Informants: Vick involved

Informants have come forward saying they can link Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick to dog fighting, the prosecutor in the case said Thursday, and he has turned their accounts and contact information over to investigators.

Surry County (Va.) Commonwealth’s Attorney Gerald G. Poindexter said he has heard from about a half-dozen people claiming to have information about Vick’s involvement in dog fighting, but he does not know if their claims have proven to be reliable.

In a letter, an inmate in a South Carolina prison claimed that he attended dog fights where Vick also was in attendance and saw Vick bet large amounts of money. Another informant provided street names of dog fighters from elsewhere in Virginia.

A deputy sheriff in the county, W.R. Brinkman, is on the road investigating the claims, Poindexter said, noting that the investigation is the job of the sheriff.

Alcohol ban extended

NFL clubs may no longer serve alcohol at team functions or on buses or flights, extending a ban that until now applied only in locker rooms. The rule pertains not only to players but also to owners, coaches and guests.

Concussions linked

A study of more than 2,500 retired NFL players found that those who had at least three concussions during their careers had triple the risk of clinical depression as those who had no concussions.

Notes

Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line coach Larry Zierlein apologized for accidentally e-mailing an explicit sex video to numerous NFL employees, including league commissioner Roger Goodell. … Sam Kagel, the mediator who helped resolve the 1982 NFL strike, has died. He was 98. He died May 21 in San Francisco of old age, his son, John Kagel, said.