Vick could be out of prison by Jan. 20

Former NFL star Michael Vick could be out of federal prison and in a Virginia halfway house by Jan. 20, one of his attorneys told a federal bankruptcy judge Tuesday.

Vick is serving a 23-month prison term in Leavenworth, Kan., for bankrolling a dogfighting conspiracy and is scheduled to be released from federal custody around July 20.

Last month, Vick also pleaded guilty to a state dogfighting charge, avoiding more prison time. The case's resolution also cleared the way for his early release from prison and possible transition into a halfway house.

Attorneys for the suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback contend his long-distance absence has complicated his bankruptcy proceedings in Virginia, so they are working to get him moved to the state, said Michael Blumenthal, one of Vick's bankruptcy attorneys.

Conversely, the bankruptcy case might complicate plans for Vick's transfer.

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Frank Santoro ordered that paperwork must be completed to ensure Vick's appearance at a bankruptcy hearing set for Jan. 30 in Newport News. That paperwork could take weeks to process and could delay the halfway house program, Blumenthal said.

Blumenthal on Tuesday asked Santoro to postpone the hearing by a week, which would improve the chances of Vick being transferred before his required appearance in bankruptcy court. Santoro refused.

"Mr. Vick came into this court voluntarily," the judge said. "I am not going to try to schedule around what may or may not be the convenience of Mr. Vick."

Santoro also rejected a financial disclosure statement Vick filed in the bankruptcy case and ordered him to submit a new one by Jan. 5. Major creditors had objected to the statement, saying it lacked sufficient detail about his finances and failed to back up his statement that he believes he will resume his NFL career after his release.

"The disclosure statement is not ripe for consideration," Santoro said. "It needs to be redrafted in some respects - perhaps in some major respects."

He did not elaborate.

Santoro scheduled a new hearing on the disclosure statement for Jan. 30. He ordered Vick to appear that same day for a hearing on whether a trustee should be appointed to take control of his assets.

Vick, once the NFL's highest-paid player and among its most popular, is earning 12 cents an hour at the federal penitentiary. He filed for federal bankruptcy protection in July, claiming assets of $16 million and liabilities of $20.4 million.

The disclosure statement submitted last month listed real estate holdings, luxury cars and boats, business interests, bank accounts and expenses to support a large extended family. But the thing that caught the creditors' eye was the millions in unexplained cash withdrawals and transfers.

The murky financial data and uncertainty about Vick's future earnings make it hard to determine whether they should vote for Vick's reorganization plan, the creditors said.

The creditors committee consists of the Falcons, Royal Bank of Canada, Wachovia Bank, 1st Source Bank and Radtke Sports. A fifth major creditor, Joel Enterprises Inc., filed its own objection to the disclosure statement.

Vick pleaded guilty last December to a federal dogfighting conspiracy. Three co-defendants also pleaded guilty and were given shorter prison terms than Vick, who owned the Surry County property where pit bulls were trained to fight and some were executed.

Eagles' tie impacts playoffs: The Eagles don't have to worry about head-to-head or division records, strength of schedule, net points in conference games or any of those confusing tiebreakers.

Thanks to that ugly tie against lowly Cincinnati last month, it's much easier to figure out the Eagles' playoff chances. A 10-5-1 record beats 10-6, but loses to 11-5.

Of course, the Eagles (8-5-1) have to win their last two games - at Washington and home against Dallas - to reach 10 wins. That still won't be good enough to earn them one of the two NFC wild-card spots unless Tampa Bay or Atlanta, both 9-5, lose one more game.

How does the 13-13 tie with the Bengals affect Philadelphia's chances beyond simplifying the tiebreaker scenarios? The Eagles would control their playoff fortunes and not have to depend on help if they had found a way to beat Cincinnati (2-11-1).

So, the tie really is more like a loss. The Eagles can only get in the playoffs if three of these teams - Dallas, Atlanta, Tampa Bay and the Bears - finish no better than 10-6. They hold tiebreakers over all of those teams except the Bears, so it doesn't matter that they would be 10-5-1 instead of 10-6.

The only case where the tie benefits the Eagles is in a head-to-head situation with the Bears (8-6), because they beat Philadelphia earlier in the season.

Cowboys-Giants ratings winner: The Dallas Cowboys' victory over the New York Giants drew the most viewers ever for a "Sunday Night Football" game. The Cowboys' 20-8 win Sunday on NBC attracted 23.1 million viewers, the network said Tuesday. The game earned a 13.7 rating and 21 share to make it the third-highest rated "Sunday Night Football" game; there are more potential viewers now, so even a lower rating can mean a record audience. The rating is the percentage watching a program among homes with televisions, and the share is the percentage tuned into the broadcast among those households with TVs on at the time.