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What follows is every story posted on the ProFootballTalk.com Rumor Mill from the day that Mike Vick's property was first searched through and until the day that he was indicted on federal conspiracy charges. For all stories regarding the aftermath of the indictment and the prosecution, click here.

The charges are, per ESPN.com (which not long ago declared Vick was unlikely to be indicted), "conspiracy to travel in interstate commerce in aid of unlawful activities and to sponsor a dog in animal fighting venture."

Three others were indicted as well -- Purnell Peace, Quanis Phillips and Tony Taylor. Phillips' name appeared as a contact person on Vick's K-9 Kennels web site.

The indictment is available on the web site of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. A press release regarding the charges is available here.

There is only one count, for now -- conspiracy. In order to be guilty of conspiracy, the government doesn't have to prove that the defendants committed the underlying illegal acts, but only that they intended to do so, and that they accomplished one or more overt acts in order to reach their goals.

Under Title 18, Section 371 of the U.S. Code, the penalty for conspiracy is up to five years in prison. If, however, the underlying crime is a misdemeanor, the punishment for conspiracy may not exceed the maximum sentence for the misdemeanor offense.

The indictment alleges at paragraph 1 that Peace (a/k/a "P-Funk"), Phillips (a/k/a "Q"), Taylor (a/k/a "T"), and Vick (a/k/a "Ookie" -- we're not kidding) conspired to: (1) travel in interstate commerce and use the mail or any facility in interstate commerce to promote, manage, etc. a business enterprise involving gambling; (2) knowingly sponsor an animal moved in interstate commerce in an animal fighting venture; (3) knowingly transport a dog for the purposes of having the dog participate in an animal fighting venture.

The allegation regarding the use of interstate commerce to promote a business enterprise involving gambling is key. Under Title 18 of the U.S. Code, Section 1952, which is titled "Interstate or foreign trade or travel in aid of racketeering enterprises," the maximum penalty is 20 years behind bars. At the time the events transpired, dog fighting was only a misdemeanor. Absent the gambling/racketeering angle, then, Vick would not be facing up to five years, but only the misdemeanor sentence for dog fighting.

Here are some highlights from the 18-page indictment. All of the following statements are based on allegations contained in the document.

The indictment identifies four "cooperating witnesses," without naming them. As we previously explained, the detail contained in the federal complaint filed earlier this month indicated that someone was spilling the beans as to the specifics of the operation. As it turns out, there are at least four such someones.

The conspiracy began in early 2001 and continued through April 25, 2007, the day on which Vick's Surry County, Virginia property was first searched by local authorities.

In May 2001, Taylor identified the property on Moonlight Road in Surry County as a suitable location for housing and training pit bull terriers for fighting. Thereafter, Vick and the others purchased approximately 26 dogs from locations inside and outside of Virginia.

The "Bad Newz Kennels" were established by Vick and the others in early 2002, and at one point the group obtained shirts and headbands representing their affiliation with "Bad Newz Kennels." The Vick property on Moonlight Road in Surry County thereafter became the location of the venture.

"Testing" of the dogs began in February 2002. One of the dogs did not fight very well. It was shot to death with a .22 caliber pistol.

Additional dogs that did not perform well in "testing" sessions were executed in the summer of 2002, with three shot and one electrocuted.

Fighting also began in 2002, with a trip to North Carolina. Vick's Surry County property hosted its first dog fight in late 2002.

In March 2003, Peace allegedly electrocuted a female pit bull that had lost a fight after consulting on the matter with Vick. Peace shot another losing dog that same month.

The most graphic misconduct allegedly occurred not long before the first search of the property. According to paragraph 83 of the indictment, Vick, Peace, and Phillips executed in April 2007 approximately eight dogs that did not perform well in "testing" sessions, by "hanging, drowning, and slamming at least one dog's body to the ground."

In other words, in the same month in which Vick declared that he never goes to his Surry County property, and the same month in which he sat face-to-face with the Commissioner, Vick had (according to the indictment) participated in the killing of as many as eight dogs deemed unfit for fighting.

So what next? After digesting this information, the NFL and the Falcons will have some tough decisions to make. And we think that both organizations will soon be facing strenuous pressure from animal rights groups to take swift and decisive action against Mr. Vick.

The Virginian-Pilot reports that the Surry County, Virginia investigation regarding apparent dog fighting on the property owned by Falcons quarterback Mike Vick could be ending this week.

And to the extent an investigation ever started, the investigation was by all appearances abandoned once the feds showed up unexpectedly at the property on June 7 and executed on a search warrant that reportedly resulted in the recovery of 10 dog carcasses.

Evidence could be presented next week to a Surry County grand jury. But if prosecutor Gerald Poindexter applies to the grand jury process the same degree of zeal that he has demonstrated to date, the end result could be a declaration by the grand jury that the corrupt kennel was in reality a petting zoo.

The status of the federal investigation is unknown. Authorities returned to the property and executed a second warrant earlier this month, but the investigators have otherwise been tight-lipped about their efforts.

As it turns out, Falcons quarterback Mike Vick hasn't been completely exiled from the team's new web site. There's a rotating Ford ad featuring Vick's image above the slogan "Bold Moves."

Hey, there's nothing bolder than letting your land be used as the staging area for an illegal dog-fighting operation.

With that said, we didn't see the Ford ad when we pulled up the site earlier. We regret the error.

There are other items of interest on the new Falcons' site. Under the list of community-related activities in which members of the team are engaged, there's a link to the web site for Mike Vick's charitable foundation.

The site carries the title "Vick Foundation" -- but otherwise is completely blank. (Thanks to the reader(s) who pointed that out to us.)

Also, the new site still has the item regarding the D.C. event for which Vick famously didn't show.

Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer thinks that the problems currently engulfing former Hokie and current Falcons quarterback Mike Vick arise from the fact that he cares too much about people.

"The thing I'll say about Michael, he's a very caring person, [with a] big heart," Beamer said, "I think he understands he's got to be very specific about who's around him, who he's involved with. I think he understands that more than ever.

"I told him, 'If you're around, you're involved,'" Beamer said. "People don't care about those other people. They're not going to write about them, but they'll write about you. I think that's just him. He's a very caring person about people, and he's got a big, big heart.

"I know Michael. If it's a negative, the negative is he cares too much about people and tries to help too many people around him."

Sure, Frank. Did Vick care so much about his girlfriend that he (allegedly) gave her herpes? And how can someone care so much about people but have no regard for his dogs (if, of course, he knew about or was involved in the kennel from hell that was housed on his property).

Then again, Mike says that he "love[s] [his] dogs" in this Nike spot from a couple of years ago:

So if Mike loves people as much as he really loves his dogs, maybe his ex should be glad that all she ever got from him was an STD.

One thing that we noticed (and that a couple of readers have pointed out to us) regarding the brand new Atlanta Falcons web site is that not a single photo of or reference to Mike Vick appears on the front page.

Is it a coincidence? Or is it a subtle recognition by the team that, regardless of whether Vick gets indicted or remains the starting quarterback for the balance of the decade, it's no longer wise nor prudent to market the franchise by plastering his image on it?

