STUPID, STUPID...DUMB!

baseballmom
Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 2:30 pm

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=txvikingsfavre&prov=st&type=lgns


What retirement? Favre coming back with Vikings
17 minutes ago


EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn.(AP)—Brett Favre(notes) is coming back for more.

The 39-year-old quarterback turned his back on retirement for the second time in as many years, agreeing Tuesday to play for the Vikings.

Favre took a morning flight on a team plane from Mississippi to Minnesota, arrived to cheering fans outside the team’s practice facility and was in a helmet and pads less than 90 minutes later. His red practice jersey was the familiar No. 4, the same number he wore for years with the rival Green Bay Packers.

The team confirmed a deal was done to The Associated Press, but terms were not immediately disclosed.

This is Favre’s second comeback. A year ago, he came out of a short retirement to join the Jets.

Favre had arthroscopic surgery to fix his throwing shoulder in May and three weeks ago told coach Brad Childress he would stay retired. The Vikings wrapped up training camp last week - Favre was never a big fan of training camp - and beat Indianapolis 13-3 in their preseason opener Friday. They even got an encouraging performance from quarterback Sage Rosenfels(notes), who has been competing with Tarvaris Jackson(notes) for the starting job.

All that goes out the window with Favre returning to add to a resume that already includes nearly every NFL career passing record.

His zinger of an arm and toughness in the pocket are a combination few possess. With an offense he says he could operate in his sleep, Favre seems to fit well with Minnesota - epecially given the Vikings’ problems finding a reliable quarterback since Childress took over in 2006.

The Vikings have Pro Bowl players all over their roster, with reigning NFL rushing leader Adrian Peterson in the backfield and a dominant defensive line. No matter who’s behind center, they ought to be in position to defend their NFC North title.

To win the conference, and perhaps that elusive Super Bowl, they’ll need stability at the sport’s most critical position.

Favre has wrestled with retirement for most of this decade and the will-he-or-won’t-he saga became an annual offseason drama for the Packers, his longtime home. In Green Bay, the latest news elicted a few shrugs, little more.

A few months after Favre’s tearful goodbye news conference in March 2008, Green Bay traded him to the Jets when he tried to come back, only to learn the Packers were committed to Aaron Rodgers(notes). Favre started strong in New York, but faded down the stretch amid problems with his throwing arm and, with another “I’m done” announcement, headed for his second retirement.

The Jets released him from his contract right after the draft and soon after, the Vikings were openly expressing interest. Favre spent the summer working out in Mississippi and led everyone to believe he was on his way back to the NFL until last month.

“It was the hardest decision I’ve ever made,” Favre told ESPN then. “I didn’t feel like physically I could play at a level that was acceptable.”

The next day, Childress was asked whether there was a chance the Vikings would still pursue Favre. He said: “Not from my standpoint, no.” Owner Zygi Wilf reiterated that pledge on the first day training camp.

And yet here comes Favre, who turns 40 in October and said last month he didn’t think he had enough left to get through a full season.

“I had to be careful not to commit for the wrong reasons,” Favre said then. “I’m 39 with a lot of sacks to my name.”

He has a lot of interceptions to his name, too, more than any other quarterback in NFL history. The last time Favre appeared in the playoffs - a bitter loss at Lambeau Field by the Packers to the New York Giants in the NFC Championship game following the 2007 season - he put up one of his worst performances in recent memory.




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

whammon
Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 2:55 pm

I've had to follow this circus for the last two years. It sickens me, and my respect and admiration for Favre have dropped significantly. If he hadn't earned me $100 yesterday, I'd loathe him entirely.

baseballmom
Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 3:14 pm

whammon wrote:

I've had to follow this circus for the last two years. It sickens me, and my respect and admiration for Favre have dropped significantly. If he hadn't earned me $100 yesterday, I'd loathe him entirely.

Did you bet someone he'd come back?

narrator
Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 6:01 pm

HAHAHAHA!! Welcome back Bret, good to see you on the RIGHT side of the Packers.... facing them instead of behind them with your hands in the center's ass.

whammon
Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2009 6:50 pm

baseballmom wrote:

whammon wrote:

I've had to follow this circus for the last two years. It sickens me, and my respect and admiration for Favre have dropped significantly. If he hadn't earned me $100 yesterday, I'd loathe him entirely.

