I blame everyone.

I blame the media.

I blame John Madden.

I blame the Green Bay Packers.

I blame the Green Bay Packer fans.

I blame Brett Favre.

I blame me and you and every sports fan I know.

Because we created this monster, and now it just won’t go away. We’re all Dr. Frankenstein, and this one man will haunt us until the end of our days. We let this man get bigger than the game, and now he has a franchise and essentially an entire state of people who put more stock in who is the quarterback of their football team than they do the actual issues of the world.

People protested at Lambeau Field last week. Brett Favre’s interview last night wasn’t on ESPN, or even Fox Sports. It was on Fox NEWS. And it was the lead story instead of an interview with current Senator and Republican Presidential Nominee John McCain. As oil prices skyrocket, the housing market plummets, people lose house and home and employment, Brett Favre is the lead story on Fox News.

What the hell happened to this country?

I am a sports fan. I am a pretty avid one, at that. But I also take the time to read and pay attention to other things, like politics, the economy, and paying my own bills. I write a sports blog because I enjoy writing and I think I am particularly good at it. But I will never protest at the Metrodome if somehow the Twins trade Justin Morneau in his fading years (assuming they even spend enough to keep him that long). I certainly wouldn’t be the television producer who chooses to lead with an interview with Brett Favre over a Presidential Nominee, and I sure as hell don’t see why Brett Favre should be pandered to like this.

He’s only one man - a man who happens to play a game for a living, at that. A man who now, it seems, feels if his image isn’t included in the NFL logo (a la Jerry West), or at least in the Packer logo, his legacy is tarnished.

This may be an exaggeration, but I really am not so sure anymore. Brett Favre has spent this whole off-season going back and forth as to whether or not he wants to play, only to come to the final conclusion that, indeed, he is 100% committed to football just a couple of weeks before the beginning of Packers training camp. And he is stunned when he’s told, “Sorry, Brett, but we’ve moved on.”

He says he’s fine with them moving on. Yet, if he’s okay with that, why all this?

This should be seen as nothing short of unacceptable. But, here we are, with millions questioning what the Packers should do. Here Brett is, demanding not a trade, but an unconditional release, as he feels he has earned that right. He feels the Packers are not telling the whole truth about him. And yet, after hearing his interview with Greta Van Susteren, I am not sure what that truth really is.

Consider that Van Susteren is, in fact, a Favre family friend and an admitted Packer fan who owns stock in the team. Not surprisingly, he really didn’t have anything to say of any real consequence, for there were no hard questions forcing him to do so.

He said he felt pressured into giving an answer, an "honest" one, back in March. But he knew - he had to know - that if he made that decision at that time and were to change his mind later, it would create nothing but trouble. But he did not seem to take it into consideration. He says, “It’s unfortunate that it came to this.” But he does not make the connection, conveniently, that it came to this because of HIM.

Favre did his best to do a little damage control while clearly attacking Packers brass for lying to the media and, thus, the public about Brett Favre. In essence, he blames the Packers organization, specifically Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy, for asking him for a decision too early for him to be able to make up his mind. Yet, he seemed pretty certain when he gave that tear-filled retirement press conference back in March.

Last night he was also abundantly clear on his current demands: “Give me my helmet, release me or attempt to trade me.”

Van Susteren’s comments to the AP ahead of the interview seem to indicate otherwise. From the AP story, Van Susteren said that, “while Favre said the Packers asked him for a list of teams to which he would accept a trade, he wants to be released to make sure he ends up on a competitive club.”

Only in sports are employees remotely allowed to give demands of their employers. Even then, if they do make a demand, they should be prepared to get an answer they do not like (just ask Terrell Owens). However, Favre did not speak as if he were a subordinate. Favre spoke as if he were the owner of the Packers. He compared himself to Bart Starr in the interview and seemed to speak as if he were Vince Lombardi himself back from the grave.

This is partly true, if only because it is currently Favre who is haunting Lambeau Field.

As I said before, I do not just blame Favre for this mess. I blame us all for making deities out of mortals paid to play a game. I blame the “Brett Favre is Brett Favre” attitude people like John Madden trot out there not only to extol the virtues of a player, but to excuse their otherwise unacceptable behavior. And I blame everyone else connected to the sports world, for we have created the hype machine Favre is feeding off of, and nobody’s truly called him out.