One PFT reader who recently received an invitation by e-mail from the team to migrate from the waiting list to the ranks of the season-ticket holders offered up the following response:

"Thank you for the update. However, after receiving your email and talking it over with my family we are going to ask to be removed from this list. Given the current state of the Michael Vick dog fighting investigation, along with a preponderance of evidence pointing to knowledge of this horrific activity, we are going to decline to support or watch the Atlanta Falcons until he is off the team. While he may never actually be found guilty of these crimes, it is simply our opinion that he holds some level of responsibility for what happened on his property. And his continued 'play dumb' routine, and the inaction of the Atlanta Falcon organization is just too much for us to ignore.

"We are not so naive as to think that our opinion really matters in the grand scheme of things. And I'm sure that it is a very delicate matter and difficult time for the Atlanta Falcons family right now, but as parents of impressionable children we cannot support a team that would make such a man the face of its organization. That's all it really boils down to. So in the mean time we're just going to focus our fanfare and attention on the NCAA Football season."

We don't know how many similar messages the team has received, but we have a feeling that they've gotten more than a few. And that they'll get more, especially as more and more people read about the details of the dog fighting operation at Vick's property in Surry County, Virginia.

This morning, we received an e-mail from one of our regulars about the situation. Here's what he had to say:

"Thanks for the brief but effective paragraphs from the Federal investigation of that sorry son of a bitch, Michael Vick. I have written you several times over the years, but today I do with tears in my eyes. As you may remember, I'm a retired/disabled police officer with 27 yrs on the street experience and I am a pit bull owner of two of the prettiest, friendliest, red-nosed pits on the planet. These two dogs wouldn't bite a flea. And I'm appalled. To strangle, suffocate, drown an injured dog or any other animal is the cruelest, most sadistic way to finish an animal. As I've also written you that gambling is the only motive for dog fighting, I do hope the Feds get Vick for income tax evasion along with other felony charges. That son of a bitch should be sent to prison for many years attached to the rape stand."

Said another reader regarding the manner in which the dogs were killed: "My God, who are the animals here?"

We've also had a few readers call for us to organize a boycott of attending or viewing Falcons games, and a boycott of NFL sponsors, unless and until Vick is suspended or cut. However, we think that taking such a stand is premature. If/when Vick is indicted, the time will arise to monitor very closely the team's and the league's reaction, and to decide whether they have done enough. (But we guarantee that Len Pasquarelli will instantly be on the air reminder us all that a good and motivated prosecutor can get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich, and then Len will drool all over himself after saying the word "ham").

If the investigation concludes without an indictment of Vick, the question becomes a bit more complex. So we'll wrestle with the issue of whether the lack of criminal liability completely excuses the fact that Vick owned the land where dogs were being fought and murdered if/when there's a need to do so.

A copy of the federal complaint regarding the dog-fighting investigation at the Surry County, Virginia property owned by Falcons quarterback Mike Vick has been available for a few days, yet we haven't seen anyone weave many of the key passages from it into media reports regarding the issue.

We mention this because we received an e-mail from a member of the national media this morning who described some of the details as "frightening."

So here are some selected quotes from the document, which was filed by the feds in an effort to secure possession of the 54 dogs seized from the Vick property in April 2007.

Paragraph 9 of the document confirms that "[m]any of the [54] pit bulldogs recovered or observed in the search had scars and injuries consistent with injuries sustained in dog fighting." (Previously, there was a dispute -- fueled in part by Surry County prosecutor Gerald Poindexter -- regarding whether the dogs taken from the land were scarred or injured.)

Paragraph 10 lists the additional items recovered and observed in the initial search in April: "a blood-stained fighting area; animal training and breeding equipment, including a 'rape stand,' a 'break' or 'parting' stick, treadmills and 'slat mills;' assorted paperwork documenting involvement in animal fighting ventures; and performance enhancing pharmaceuticals commonly used to increase fighting potential in dogs trained for fighting, as well as to keep injured dogs fighting longer." We highlighted the reference to paperwork documenting involvement in animal fighting ventures because we hadn't previously seen this aspect of the seized property reported anywhere.

Paragraph 11 says that members and associates of "Bad Newz Kennels," which was operated out of the Vick property, sponsored and exhibited pit bull fights at the Vick property and in Blackstone, Virginia, in North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, New Jersey, and in other states.

Paragraph 12 says that dog fights have been sponsored on Vick's property since 2002, with dogs from South Carolina, North Carolina, Maryland, New York, Texas, and other states engaged in the "competition."

Paragraph 13 contains some of the details regarding the pre-fight preparations. "The two dogs participating in a particular fight had to be the same weight and sex. Before a fight would start, the participants would weigh and bathe the dogs. The fighting weight would be established before the fight, requiring the opponent dogs to measure within approximately one-half pound of the set weight. . . . The opposing dogs were washed before a fight to remove any poison or narcotic placed on the dog's coat -- if the opposing dog would bite the 'tainted' dog that was coated with poison or narcotic, this would affect the opposing dog's performance during the fight. The participants would sometimes stop feeding the fighting dog before the scheduled fights, in order to make it hungry for the other dog."

Paragraph 14 explains that the fights at the Vick property "generally occurred late at night or early in the morning, sometimes involving 2-3 separate matches, and would last several hours." The persons in attendance were "[g]enerally" limited to persons accompanying Bad Newz Kennels members and persons accompanying the members of opposing kennels. "For a particular dog fight, the opponents would establish a purse for the winning side, ranging from 100's up to 1,000's of dollars. Participants and spectators would also place side-bets on the fight, dependant on the ultimate outcome or certain events occurring during the course of the dog fight."

Paragraph 14 also contains some grisly details regarding the aftermath of the eventws. "The dog fight would last to the end, which would generally involve the death or surrender of the losing dog. At the end of the fight, the losing dog was sometimes put to death by drowning, strangulation, hanging, gun shot, electrocution, or some other method. The members of 'Bad Newz Kennels' would sometimes 'test' the pit bulls in their inventory, determining if a particular dog was 'game,' meaning that it would be a good fighter. Sometimes, the dogs deemed not to be good fighters would be put to death."

Though the media was quick to point out that Mike Vick's name appears nowhere in the complaint, no names are mentioned. Instead, the complaint refers in several places to the "members of 'Bad Newz Kennels,'" without identifying any of said members.

But we saw at least one hint in the complaint that suggests to us a belief by the feds that Vick is one of the members of Bad Newz Kennels. In paragraph 13, the complaint refers to the charging of admission fees for persons attending the fights. "If an admission fee was charged for a particular event," the complaint states, "the proceeds were generally used to supplement the funding of the 'Bad Newz Kennels' kennel operation."

The key word in that passage is "supplement." As we've previously noted, someone had to be paying for the care and feeding of 50-plus dogs. If, as has been reported elsewhere, none of the persons living in Vick's house were employed, where was the primary funding of the operation coming from?

