New York ? Michael Vick got the green light for full reinstatement in the NFL on Thursday when commissioner Roger Goodell said the disgraced quarterback could play later this month instead of waiting until October.

Vick, recently signed by the Philadelphia Eagles, now will be able to play in the Sept. 27 game at home against the Kansas City Chiefs. It would be his first regular-season game since he was sent to prison for his role in operating a dogfighting ring. The former Atlanta Falcons standout was released from federal custody July 20 after serving 18 months of a 23-month sentence.

“I’ve been doing everything I could, just trying to do all the right things and make sure I just stay on course,” Vick said. “I’m happy with the decision.

Originally, Goodell said he would consider Vick for reinstatement no later than the sixth week of the season — Oct. 18.

“I think he’s making real progress,” Goodell said at a news conference. “I think he has a better feel for the challenges ahead of him. He understands he has very little margin for error, that people are watching him.”

Goodell met with Vick earlier Thursday at the Eagles’ hotel near Newark International Airport. Philadelphia lost to the Jets, 38-27, in an exhibition game at the Meadowlands at night. Vick ran for a two-yard touchdown, but was sacked four times, lost a fumble and was intercepted.

“I’ve been trying to show him that I’m moving in the right direction,” Vick said of Goodell. “I’m changing my life for the better.”

Vick started practicing with the Eagles on Aug. 15.

BASEBALL

Griffey open to return

Oakland, Calif. — Ken Griffey Jr. sure seems like someone who wants to stick around the Seattle Mariners for another season.

“If it works out for both sides, I’m fine,” Griffey told The Associated Press before the Mariners opened a four-game series against the Oakland Athletics on Thursday night. “We’ll figure it out at the end of the year.”

The 39-year-old Griffey entered Thursday with a .221 batting average, 14 homers and 43 RBIs.

Ex-Mets pitcher sentenced

Madison, Wis. — A federal judge in Wisconsin has sentenced former New York Mets pitcher Jerry Koosman to six months in prison for not paying his taxes.

Prosecutors say Koosman, a former all-star who helped the Mets win the 1969 World Series, didn’t pay federal income taxes for 2002, 2003 and 2004, costing the government as much as $90,000.

According to IRS agents, 66-year-old Koosman told them he had researched tax laws and concluded they applied only to federal workers, corporate employees and District of Columbia residents.

He pleaded guilty in May to misdemeanor tax evasion for 2002 in a deal with prosecutors. He was sentenced Thursday.

Little League ratings up

Bristol, Conn. — This year’s Little League World Series had the event’s highest-rated game on ESPN since 2002. The U.S. semifinal between Warner Robins, Ga., and Chula Vista, Calif., last Thursday earned a 1.9 rating. It’s the best since teams from Worcester, Mass., and Harlem, N.Y., drew a 3.0 for their U.S. semifinal seven years ago.

ESPN announced Thursday that the LLWS ratings improved after being down last year. The 21 games on ESPN averaged a 0.9 rating, up from 0.6 in 2008 and 0.8 in 2007. The 16 games on ESPN2 averaged a 0.8 rating, the highest since 2002. The four games on ABC averaged a 1.5 rating, up from 1.2 last year.

TENNIS

Dementieva eliminated

New York — Seventeen-year-old Melanie Oudin stunned No. 4-seeded Elena Dementieva, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, on Thursday at the U.S. Open to set up a third-round match against 2006 champion Maria Sharapova.

Next comes what figures to be a stern test against three-time major champion Sharapova, who eliminated another 17-year-old American, Christina McHale of Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 6-2, 6-1 at night. The 381st-ranked McHale was a wild-card entry who didn’t really challenge Sharapova.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

OU finalizes schedule

Norman, Okla. — Home games against Arkansas and Arizona four days apart in December highlight Oklahoma’s nonconference basketball schedule for the upcoming season.

The university released the schedule Thursday. The Sooners will start at home on Nov. 14 against Mount St. Mary’s and will entertain Louisiana-Monroe three days later.

GOLF

Rawson fires 64 in Canada

Priddis, Alberta — Anna Rawson shot a course-record 7-under 64 to take a one-stroke lead over Suzann Pettersen in the Canadian Women’s Open. Rawson, a 28-year-old Australian who has missed nine cuts in 13 starts this year, had nine birdies and two bogeys Thursday to break Dawn Coe-Jones’ course mark by a shot.

Top-ranked Lorena Ochoa, the 2007 winner at Royal Mayfair in Edmonton, was two strokes back along with Amanda Blumenherst. Michelle Wie opened with a 76.

AUTO RACING

Edwards to race in Atlanta

Charlotte, N.C. — Carl Edwards broke his right foot playing frisbee, and the preseason favorite to win NASCAR’s championship will be on crutches this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway. But Edwards says he will race in both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series races.

NBA

Ex-Spurs forward retires

San Antonio — Bruce Bowen won’t be pestering the NBA’s best anymore. The former San Antonio Spurs forward retired Thursday after 12 seasons and a reputation as one of the league’s most menacing defenders, hounding opponents with a tenacity that some players groused was more dirty than dogged.

Laimbeer, Theus join Wolves

Minneapolis — Former Detroit Pistons “Bad Boy” Bill Laimbeer and former Sacramento head coach Reggie Theus are among the assistants who will work under Kurt Rambis with the Minnesota Timberwolves. The team announced the additions Thursday.