At latest honor, Vick remains humble

ATLANTIC CITY - Frank Beamer is right. People want to be like Michael Vick. They want his story to ring real, to be about repentance and resolve more than reclamation and reward.

"A lot of great players, you don't want to be around them very long," Beamer, Vick's

college coach, said at a Maxwell Awards news conference yesterday afternoon. "Well, you want to be around Michael Vick. I mean, you like the guy. And he's for real. He's genuine. And he's a good person who's going to help young people."

The Bert Bell Award recipient as pro football player of the year, the Eagles quarterback appeared at the midday event at Harrah's yesterday alongside his Virginia Tech coach and his current one. Beamer was there yesterday to receive the Joseph V. Paterno Award as the college coach of the year. Andy Reid was there to accept the Greasy Neale Award as the pro football coach of the year. Touting the evening's event as the "best football banquet ever," Ron Jaworski noted its "100 percent participation level."

Seems to be strategy there. Reid was typically prouder of Vick than himself. Beamer came the longest distance, wearing a, well, beaming smile. As the coach who won the recruiting battle for his services, who dealt with Vick's troublesome brother Marcus in his wake, the Hokies coach, who will enter his 25th season next fall, probably has the best read on who Vick really is, boiled down to his essence.

They remain close. Through the revelations of all the awful things Vick did to dogs, through the fall from NFL grace, through the 18 months he spent in prison.

"In all my time knowing him, from Virginia Tech to now - I don't think he's ever changed as a person," Beamer said. "Now he made some bad decisions. But he's a good person."

That was again the theme

yesterday, Vick's first public

appearance and comments since the NFL season ended with the

Super Bowl. Oh, he was asked questions about the lockout, his health and his plans, but the theme repeatedly returned to

salvation - sometimes while

answering those other topics.

On the award, Vick said this: "It's a great honor. I accept this honor with tremendous gratitude. I thank my coaches. I thank all the people who believed in me and gave me that

opportunity to come back and do things right the second time around. Now it's my sole responsibility to do it right, and I think that's what this night is about for me."

On the possibility of a lockout by NFL owners and a long labor war, he said: "I think in this process you just have to be mature. Understand the position we're in. Make sure you're doing all the right things to keep yourself in shape. Block out anything else that could come as a distraction. There's enough distractions out there already. Just understand that at some point we will be playing football again."

On signing his 1-year franchise tender, expected to be worth about $16 million for next season: "We didn't talk about long term, or what can be negotiated about my future. We just talked about what could be done this year. I think anything else that happens is solely on me. I think I dictate that situation by my play and performance and my actions on and off the field. So that ball is in my court. The most important thing is to go out and play good football and try to bring something to the city that we've been looking for a long time."

Vick also said: "I would love to finish my career as an Eagle. But the nature of this business is that you never know what's going to happen."

And finally, the answer you've all been waiting for. Michael Vick agreed to appear on the Oprah Winfrey show, then changed his mind. Why?

"I just felt that the timing wasn't right, based on everything that was going on," he said. "My contract. The CBA. And there were certain things I really didn't want to touch on at the time. I feel like I need to be more, to do more, to be on that show. So I can talk about the past and talk about the present - how prosperous things are, how bad they once were, and how we can move forward.

"I need to do more. But I think when I do go on, it's going to be outstanding."

Well played. Well thought out. And an indication that Beamer might be right on this, that the best player he has ever coached is truly trying to become, and remain, a better person.

"I've said to him, 'You're gonna have a great story to tell,' " Beamer said. " 'You had it all. You lost a lot of it. Now you're working like heck to get back on your feet. And how many young people can you help? Because they'll listen to you. You're responsible for your decisions. You need to make good decisions.' He's on his way now, I believe, towards helping a lot of young people." *

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