NEWPORT NEWS, VA. ? Your turn, Rog.

Now that Michael Vick has decided to plead guilty to dogfighting conspiracy charges in federal court, the next step rests with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

Well, perhaps not the very next step. That belongs to U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson, who has the gavel and the robes to prove it.

Next week Hudson will hear the plea agreement the feds squeezed out of Vick and his very good, very pricey legal team and say either, “Sounds good to me,” or, “Not so fast.”

After that, Goodell will weigh the punishment, then decide whether he should tie another cinder block or two onto Vick’s professional life preserver.

Goodell likely will factor in whatever jail time Vick draws, a well-established sensitivity to league image and player conduct issues.

The NFL released a tersely worded statement Monday saying that Vick’s plea and admission of guilt contradicted what he told Goodell and the Atlanta Falcons last April about his involvement in the dogfighting operation based out of property he owned in Surry County.

Goodell hasn’t been bashful about wielding the big hammer in the 50 weeks since he took over for Paul Tagliabue.

He suspended Tennessee Titans cornerback Pacman Jones for the entire 2007 season. Though Jones has never been convicted of a crime, he practically had his own locker at police headquarters in relation to various incidents.

Goodell suspended Cincinnati wide receiver Chris Henry for eight games and former Chicago defensive lineman Tank Johnson for eight games before the Bears released him following yet another transgression.

Professional sports has a fairly thin track record of permanent exile in the wake of reprehensible behavior by athletes, particularly when they can still contribute.

Vick just turned 27 in June, so even a three- or four-year absence wouldn’t automatically rule out a comeback were he allowed.

Vick’s lead attorney, Billy Martin, said his client’s football career wasn’t the primary consideration in the plea negotiations, that Vick “wants to get his life back on track.”

Orange jumpsuits and Vick’s next address may indeed be the immediate concern, but how can football not be part of the equation? The game essentially has been his job for the past decade and his sole means of support.

It’s unclear what Vick will owe the Falcons when everyone’s lawyers complete their taffy pull, but he will be writing big checks to people to cover a multitude of expenses.

Vick’s best hope is for a jail sentence that’s long enough where Goodell’s reaction isn’t, “You must be joking.”

Goodell has many weapons at his disposal and arguably the most unencumbered clout of any major-league commissioner.

Some have floated the notion that betting on dogfights is a more serious professional problem for Vick than being involved with dogfights themselves, based on the league’s anti-gambling stance.

The NFL forbids association with gamblers or gambling activities and could impose a suspension for life.

Vick’s gamble, the one he didn’t recognize, was with his career and more important, his reputation.

His future rests in the hands of one man he doesn’t know, Hudson, and another to whom he lied, Goodell.

No one knows what Goodell will do, since neither he nor anyone in his position has dealt with a situation quite like this. Michael Vick is the unfortunate test case.