MAYBE HE'LL CHECK OUT T.I., or Luda, or even old 'Nique.
Maybe Michael Vick will have dinner with his former boss and buddy, whom he still calls "Arthur."
Or, maybe not.
When Vick returns to the Dirty South on Saturday, to be the Eagles' backup quarterback on Sunday, he might be too busy.
His onetime ATL running mates, like Atlanta rappers Ludacris and T.I. and former Hawks star Dominique Wilkins, will have to wait for another trip.
Wilkins, Atlanta ambassador of cool by virtue of his scoring ability and his dunking genius, is the only athlete with Vick's profile. When his career crashed in 2007, Vick's star was rising as high as 'Nique's, as a quarterback whose abilities were best replicated by video games.
Vick's rise to popularity from 2002 to 2006 paralleled that of Atlanta itself, especially its entertainment scene. His otherworldly abilities claimed the same fresh, fragile essence as the breed of hip-hop and rap bred by, among others, his pals Ludacris and T.I.
Before Vick lost his first NFL life and went to prison, they weren't the only ones who rolled in the same circles as Vick.
"It was guys of that stature. I still keep in contact with them to this day," Vick said.
Well, not so much with T.I. As Vick did, T.I. is paying his debt to society - in an Arkansas penitentiary, on a federal weapons conviction. And that "Arthur" fella is Falcons owner Arthur Blank, to whom Vick lied about being involved in dogfighting and gambling activities. Vick eventually went to prison for his involvement. Blank and the Falcons, through the NFL, sought to recoup bonus money paid to Vick, but Vick recently won the right to keep more than $16 million.
Porterhouses at Bone's for Blank and Vick might be strained. Who would pay?
Besides, while Blank and Vick might still talk, as Vick asserted, Blank has taken the franchise in the anti-Vick direction. He drafted squeaky-clean Penn Charter product Matt Ryan. Ryan, now in his second year, is an immobile, corporate QB . . . who is less likely to be seen in a nightclub with Lil Jon and the Ying Yang Twins than Vick is to be seen at a fundraiser with Rush Limbaugh.
Vick commends the Falcons for changing their image.
"My future was very uncertain. Nobody actually knew when I was going to get out of prison . . . You have to move on. They did a great job of drafting 'Matty Ice,' " Vick said, using Ryan's new nickname. "He's been huge for that organization."
Neither Ryan nor Vick is likely to be huge Sunday.
