There are plenty of reports out there now: that Michael Vick met on Thursday with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, and that Goodell is now likely to allow Vick to sign with a team and attend training camp, followed by a suspension that could last 4 weeks (per ESPN) or 4 to 6 weeks (per the Washington Post). The NFL is denying a decision has been made. There has been some backing off of the reports.

Whatever. All of this is a necessary foundation upon which the real question rests:

Who wants him?

Goodell has this just about exactly right. Vick committed a terrible (and publicly-repugnant) crime involving dog-fighting and he served his prison time and most Americans really do believe the paid-his-debt-to-society thing. The NFL is big enough and strong enough to be able to embrace that notion, too. Vick still needs to make his public contrition, but you have to believe his image people already have that in the works.

And then, well, what?

I have said from the beginning and I will continue to say: he was not so good a player that most franchises would be willing to live with animal-rights picketing on a widescale basis. To repeat: people tend to forgive. But if the people from PETA and such throw everything they have at this, it will be a big mess. It will have to be a very strong owner -- and a very, very secure coach -- would would be willing to put themselves through the circus. These guys don't like playing on Monday night because it ruins their precious routine. Imagine a gauntlet of picketers outside of practice every day, and tying up traffic outside the stadium on at games.

Then you have to ask yourself: what does Vick have left? People forget that the opinion in the NFL had begun to turn against Vick before all of this mess got started. Big talent, great legs, true, true -- but where were the passing skills that would elevate him above what he had been? Where was the development? And how much was that already-slow development hampered by his time living on the government's dime?

My money is still on Vick heading to the UFL. (Pickets might double their crowds, after all.)

ESPN's Peter Gammons says that the Phillies must get Roy Halladay.

Well, at least the headline of his blog says it. A fair summation of his position comes at the end of the post:

From this view, however, Halladay isn't like anyone else. If the Phillies get to the World Series for three straight years, it will be the greatest run in franchise history. And, sorry, there's only one Roy Halladay. If you can't pay for him with Kyle Drabek, try Visa.

Right there is the entire issue. Gammons has crystallized it and he also has managed to trumpet what is undoubtedly the position of Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi. If you read the Gammons piece, you can see that, in his view, it is unclear that anybody else has the cash or the prospects to make a deal. So why would the Phillies essentially bid against themselves and offer Drabek, their best minor-league pitching prospect?

Here is another question that nobody seems to ask. If the Phillies have no interest in doing an extension with Halladay, why would he agree to a trade? He can wait -- it isn't as if his value is going down. And if you are the Blue Jays, and you know that Halladay will be looking for his last big contract as a part of this transaction -- that's only logical, isn't it? -- then won't there be many more teams in a position to do something in the off-season, at a time when you can clear salary in a more orderly way and prepare yourself to make Halladay a contract offer?

Still many questions, with 10 days until the deadline.

There is outrage in the land. How dare Fox cut away from precious Phillies at-bats, showing them in split-screen, to watch Manny Ramirez play for the Dodgers? How dare a television network -- as ESPN did during his minor-league rehab at-bats; rehab, heh, heh -- glorify this cheating piece of scum?

I've got news for you. Television does not lead opinion, it follows it. Television makes money by giving people what they want, not by offering castor oil.

They showed people Manny because people wanted to see Manny.

Because people aren't mad at Manny.

Because people have made their peace with Manny and the rest of the scurrilous lot of them, viewing their steroidal transgressions in the same way they view alcohol-fueled celebrity hijinks. You know, as entertainment.

I've been saying this for a while, only to be scolded by All Good and Righteous People and pretty much ignored by the other 95 percent of the population. This whole post is just an excuse to offer a link to something written by the great Charlie Pierce, who happens to say the same thing with a lot more ability than I could muster.

That's it. And enjoy the ballgame.

Because it's soccer, it doesn't matter if you gag up a 2-goal halftime lead!

Everybody gets a trophy!

Congrats!

In his blog, Donovan McNabb mourns the passing of Michael Jackson.

Here's the entry:

Like most of the rest of the world I am devastated by the news of Michael Jackson’s death. Ironically, I am in Los Angeles for a few days between shooting a commercial and attending a teammate’s wedding this weekend.

