In a new Associated Press story regarding the legal dispute regarding Mike Vick’s bonus money, the lead item is that the NFL has formally appealed Judge David Doty’s recent ruling that $16.25 million cannot be recovered by the Falcons.

The kicker is that the league wants Judge Doty to be removed from the case.

It’s unclear whether the request to disqualify Doty applies only to the Vick dispute, or whether it generally addresses Doty’s role as the presiding judicial officer over the settlement of the lawsuit that resulted in the current Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NFL and the NFL Players Association.

Per the AP, the league believes that Doty’s public comments show that he has a bias against the NFL.

Stay tuned.