A source with knowledge of certain statements made in the past by members of Mike Vick's entourage tells us that Vick's handlers used to brag that the Falcons quarterback would never get in any trouble at bars or other places where NFL players find trouble (and/or vice-versa) because Vick spends most of his time in the offseason at a secluded property in rural Virginia where, among other things, he "mess[es] around with his 50 pit bulls."

Unless Vick owned another secluded property in rural Virginia, this information further contradicts Vick's "I never go there" claim, which was made on the heels of the disclosure in late April that more than 50 dogs had been removed from his Surry County home.

It also runs contrary to the media's inexplicable softening of Vick's position from "never" to "rarely."

While we're back on the topic, we'd forgotten that pictures on Vick's now-defunct K-9 Kennels web site showed dog cages that looked a lot like the row of pens behind the Surry County property. (Thanks to the reader who reminded us of that specific wrinkle.)

1. Vick was operating a dog breeding and dog fighting operation out of the Surry County property, and claimed that he never went there as a knee-jerk reaction to the news that the place had been raided.

2. Vick was operating a dog breeding operation out of the Surry County property, and his family members and/or friends were secretly fighting the dogs without his knowledge.

3. Vick was operating a dog breeding operation out of some other location, and his family members and/or friends independently decided to breed dogs for the purpose of fighting them in Surry County, confident that Mike Vick would never show up unannounced and inspect the contents of the land, which included three black buildings that (if Vick built them) were installed for reasons completely unrelated to dog fighting and/or breeding.

Under the scientific principle established in the Fourteenth Century by Franciscan Friar William of Ockham, the simplest explanation is usually the most accurate one. In this specific case, the fact that a man who breeds pit bulls and who owns property in rural Virginia where pit bulls are being bred (and apparently more) knows that the pit bulls are being bred (and apparently more) makes much more sense than the notion that his family members were engaged in an elaborate ruse that could have blown up at any moment if Mike popped in for a visit.

Indeed, if Vick had no knowledge of or involvement in dog fighting and merely bred pit bulls because he loves them, the family members would have been risking his wrath if he were to find out that they had transformed his passion into a pastime that results in pain, mutilation, and (often) death.

So, to anyone out there who thinks we simply have it in for Vick, we ask you to set aside your own biases and apply common sense to the objective evidence.

With all the talk about whether Falcons quarterback Mike Vick will face federal charges as a result of the dog-fighting operation found on property he owns in Virginia, there's one key factor that has yet to be addressed.

What kind of a reaction will Vick receive on the football field, regardless of whether he gets indicted?

A source having contacts with many NFL players tells us that many NFL players are "incensed" by Vick's offseason misadventures, and that reality is prompting speculation as to whether Vick will face late hits, cheap shots, and/or other indignities between the white lines.

And what about his teammates? Will the linemen block as zealously for a guy who, at a minimum, was so oblivious to what his family members were doing that they were able to brazenly start and maintain a dog-fighting ring on his land? Sure, they'll all say the right things publicly, but there's no way of knowing what is going on in their heads, or whether one or more of them might in a key moment release his block a split-second early, putting the quarterback in greater jeopardy.

What of the officials? Will they look the other way if/when Vick is targeted for a little more roughness than what might be necessary?

Will the league office crack down with fines? Will the Falcons complain to the media if the league office doesn't?

Can we continue to ask questions without answering any of them? And while we're act it, exactly where is the beef?

Anyway, it's an interesting point to ponder as training camp approaches. Apart from any verbal abuse that he might get from fans (on the road or at home), we think there's a very real potential for this inherently physical game to take on a far more physical component when other players get a chance to take a shot at Mr. Vick.

One interesting fact regarding the Friday, July 6 search of Mike Vick's property by federal agents that has been generally overlooked by the national media (especially those segments of it who are intent on reporting that Vick has nothing to worry about) is that, according to Mary Kay Mallonee of WAVY-TV, Vick's lawyer was present on the property during the search activities.

Though the lawyer's presence isn't, standing alone, evidence that Vick is destined to be charged with any crime, why would the lawyer feel the need to monitor the activities if he has been told that Vick likely won't be indicted?

Really, does it make any sense that Vick would send his personal attorney to a property that he claims to have never visited if Vick truly has never been there?

Regardless of what it all means, we're surprised that larger media outlets haven't mentioned this fact, which was pointed out to us by a reader.

On Friday, ESPN proclaimed that Falcons quarterback Mike Vick likely won't be indicted by federal authorities in connection with the investigation regarding the dog-fighting operation, known according to a federal complaint as "Bad Newz Kennels," that was housed on property that he owns.

On Friday night, we called out ESPN for trying to play both sides of the fence on the Vick issue, reporting on one hand that he's a "heavyweight" among dog fighters and on the other hand that he's likely to get away with it.

Amazingly, Len characterizes the overall events of Friday, on which federals investigators wanted to find, and did find, ten more dog carcasses in shallow graves on property that Vick owns (did we mention that he owns the property where the dead dogs were found?) as a positive for Vick, since it came with the news that he's not likely to be named in the first wave of indictments.

In the last line of the story, Len calls Friday's events a "respite" for Vick and the Falcons organization.

A respite? What will he call the day that Vick does a perp walk? A brief detour through a meadow of daisies?

Though Pasquarelli (and, vicariously, ESPN) acknowledges that Vick shouldn't exhale yet and that the "ongoing investigation" could still entangle the guy who owns the property hosting the dog fighting operation named for the slang reference to the town where he was raised, the overall tone of Len's latest item is that Vick is, was, and probably will be deemed innocent, and that anyone who thinks otherwise either is jumping to unwarranted conclusions, or is a racist.

1. Vick owned the property from which more than 50 dogs and evidence of dog fighting were seized in late April.

2. Vick's first and only comments came two days after the initial search, when evidence and details were still sketchy. "I'm never at the house," he said on April 27. "I left the house with my family members and my cousin. They just haven't been doing the right thing."

How in the hell could Vick know that his family members "haven't been doing the right thing" only two days after the search happened? It was, in our view, a colossal slip by Vick, since only someone who had knowledge of what was happening there would have enough information to publicly blame his family members for it.

3. Vick has only ever said "I'm never at the house." Somehow, his contention has been mangled by the "real" media into "I'm rarely at the house."

In a case like this, where there likely will be no direct evidence of Vick's presence at a dog fight, circumstantial evidence is critical. Given the size and the scope of the dog fighting operation, any credible evidence to contradict his "I'm never at the house" routine is devastating to the Sgt. Schultz defense that Mike tried to float before the lawyers crammed a sock in his throat.

4. Multiple reports later surfaced from credible media operations like SI.com and ESPN's Outside the Lines linking Vick directly to dog fighting. Chris Landry of FOX Sports Radio said that Ray Buchanan of FOX Sports Radio (and formerly of the Falcons) explained during the weekend of the draft that Vick was clearly involved in dog fighting and openly talked about it in the locker room. When confronted with the issue, Buchanan gave (in our opinion) an extremely unconvincing explanation, and it was clear to us that his sole motivation was and is to avoid snitching on a current NFL player.

5. Through all of the media reports tying him to dog fighting, Vick and his handlers have not uttered a single peep. In a court of law, silence cannot be regarded as evidence of guilt. In the court of public opinion, the notion of a truly innocent man saying nothing at all as his name and reputation are dragged through the dog doo-doo by false and fabricated media reports is downright damning.

6. Federal authorities have twice been to the property, and have removed a total of 17 dog carcasses. The fact that they got what they were looking for suggests that they have an informant who is giving them solid information. Thus, it's unlikely that many (any) of those dogs died of natural causes, but that the bodies instead are evidence that (as alleged in the federal complaint filed earlier this week) the members of the Bad Newz Kennels often killed canines that had been on the losing end of a fight.

7. In June, Vick's cousin who lived at the house, Davon Boddie, gave a bizarre interview to WAVY-TV, during which he claimed that the dogs found in April had been planted on the property by folks who snuck through the woods.

Folks, if you add all that up and apply some basic common sense, it doesn't look pretty for the guy that owned the property that housed the dog-fighting operation.

Also, there's no evidence that the feds have interviewed Vick or Boddie or anyone else who knows anything about the situation. Our guess is that the authorities are wisely and prudently and patiently getting their forensic evidence buttoned up before they start turning the screws up on the suspects.

That specific aspect of the investigation could lead to all sorts of interesting outcomes. If anyone lies to investigators, they'll be subject to the Martha Stewart/Scooter Libby treatment. If they exercise their constitutional right not to speak, they are inviting indictments, since they will have provided investigators with nothing to refute any conclusions that have been drawn regarding potential guilt.

In light of everything set forth above, and given the current status of the investigation, we firmly believe that anyone who thinks that the man: (1) who owned the property; (2) who initially claimed that he never goes there; (3) who blamed his family members for "not doing the right thing" at a time when it was too early to conclude that anyone had done anything wrong; and (4) who has since kept his mouth shut in the face of damaging evidence is not the chief suspect in and ultimate target of the ongoing investigation is naive, stupid, biased, or some combination of the three.

The Virginian-Pilot reports that federal investigators on Friday removed 10 dog carcasses from shallow graves on property owned by Falcons quarterback Mike Vick in Surry County, Virginia.

Even if Vick is ultimately not charged for the extensive dog-fighting operation housed on property that he owned, the fact that this kind of stuff was happening on real estate registered to a prominent NFL quarterback is significant, and it likely will prompt calls from animal rights groups for some type of punishment of Vick.

If Vick ultimately is indicted on dog-fighting charges, all hell could break loose, with NFL sponsors and partners rising up and demanding action.

Given that corporate sponsors were able to bully MSNBC and CBS Radio into dumping Don Imus for making an off-color joke, the NFL will find itself in a very delicate position if the guy who not long ago was one of the faces of the entire league is facing allegations that he knowingly hosted and/or participated in animal fighting.

The complaint filed earlier this week by federal authorities hoping to assume possession of the dogs seized from Mike Vick's Surry County, Virginia property in April alleges that the dog-fighting operation there was known as the "Bad Newz Kennels."

Our own Taco Bill, who apparently spends his spare time boning up on all of the latest slang posted on the oft-hilarious Urban Dictionary, has found on the site an entry for "Newport News," the town in Virginia where Vick grew up.

The first sentence reads as follows: "Newport News, affectionately known as Bad Newz is one of Virginia's largest cities in perhaps the largest metropolitan area in Virginia."

Though this link doesn't necessarily mean that Vick was involved in the dog-fighting operation, the fact that it bears the street name of his hometown does nothing to distance him from the enterprise housed on the property he owns.

In May, ESPN reported that Falcons quarterback Mike Vick is a heavyweight in the dog fighting world.

Now, on the same day that the federal agents returned to Vick's Surry County, Virginia property for the first time in more than four weeks to search for "more" animal remains, ESPN is reporting that Vick is unlikely to be indicted.

So, basically, the net result of ESPN's reporting is that Vick is a dog fighter, and that he will get away with his crimes.

Frankly, we don't buy it. We've inspected the documents obtained on Friday by the Associated Press, and they outline a dog-fighting operation so detailed and extensive that there's no way any reasonable person would believe that Vick was unaware of the venture, especially if those early reports from Virginia television stations regarding the frequency of his visits to the property are remotely accurate.

In support of its latest premise, ESPN's report seems to emphasize the notion that Vick isn't named in the federal complaint aimed at securing legal possession of the dogs that were seized from the property. But no one is named in the complaint. Thus, under the same reasoning, no one will be indicted.

Also, the presence of Len Pasquarelli's name in the report makes it automatically suspect, in our opinion. Pasquarelli has been the most ardent Vick apologist since news of the apparent dog-fighting operation first broke, due in large part (we believe) to Pasquarelli's friendship with Vick's agent, Joel Segal.

For the past two months, Pasquarelli has been urging folks not to jump to conclusions prematurely. So why should anyone conclude at this point that the guy who owned the property that hosted the dog fights won't be held legally responsible?

ESPN reports that at least three people are expected to be indicted. But that could merely be the first wave of the indictments. Doesn't anyone think that the folks who are charged will receive offers of leniency or immunity in exchange for giving up others who might have been involved?

And why would the feds tell the Falcons, the league, or anyone else that Vick likely won't be indicted? If that aspect of the report is true, maybe the feds are hoping that Vick will let his guard down a bit, perhaps by not focusing his efforts on ensuring that the guys who get indicted won't snitch.

The bottom line is that it's still far too early to conclude that Vick will be, or won't be, charged with a crime. And we still think that the feds got involved in this matter in order to send the strongest possible message to the rest of us regarding the connection between crime and the consequences thereof. The only way to do that is to fully and completely explore whether charges can be pursued against Vick. The only way to know that is to round up the suspects, put their nuts in a vise, and hope that someone will tell the truth about Vick's knowledge of (if any) and involvement in (if any) the dog-fighting operation that was housed on the property he owned.

But, hey, if Vick is never indicted, we will remind everyone that ESPN's report was spot on. The flip side of this coin, however, is that if/when Vick gets charged, we'll likely revisit the subject.

On the same day that federal agents emerged from nearly a month of silence to return to the Surry County, Virginia property of Falcons quarterback Mike Vick to search (reportedly) for "more" animal remains, local prosecutor Gerald Poindexter couldn't resist the opportunity to run his mouth -- and to further confirm our belief that he was and is unfit to properly manage such a high-profile investigation.

Poindexter previously suggested that the federal investigation might be motivated by race. His latest remarks could be evidence of frustration regarding the criticism that was heaped upon him in light of the appearance that he was dragging his feet in the early stages of the investigation. The feds haven't been moving any faster, but their decision to refrain from talking to the media about the matter has largely insulated the Department of Agriculture's team from criticism.

Poindexter, in contrast, was talking about the case on a near-daily basis, and regularly contradicting himself.