This may never happen, for Favre is insulated enough now to be able to pull a President Bush and choose who he speaks to and what softball questions he will answer, if any. Answers will never be extracted from this King of Beer Country. Why would you retire if you might have the itch? If you feel so entitled to making your own decision, why not tell the Packers you need more time and force them to leave the door open? Why agree to a press conference you know there’s a chance will look like a sham within just a few months time?

Sadly, we know the answers, just as we all know where this is headed. Brett Favre will return to the Packers, lest the front office feel the wrath of their rabid fan base, willing to march on Lambeau Field rather than allow the team to make decisions on its own. And in a year, this whole drama will play itself out yet again, as the Packers wring their hands through another offseason and Favre sits in his home in Mississippi, sipping on a drink, riding his Snapper lawn mower, content to hold an entire organization hostage for one more year.

And the most we have gotten out of Brett Favre in this whole mess is a venting session with, basically, an influential fan….

They pressured me into a decision.

I wasn’t committed then.

“Give me my helmet, release me or attempt to trade me.”

Sounds like a lot of whining and demanding to me. This is, essentially, a tantrum from a 30-something millionaire quarterback. Brett Favre wants his way.When it’s all said and done, Brett Favre will have whined his way back into a Packer uniform. Lucky for him, there’s a lot of cheese up in Wisconsin to pair it with.

Good thing there aren’t more important things going on in the world, huh?

Some random thoughts across the sports land:

BASEBALL

As promised (for all 3 of you who read this regularly), I shall speak (briefly) in regard to our trip to Milwaukee to take in the Twins interleague matchup with the Brew Crew a few weeks back.

First of all, I love Miller Park. What a nice place to see a baseball game. Mind you, I have not been to the more hallowed grounds in MLB – pilgrimages to Fenway, Wrigley, Yankee Stadium, are on my short list of things I want to do before I die. I have been to exactly 3 stadiums for major league ballgames; two of which were outdated domes (Toronto and Minneapolis) and now Miller Park. Needless to say, Miller Park wins the beauty contest hands down, like if you were comparing Sam Cassell with, say, Jennifer Connelly.

Is there a bad seat in that place? Please, Milwaukee fans, help me out. I looked around and I couldn’t see a seat where I would say, “Man, I really wouldn’t want to be sitting there.” It was great to see birds flying around above the stadium, see the SUN through the OPEN ROOF, see the outside world beyond the fence. Well. The view in there is nice. Spectacular? No, but very nice, and a welcome change from all the cement and Teflon nonsense in the Metrodome. It was so nice to be outside breathing fresh air while watching a baseball game, it softened the blow of watching the only loss the Twins had in that series.

However, the duo of douchebags sitting in the row in front of us could have ruined the day, were they not so bizarrely innocently stupid. These two doofuses were part of a much larger party, clearly a rare family outing of some sort, judging from the way they spoiled their children rotten. One kid, I swear, was two-fisting an ice cream cone and a lemonade slushee when he was asked if there were ANYTHING ELSE HE WANTED.

Perhaps some towels and a tranquilizer? Thanks.

 In particular, one douchebag seemed to have a rather high opinion of himself, as evidenced by his need to wear a button-up shirt wide open with nothing underneath, exposing his less than impressive chest and…”abs”.

This gentleman made various idiotic cracks throughout the game, but the two cherries on top were thus:

1.      1. As a handicapped relative accidentally lost control of her crutch, which went over the railing above us and landed on a chair close to him, he turns back and says, “Hey, careful there, we don’t want to be crippled, too!”

2.       As I was gone to procure more beer for the Wife and I, he asks, to no one in particular, “What the #### is a Mariner?” To which, my wife proceeds to explain that it is, essentially, a sailor. To which he replies, “Then why doesn’t their symbol have anything to do with the sea?”

Yes, because nobody uses a compass on the ocean.

I weep for the future.

We actually had a damn fine time in Milwaukee, and will make the pilgrimage again in the future, maybe even next year, schedule permitting. There was a fantastic bar in the downtown area I hope survives its first year of operation.  They had a pair of superb brews from the Lakefront Brewery exclusive to their joint. Really excellent stuff. If I happen to remember what the name of it was, I’ll include it in a future post.