Those who have followed my career know that I am a huge fan of the King of Pop. After many of my touchdowns, I have moonwalked or mimicked some of his moves – before you get ready to criticize those moves on a post, know that even I understand I couldn’t hold a candle to Michael when it comes to dancing. My dances were a mere tribute to Michael’s unbelievable ability to entertain.

Many times we are reminded at someone’s death that “there will never be another one like him/her.” In this case, those words couldn’t be more true.

My condolences go out to his children, his immediate family, and his extended family of millions around the world.

PS: The wedding in question is apparently the Hank/Kendra nuptials.

UPDATED: Jennings has slipped far enough that he isn't coming to the green room.

From his agent, Bill Duffy: "Because we do not have a strong grasp of Brandon's draft position, I've advised that he and his family enjoy this day in a more private setting with the people he loves the most. Brandon Jennings will have a very illustrious career in the NBA, and at the end of the day, that is all that is important."

EARLIER:

Up here in NY for tonight's draft. There is no news, only rumor.

Like this: the latest SI.com mock draft has the Sixers taking point guard Brandon Jennings.

It would be a gamble, to say the least, because of Jennings' decision to spend last season in Europe rather than in college. His numbers and his playing time were disappointing. He was hoping to be a top five pick or a top 10 pick. I interviewed him yesterday and he is brash and cocky and all of that. To fall to No. 17 would be a pretty significant comeuppance (or slidedownance).You wonder what the effect would be on such a super-confident kid. Then again, he is super-fast and the Sixers still presumably want to play super-fast under new coach Eddie Jordan. It makes sense that way.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Jennings' plan was to be in the green room -- but he acknowledged being worried about being the last guy in there, and the embarrassment. Maybe he had a sense he was slipping, maybe not. In  the end, he said, "It is everybody's dream, to shake David Stern's hand." At the same time, though, he admitted to "thinking about" skipping the whole thing and hanging with his family someplace instead.

So, we'll see. And if it were to happen, well, a question:  would this mean the Sixers finally have a European player, even if he is from California?

Based on all of the reporting that had been done up to this week, the NHL wanted the Washington Capitals to play the Boston Bruins in Fenway Park on New Year's Day. The league wanted another showcase of Alex Ovechkin, one of the league's signature player, its most exciting offensive player.

Instead, the Flyers apparently will get the spot as the visiting team.

The reason? You.

This is about television ratings. This is about the television ratings that the Flyers tend to draw, around the nation but especially in Philadelphia. NBC is driving the bus here. Ratings are driving the bus. And the Flyers are the NHL's old reliable that way.

A smaller city like Buffalo might get a higher percentage of its televisions to tune in to see the Sabres in this kind of a setting. But there is no big city like Philadelphia when it comes to these numbers -- and it's true in the NFL, too. Routinely, Philadelphia fans show up in big percentages to watch their teams, bigger percentages than New York or Los Angeles or Houston or (most of the time) Chicago. It is probably the best big city/high penetration combination that there is.

This has become a very big game for NBC. You have to know that the network wanted the Flyers. And again, with all due respect to Mike Richards and the fellas, they aren't the reason. You are.

This idea comes from Matt Mosley's NFC East blog at ESPN.com, by way of Football Outsiders. Anyway, they did a thing where they picked the 10 most irreplaceable players in the NFL. Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning was No. 1, and Cowboys linebacker DeMarcus Ware was No. 2.

There were no Eagles on the list.

I don't get that.

Is there not enough evidence out there about the importance of Brian Westbrook to this team? As he spends June nursing whatever the hell ails him this time, and it's always something, how is it possible that someone cannot recognize just how vital Westbrook is to the Eagles' success?

Just look at last year. In the games he was functional -- not great, but just decent -- the Eagles were an offensive machine. In the games when he was either out or obviously hobbled -- Chicago and Baltimore come to mind immediately, but there were others -- they were only an imitation of themselves, and a poor one at that. And while there was near-unanimous applause for the drafting of Shady McCoy as Westbrook's understudy, he hasn't yet seen the field. We really don't know.

Hell, I could put Donovan McNabb on the list, too. He tanked last year and they tanked. He was re-born and they were re-born. Some of this obviously coincided with Westbrook's health, which is why I think he is the key, but McNabb seems reasonably essential to this mix right now, too. Even if you like Kevin Kolb, he has barely played.

The Eagles have worked to make these two guys less irreplaceable, and maybe they have. But we really don't know. And until we do, it is hard to see that list as anything but flawed, and incomplete.