Suspended NFL star Michael Vick ended his federal dogfighting sentence yesterday, freeing him to lobby for a return to the field.

Vick's attorney Lawrence Woodward told The Associated Press outside Vick's suburban Virginia home that the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback had been released from federal custody as scheduled. That means Vick no longer has to wear the electronic monitor he's had while under home confinement for the past two months of his 23-month sentence.

Shortly before Woodward came out of the house, two men in a government car with a U.S. Probation Services folder on the dashboard paid a brief visit to the home. They carried a large case similar to the one that Vick's ankle monitor was delivered in when he started home confinement. The men declined to identify themselves or speak to waiting reporters.

Vick then drove to the federal courthouse in nearby Norfolk to meet federal probation officials to take care of paperwork. Vick declined to answer reporters' questions as he left the courthouse with Woodward about an hour and 45 minutes later.

Freedom will allow Vick to step up his efforts to resume his pro football career. Vick hopes to soon meet with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who has said he would review Vick's status after Vick completed his sentence.

Goodell has said he wants to sit down with Vick, but it's unclear when that face-to-face meeting will take place.

"The review of his status is ongoing, but we are providing no other details at this time," league spokesman Greg Aiello said yesterday.

If Vick is able to return to the NFL, it won't be with Atlanta. The Falcons released him in June.

MCNAIR CASE

EX-QB HAD BEEN DRINKING PRIOR TO BEING FATALLY SHOT

Authorities say former NFL star Steve McNair had a blood-alcohol level twice Tennessee's legal limit for driving when his girlfriend shot him to death.

Tennessee Assistant Medical Examiner Feng Li said yesterday that a toxicology report showed a trace amount of marijuana in the body of Sahel Kazemi. Police say the 20-year-old Kazemi shot McNair on July 4 in a Nashville condo before killing herself.

Police say McNair was likely asleep when he was shot twice in the head and twice in the chest.

Li said there was no way to tell from the report how long before McNair's death he had been drinking.

Kazemi was arrested for drunken driving in Nashville two days before the shooting. Police video of the arrest showed her telling the officer that she was high.

COLLEGE NOTES

Mississippi State: Running back Anthony Dixon, Mississippi State's top returning offensive player, was arrested over the weekend, and his status for the season is unclear. An arrest report from the Starkville Police Department says Dixon was charged with driving under the influence after officers found him intoxicated late Saturday night with two empty champagne bottles on the floorboard of his car. The 6-foot-1, 236-pound senior rushed for 869 yards and seven touchdowns last season.

Notre Dame-Army: Notre Dame will play Army in the first football game at new Yankee Stadium on Saturday night, Nov. 20, 2010. The teams met 22 times at old Yankee Stadium, playing annually from 1925-46, except for 1930, and again in 1969 in the 100th anniversary of college football. Football was not played at old Yankee Stadium after September 1987, when Central State beat Grambling, 37-21.

Iowa: Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz has signed a seven-year contract that will keep him with the Hawkeyes through the 2015 season. Ferentz and the university agreed to the deal in April. It was signed last week. Ferentz's performance bonuses and his annual salary of $3.02 million won't change under the new contract. Ferentz is 70-53 with the Hawkeyes in 10 seasons.