After he completes his 23-month jail term, lawyers for Michael Vick says ex-Atlanta Falcons player wants back in the NFL.  Vick’s attorneys, who laid out a plan to pay creditors based in part on his expected earnings and possible signing bonuses, said that Vick “has every reason to believe that upon his release, he will be reinstated into the NFL, resume his career and be able to earn a substantial living.”  The disclosure statement was filed before a hearing Thursday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Norfolk, Va.

NFL tackle offers condolences to Jennifer Hudson. Chicago Bears defensive tackle Tommie Harris says he’ll donate a jersey to singer Jennifer Hudson’s family in tribute to her murdered brother. The star’s sibling, Jason Hudson, her mother Darnell Donerson and her nephew Julian King were all recently shot to death in Chicago in unsolved, apparently pre-meditated, attacks. King’s stepfather, the estranged husband of Hudson’s sister, is the only suspect in the crimes, but he hasn’t been charged. “I would like to give them a personal jersey,” says Harris, who is a friend of Jennifer Hudson. “A lot of times you try to understand things, but you can’t fathom that, losing three loved ones within three days. It’s very difficult and my prayers are with the family. It’s hard, but you just have to try not to lose faith in God.” Get more celebrity condolences here.

“Uneven Fairways” to examine trailblazers on course. Tiger Woods isn’t the only Black athlete to cross boundaries on the golf course. The Golf Channel has announced a documentary scheduled for Black History Month 2009 that will spotlight similar trailblazers. “These are inspiring stories of golfers who overcame great odds just to create a tour where they could compete,” says Page Thompson, president of Golf Channel. “Uneven Fairways” will debut Feb. 11 on the Orlando-based network.

Pitcher could spend up to 16 years in prison. The minor league pitcher who allegedly gave a fan a concussion by hitting him with a ball could spend 16 years in prison. Julio Castillo, 21, was trying to throw the ball into the opposing team’s dugout to hit a player, but struck the fan in the head, prosecutors say. The actual July 24 game was interrupted by a 10-minute brawl that cleared the benches between Castillo’s Peoria Chiefs and home team Dayton. Castillo was indicted in Ohio this week on a count of felonious assault with a deadly weapon and a felonious assault causing serious physical harm. “There is no excuse for this type of behavior, whether it’s in a ball park or a back alley,” says prosecutor Mathias Heck Jr. “Fans should not be subjected to violence because a player is unable to control his temper.”

Former African leader gets $5 million. Festus Mogae, the former president of Botswana, won $5 million dollars for helping to promote good leadership in Africa.  The award was connected to the Ibrahim Prize, the single most valuable prize in the world. The prize was created by Sudanese businessman Mo Ibrahim. During a ceremony, Mogae, who stepped down in April, was praised for actively fighting the AIDS epidemic in his nation. “President Mogae’s outstanding leadership has ensured Botswana’s continued stability and prosperity in the face of an HIV/AIDS pandemic, which threatened the future of his country and people,” former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan said.  ”I did not create the democracy in my country. I consolidated it and deepened it by practiced, accountable governance, respect of the rule of law, independence of the courts, respect for human rights, including women’s rights,” he told the BBC.  Botswana was the first country in sub-Saharan African to provide free anti-retroviral drugs to those affected by AIDS and HIV. In addition, Botswana’s residents have the highest average pay on the continent, and the nation is considered by many as being the least corrupt country, despite being the largest diamond producer in the world, according to Transparency International. In addition to the $5 mil, Mogae, age 69, gets $200,000 every year for the rest of his life.

Mexican prison riot leaves 21 dead. A riot in a Mexican prison left 21 dead Monday, reports CNN. The fight, which occurred in Reynosa, was between two groups of inmates and took place early in the morning. Twelve prisoners were also injured in the incident, but their condition is unknown. State authorities are still looking into the cause of the riot, but they did suspend the prison director and the guards. It took both federal and state police, as well as some army troops, to take control of the prison after the violence. The forces also had to surround the outside of the institution to control the worried and apprehensive relatives who were outside kicking the gates and demanding to be given information. No word yet on what might have started the riot. A riot at La Mesa prison in Tijuana last month killed 23 people, reports the news service. That violence was sparked by angry prisoners who said guards were not giving them food and water, a charge that prison officials deny.

