Well, Jim, I can't say I'm surprised you disagree with me, especially when it comes to Favre.

Like I said, it's my take. Nothing more. And to answer your question ... no, it shouldn't apply to other veterans. Again, my take. Disagree if you like.

I'm completely sick and tired of every hack writer at every failing newspaper in America telling us how Brett Favre is manipulating the media. They don't know jack. And it pisses me off when people make up sh*t in the media. I'm sick of Ed Werder and Rachel Nichols hanging around Hattiesburg, acting like they know something and trumping up stories that don't exist. Every time SportsCenter runs a tease about Brett Favre, it turns out to be nothing. Then they dress up that idiot Mark Schlereth in a suit to talk about how Favre is a diva who kills team unity.

Favre will tell us when he tells us. Living with that is very easy for me ... I simply consider the alternative at quarterback.

Well, Jim, I can't say I'm surprised you disagree with me, especially when it comes to Favre.

Either Childress is an idiot, or more likely, he's got inside information that he's not sharing with the rest of the world. At least, I'd like to believe he's got inside information.

I don't completely disagree with you. I'm just more inclined to think he should get a break on training camp participation because of his age and the degree of wear and tear on his body then because he's already proven he doesn't need it.

Jim

I can run with that!

By the way, good to hear from you. It's been awhile.

Brett Favre-QB- Vikings Jul. 27 - 8:56 am et

In an interview for USA Today, Brett Favre told the newspaper that he might play football until age 50.

This doesn't sound like a guy on the brink of retirement. "Hell, you gotta quit sometime," Favre said. "Then again, maybe I will be doing this when I'm 50 years old, who knows?" Favre admitted that he felt "done" after last year's NFC title game loss to New Orleans, but "the itch" has clearly returned.
Source: USA Today

---
Welcome back Jim

I can already feel the schism in the locker room

Favre changed his mind and decided not to retire immediately on the Vikings' charter flight home after the loss.

One after another, Viking players, coaches and personnel walked to Favre's seat and thanked him for his valiant effort.

"I mean, there were tears flyin'," Favre says. "By the time we landed, I am like, 'I don't think I can let these guys down.' I know football is a business, but more than anything I felt like there was unfinished business. All of a sudden, 'Oh, man, as much as I don't want to go through that again, I almost feel as if I owe these guys something.'

Asked about training camp, Favre almost is of two minds.

On the one hand …

"I mean, would I do a lot in camp?" he asks. "The last four or five years, I didn't do a whole lot in camp. That's just being smart from a coaching standpoint. Two-a-days? That might be important for this guy or that guy, but you can't kill a (veteran) guy.

"I'm not the only one. There are a lot of guys on the Vikings that go one-a-day."

But on the other hand …

"The cohesion, the chemistry are vital," Favre says. "That's what is even more amazing about last year, how quickly it fell into place."

And from another USA Today article ...



Read the full article.

So that answers some of the questions about whether other veterans get special treatment during training camp. It also lets you know that Favre also considers the chemistry and cohesion important.

These USA Today articles represent excellent reporting ... not because they come off as pro-Favre or anti-Favre, but because they quote Favre directly. These reporters sought out the answers we all want to know, and they went to Favre himself with the questions. Each reader can then take Favre's responses and read into them what they will.

The LA Times columnist? He's a hack who didn't lift a finger to find out anything. Just spouted his uninformed opinion and used the power of his newspaper's name to claim credibility. A columnist is entitled to his own opinion, but he ought to back it up with something substantial, such as quotes from credible sources. Or at least say, "I have nothing to base this on, just my own gut feeling."

It's a great compare-and-contrast in journalism, good vs. bad. I hope everybody can see the difference.

"The cohesion, the chemistry are vital," Favre says. "That's what is even more amazing about last year, how quickly it fell into place."

He didn't attend last year, and he ended up having the greatest individual season of any quarterback in Vikings' history.

Brett Favre-QB- Vikings Jul. 28 - 7:50 pm et

SI's Peter King tweeted Wednesday evening that he believes the chances of Brett Favre playing in 2010 are "60-40."

The "60" is on the side of Favre returning, of course. King acknowledges that he believes Favre's "bad ankle is legit," and there have been internet rumors that Favre might need another procedure on the joint. Favre's estimated time of arrival in Mankato remains sometime in mid-to-late August.
Source: Peter King on Twitter

thats why we should have picked clausen as insurance. we all know that TJ and sage are really back up qb's. we should have cut one of them and picked a legitimate starter like clausen.

