The writer who collaborated with former Falcons quarterback Michael Vick on his upcoming memoir says the athlete is a changed man after the legal woes that befell him as a result of his involvement with dogfighting. "I think he's very different now," writer Charles Chandler told newspapers in Philadelphia, where Vick plays for the Eagles. Written by Chandler and co-author Brett Honeycutt with Vick, who spent hours giving candid interviews for the book, "Michael Vick: Finally Free" comes out July 27. "There's a brightness about him," Chandler, a former Charlotte Observer sportswriter, told Philly.com. "I'm a big believer that people can change."
Overscene
Mena Suvari and Tara Reid dined at Spice Market Tuesday night, enjoying chicken satay, tuna tartare, chicken soup, salad and red snapper with Fiji water.
Sports stars golf for charity
Falcons players Michael Jenkins, Brian Finneran, Chris Redman and Matt Ryan, NBA great Julius "Dr. J" Erving and former Braves catcher Javy Lopez hit the links to benefit a cause Sunday and Monday. The two-day Matt Ryan Celebrity–Am Classic at TPC Sugarloaf raised money for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta's Pediatric Cancer Research and the Matt Ryan Foundation. Morton's The Steakhouse, with locations in Buckhead and downtown (where you can often find a Falcon or two carbo-loading before a game), was the food sponsor of the event. Buckhead general manager Justin Craft and downtown general manager Jeff Powell logged a zillion golf-cart miles over the two days hustling steak sandwiches out to the players.
Zombies may cause traffic jams in Cobb County next week
After filming on a stretch of I-20 in Henry County this week, the AMC original series "The Walking Dead" lurches north soon. The popular zombie show will be shooting Monday in Cobb County, and the intersection of Cobb Parkway and Riverwood Parkway, just south of Akers Mill Road, will be closed from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m., according to a notice sent to nearby apartment tenants by the building management company. The notice also cautioned that "simulated gunfire" will be part of the scene.
Celebrity birthdays
Actress Mona Freeman is 85. Media analyst Marvin Kalb is 81. Sports commentator Dick Vitale is 72. Author Letty Cottin Pogrebin is 72. Rock musician Jon Lord is 70. Mystery author Patricia Cornwell is 55. Actor Michael J. Fox is 50. Writer-producer Aaron Sorkin is 50. Actor Johnny Depp is 48. Actress Gloria Reuben is 47. Rock musician Dean Felber (Hootie & the Blowfish) is 44. Rock musician Dean Dinning is 44. Musician Ed Simons is 41. Country musician Shade Deggs (Cole Deggs and the Lonesome) is 37. Bluegrass singer-musician Jamie Dailey (Dailey & Vincent) is 36. Actress Michaela Conlin ("Bones") is 33. Actress Natalie Portman is 30. Actress Mae Whitman is 23.
Contributing: Mike Morris, news services
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