As to the question that Poindexter has posed, the feds won't answer it. Indeed, if/when the feds arrest someone, there likely won't be any advance press release or warning. That's the smart way to do it, and Poindexter would be wise to watch and learn.

Citing unnamed sources, WAVY-TV says that agents are "looking for more animal remains buried on the property."

The "more" is significant, because it has not yet been reported with certainty that any animal remains were found when feds searched the property for the first time last month. WVEC-TV at one point posted an item on its web site suggesting that ESPN Radio had reported the removal of carcasses from the property, but WVEC later explained that the report of the report was erroneous.

With that said, video of from last month's search by federal officials contained images of a worker fitting himself with a mouth/nose mask (despite 90-degree temperatures), and one of the agents was quoted as saying, "I hope I never see this place again."

UPDATE: Video on WAVY-TV's web site shows agents digging at the site, and sifting through the dirt in search of dog remains. Some are wearing masks -- and not paper mouth-and-nose masks, but full-blown WWI-style gas masks. (Maybe they've finally found the WMDs.)

A league source with connections to the Eastern Virginia legal community tells us that there is talk in the local bar that Davon Boddie, the cousin of Falcons quarterback Mike Vick, has plunked down a $1 million retainer with a criminal defense lawyer who specializes in federal matters, in the event that Boddie is indicted for dog fighting or other charges arising from his status as the main resident of Vick's Surry County, Virginia home.

Last month, Boddie refused during an interview with WAVY-TV to talk about the situation. "I got a little French poodle, man," he said. "That's all I know."

Boddie also suggested during the interview that the 60-plus dogs that were seized from the Vick property in late April had been planted there by authorities.

If this specific item from the rumor mill among Eastern Virginia lawyers is true (and we're not saying that it is), a reasonable inference would be that Team Vick sees Boddie as someone who could be flipped by the feds, and thus Team Vick has opted to make a generous advance donation to Boddie's legal defense fund.

If Vick is paying for the representation of Boddie, it also raises questions regarding the independence of the lawyer. Rule 5.4(c) of the Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct states that "[a] lawyer shall not permit a person who recommends, employs, or pays the lawyer to render legal service for another to direct or regulate the lawyer's professional judgment in rendering such legal services."

In English, this means that the lawyer's job (if Boddie has indeed hired a lawyer with a seven-figure retainer financed by Vick) is to protect and advance the best interests of Davon Boddie, even if Boddie's best interests are adverse to the interests of the guy who might have signed the check.

For example, if the feds offer Boddie a sweetheart plea deal in return for testimony against Vick, the lawyer can't advise Boddie against taking the deal because the lawyer believes that part of what he is being paid for is to protect Mike Vick. The lawyer needs to make the right decision for Boddie, even if it means recommending that Boddie snitch on his cousin.

Of course, whether Boddie would ever go Sammy the Bull on Vick is a completely different issue. Boddie might very well be willing to go to jail for Vick -- especially if the pool from which the possible $1 million retainer was paid can also be used to make it up to Boddie once he's out of the big house.

When federal authorities announced on June 8 that they were investigating dog fighting on property owned by Falcons quarterback Mike Vick, the local authorities said they were continuing to move forward with their own investigation.

It's been more than two weeks since the local authorities said they would have that meeting, but today the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that authorities have not held a second evidence review. They also haven't gathered any additional evidence from the property. That raises the question of how, exactly, they can say they're moving forward when they haven't reviewed the evidence that they already had or gone looking for any new evidence.

This is the latest example of why anyone who wants the truth to come out in this investigation should be thankful that the feds got involved. Vick's property was raided in April, and for more than two months we've heard conflicting stories from Poindexter about what his office would do with the evidence gathered at that raid. Every time Poindexter opens his mouth, he comes across as more clueless.

The feds, wisely, are keeping quiet and keeping Poindexter out of their investigation.

Specifically, the company has rejected a request from the Humane Society to sever ties with Falcons quarterback Mike Vick, who has been since late April embroiled in an investigation regarding dog fighting at his Surry County, Virginia property.

"There is no change in the status of the agreement between Nike and football player Michael Vick," Nike spokesman Dean Stoyer said. "He is rightfully presumed innocent and afforded the same due process as any citizen, rather than be tried in the court of public opinion. Nike will continue to monitor the situation, but has nothing further to say at this time."

Guys, guys, guys. The presumption of innocence applies only to whether a person goes to jail, not to whether a guy should continue to endorse products for a major corporation. O.J. Simpson got his due process and was never convicted, but we doubt that he'll be getting a shoe deal from Nike (or from Bruno Magli).

Besides, for a company that is hoping to sell athletic shoes and other products to the general public, the court of public opinion means everything.

But, for Nike, the specific portion of the public about which it primarily is concerned (i.e., teenage boys who want to spend a lot of their parents' money on athletic shoes) either don't know about Vick's legal troubles, don't care, or think it gives him more street cred.

We predict that the Humane Scoiety will take this thing to the next level, calling for all pet lovers to boycott Nike products.

Our pal Michael David Smith, who moonlights for AOL's FanHouse when he isn't holding down the fort here (or is it the other way around?), writes that the Humane Society is calling on Nike to sever ties with Falcons quarterback Mike Vick due to allegations that Vick's Surry County, Virginia property has hosted illegal dog fighting.

The reasoning is that, even though Vick hasn't been charged with a crime (yet), it's obvious that at a bare minimum he has been unacceptably sloppy about what he has allowed others to do on land he owns.

Without access to Vick's contract with the shoe-making giant, we can't tell whether Nike can cut the cord at no further obligation to him based on the evidence that already is available. Despite the absence of an indictment (yet), Vick's silence in the wake of story after story cementing his link to the operation is troubling.

And the Humane Society's letter to Nike could be the first step in an effort to get other big-money corporations to act. If, for example, Vick is arrested for dog fighting and the NFL doesn't move swiftly to suspend him, the Humane Society and other groups could commence an assault against the league's corporate partners. And once the folks who pay the big money for the right to be the official something-or-other of the NFL explain to Commissioner Roger Goodell that they can't risk a product like Snickers being thrust into a national social controversy (eye roll), the league might have no choice but to take action against Vick.

The test case is Nike. If the Humane Society can prompt the folks who put a swoosh on shoes throughout the world to pull the plug on the Michael Vick experience, the Humane Society will have even more juice when the time comes to release the hounds on the NFL.

There has been an eerie silence for the past week or so regarding the Mike Vick dog-fighting investigation. A big part of the reason, in our view, is that the federal authorities are smart enough to realize that nothing positive flows from talking to the media about the inner workings of the case.

So it should surprise no one that the first update in the past several days comes not from the feds, but from Surry County, Virginia prosecutor Gerald Poindexter, who has shown no restraint when it comes to talking to the media (often out of both sides of his mouth) regarding the investigation.

Per the Virginian-Pilot, Poindexter says that the federal officials have recently been in touch with him. But Poindexter said that the feds didn't say whether they had found dead dogs on the property during a June 7 search.

Why would they? So that Poindexter could call a press conference to announce it?

Frankly, we're surprised that the feds are having any contact with Poindexter. Our guess is that their goal is to keep an eye on his "work" without telling him anything about the federal investigation that he then could blab to the press.

As to the investigation being conducted by Surry County authorities, Sheriff Harold Brown says that he still has three or four persons to interview.

The fact that the flow of information has died down doesn't mean that the case is languishing. If anything, this period fairly could be characterized as the calm before the coming storm.

William C. Rhoden of the New York Times is one of the intellectuals of the sports media world, a columnist whose ponderous style gives him an air of authority, whether the content of his columns is worthy or not.

Rhoden's column today (which is available only to Times subscribers) is certainly not worthy. Despite acknowledging in his first sentence that Michael Vick might have been involved in dog fighting (even Vick's media defenders aren't saying they think he's innocent) Rhoden spends the rest of the column lambasting the federal government for its involvement in the case, saying the feds are treating Vick unfairly and targeting him because of his celebrity.

And then Rhoden proceeds to supply evidence that runs counter to his thesis. He notes that the feds were not interested in helping local prosecutor Gerald Poindexter in a dog fighting investigation a few years ago:

"A man named Benjamin Butts was suspected of running a dog fighting operation. Dogs and training equipment were found on the property, and Poindexter authorized a search of Butts's property," Rhoden writes. "The Butts case was dismissed by a judge who said the search had violated his rights."

Rhoden sees the feds' lack of interest in the Butts case as evidence that they're only interested in Vick because he's a celebrity. But he fails to note another explanation: The feds could think they have no choice but to get involved this time because the local authorities botched a previous dog fighting investigation.

Is it possible that federal authorities want to take down a big-name defendant like Vick? Sure. But the feds wouldn't have gotten that opportunity if mounds of evidence related to dog fighting hadn't been found on Vick's property. Rhoden is wrong to portray Vick as a victim of anything other than his own actions.

A league source tells us that the NFL Players Association quietly is wrestling with the question of whether, and to what extent, it should be prepared to support Falcons quarterback Mike Vick, if/when the state and federal investigations regarding dog fighting on his Virginia property result in the filing of charges against him.

Per the source, the thinking in league circles is that the union will find a way to provide some superficial support for Vick, but without pushing the issue too aggressively.

In fact, some league insiders believe that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's recent words of support for embattled (perhaps) NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw were aimed at part in ensuring that the union will not go bonkos if/when Goodell acts against Vick.

The folks at WVEC-TV in Virginia have posted on the station's web site an explanation of Friday's erroneous report that, per ESPN Radio, nearly three dozen dog carcasses were found during a Thursday search by federal authorities of Mike Vick's Surry County, Virginia property.

Says WVEC: "Friday, WVEC.com reported information about dog remains allegedly found at the Vick property. We attributed the information to ESPN Radio. That information was not reported by ESPN and cannot be confirmed by WVEC. We regret the error."

With that said, there are indications that dog remains were indeed found on the property. Video shot by WVEC-TV showed workers donning breathing masks despite 90-degree temperatures, and some of our readers believe that faint images of dog carcasses can be seen in the video in question.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Falcons quarterback Mike Vick had a "dog yard" in South Carolina, and that a former South Carolina prosecutor assumed that the animals were "fighting dogs."

William Frick was the lead prosecutor in the David Ray Tant dog fighting case. Tant pleaded guilty, and he was sentenced to 40 years in jail.

Coincidentally, a South Carolina prison inmate recently contacted officials in Surry County, Virginia regarding Vick's involvement in dog fighting. Could the guy in question be Tant?

Several readers have pointed out to us that WVEC-TV has dropped without explanation from its web site a statement that ESPN Radio has reported that nearly three dozen dead dogs were found on the property owned by Mike Vick in Surry County, Virginia.

Attention, WVEC: You can't just make a claim like that, drop it, and make no mention as to why you've done so.

We suspect that the error resulted from WVEC's interpretation of an interview of ESPN's Kelly Naqi during Friday's Dan Patrick Show on ESPN Radio. Naqi said that the suspicion was that up to 37 dogs were buried on the property. She never said that 37 dogs have been actually found there.

With that said, it's our understanding that WAVY-TV's Mary Kay Mallonee said during a Friday afternoon appearance with Rick Ballou on 1010 XL in Jacksonville that dog carcasses were found on the property, and that investigators were happy with the outcome of the search.

Several readers have advised us that Mike Vick's cousin, Davon Boddie, was interviewed by WAVY-TV on Thursday.

Boddie generally wouldn't comment on issues of dogs and dog fighting at the house in Virginia owned by Vick and at which Boddie lived. And at one point Boddie seems to suggest that the 66 live dogs were planted by investigators whom he claims were in the woods near the property within a few days prior to the original search that yielded evidence of a dog-fighting operation.

On several occasions, Boddie claimed that it's all a "conspiracy." He also said that Vick never comes to the property, despite prior media accounts that neighbors and others saw him there from time to time.

Why in the hell is this guy saying anything? Answering questions regarding some topics but saying "no comment" on anything relating to dogs or dog fighting does nothing to prompt anyone to believe that Vick isn't factually guilty of dog fighting.

ESPN Radio, by way of WVEC-TV, reports that nearly three dozen dog carcasses were found on property owned by Falcons quarterback Mike Vick in Surry County, Virginia during a Thursday search by federal authorities.

Also, Patrick Terpstra of WVEC reports that Surry County prosecutor Gerald Poindexter will continue with his own investigation into the case as the federal investigation proceeds.

Poindexter has toned down his remarks regarding the federal involvement in the case, which as of Thursday night contained some fairly inflammatory rhetoric. On Friday, Poindexter said merely that it was a "breach of protocol" for the feds to search the land without giving Poindexter advance notice.

We're also told that WAVY-TV reporter Mary Kay Mallonee said on Friday afternoon during Rick Ballou's show on 1010 XL in Jacksonville that dog carcasses were indeed found on the property, and that federal investigators were happy with the results of the search.

All things considered, it's not a good outcome for Mr. Vick. The feds will come after him 100 times more aggressively than a part-time prosecutor in a rural county with 7,000 residents ever would or could, and the feds won't let go until the verdict and been entered and all appeals have been exhausted.

Yeah, as in Mr. Vick won't be "scheduling" any trips to Virginia while the "issues" regarding those three-dozen dead dogs and other evidence suggesting that dog fighting was occurring on his property are still pending.

Several weeks ago, our own Taco Bill lampooned the Vick dog-fighting fiasco with a classic PFT Pic of the Day:

Several readers and media members have sent to us a copy of a letter than Falcons owner Arthur Blank and G.M. Rich McKay sent on Friday to the franchise's season ticket holders.

The letter appears to be an exercise in damage control due to the ever-unfolding Mike Vick dog-fighting investigation.

This off-season has certainly presented a lot of challenges to us, and we realize it has been difficult for our fans. Therefore, we thought it would be helpful to let you know where we are as an organization.

