Vick to receive "courage award" in Baltimore

Talk about a turnaround.

Less than a year out of prison for running a brutal dog fighting ring, Michael Vick will accept an NFL award for courage, sportsmanship and inspiration.

Vick is scheduled to appear in Baltimore for the 32nd annual Ed Block Courage Awards dinner Tuesday.

Organizers have boosted security and axed the traditional pre-ceremony player/fan mingling and autograph sessions, after it was learned Vick would attend and animal welfare activists said they would be there too with protest signs in hand.

The Philadelphia Eagles players voted unanimously last December to select Vick as their team's recipient. The award is given to one player on each of the 32 NFL teams each year.

The Block Award is named for a former team trainer of the Baltimore Colts, who worked for years to help abused children.

Michael Markarian, chief operating officer of the Humane Society of the United States, is expected to accompany Vick to the event. HSUS enlisted Vick to help with its campaign to prevent young people from getting involved with dog fighting.