Morning roundup: ESPN reports NFL commissioner Roger Goodell decides on Michael Vick

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has reached a decision on Michael Vick, ESPN reported Thursday, citing an unidentified NFL source.

The network said Goodell is expected to make an announcement on a conditional reinstatement of Vick next week.

According to the report, Vick, the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback who just completed a federal prison sentence for bankrolling a dog fighting operation, will be allowed to go to training camp if he signs with a team but will be suspended for the first four games of the regular season.

There were numerous reports Thursday that Vick and Goodell met earlier this week in New Jersey and that the meeting was cordial but tense. Goodell suspended Vick indefinitely before he began his prison sentence.

So far, no NFL team has expressed an interest in signing Vick.

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said allegations by a Lake Tahoe casino hostess that he raped her a year ago are "reckless and false.”

A 31-year-old Nevada woman has filed a civil lawsuit alleging the Super Bowl winning quarterback raped her in a hotel penthouse last year. The woman was working as a VIP casino host at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe at the time, and claims in the lawsuit the rape took place in Roethlisberger’s room after he called her on a bogus complaint.

"Saturday was the first I heard of her accusations,” Roethlisberger said. "Her false and vicious allegations are an attack on my family and on me. I would never, ever force myself on a woman.”

The NFL is making its already popular draft even more television-friendly, moving the first round to Thursday night.

Next year’s draft will switch from a two-day, weekend format to a three-day event with the opening round in prime time for the first time. The draft will be televised by ESPN and NFL Network.

The NFL said the first round will begin at 6:30 p.m. CDT on April 22. The second and third rounds will start at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, with the last four rounds beginning Saturday morning.

Former NASCAR champion Matt Kenseth is losing his sponsor after 10 seasons.

Roush Fenway Racing says Dewalt Power Tools decided not to return in 2010. Team president Geoff Smith said the decision was not a surprise because of the decline in the construction industry.

Kevin Na birdied the final five holes and nine of his last 12 for a 9-under 63 and a two-stroke lead over Scott Verplank of Edmond, Retief Goosen and Joe Durant during the suspended first round of the Canadian Open in Oakville, Ontario.

Four days after his heart-rending playoff defeat to Stewart Cink at the British Open, Tom Watson shot a 3-under 67 and trailed Fred Funk by three shots at the Senior British Open.

FROM WIRE REPORTS

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