Any time a player in our league – and especially a Falcons player – shows up in a negative light for any act, it is disappointing to us. While unsubstantiated to date, the current public situation concerning Michael Vick puts us in a particularly difficult spot because of the daily attention it is receiving in the media, and our inability to respond because we don't yet have all the facts with which to deal.

We hope you understand it would be inappropriate and premature to make any definitive statements or take any action until we know the facts. Therefore, we are awaiting the outcome of the investigation just as you are. For the benefit of our fans, the Falcons and Michael, we hope there will be a quick and clear resolution to this matter so we all can move forward.

In the meantime, we want you to realize there are many examples of our organization impacting our community in a very positive manner.

We have a large number of players on our football team who go above and beyond in giving back to our community. For example, this off-season Tight End Alge Crumpler was one of four NFL players who spent 12 days on a USO tour to U.S. military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan. Defensive Tackle Rod Coleman, through his foundation, gave metro Atlanta teenagers a head start on their adult careers by sending them to a Youth Business Camp. Linebacker Keith Brooking continued his efforts to serve foster children through a golf tournament fundraiser and an upcoming Tailgate Kick-Off fundraising event. Veteran Fullback, and first-year Falcon, Ovie Mughelli is in the process of adding Atlanta as a site for his Ovie Mughelli Project, which seeks to improve the quality of life for underprivileged children through summer football camps and educational programs. And, 2004 Walter Payton Man of the Year recipient, Running Back Warrick Dunn has touched the lives of 69 single parents and a collective 181 children, helping them to become first-time homeowners by making down payments on new fully-furnished homes. Finally, a good number of our players are participants throughout the year in activities funded by the Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation, which to date has provided more than $10 million in grants to nonprofit organizations across the state of Georgia.

These are just a few examples of our community commitment. We cite these examples not in any way to diminish any concerns you might have right now, but to encourage you to keep a perspective on the collective efforts of our players and our club.

Be assured we are intensely focused on preparing for the 2007 season. We are very encouraged by Head Coach Bobby Petrino's efforts in putting together an exciting team and schemes to make us highly competitive on the field. There is no doubt that Bobby’s expectations for our team are clear with our players, and their dedication is evident in the mini-camps and other practices that have taken place to date. The attendance and dedication of our players – including Michael – this off-season has been outstanding. We fully expect that to translate to a very successful 2007 campaign.

Over the last five years, we have worked very hard to build a winning team and a respected franchise for our fans and the Atlanta community. You have responded in a positive manner, and we thank you for your support and loyalty. We respectfully ask for your understanding as we work through our current situation.

The Associated Press reports that an unidentified man who was assisting with Thursday's investigation of Mike Vick's property in Surry County, Virginia said while exiting the premises: "I hope I never see this place again."

The comment came at the end of a day of digging and, apparently, evidence removal from the property. But the AP says that all that was removed was a cardboard box and a large piece of plywood. To the extent that dog carcasses were found on the property, it's unclear to us whether the feds would actually take possession of the rotting remains, or whether the animal corpses would be photographed and officers would prepare a report of the number and type of animals that were found.

Let's face it, if the back end of Vick's property contained a makeshift canine cemetery, there's really no reason to do autopsies on the animals. Especially if any of the bodies reveal gaping holes from bullets fired into them after losing a dog fight.

Still, it's impossible to know what the person meant when proclaiming, "I hope I never see this place again." It could have been a statement of frustration due to the absence of any incriminating evidence. Or it could have been a comment on the gruesome nature of the discoveries that might have been made there.

Remember the scene in Goodfellas where Liotta and Pesci and DeNiro had to dig up the body of Billy Batts and move it to a new spot because a condo or something was going to be built on the land where Batts' body originally had been planted?

Liotta's character was throwing up all over himself due to the odor, while Pesci's character was cracking wise about different types of food.

We thought of that scene while watching video on WVEC-TV of federal investigators digging a hole on Mike Vick's property in Surry County, Virginia.

Though we didn't see any arms or legs (or wings) in the dirt, the tail end of the video shows one of the investigators fitting his face with a paper mouth/nose mask.

So why would someone want to wear a mask over his breathing holes on a 90-degree June day, unless the shovels had uncovered something that stinks pretty bad? Something like, say, a rotting dog carcass.

Unless, of course, that's the spot where Liotta and the guys finally put Billy Batts.

Surry County, Virginia prosecutor Gerald Poindexter is providing even more justification for the decision of the feds to take over the Mike Vick dog-fighting investigation. Instead of shutting his mouth and getting on with his life, Poindexter is complaining about the fact that someone has finally begun to develop the evidence in the case.

Before going any further, we need to explain something. We want to see Vick prosecuted and convicted if -- and only if -- he is factually guilty of aiding, abetting, and/or engaging in illegal dog fighting, and any related offenses such as gambling and tax evasion. Based on the failure of Vick to say anything at all in response to piece after piece of damning evidence, it's hard not to conclude that he's factually guilty of, at a minimum, dog fighting.

For example, when ESPN made its late arrival to the party with a bombshell from an informant whose face was hidden and voice concealed, Vick didn't immediately release a statement denying that he ever was at a dog fight, and Vick didn't demand a retraction from ESPN for this serious accusation.

In a court of law, it's irrelevant. In the court of public opinion, it points to factual guilt.

And as we learned in law school, there's a big difference between factual guilt and legal guilt. A guy might have "done it," but in the eyes of the law he's not factually guilty until a jury returns a verdict based on the inherently difficult standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

Case in point -- O.J. Simpson. He was factually guilty, but ultimately found to be legally innocent.

We'd been concerned for weeks that the apparent factual guilt of Mike Vick would never result in a finding of legal guilt (or even in an effort to prove legal guilt via a trial) because Poindexter, a part-time prosecutor, didn't want to be snowed under by a dream team that would have made his life miserable for the next 20 months. We dismissed the notion that Poindexter was giving Vick a pass based on their shared race. Though e-mail after e-mail from readers suggested that Poindexter was dragging his feet for that reason, we continued to adhere to the notion that Poindexter simply didn't want to take on the Herculean task of convicting a man rich enough to buy a horde of lawyers who can crap reasonable doubt on a Saturday afternoon.

Tonight, we're not so sure. Poindexter is openly suggesting that the federal takeover of the investigation was motivated by race. And his Uncle Leo style resort to this presumption suggests that Poindexter perhaps was and is motivated by such matters in his own mind.

"There's a larger thing here, and it has nothing to do with any breach of protocol," Poindexter said after the investigation was wrested from him. "There's something awful going on here. I don't know if it's racial. I don't know what it is."

"What is foreign to me is the federal government getting into a dogfighting case. I know it's been done, but what's driving this? Is it this boy's celebrity? Would they have done this if it wasn't Michael Vick?

"Apparently these people want it. They want it, and I don't believe they want it because of the serious criminal consequences involved. . . . They want it because Michael Vick may be involved."

In our view, it is about celebrity, but not about race. Martha Stewart was prosecuted based on celebrity, not race. Scooter Libby was prosecuted based on celebrity, not race. The reality is that, by periodically felling a tall tree, the feds can create a ruckus in the forest loud enough to let the rest of us know that no one is above the law, and that if we don't stay on the right side of the rules of society, we can get chopped down, too.