FREE JOE NATHAN!!!
Last night’s loss to the Red Sox was rather frustrating. Just as I think perhaps the Twins will tie this series and make everyone forget the pain of losing a 1-0 game to open the series, the bullpen (Matt Guerrier) implodes. Again. Good thing we didn’t use Joe Nathan, eh? He’ll certainly be good and rested for the next save opportunity Gardy reserves him for that doesn’t come….

Perhaps, much like the Free Jason Kubel campaign Twins fans got behind in the last couple of years, a new campaign should start to Free Joe Nathan...

BASKETBALL

Glad to see the Mario Chalmers trade went to good use. All that financial flexibility the Timberwolves got in return for trading their gift PG to the Miami Heat went to Philly in order to acquire Rodney Stuckey, Calvin Booth and a future first rounder. That first round pick isn’t all that shiny once you realize that the pick actually comes from Utah and is believed to be top-15 protected in 2009.

So, to recap: the Wolves trade away the point guard who hit the game winning shot in the national championship game just a few months back to the Miami Heat for, basically, cash. This same point guard then proceeds to show a fair amount of savvy in owning Bulls #1 draft pick Derrick Rose in his debut in the summer league down in Orlando. 

They then take this financial flexibility and turn it into yet another swingman, yet another backup center, and a future first rounder that might be in the high twenties. Meanwhile, the Wolves have helped yet another Eastern Conference team become a contender. The 76ers now look poised to challenge Detroit, Cleveland and Boston for the top spots in the East.

And I guarantee you when the Wolves make that selection some mid-summer day in the near future, they will not get a point guard as good as Mario Chalmers.

I realize a lot of people actually like this deal, but I am not one of them, especially when I look back at the reasons for the trade in the first place.

Yes, this trade exception actually comes from the deal the Wolves made with the Heat last year to rid themselves of Ricky Davis and Mark Blount. But The Wolves used this exception not to address their currently most glaring weakness (backup PG) and instead use it to acquire more of the same parts they already have a glut of.

This is likely a a move made to set up other moves to address this weakness, as Jerry Zgoda points out in the StarTribune. But I keep thinking, "You know what? All this extra movement would not have been necessary had they kept Chalmers in the first place." Plus, stockpiling draft picks would not be such a priority had the Wolves not given up a pick to acquire (the now departed) Marko Jaric from the Clippers a couple seasons ago. I get that the Wolves seem to be trying to address their past mistakes, but that doesn't mean we should excuse them. It really means we have to keep an even closer eye on the proceedings as these moves continue to be made, if only to gauge whether or not it might be worth following this team over the next couple of years as McHale continues the rebuilding process.

Oh, and what must it be like to be Baron Davis? Assuming he cares about wins and losses after agreeing to a deal that makes him worth as much as the GNP of several small countries, it can’t be a good sign to Mr. Davis that just days after he agrees to said deal, Elton Brand and Corey Maggette are headed elsewhere. Might be a long, lonely but very rich few years in L.A….

FOOTBALL

When his career’s finally over, be it 2008 or 2028, can we make the inevitable movie of the Brett Favre Story the next installment of the Friday the 13th series? Seriously. The guy just won’t go away.

I bet Ted Thompson’s not getting text messages just from Favre. I would bet Aaron Rodgers’ agent’s been blowing up Thompson’s cell in the last 24 hours, as well. If he hasn’t, it’s time for Rodgers to get a new agent.

That’s all for now. Hopefully tomorrow I will have a Twins WIN to talk about. Perhaps Joe Nathan will actually pitch? We shall see...

Did you ever have that on again, off again relationship you just couldn’t shake? I know I did. My high school sweetheart and I broke up and got back together something like 8 times over the course of almost 3 years before she finally said what might have been some of the most important words in both of our lives:

This needs to stop, and it needs to stop now.

Looking back I know I was being an ####, breaking up because I “needed space” and then crawling back when I got lonely. Every once in a while, she would need her space too and we’d take a break and then she’d call and talk to me “just to catch up” and in a few days we were back together and everything would be fine again. For a few months, anyway.