Did you bet someone he'd come back?

No, I played a radio contest where we had to guess a "celeb" based on a sound bite, and it was Favre's interview from earlier this summer.

baseballmom
Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 11:15 am

whammon wrote:

baseballmom wrote:

whammon wrote:

I've had to follow this circus for the last two years. It sickens me, and my respect and admiration for Favre have dropped significantly. If he hadn't earned me $100 yesterday, I'd loathe him entirely.

Did you bet someone he'd come back?

No, I played a radio contest where we had to guess a "celeb" based on a sound bite, and it was Favre's interview from earlier this summer.

Well, congratualations.

My husband is looking to buy a purple #4 jersey. What a dickhead!

bronxilla
Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 11:34 am

He reminds me of washed-up boxers who squandered their winnings and need to keep fighting to earn a living.

jbcoops
Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 1:23 pm

the thing is... favre *isn't* washed up. he will probably be amongst the top 50% of starting quarterbacks in the league even at his "advanced" age of 40. where did he rank last year wham?

it's gotta be tough to be a top tier athlete and on the downside of your career. it was sad when my beloved Montana finished out his career with the Chiefs, so the 9ers could make room for Steve Young.

of course it's really gotta be tough on Packer fans seeing their (once) beloved Favre moving over to the enemy.

i remember George Blanda at 46 bailing out the Raiders with last minute heroics after a much younger Daryl Lamonica couldn't do it. those were the days!

whammon
Posted: Fri Aug 21, 2009 12:05 pm

He was in the top ten in most statistical categories for the first 13 weeks, then he and the Jets collapsed in the last four.

jbcoops
Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2009 5:13 am

whammon wrote:

He was in the top ten in most statistical categories for the first 13 weeks, then he and the Jets collapsed in the last four.

yeah... i think i remember that... of course who ya gonna blame? of course that's one of the things during the last four weeks when you're (pushing and now) 40. stamina wanes. the stuff that made you so sharp for years misses an edge and there ya go. even if favre has a good enough season to lead the vikings into the playoffs... how far will they go?

trouble is that the vikings probably are good enough to get to the playoffs with or without him. he could be the magic element, and then if they *do* go deep in the playoffs opposing cornerbacks might think "oh no! that's brett favre!" and then sit down and cry like babies while he picks their zones apart.

more likely though he'll throw a few ill-timed weak armed interceptions that cost them at the wrong time. please bear in mind... i'm a niners/raiders fan... and i have to deal with Al Davis... who should've been euthanized seasons ago.

baseballmom
Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2009 9:23 am

I'm seein' double.

baseballmom
Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2009 9:25 am

I watched the reply of the Viking's Friday night game on ESPN Saturday.
Brett looked real rusty.

Aaron Rodgers looked great! He has to shave that shit off his face, though.

jbcoops
Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 3:43 am

baseballmom wrote:

I'm seein' double.

oops! fixed!

but it was worth saying twice!

jbcoops
Posted: Mon Oct 12, 2009 4:51 pm

so whaddya think of him now?

jbcoops
Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2009 3:55 am

Quote :

ESPN Completely Misses Brett Favre Vs. Green Bay Packers Storyline

October 8, 2009
BRISTOL, CT—In what is being called the biggest gaffe in the sports network's 30-year history, ESPN totally forgot to cover last week's Brett Favre vs. Green Bay Packers storyline.

Favre's legendary career with the Packers, which spanned 16 seasons, three MVP awards, and one Super Bowl title, was not mentioned even once during pregame coverage of the Monday night Packers-Vikings matchup or during the game itself. Records indicated that it wasn't until Wednesday—more than 48 hours after Favre led Minnesota to a dramatic 30-23 victory—that producers began to feel that they may have overlooked one of sports' most obvious storylines.

"I was looking at a newspaper, and it said, 'Favre Sacks Former Team,' and at that point I realized we really missed one," ESPN president George Bodenheimer told reporters. "I just want to apologize to our viewers. Had the Favre-Packers connection dawned on us sooner, fans could have enjoyed the same quality sports journalism they have come to expect from ESPN: driving storylines into the ground and exploiting every one of their subplots to the point of nausea."

