A more complete text of Vick's apology than King offered earlier this week, from ESPN.com:

"He just said certain things I won't say in front of this camera," Vick said at a news conference. "It was very inappropriate. I was down, upset, frustrated. I just did one thing I've never done through all the games I've ever lost, no matter how frustrated I've been after a game. I don't know where it came from, but the people who know me know that's not me and that's not my character."

"I'm sorry and I apologize to all the young kids and to whoever saw me make that gesture," he said. "I just let my emotions get the best of me in that situation and it won't happen again."

"I would have never thought that six years into my career I would ever do something like that," Vick said.

"It will never happen again. Never."

About his fine, from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

"Falcons quarterback Michael Vick plans to donate $5,000 to the family of Atlanta firefighter Steven Solomon, who died Wednesday from cardiac arrest after fighting a fire on Thanksgiving Night.

The NFL mandated that Vick make a $10,000 charitable donation as part of his punishment doled out by the league for making obscene gestures toward fans following a 31-13 loss to the New Orleans Saints at the Georgia Dome Sunday. Vick also will donate $5,000 to teammate Warrick Dunn's Foundation, which helps single mothers become homeowners. Vick also must pay the NFL a $10,000 fine.

"I gave this a lot of thought and realized that there are thousands of worthy charities that could benefit from these funds," Vick said. "But when I heard that Mr. Solomon died after fighting a fire on Thanksgiving while most of us were at home with our own families, it really touched me. My heart goes out to his family. At the same time, I truly admire the work Warrick does through his foundation and I wanted to support the families he serves as well."

Vick's character has taken a beating lately, but if this is a portrait of a bad guy, or of someone who won't take responsibility for himself, I don't see it here.

Unless of course this was all thought up by some pr guy his agent hired to do damage control. I certainly don't recall any stories about him donating to anyone before this.

How hard have you looked for such stories -- they don't make national headlines, but Vick has made the papers here in Atlanta for similar good deeds throughout his tenure. You can take someone at his word or not -- it's a choice. I choose to believe Vick is sincere, because his words and actions seem to merit that belief. You choose not to believe it, but lack evidence.

...how to make my day. Far from being a waste of space, today's letter reveals to us that there's yet another way in which people need to get the hell over themselves.

I had a relative who was just like these profoundly strange people. I witnessed her at a restaurant slap her (grown) daughter's hand when she put her salad plate atop her dinner plate to help out the waiter who was cleaning off the table. She hissed "That's for the help to do!" If she was present at dinner, you were not allowed to laugh at the table. But it was so comically stifling that half of us couldn't suppress the urge anyway. Ahh, unintended consequences....

Although I feel only a tiny measure of satisfaction at Saddam's demise (and that is overwhelmed by sadness at the unspeakable cost we and they have suffered in the course of the event), I believe he got what he deserved.

Most of the witnesses against Saddam gave hearsay evidence.

His crimes against humanity are clear. The above statement obscures this fact, and I wish Mr. Cole had not made it. Still, I wish that a policy of containment had been pursued, because it hasn't been worth it. That's all.

Is it the sign of a well-run business that they suddenly can make do with so many fewer hours worked? Either there was a lot of sitting around before, or those remaining will be sweating buckets from now on. Sounds like management has decided to show those uppity wage-hikers where to stick it -- they'll by God LOWER the payroll. In any case, never stick around a job where your lot worsens over time through no fault of your own.

Marcel may be an irritating twerp, but it's been fascinating to see the violently negative response he's gotten from the other contestants. Much was made of his declining to help Sam with the service of his course, but throughout the season, and despite the scorn that's been heaped upon him, Marcel has been shown repeatedly offering to help the other chefs with their service.

But because he's somewhat reclusive, the dominant clique (first led by Betty and supported by the passive-aggressive Sam and the smug "joiner" Ilan) has taken great joy in castigating him. They relish inclusion and popularity, and the zeal with which they torment Marcel ends up saying a lot more about them than him. He may not be the best chef on the show (Sam and Cliff seem to be further along), but he makes no bones about the fact that he's just there to compete.

My only other observation is that Gail Simmons is an ice queen goddess....