I think it was the beginning of the end of my own innocence when she decided she’d had enough and needed to move on for good. I remember talking to her that night and hearing the determination in her voice, and it made everything crystal clear. I never called again. I knew she was taking control of her life and growing up without me, and that I needed to do the same.

It’s time Green Bay makes that call. This needs to stop, and it needs to stop now.

This is hard for Packer fans to accept, for Brett Favre is the only quarterback many of them know, and those who have known other Packer QB’s are probably not old enough to recall with true clarity the greatness of the Lombardi era with Bart Starr under center. In fact, Brett Favre is probably the only QB most of the personnel in the front office have known. Like that first boyfriend or girlfriend, your first franchise QB is a hard thing to let go.

But Brett Favre needs to go away, and the Packers need to make sure he does. I am glad he’s responded to the reports of his return and said there’s nothing to it. But you know what he really needs to do? Sign and turn in his retirement papers and make it official. To the best of my knowledge and my Google skills, I don’t believe he’s done that yet, and this is damn near 6 months since he had that teary press conference where he told the world he was finished. Green Bay ought to demand that he make it official.

The fact is this yearly drama – will he or won’t he – is getting more tired than Pam Anderson’s numerous marriages. I liked Brett Favre as a player. His love for the game, his “gunslinger” style, his willingness to play through injuries and show up every day to do his job through all kinds of adversity is something to be admired in all walks of life. This, ladies and gentlemen, is how you act when you’re a professional ANYTHING.

On the other hand, his willingness to get into other people’s business and hold the franchise hostage year in and year out as he mulls whether or not to continue being the consummate professional tarnishes that very image. And with each year this saga continues, the more dents you find on that trophy.

Professional sports are an all or nothing proposition. You have to take the whole thing, lock, stock and barrel, in order to be a part of it. To start allowing players to take training camps off or not actually travel with the team when they’re not in use undermines the very thing that should make sports inspiring – the concept of team.

I am an actor. Now, I only do live theatre, so I can only speak from that experience. Say I were to be cast in a show, play that role for a while, decide I am done playing it then leave long enough for them to find a replacement for me, that would be it for me and that show. The show has moved on. They sure as hell wouldn’t bring me back.

Brett finally decided to let the show move on, and that’s exactly what the Packers did. Aaron Rodgers has spent an entire offseason being the man. The team has spent an entire offseason with Rodgers as the man. The coaching staff has put in the time and effort to change their game plan to live life without Brett Favre and you know what? They’ll be fine. The Green Bay Packers were a great franchise before Favre took his first snap and it will be long after he’s gone.

In particular, Aaron Rodgers doesn’t deserve this. Recent comments aside, Rodgers has done nothing but conduct himself appropriately while waiting in the wings. It’s not his fault the Packers drafted him, and it’s certainly not his fault he’s in the middle of this whole mess. Think about this – if this continues, Rodgers could be a first round (albeit late) QB selection who spends the bulk of his prime as a backup through no fault of his own whatsoever. If you think for a minute that Rodgers would be the starter if he “won the competition” between himself and Favre, you’re out of your mind. So long as Favre is lacing them up, the Packers coaching staff is starting him. No way do they take the kind of PR hit that would come along with benching the football icon that is Brett Favre.

Look at his stats from two seasons ago, when Favre logged a 1-1 touchdown to interception ratio, or the season before that when Favre threw nine more touchdowns than interceptions. Favre still played and started all 16 games in both seasons. Yes, in the same article, I can venerate Favre for being the consummate pro, ready to play every day. But I can also point out that it’s pretty damn easy to do so when nobody’s trying to tell you no.

It’s time for that. Green Bay needs to tell Brett no. They need to make a statement of their own and say, once and for all, that they have moved on and are ready to start a new era at Lambeau Field. If he decides he wants to return and the Pack brings him back, Rodgers should demand a trade next offseason. It’s time Rodgers gets a chance to prove himself as a player, and I am sure there are several teams that would be willing to give him this chance.

If Green Bay allows this to happen, it damns the franchise to mediocrity for years to come as they draft and groom yet another heir to the throne of Brett Favre while throwing away the time they spent annointing Aaron Rodgers as that heir in the first place.

Please, Green Bay, stop stunting your own growth. Let that boyfriend go and move on to something new and different. Tell Brett that it’s stopping now and you’re moving on without him. You’ll be glad you did.