signing a 10-year, $130 million contract. It's interesting that he's immersed in a $9-per-hour job with a Boys and Girls Club in his native Virginia, helping with health and fitness programs.

But how much of that is window dressing and how much is legitimately coming from a reinvented soul? The fact Vick has hired a prominent trainer, Tom Shaw, is yet another indication that he wants to play immediately in the NFL and might be in the quick-fix, make-good mode. For all involved, then, it's best we give him more time to verify his personal transformation and create more distance from his canine horror show. Why would any team want to sign Vick and turn its season into a public-relations nightmare, complete with PETA protests outside stadiums and in-house distractions? As for the NFL, why shift attention to Vick when a football-crazy nation can't wait for the compelling stories of training camp?

Let him adjust to life in a society that detests him. Let him pay more dues and reconstruct his image off the field. Let him play in the fledgling United Football League, a four-team circuit centered mostly around Thursday nights in October and November, which seems perfect for his circumstances and an outlet to show he still can be a big-time quarterback. But the NFL?

At this point, I'd be more inclined to give O.J. Simpson a shot. And by the sounds of it, Goodell has no interest in opening a hornet's nest when he meets with Vick in what the league discreetly is timetabling as the near future.

"I don't believe everybody deserves a second chance,'' the commissioner said recently. "It's not a right to play in the NFL. It's a privilege.

"What has he learned from this experience? Does he recognize the horrific mistakes he has made? Is he prepared to show genuine remorse and, most importantly, be a positive influence going forward? Michael's going to have to demonstrate that to myself, the general public and to a lot of people. Those are questions that I would like to see when I sit with him."

Thing is, such tough questions can't be answered in a matter of days. And it must be mentioned that the last time the two sat down, in April 2007, Vick lied to Goodell's face by denying any involvement in dogfighting brutality on his property. Yes, Vick has served his 20 months. But during that time, the commissioner has aggressively punished players who have violated the NFL's personal conduct policy, underlining that the league abides by its own justice system apart from the courtroom setting. He issued an indefinite suspension to Cleveland Browns receiver Donte' Stallworth after he killed a man while drinking and driving, ignoring a ridiculous Florida plea bargain that allowed Stallworth to pay the victim's family and serve only 24 days in jail. Chances are, Stallworth won't play in the league again.

If Vick doesn't play in the league again, I won't complain. At the very least, carry on with his own indefinite suspension. There are those who think killing a dog after an unsuccessful test fight is tolerable behavior, that Vick's case isn't as serious as Stallworth's case. Don't count me among them. "It is this barbarism that sets the crime apart," Ed Sayres, president of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, told the Associated Press. "This was not a one-time transgression or crime of passion -- this was a multi-year pattern of behavior that demonstrates a startling lack of moral character and judgment."

With training camps ready to open, not one NFL team has acknowledged even the slightest willingness to sign Vick. His former coach in Atlanta and ongoing friend, Jim Mora Jr., has said he's rooting for Vick but won't sign him in his first season as head coach of the Seattle Seahawks. Bill Parcells is the type who might gamble, especially with the Miami Dolphins running a Wildcat offense very conducive to Vick's talents. But the Dolphins drafted a similarly athletic quarterback in Pat White, and the team says it isn't interested. Ditto for Tampa Bay, San Francisco, St. Louis and Cleveland. Even the Oakland Raiders, notorious for signing renegades, are said to have many dog-lovers in their management hierarchy -- who knew anyone working for Al Davis could have a heart? The owners of both New York franchises were asked Monday if they would pursue Vick. Their responses mirror the attitude of all teams.

"On a lot of levels, no," Giants owner John Mara said.

"We've got Kellen Clemens and now we have this young Mark Sanchez, and I think we are good on quarterbacks," said Jets owner Woody Johnson.

Plus, who knows if Vick still can play at a high level? Dangerous as he was as a runner and ad-libber, he also was an inaccurate passer who still hadn't mastered how to be an all-around quarterback. The Wildcat experiment makes the most sense, but only with a highly disciplined team coached by a strong presence. New England and Bill Belichick? Maybe someday. Not now.

Not nearly enough time has passed for anyone with a heart, let alone an intense love of dogs, to forgive [Vick] for his warped behavior.What makes sense is a continued healing process and a league allowing him to shed prison rust. Vick doesn't want to play in the UFL, but if he's a smart man, he'll swallow his pride and use it as an NFL showcase. His rights belong to the Orlando franchise. "One of the things that is important in our premier season is to showcase the quality of talent and the coaches, and to be able to show outstanding players who find themselves in this quagmire the NFL creates," commissioner Michael Huyghue said. "Michael Vick might be that kind of player because he is a phenomenal talent, but he is transitioning back into the NFL. Also gaining as much widespread exposure for our league as possible might be addressed with Michael Vick."

Said former NFL coach Dennis ("They are who we thought they were'') Green, coach of the UFL's San Francisco franchise: "What he did was very wrong, and he paid his debt to society. He was a model inmate; otherwise he never would have made it out from prison early. Now he has to show he loves the game and is a responsible citizen. You can't show you love the game if you're not able to play the game. So if Michael Vick were to say, 'I will play for not a lot of money,' well, hello. We're here. If he is not allowed back into the NFL and he wants to show he is a model citizen and he loves the game, there is not a better situation for him."

In the slowest part of the sports summer, Vick has become the biggest story. I trust that Goodell, the best commissioner going, will act quickly to place it on the back burner it deserves. I want my football season. I want my fixes with Jay Cutler, the Dallas Cowboys without Terrell Owens, the Buffalo Bills with Terrell Owens. I want my Atlanta Falcons, Donovan McNabb and Arizona Cardinals. I want my Pittsburgh Steelers and Tennessee Titans. I want my Peyton Manning with the window closing on Indianapolis. I even want my Brett Favre, sick as I am of the back-and-forth.

What I don't want is Michael Vick.

Not for another year, if ever.