When Vikings coach Brad Childress visited Brett Favre last week in Mississippi, he got a taste of Southern hospitality and stayed at Favre's 400-acre ranch. Besides talking about the Vikings and Favre's possible return to the team, Favre and Childress shared a meal and hunted for varmint.

Here's Childress ...

On what Favre does on his 400-acre ranch: "I can see why he doesn't like coming off that ranch. He works. It's not like he's waking up and eating chocolate every day. He's always doing something around that place. And it's a big enough place where he can be doing anything from cutting wood to shooting water moccasins."

On dinner with Favre, Favre's wife and Favre's agent, Bus Cook: "Classic dinner. You'd have loved to be a fly on the wall listening to these stories. And Brett's laughing and nodding his head. You're talking about 20 years (Favre) knows (Cook)."

On what happened after dinner: "We come back through the gate (at Favre's ranch.) Deanna is in the back seat. I'm in the front seat. Brett's driving. We start to slow down on the driveway. I go, 'What the hell is that?' This thing kind of shows up and looks like it's going to hit the car. Brett goes, 'It's an armadillo.'

I know what an opossum looks like. You go to the zoo to see an armadillo. I said, 'It's a what?' Then I said to him, 'That's the thing with the armor on the back, right?' He goes, 'Yeah. Those #### things tear the heck out of the grass.'

Now he's accelerated the car toward the house and he says, 'I'm going to get that SOB. I thought I got rid of him. They eat grubs. Just tear the heck out of the grass.'

He lets Deanna out of the car. We jump in his truck. He's got two guns in the back seat of his truck. We go back down the road to find the thing. He pulls out a flashlight. It's like a police flashlight. I say, 'That much light comes out of that flashlight?'

He's looking over here, over there. We look over and now it's crossed the creek and coming over the road. He grabs his gun and goes, "Boom, boom, boom." Then he goes, 'Goshdangit.' Now he's thinking about whether to set a trap. Now he's got the armadillo in his head."

now without this turning into a war, HE DOES OWE U ALL SOMETHING, he threw away a superbowl. For all he did right, and as hard and unfair as it is. He did do it. He could have ran 2 yards and slid to set up a 50 yard fg. His pick cost you guys a superbowl. He does owe u another try. End of story. No arguement. No its not fair, Life is not fair, Yes he did a ton right, but at the end of the day he F ed it up. So he owes another go to everyone involved. end of story, if you dont agree then you are wrong.

samkon -

typical bad fans mindset. athletes don't owe us anything. they are doing they're job and we're lucky enough that the job they do is very entertaining.

At this point, pretty much everyone with a pulse and a non-lobotomized brain believes that quarterback Brett Favre will return for a 20th NFL season.

But as Yogi Berra once said, it's not over 'til it's deja vu all over again. (Or something like that.)

Here's another piece of evidence pointing to Favre's eventual announcement that he's playing again. Patrick Reusse of 1500espn.com reports that "inside sources" at Lifetime Fitness in Minnesota have indicated that Favre's wife, Deanna, has renewed her membership.

So why doesn't Brett Favre simply disclose what everyone else knows? For reasons likely known only to him, he feels compelled to have a reason for not attending training camp, and he's relying on his indecision and/or the status of his surgically-repaired ankle to buy time.

That said, he doesn't need a reason not to go to camp. All he needs to say is, "I don't need to go to training camp. And the Vikings have no problem with that."

We also think that he likes the cloud of uncertainty, as thin and wispy as it may be, since it could prompt any of the locals with lobotomized brains to abandon their cars at the side of the road and run to the team's facility after it's revealed that Lord Favre is arriving on a white steed (or in an SUV driven by Chilly) to save the franchise once again.

I completely disagree with that statement. Professional athletes are very lucky that the fans are willing to collectively pay to watch them play a game.

In my opinion, athletes owe the fans pretty much everything.

Think about the resources that go into making those athletes, teams, and the league ridiculously rich.

Without a fan base, those athletes are just guys that can jump really high, throw really well, or catch a ball better than average. Most of them wouldn't have even got a chance to go to college without the fans.

Now, this doesn't have anything to do with the "Favre" conversation ... just my perception. The NFL made billions in a recession ... that's money that could have went to help people rather than making the already rich even more rich.