The other problem with Poindexter's remarks is that he is potentially poisoning the jury pool, planting the notion in the minds of any African-American jurors that any prosecution was tainted by racism.

To the contrary, Mr. Poindexter, the feds apparently have been looking into this matter on their own. Unlike yourself, they've likely been receptive to offers of assistance from groups like NFL Security. And they've probably been applying basic common sense in reaching the conclusion that Vick very likely is factually guilty.

Now, they're commencing the process of determining whether they can show that he is legally guilty.

And Poindexter's tantrum tells us that, regardless of his motivation, he was determined to give Vick a pass.

The search warrant was issued on Thursday by a federal magistrate judge in Richmond.

All things considered, this is a horrible development for Vick. It means that the federal government is fully engaged in the process, and that Mike can expect to be contacted soon to provide his side of the story.

If he chooses to talk, he should also tell the truth. If he thinks he can pull a fast one on the feds, he should chat with Martha Stewart or Scooter Libby.

Alternatively, Vick could invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. In the court of public opinion, however, that's the equivalent of admitting guilt. (Then again, his weeks of silence in the face of damning evidence has already taken care of that one.)

If Vick faces federal charges, he won't be in front of a jury plucked from rural Surry County. The jurors will come from a much broader swath of countryside.

The search comes only a week or so after Poindexter and Sheriff Harold Brown put the kibosh (whatever in the hell a kibosh is) on a search warrant issued on May 25 by a Surry County magistrate.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the feds have taken control of the investigation.

Said Poindexter: "Mike Vick, is he the target? Who else would be? I never imagined such interest.

So why are the feds on the case? "Obviously if the feds come in, the jurisdictional basis is some sort of interstate violation," Poindexter said. "We don't know what it is -- the training of dogs, gambling racketeering, whatever they want to call it."

Poindexter was advised at 3:15 p.m. EDT that federal agents and state police were at the property. Poindexter was told that a search was proceeding pursuant to a "sealed" warrant obtained by federal authorities.

We have previously argued that Poindexter should be removed from the case. Though some have argued that he should not be criticized for moving deliberately, his wishy-washy public remarks coupled with the perception of foot-dragging were creating the impression of incompetence at best, corruption at worst.

Surry County, Virginia Sheriff Harold Brown says that people who have come forward in connection with the Mike Vick dog-fighting investigation say that Vick attended dog fights.

Brown also said that Vick will be charged if investigators can find evidence backing those claims.

HEY GUYS -- HOW ABOUT THE 66 CANINES AND THE DOG-FIGHTING PARAPHERNALIA FOUND ON THE PROPERTY THAT VICK OWNS?

This really is getting ridiculous. Vick owned real estate in Virginia. On that property, evidence of dog fighting was found. Neighbors and other locals say that Vick was frequently there. Vick claims he never goes there, presumably to cover up his knowledge of and involvement in the activities. As item after item of incriminating evidence has been reported by the "real" media, Vick has uttered not a peep. Under what warped notion of common sense does this not point directly to, at a minimum, charging the guy with a crime?

And now there are people who say that they have seen Vick at dog fights. What evidence do the authorities need to back up these claims? There are ways to check out the story in order to ensure that the cops aren't dealing with a John Mark Karr nut job who merely wants attention. Where do these people claim that the fights occurred? When did they happen? Where was Vick at the time? Surely, his deal with AirTran resulted in some type of a paper trail as to his travel habits. (The AirTran records might also come in handy with respect to the whole "I never go to Surry County" thing.)

But if the Sheriff or the prosecutor won't accept what these witnesses are willing to say without photographic or video evidence of them standing next to Vick at the edge of the dog-fighting pit, why not just close the case right now? It would save all of us who have been following the case a lot of time and trouble.

Surry County, Virginia prosecutor Gerald Poindexter continues to inspire zero confidence regarding his handling of the investigation regarding evidence of possible dog-fighting found at Mike Vick's property in late April.

According to the New York Daily News, Poindexter said on Monday that he still has no evidence linking Vick to the activities that were (or were not) occurring on the land he owned (or still owns).

"Evidence is a gun, sworn testimony, an affidavit," Poindexter said. "I don't have any evidence. I don't have any investigative reports, none whatsoever. That doesn't mean that the leading investigator in this case is not working vigorously."

Actually, Mr. Poindexter, evidence is the cache of dog-fighting paraphernalia that was found on the property that Vick owned. Evidence also is the bloody carpet and blood spatters that ordinarily wouldn't result from a legitimate dog-breeding operation.

Furthermore, evidence is the stuff that the search warrant for dog carcasses buried on the land might reveal, if the warrant hadn't been killed by Poindexter -- or if it were re-drafted by Poindexter to resolve his supposed concerns regarding the language of the document.

And yet despite a string of contradictory statements that he has made and circumstances suggesting he's not pursuing the case as diligently as he could or should, Poindexter believes that all is well. "We are going to do the best we can," Poindexter said. "I am not afraid of convicting Michael Vick or anybody else that might have been involved in dogfighting in Surry County."

The only development regarding the Mike Vick dog-fighting investigation on Monday was news that his house had been burglarized at some point between May 7 and May 18, and Poindexter's predictable claim that various items stolen from the house have no relevance to the investigation.

But how can anyone be sure? Apart from what might have been lurking in the bottom of that wet/dry vacuum clear, what if the house also was scoured by the "burglars" for any video or photographic evidence that wasn't found when investigators recovered the dogs and the equipment from the buildings in the back of the property? What if the theft of the three plasma televisions and the couch was merely cover for a more sinister goal?

Instead of presuming that the theft was merely "feuding over the spoils," shouldn't Poindexter be tracking down all of the persons who lived in that house to confirm that it was only about claiming property and not about covering tracks?

In our view, the only hope that any semblance of justice will be done in this case is if Poindexter is relieved of responsibility for this investigation right now. With each passing day, it'll be harder and harder to repair the damage that his thumb-twiddling is causing.

Surry County prosecutor Gerald Poindexter doesn't think that the thieves were trying to abscond with any evidence that might be used against Vick in connection with a pending investigation regarding dog fighting.

Taken from the home were three plasma-screen televisions, two floor buffers, a wet/dry vacuum, an upright washer and dryer, and a leather sofa. And three dog skeletons. (Okay, were kidding about that. Leather sofa . . . right.)

Meanwhile, the investigation regarding the dog fighting thing is moving along. Or whatever.

"I don't have, to date, one investigative report," Poindexter said. "I have nothing on my desk. I'm in touch with people who can assure me they can provide me the stuff. That's where we are."

Former Falcons coach Dan Reeves, who coached quarterback Mike Vick for the first three years of his career, says that he was aware of no link between Vick and dog fighting.

Reeves says that, before the Falcons traded up in 2001 to make Vick the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, NFL Security told him that there were no concerns about the Virginia Tech phenom.

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