Vick is told to repay nearly $20 million

Already facing prison time, suspended quarterback Michael Vick lost the first round in his financial battle with the Atlanta Falcons when an arbitrator ruled Tuesday that Vick should repay much of the bonus money he got while secretly bankrolling a dogfighting ring.

The players’ union said it would appeal the ruling by Stephen B. Burbank, a University of Pennsylvania law professor who oversaw last week’s arbitration hearing in Philadelphia.

The Falcons argued that Vick, who pleaded guilty to federal charges for his role in the dogfighting operation, knew he was in violation of the contract when he signed a 10-year, $130-million deal in December 2004.

The Falcons said Vick used proceeds from the contract to fund his illicit activities and they sought the repayment of $19,970,000 in bonuses he was paid over the last three years.

Any money the Falcons recover from Vick would be credited to their future salary cap.

Cincinnati Bengals starting cornerback Johnathan Joseph was suspended by the NFL for Sunday’s game at Kansas City after a January arrest on suspicion of possession of marijuana.

The Bengals said Joseph, the team’s first-round pick in the 2006 draft, will forfeit $42,353 of his salary.

Green Bay Packers linebacker Nick Barnett was charged with two counts of disorderly conduct stemming from an altercation with two women in a bar this summer.

The two misdemeanor charges carry a maximum combined penalty of six months in jail and a $2,000 fine.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers plan to put backup quarterback Chris Simms on injured reserve, creating room on the roster to bring in a replacement for injured running backs Carnell Williams and Michael Pittman.

Simms had his spleen removed after taking several hard hits in the third game last season.

Atlanta confirmed that offensive tackle Wayne Gandy tore a knee ligament against Tennessee and will have season-ending surgery.

The San Francisco 49ers’ plan to build a stadium in Santa Clara appears to have hit a snag.

The 49ers said the owners of the Great America theme park -- which sits next to the proposed stadium site -- plan to formally oppose the project.

SOCCER

Germany soccer player refuses to play in Israel

An Iranian-born German player’s refusal to play in Israel has sparked a public outcry in Germany, with some Jewish leaders calling for his exclusion from the German national team.

Ashkan Dejagah, who moved to Germany as a child, pulled out of Friday’s game in Tel Aviv -- a qualification game for the European under-21 championship -- citing “political reasons.”

The German soccer federation has accepted the midfielder’s decision.

BOXING

Arreola to fight on TV main card

Unbeaten Riverside heavyweight Chris Arreola (22-0, 20 knockouts) will fight his second consecutive main event Nov. 16, this time on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia in a Showtime-televised card.

Arreola, 26, will fight unbeaten Nigerian native Teke Oruh (14-0-1, 6 KOs) in a bout scheduled for 10 rounds. Arreola won by third-round knockout last month in Ontario against Thomas Hayes, and has moved from No. 10 to No. 7 on the World Boxing Council rankings list with a streak of 10 consecutive knockouts.

The Nov. 16 card also will include unbeaten 2004 U.S. Olympic gold medalist Andre Ward (13-0, 8 KOs) fighting Roger Cantrell (12-0, 8 KOs) in a 10-round super-middleweight bout.

The rescheduled super-featherweight championship bout between Juan Manuel Marquez (47-3-1, 35 KOs) and challenger Rocky Juarez (27-3, 19 KOs) will be fought Nov. 3 at Desert Diamond Casino in Tucson.

Marquez suffered a cut hand that became infected last month, promoters said, causing the postponement of his first WBC title defense scheduled for Sept. 15 in Las Vegas.

Showtime will televise the bout inside the smaller, 2,000-seat venue, and the card will also include Robert Guerrero’s International Boxing Federation featherweight title defense against Martin Honorio.

MISCELLANY

Bisping and Evans headline UFC card

Unbeaten light-heavyweights Michael Bisping (15-0) and Rashad Evans (15-0-1) will headline the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s pay-per-view UFC 78 on Nov. 17 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

The Newark card also will feature North Hollywood welterweight Karo Parisyan (25-4) fighting UFC newcomer Hector Lombard (11-2-1).

IndyCar Series champion Dario Franchitti will make his NASCAR debut in the Truck Series race Oct. 20 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.

Franchitti, who won the Indianapolis 500 this season, is moving to NASCAR next season. He made his stock car debut in the ARCA race at Talladega last weekend and finished 17th.