Will O.J. Escape Prison Again?

A jury could decide whether O.J. Simpson spends the rest of his life in prison as soon as Friday. Simpson and co-defendant C.J. Stewart return to a Las Vegas courtroom this morning after prosecutors rested their case on charges that Simpson led a robbery and kidnapping against two memorabilia dealers last year. Simpson says that he only went to reclaim family photos and souvenirs from his stellar sports career that had been stolen from him. But prosecutors allege that he and Stewart forcibly held the collectors in a hotel room with help from four other men who’ve all accepted plea bargains, in exchange for testifying against Simpson. So far, defense testimony this week has included the words of a Vegas cop who says Simpson cooperated with the investigation, even volunteering his personal cell phone number. If closing arguments are given this week, it could mark the second time that a jury considers the ex-football star’s fate. He was acquitted of a double-homicide involving his ex-wife in 1994.

Black Missourians are closing cancer gap. Blacks in Missouri are closing the racial gap for newly diagnosed cancers, a new report found. The rate of newly diagnosed cancers is roughly equal between Blacks and Whites in Missouri, according to an analysis of data from the Missouri Department of Health and state Cancer Registry. Only a decade ago, it was higher for Blacks. In 1996, Blacks in the state had an 18-percent higher rate of new cancer diagnoses than Whites. By 2003, the disparity had shrunk to 6 percent. “If the trend continues, we expect the difference in new diagnosis for Blacks and Whites will disappear by 2006,” said Mario Schootman, lead author of the report that will be published early next year in the journal Missouri Medicine. The 2006 numbers are not yet available for analysis, said Schootman, an associate professor of epidemiology and medicine at Washington University School of Medicine, and a leader at the Siteman Cancer Center. Schootman says the lower rates of new cancers are due to an overall decline in cigarette smoking and more cancer screenings.

Pass “Stop AIDS in Prison Act” says group. The AIDS Healthcare Foundation is urging Congress to pass the Stop AIDS in Prison Act (H.R. 1943), which went before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week. The foundation is largest non-profit HIV/AIDS healthcare provider in the United States that currently provides treatment, care and support services to more than 80,000 individuals in 22 countries worldwide in North America, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean and Asia. The bill, introduced by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and passed by the House last September, seeks to provide comprehensive HIV testing, treatment and prevention for inmates in federal prisons and upon re-entry into the community. The legislation directs the Federal Bureau of Prisons to test inmates upon entering and exiting federal prison and includes an “opt-out” provision should inmates wish to decline being tested. The bill also would ensure that inmates found to be HIV-positive receive treatment. The foundation “commends Rep. Waters for her leadership in shepherding this groundbreaking legislation that will go a long way toward protecting public health and saving lives,” said Michael Weinstein, president of AIDS Healthcare Foundation. “By making HIV-testing routine among the prison population, H.R. 1943 will not only help reduce the spread of infection among inmates, but it will also protect the health of the community at large. HIV/AIDS continues to affect minorities disproportionately. At the same time, African Americans and Latinos continue to be overrepresented in the prison population. With HIV-infection rates exploding among communities of color, this legislation is a practical way to identify infected individuals and link them to medical care and treatment, and as parolees return to the community, to help break the chain of infection.”

The ex- New York Giants wide receiver has had a troubled post-football life.
Mark Ingram, a former New York Giants wide receiver who starred in the 1991 Super Bowl, will spend the next seven and a half years behind bars for his latest crime spree that includes money laundering and bank fraud. Read more at BET.com/News.  What would make a former super star athlete jump from the limelight to the crimelight?

