Vick is Eagles' Ed Block Courage Award recipient. 'I've overcome a lot,' Philly quarterback says

When I read this article I wanted to SCREAM AND SCREAM AND SCREAM. Michael Vick thinks that HE had a lot to overcome! Really? What in the h*ll did he have to overcome that could compare to the suffering he caused over and over and over to helpless animals? Courage? It takes courage to spend a little time in the pokey and then to come out, get a high paying job, win awards and do a few personal appearances. Courage? What is courageous about THAT! It took courage for those poor dogs to be tossed in a ring together to fight for their lives. It took HEART and courage for numerous animal welfare workers to rescue Vick's animals, get them medical treatment, hold them when they were dying, work with them to get re-homed. It took COURAGE for new families to accept into their lives dogs that they knew had been in a fight ring and to trust that nightmares of their former lives wouldn't cause them to bite a human.

Sports - football - right now I have a rotten taste in my mouth. Eating one of those poop-sicles sitting in the snow in my backyard would taste better to me than reading about Michael Vick's courage and how he's overcome the obstacles in life. Michael Vick - can you see me bending over? Now kiss it! (Sorry I got a little graphic towards the end but reading the following article brought my blood to a boil!

Pictured is one of the scarred dogs rescued from Vick's Virginia dog-fighting kennel

Vick 'just ecstatic' about winning Courage Award

PHILADELPHIA - Michael Vick won the Ed Block Courage Award, voted on by his Philadelphia Eagles teammates, after the once-disgraced star quarterback returned to the NFL after spending 18 months in prison for his role in a dogfighting ring.

"It means a great deal to me," Vick said on Wednesday. "I was voted unanimously by my teammates. They know what I've been through. I've been through a lot. It's been great to come back and have an opportunity to play and be with a great group of guys. I'm just ecstatic about that and I enjoy every day."

A three-time Pro Bowl pick in six seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, Vick has played sparingly with the Eagles. He has two touchdowns rushing and one passing in 12 games.

The Ed Block Award honors players who exemplify commitment to the principles of sportsmanship and courage. Each of the 32 NFL teams selects a recipient.

"I've overcome a lot, more than probably one single individual can handle or bear," Vick said. "You ask certain people to walk through my shoes, they probably couldn't do. Probably 95 percent of the people in this world because nobody had to endure what I've been through, situations I've been put in, situations I put myself in and decisions I have made, whether they have been good or bad.

"There's always consequences behind certain things and repercussions behind them, too. And then you have to wake up every day and face the world, whether they perceive you in the right perspective, it's a totally different outlook on you. You have to be strong, believe in yourself, be optimistic. That's what I've been able to do. That's what I display."

The Eagles were criticized by animal rights activists for signing Vick less than a month after he was released from prison. Dozens of protesters voiced their outrage outside the team's practice facility the day after Vick was signed, and many fans threatened to give up their tickets.

But Vick got a warm reception in his first game with the Eagles and by most accounts has been a model citizen off the field.

The animal rights group, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, issued a statement reprimanding the Eagles for giving Vick the award.

Vick has spent time working with the Humane Society of the United States, speaking to school and community groups about the mistakes he made in getting involved in dogfighting.

"It was a big obstacle proving I'm worthy of a second chance," Vick said. "It doesn't stop here. I have to continue to prove that. The thing I told [NFL commissioner] Roger [Goodell] is that four or five years from now, I'm going to come to him and say, 'Everything I told you I was going to do, I'm still doing it.' And that's what I pride myself on and that's my focus and that's my goal."

Quarterback Donovan McNabb called the award "well-deserved."

"Congratulations to him for straightening his life around and bettering himself as a human being," coach Andy Reid said. "He's obviously very well-respected by his teammates."