ESPN news director Vince Doria said that if he or any of his colleagues had realized Favre would be playing against his former team, the network would have begun overhyping the week-four matchup the moment the quarterback signed with the Vikings. Instead, ESPN attempted to generate interest in the game by doing an extensive two-week profile on Vikings backup tight end Jim Kleinsasser.

"We kind of blew a golden opportunity," Doria said. "Endless explanations as to what Brett Favre meant to the city of Green Bay, restating over and over how he left the Packers on poor terms, and airing at least 50 segments featuring wild and irresponsible speculation about his motives for returning to the NFL. It would have been perfect."

"I only wish these two teams played again this year so we could have a chance to fix our mistake," Doria added.

Monday Night Football producer Jay Rothman also registered his disappointment, saying that the network could have asked, "Is Brett Favre seeking revenge on the Packers?" so many times that the words would have lost all meaning.

"Do you realize how often we could have shown a comparison graphic between [current Packers quarterback] Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre?" Rothman said. "And not just during the broadcast of the game, but on SportsCenter, NFL Primetime, Sunday NFL Countdown, NFL Live, SportsCenter Monday Kickoff, and Monday Night Countdown—not to mention during every single fucking 15-minute update on ESPNews."

"And ESPN.com," Rothman said. "My God, we could have used ESPN.com to really beat into the heads of America that Brett Favre still plays the game with childlike exuberance. And he's turning 40! We could have done so much with that, like mention it every 10 seconds."

Rothman admitted that an awareness of the Brett Favre storyline would have also given him the chance to air some of the most obvious and asinine statistics in the history of sports broadcasting, such as a graphic documenting how backup quarterbacks who replace departing Hall of Fame–bound quarterbacks have historically fared in the league.

"We messed up plain and simple," Rothman said. "Knowing what I know now, I would have started the broadcast with a highlight reel of Brett Favre's greatest moments with the Green Bay Packers just to set the tone that the night would be Brett Favre, Brett Favre, Brett Favre, Brett Favre, Brett Favre, Brett Favre. That would have made much more sense than opening with a discussion about the Vikings' new three-year naming rights agreement to call their stadium the Mall of America Field at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome."

"I'm still kicking myself because Jon Gruden didn't have a chance to share with America his very long, very uncomfortable anecdote about how he once sort of coached Favre," Rothman added.

Though employees continue to express regret over ESPN's lack of coverage, football fans across the nation generally seemed to enjoy the broadcast of Monday night's game.

"I think ESPN showed a lot of restraint," New York resident Dan Jeffery, 43, said. "I didn't need anyone to tell me Brett Favre was playing against his old team. Everyone and their mother knew that. I actually appreciated that they let the drama play out on the field."

baseballmom
Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2009 8:17 am

jbcoops wrote:

so whaddya think of him now?

He's still awesome even at 40, but I really wanted my Packers to win last week.

I'll be really upset if the Packer fans boo him when he plays at Lambeau in a few weeks.

jbcoops
Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2009 10:31 am

oh they'll boo him, don't worry about that.

the situation is a bit analogous to when Montana left the Niners so Young could start. Montana still had at least his A-/B+ game and was definitely starting quarterback material. unfortunately he chose to play out the string of his career with Kansas City. there were no hard feelings from any fans at the time, but of course KC isn't a 49er rival either.

btw you should alert ESPN that the two teams play again this year... so they can catch up on the whole Favre rivalry coverage thing they missed the first time around.

baseballmom
Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2009 2:45 pm

jbcoops wrote:

oh they'll boo him, don't worry about that.

the situation is a bit analogous to when Montana left the Niners so Young could start. Montana still had at least his A-/B+ game and was definitely starting quarterback material. unfortunately he chose to play out the string of his career with Kansas City. there were no hard feelings from any fans at the time, but of course KC isn't a 49er rival either.

btw you should alert ESPN that the two teams play again this year... so they can catch up on the whole Favre rivalry coverage thing they missed the first time around.

Do I know anyone who works for ESPN?

baseballmom
Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2009 2:46 pm

WHAMMON

find out for myself a lot of usefull staff

crazzycat wrote:

find out for myself a lot of usefull staff

Huh?