“Rampage” Jackson could get prison for car chase

Former mixed martial arts UFC champ Quinton “Rampage” Jackson could get three years in prison following his recent California road race with cops. The Orange County DA has charged Jackson with evading while driving recklessly, evading a peace officer, hit-and-run and reckless driving after Jackson allegedly fled police in a monster truck bearing his painted image. Jackson was also recently given a mental evaluation after he was found at home despondent. He reportedly has been depressed since losing his title belt in a bout this summer. Jackson allegedly hit two cars on a freeway, hit another car on a surface street and sent pedestrians running for safety during the police episode.
Nine-year-old’s talent threatens teams. Jericho Scott’s 40 miles-per-hour pitches have a Connecticut baseball league pitching fits. Scott, who’s 9, recently caused a team opposing his Power Fitness-sponsored squad to forfeit when they learned that he would take the mound. Discussions have ranged from having the three-year-old Youth Baseball League of New Haven’s teams re-configured to refunding sign-up fees to anyone requesting it. “I feel sad,” the young pitcher says. “I feel like it’s my fault nobody could play.” Jericho’s coach and parents defend him, arguing that he’s never hurt anyone and that he shouldn’t be outcast for being “too good.” A lawyer has planned to meet with Jericho’s parents to consider action that could secure his right to compete in the league after he was banned shortly before playoffs.

The LPGA Takes An English-only position. The LPGA’s is going to require that players speak English. Read more in Playa Hater.

United Football League plans to recruit Michael Vick

Convicted dog-fighter and suspended NFL star Michael Vick could have a new home in a competing football organization. The former Atlanta Falcon, who’s serving a sentence for sponsoring illegal canine fights in Virginia, has apparently been courted behind bars. United Football League commissioner Michael Huyghue says his organization is “98 percent” sure Vick will play on one of its six teams during their debut season. Vick’s release from federal custody is expected in 2009.

Peoria Chiefs Player Allegedly Hit Spectator In Head With Ball.
The Peoria Chiefs’ Julio Castillo could face up to eight years in prison and a $15,000 fine if he’s convicted of deliberately hitting a fan with a pitch during a Class A game’s brawl last week. The minor-league fracas between the Chiefs and Dayton Dragons resulted in 15 player and manager ejections. Castillo is shown on camera winding up and throwing a ball that allegedly struck spectator Chris McCarthy, 44, in the forehead. McCarthy was treated at a hospital in Dayton. Castillo, 21, was tackled to the ground after throwing the pitch, and later jailed. The Dominican Republic native’s passport was revoked. He’s free after posting bond.

Smoking Gun reveals that Rick Ross was prison guard

Maybe it’s time for MCs to revisit a few old-school party rhymes. If not, The Smoking Gun Web site is around to keep those claiming hardcore, thug backgrounds as honest as Boy Scouts. For the second time this year, Smoking Gun has outed a performer who appears to have embellished his street credibility. Rick Ross had previously denounced photos that surfaced last week as “Photo Shop fakes created by fake people to entertain fake people.” But TSG reports that the pics, showing a younger, clean-shaven Ross in prison-guard gear, are authentic. The site indicates that William Leonard Roberts, aka “Rick Ross,” has a social security number and employee record matching those of a man who worked in corrections for 18 months in 1995. Ross reportedly earned $22, 913.54 a year. TSG previously blew singer Akon’s false claims of prison time and having master-minded an auto theft ring out of the water. Crime may not pay, but lying about it apparently does.

RZA to make directorial debut

While many rappers make the leap to acting, few have gone the route of directing films. Wu Tang Clan’s RZA, having studied filmmaking with Quentin Tarantino and having made a recent appearance in American Gangster, is set to helm a forthcoming martial arts feature. RZA joins Ice Cube, Will Smith and Queen Latifah in the ranks of hip-hop veterans who’ve moved beyond acting to executive roles in the film industry. He also made an appearance in Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai.

Ashanti takes on a new role
Grammy-winning singer and Long Island native Ashanti has a new gig: tourism ambassador. The R&B singer was introduced Tuesday at a news conference as one of nine ambassadors who will promote tourism in Nassau County on Long Island. County Executive Thomas Suozzi placed an orange blazer with a tourism patch over her white dress at the event at Rockefeller Center in Manhattan, where 16 tourists were offered an all-expenses-paid tour of Nassau. Ashanti sang at Suozzi’s two mayoral inaugurals in her native Glen Cove.Ashanti says it’s “amazing” to be asked to “give something back to the community.” The singer recently released her fourth studio album, “The Declaration.” The tourism campaign pitches Nassau as “The Island Next Door” and is targeted at visitors to the city.