Vick’s digs are doggone

Michael Vick, the quarterback turned dog abuser, is scheduled to be released July 20 from federal prison in Leavenworth, Kan., for his role in a dogfighting conspiracy.

But the former Atlanta Falcons star won't have a home to go to.

Vick's eight-bedroom house in Duluth, Ga., was scheduled to be auctioned Tuesday for a minimum of $3.2 million as part of his bankruptcy case.

It's not certain what abode Vick will move into after completing his 23-month prison sentence, but it probably won't have a dog run.

• HEAVY HITTER -- The Massachusetts man accused of hitting a New York tourist three times with an aluminum baseball bat because he thought he was a Yankees fan will not serve jail time if he stays out of trouble.

The case against Robert Correia, 21, was continued without a finding for two years, meaning charges will be dropped if he does not get into legal trouble in that time.

Correia could be heading to Arizona soon for spring training to seek a tryout with San Diego. The Padres could use anyone capable of making contact.

• ROAD KILL -- The most famous words in racing are, "Gentlemen, start your engines," and the most infamous are, "Boogity, boogity, boogity. Let's go racin' boys," which Fox broadcaster Darrell Waltrip bellows at the start of each NASCAR Sprint Cup race.

But Waltrip's opening isn't nearly as obnoxious as the cartoon gopher Digger, the mascot for the Fox camera burrowed into the racing surface for each Cup race.

Digger appeared 19 times on Sunday's telecast of the Daytona 500, according to cawsnjaws.com.

With all due disrespect toward PETA, we keep hoping Digger is an eye-blink too late in ducking back into his hole so animation can meet annihilation.

On Digger's souvenir page at FoxSports.seenon.com, the only item missing is a trap.

• DAYTONA AUDIENCE -- Not even Digger's 2009 debut Sunday helped overnight TV ratings for the rain-shortened Daytona 500. The race -- cut short by 48 laps -- drew a preliminary national rating of 9.2 and a 19 share that trailed last year's 10.2/20 numbers.

Despite the anticlimax, an average of 16 million viewers tuned in throughout the race, according to Fox. The network said the audience still beat the most recent NCAA Final Four (15.4 million viewers), Beijing Olympics (15.2 million), 2008 NBA Finals (14.9 million), Kentucky Derby (14.2 million) and the final rounds of The Masters (13.1 million) and U.S. Open (12.1 million).

• BARK COMING BACK -- Charles Barkley will return from his leave of absence Thursday to rejoin TNT's NBA coverage.

Barkley was arrested Dec. 31 in Scottsdale, Ariz., when police said the Hall of Famer, 45, had a blood-alcohol level nearly twice Arizona's legal limit. His leave began Jan. 9.

"From the beginning, Charles recognized he used poor judgment. He took full responsibility and apologized for his actions," Turner Sports president David Levy said.

Missing All-Star festivities last weekend in Phoenix must have been sobering.

COMPILED BY JEFF WOLF LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL