Hello friends,

Well the biggest story of the last month and the NFL offseason, The Brett Favre saga just keeps going everday and it keeps giving everyone something interesting to talk about no matter how much we wish it would go away. But writers and bradcasters love it because it is so fascinating and no one knows how it will end from day to day.

I'll try to look at it from both sides  and give my perspective on it and I'll be interested to hear yours. As of the latest updates it appears that Brett Favre has reached a stalemate with the Green Bay Packers who no longer seem to want him in more than a backup role so it appears that Favre could be traded to either the Tampa Bay Buccaners or the New York Jets. The Minnesota Vikings and the Chicago  Bears, the Packers NFC North division rivals who Favre wished to play for look like they will not  be able to make a trade with the Packers as the Packers not surprisingly do not want to trade Brett Favre to a rival team in their division.

Ezcept for Packers fans and my apologies to them as they are the innocent bystanders in this whole Brett Favre saga, it really would have been interesting to see Brett Favre go to the rival Vikings or Chicago Bears and play against the Packers in the same division. I mean why if the Packers don't want a Hall of Fame quarterback who's still pretty good at 39 years old and led the Packers back to the NFC Championship Game before losing after an interception in overtime against the Giants.is a question to me.

And yes he did retire and "waffle" about coming back and playing as a lot of athletes do even when they say they're defintely hanging it up. But then after a few months or as the new season gets closer they get the itch to play and want to come back and yes  it's frustrating for teams, players, coaches and fans when players  like Favre constanly change their mind and the Packers is this case had to move on with incumbent backup Aaron Rodgers as the starter and they drafted quarterbacks Brian Brohm and Matt Flynn for competition.

But if Brett Favre a Hall of Fame quarterback to be who still has skills and desire,wants to come back why shouldn't he be welcomed with open arms and an "open competition". Now Aaron Rodgers may be a good pro quarterback in the future, he may be a good teammate and person and he may deserve a chance. But  in the NFL and sports it's about winning and WINNING NOW!!  And when a team like the Packers has the window of opportunity to WIN in a parity filled league with a salary cap where success doesn't last more han a few years at a time before players change and things need to be restructured.then why wouldn't the Packers go for it with a proven and winning quarterback like Brett Favre. He's been to and won a Super Bowl and won several playoff games and as I said he got them to the NFC Championship Game last year.

So why would the Packers rather go with a young quarterback like Aaron Rodgers who hasn't proven himself yet very much in the NFL to be the starter? Losing is always tough but if he doesn't win quickly and attain some of  Favre's status as a winner in Green Bay then he will probably be booed and heckled no matter how much of it is or isn't his fault because the Packers are losing and Brett Favre isn't there.

If he is a success he still probably won't live up to Brett Favre unles he wins multiple Super Bowls and there will always be the die hard Brett Favre fans Aaron Rodgers can't please no matter what.

Winning a championship and having success is a rare and brief time period in this world of salary caps and free agency. Sure there have been exceptions the last 10 years like the Patriots in the NFL,  but when a team has a chance to have success they have to go for it especially for the fans and communities that support them.

And sometimes sports  teams like the Boston Red Sox in baseball have to put up with the antics and actions of a Manny Ramirez, Curt Schilling or Pedro Martinez to win a few championships. The same with the eccentric Dennis Rodman on the  Chicago Bulls basketball  teams in the 1990s. Sometimes teams and fans have to put up with the bizarre but talented players to win.

Yes Brett Favre has a big ego as a lot of highly paid athletes do. But he wanted to play for the Packers, he came back and the organization wants to let him go or offer him a ridiculois 20 million dollar nonplaying offer to stay retired. How many of us would quit for that?!  My question to the Packers is are doing everything to keep the window of opportunity for success open as long as they can. Or are they letting pride and doing the right thing get in the way of what should be done. I wish Aaron Rodgers and the Packers success. They've got a good team and can win with a young inexperienced quarterback. My favorite Team the Pittsburgh Steelers won a Super Bowl with Ben Roethlisberger in his second season after leading the Steelers to the AFC Championship Game in his first year. As I said I hope for the Packer's fans sake that a young quarterback like Aaron Rodgers can have the same success.

Just remember there are teams like the Packers rival the Minnesota Vikings who havent won a Super Bowl or NFL Championship intheir 47 years of  existence and are hungry for success. A team like that might love to scoop up a  legend like Brett Favre and beat their rival team with a quarterback who beat their team so many times over the years. The same goes for the Bears. Now it looks like the Packers will trade Favre out of the division to the Buccaneers or Jets, but imagine if it happened and Brett Favre came back and beat the Packers as a member of the Vikings, Bears or any other NFL team.

Now Aaron Rodgers may become a superstar quarterback and the much older Brett Favre will soon fade off into the NFL sunset and his final retirement. But in the meantime we'll find out soon enough who's the better quaterback in the next few years and did the Packers give up on Brett  Favre and their chance to win a Super Bowl soon again. We'll see what happens friends. Take care and have a productive day. Talk soon and best wishes. fenfan 

Hi friends,

Well it's July 31st the trading deadline in baseball, the early stages of NFL training camps on and off the field. What will Brett Favre do? And the pennant race excitement now has two months to go. So where do we start on this exciting eventful day in sports?

How about Manny Ramirez who finally got his ticket out of Boston in a three way trade between the Red Sox, Dodgers and Pirates.  The main other player in the deal leftfieder Jason Bay formerly of the Pirates will take over for Manny Ramirez in Boston. Now Jason Bay a talented hitter himself will never be the superstar Manny on or off the field. While Manny's bat won't be equaled neither will his off the field outbursts and maybe that's finally a good thing for all the parties and teams involved and we'll see how his attitude carries out in Los Angeles for Dodgers manager Joe Torre. I'm sure the home runs will be flying out of Chavez Ravine at Dodger Stadium.. We'll see what happens.

As for Brett Favre and the Packers or whoever he ends up playing for if he plays or will he take the 20 million dollar offer NOT to PLAY FOR THE PACKERS. Are they that threatened by the 38 year old quarterback going to the rival Bears or Vikings?  Remember former Super Bowl champion quarterback Jim Mc Mahon ended his career backing up Brett Favre when the Packers won the Super Bowl in 1996. So wouldn't it be interesting to see Favre to the the chagrin of Packers fans end his career as a Bear. Or how about Minnesota and the Purple People. Remember Favre rarely plays well at the Metrodome or loud  domes and artificial turf.  So unless they're going to blow off the roof there I don't know how well that would go either. Finally I don't know how this helps new starting quaterback Aaron Rodgers and the Packers who are coming off a NFC Championship Game performance last year. Besides Favre starting running back Ryan Grant is a holdout. Team chemistry is a delicate thing and we'll see how the Packers handle it in next few weeks and months no matter what happens with Brett Favre.

It should be interesting as the Red Sox go on without Manny Ramirez as well. Another legend Ken Griffey Jr who has been often injured in recent years, still has over 600 home runs and a Hall of Fame career to be. And on this July 31st he was traded from the Cincinatti Reds where he has been injured often and somewhat of a disappointment for the small market Reds since being traded there from Seattle in 2000. So now he lands in Chicago with the White Sox where he will be a role player with a more talented team. Whether he plays the outfield, first base or designated hitter in the American League, Griffey will add some productive play and leadership as the White Sox hope to match their 2005 World Series Championship success. Good luck Ken and we'll see what happens for you and the White Sox.

Finally one of my favorite teams, the Brewers lost to another team I like the Cubs except when they play the Brewers. Imagine what that's like liking two teams in the same division, but I liked both teams before the Brewers moved into the National League in 1998. Despite being swept by the Cubs, the Brewers still have a pretty good team and if they can remember last years collapse and learn from experience after losing the lead in the division to help get them through the last couple months this year. It will be tough but the Brewers have a fairly easy schedule according to the experts. If they can get through that and nobody is really easy to play in a peenant race then maybe the young and relatively inexperienced Brewers will have a chance to reach and make their goal of the playoffs. These days they don't have to win the division with the wildcard. That won't be easy either though. Good luck Brewers!! Also good luck to the Red Sox and Manny Ramirez as they part ways. Good luck to Brett Favre and the Packers and whatever team he plays for unless he wants to accept the 20 million dollars to stay retired. For any of the rest of us the money while bringing changes would be a pretty easy decision to take for most of us. But superstar athletes and entertainers like Brett Favre are like kings so it's like being Manny or Brett Favre means almost play money to them in a world where a lot of us are looking for jobs and at $4.00 gas prices. Pass the buck and throw the letovers to the fans who watch and support you. If only it were that simple.

Anyway before I get off track any further, it's been an interesting day and period in this time of sports. But without it we wouldn't be here writing or talking about much interesting. But sports is always changing and interesting and for that even though we don't know what is next we are  thankful because we have something we are passionate about to follow and talk about.  And in these uncertain economic times that is a good thing because it gets our mind off real life. We could talk about the election. But that is a topic for another blog site. So have a good evening and best wishes friends and have a great and productive day. Talk soon. fenfan

Hello friends,

I've got nothing special to talk about tonight except for some pretty good blogs I've been reading on here and putting my two cents in. From the guy who explained why the Steelers won't be as good this year. I disagree with his opinion but the Steelers have always been consistent and rarely terrible. Consider since Chuck Noll's 1-13 record in 1969 the Steelers have never won fewer than 5 games in a season and they have won 5 Super Bowls. I hope I don't jinx them. I just hope they get their ownership situation figured out. A billionare Stanley Druckenmeier wants to buy the team but I hope they can keep the team in the Rooney family who founded the team and made the Steelers the proud team and organization that they are.

Also tundratrugger brought up some good comments on the Brett Favre situation with the Packers. We all like or admire Brett Favre as a football player and person. As football fans we just wish he would make up his mind about his future and go on with it. I couldn't personally go out on an interception in the NFC Championship Game if I knew I had a good team but that's his decision. Lets just make that decision Brett and get on with the 2008 NFL season.

In baseball I'm  excited to see one of my favorite small market teams the Milwaukee Brewers making some big noise in the pennant race again this year. The experience of last year's winning record has helped and so apparently has new acquistion CC Sabathia with a 4-0 record and 3 complete game wins since joining the Brewers. I don't want the Brewers to throw away their future and maybe by signing their core players like Ryan Braun, developing a great farm system under general manager Doug Melvin and getting good draft picks will help the small market Brewers stay competitive in the long run. But in the short term Go For It Brewers and good luck the rest of 2008 and we'll worry about 2009 later. When you think of it that should be every team's philosophy but for a small market team like the Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays it is crical to keep going and keep competive. I wish baseball had a salary cap like the other sports, but with smart management it can be done successfully.

Well I guess I did have some stuff to say tonight about some of my favorite teams. I also enjoyed blogs about the most hated teams in sports and the greatest players to never win a championship. Read those if you get the chance. I always enjoy a good blog and great sports talk and I thank you friends for reading mine. I'm almost to 150 blogs overall now and I hope I keep it interesting for you readers. Take care, best wishes and talk soon friends. Have a great and productive day always friends. fenfan

Hi friends,

I'm getting into the baseball races and my favorite teams, the Brewers, Red Sox and Cubs as they're all in contention and all have the chance to make the playoffs in the same year for the first time. We'll see and I'll discuss my favorite and most memorable moments.

But first a short paragraph to say I'm officially sick of Brett Favre and the Packers saga to see who can outdo each other and blink first. Go away or get back together. But other than giving the media and us bloggers something to talk about.  But What  exactly are we talikng about? Exactly until a decision is made it is all talk and rumors and sports talk radio. I've lost some respect for Brett Favre and the Packers, whatever happens. Let Aaron Rodgers have his time and don't make me laugh with talk of Brett Favre as a backup in Green Bay. Seriously how long would that last. At this rate just as long as these  rumors. Here today Yesterdays news tommorow. Let history go on Brett and save your legacy. You'll never be a Purple People Eater. Vikings or anyone else. The Packers would be foolish to release you because of his legacy with the team but at the same time they have to make the right decisions for the team. Good luck Packers.

Now onto my favorite baseball teams and memories. It's July and for the first time in a long time all three of  my favorite baseball teams are in contention and the thought of them making the postseason brings back some good and not so good memories for me. Maybe it's because it's the week of the ESPY's awards, moments and lists so here goes

First the top 5 great memories with honorable mention for me for my favorite teams the Brewers, Red Sox and Cubs.

1} Red Sox win the World Series for the first time in 86 years in 2004 and a 0-3  hole and comeback against the Yankees to win the AL Pennant. What could beat that!

2} The Brewers win the ALCS in 1982 coming from 0-2 down against the Angels. Has it really been 26 years since the Brewers last postseason appearance?  Hopefully that changes soon.

3} The Cubs win the NL East dvision title and first postseason appearance in 39 years in 1984 and the summer of the famous Ryne Sandberg two home run game against the Cardinals at Wrigley Field.

4} The Carlton Fisk game winning home run in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series. It didn't win the World Series for the Red Sox, but other than the Red Sox actually finally winning the World Series in 2004 and 2007 has there been a bigger or more memorable winning moment in Red Sox history?  It felt like they won for a night and all time as a great moment even if they didn't end up winning the World Series.that year or for 29 more years.

5] The David Henderson home run off Donnie Moore in Game 5 of the 1986 ALCS to put them ahead and start their comeback to win the series against the Angels that year. Finally the Brewers 13 game winning streak and famous Easter Day Sunday comeback against the Rangers in April 1987. Paul Molitor also hit in 39 straight games that summer only behind Pete Rose at 44 games and Joe Dimaggio's 56 game hitting streak in 1941. Will that hitting streak ever be broken along with Ted Williams of the Red Sox .406 batting average that year.

Sorry Cubs fans you weren't included more in the good moments. Maybe this will be the year to change that after 100 years since their last World Series championship.

 As for the moments I'll unfortunately never forget.

1) Bill Buckner. It wasn't really your fault, Pitchers Cavin Schiraldi, Bob Stanley and manager John MacNamara take greater blame but his error and the Red Sox one strike from ultimate victory will never be forgotten from Game 6 of the 1986 World Series against the New York Mets.

2)  Bruce Sutter and the Cardinals striking out Gorman Thomas of the Brewers to win Game 7 of the 1982 World Series. I've wanted the Brewers to win that Game 7 ever since and 26 years later Brewers fans are still waiting.

3) The Steve Bartman moment and the Cubs 5 outs from going to the World Series against the Marlins in Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS. Stop blaming Bartman, give him public forgiveness and let the baseball reasons and Cubs futility to win when it counts take over rational thoughts Cubs fans and stop blowing up helpless baseballs to end curses. Billy goat and black cat curses as well for that matter.

4) Two Yankee Home runs that will live in Red Sox infamy. Bucky Dent in the 1978 AL East playoff game and Aaron Boone in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS . Two tough losses but a comeback after an 0-3 start in the 2004 put away the Curse of the Bambino/ Babe Ruth forever.

5} The Cubs 9 game lead and collapse against the Mets in 1969 and the Brewers 8 1/2  game lead and collapse in the division race against the Cubs last year. As a fan of both teams why did the Brewers have to join the National League and same division as the Cubs but in another way it's made their rivalry more fun to watch.

In conclusion if you've stayed reading with me this long  thank you and  I'm sorry for being long winded  friends... If not I'm sorry for your boredom  and I'm just nostalgic about sports memories. My apologies. Anyways as I said earlier I hope this Brett Favre situation blows over so we can get on with life and on to some great football with or without Brett Favre. Believe it or not Green Bay you still have a good team without Mr Favre. Take care, best wishes and talk soon friends. Have a great and productive day. fenfan 

Hello friends Well it's July on the calender and a few weeks from training camp in the NFL. So why doesn't it surprise me that there are "rumors" again that Brett Favre is deciding to unretire?  Why is he doing this or do he and his people like to keep us talikng?!

I made the suggestion on my blog a few months ago that Brett Favre play out his contract for two more years until he's 40. He's never been seriously hurt or missed any games so why not play it out to the end especially since he's got a championship type team in Green Bay the next few years.

No disrespect to Aaron Rodgers but he hasn't earned our respect yet and Brett Favre is a Hall of Famer to be no matter what happens. So why not play it out to the end and see what happens.

Not everyone goes out a champion like John Elway, Jerome Bettis or Michael Strahan, but wouldn't you like to see Brett Favre put everything he has on the table and go out a champion one more time.

Or do you want to see him go out on an interception like he did last year when you knew he had a good team in Green Bay and could give just a little bit more?

None of us can claim to know what Brett Favre feels or thinks in his NFL career, but we can see he's been a warrior on the field and by retiring  a little too early he's not only cheating us but maybe himself and thinking maybe I could have led the Packers back to the Super Bowl and a championship.

If he fails and doesn't get hurt at least he tried. If not we'll all wonder what if? Either way please make your decision Brett and leave your career with honor and dignity. Either way you're a legend and Hall of Famer . Just let us know what your decision is.

All of us as football fans need to go on and so do you. Best wishes and have a great and productive day friends. fenfan

Hello friends,

Well the quarterbacks on the two teams I follow and root for most were in the news for different reasons. First Brett Favre's retirement. It will get a lot of emotions and reaction on this blogosphere and in the sports world in general. No matter how you feel about him and what you think of his career or how iy ended if it has ended for sure, you have to respect him and admire him as a legend. He has most of the passing records, he's won a Super Bowl and lost another one dramatically to John Elway and the Broncos and he led the Packers back to the brink of a Super Bowl with a tough loss in the NFC Championship last year where he threw an interception against the Giants which led to a game winning field goal and an apperance in the Super Bowl where the Giants ended up winning the championship.

We can all sit and debate whether or not Favre should have retired now and come up with a lot of reasons why he should come back or retire, but in the end that is Brett Favre and his family's decision. It is his body which he played every game the last 17 years almost more remarkable than Cal Ripken's streak in baseball, and it his his life to decide what he wants to do next with it. As football fans if he doesn't come back and he still might. Remember Michael Jordan was 99.9 % sure about retirement after leading the Bulls to their sixth championship in 1998  after making the final shot to win, but he returned with the Wizards a few years later so who knows. If not  Favre certainly has a date in Canton Ohio at the Pro Football Hall of Fame where he will likely be a first ballot Hall Of Famer in 2013. Good luck Brett. You will be missed by NFL Fans.

As for Ben Roethilisberger the Pittsburgh Steelers current quarterback who led them to a Super Bowl Championship two years ago, he just got his personal pay day in a contract extension of $102 million over eight years. The Steelers  are usually a very conservative organization and don't usually even pay their star players this kind of money so Ben and the Steelers will definitely have the football crazy Pittsburgh market on his and their back to do well and win. He'll have to do it without his best current offensive line blocker Alen Faneca who signed with the Jets, but Pittsburgh has always been good at replacing their key players in the system over the years and they keep winning so good luck to him and the Steelers and the future.

It's too bad these two great quarterbacks couldn't have met on the field in November 2005 when the Steelers beat the Packers 20-10 at Lambaeu Field. Roetlisberger was injured at the time and Charlie Batch quarterbacked for the Steelers that day.. The Packers and Favre were not at their best either going through a miserable 4-12 season so it's too bad we couldn't have seen a great matchup between a legend and a current up and coming quarterback. It's just kind of interesting to see these two stories come together at the same time.

Well I'll look forward to your comments. Best wishes friends and have a great and productive day.  fenfan

Hello friends,

Well it was a tough loss and ending to the season that fell one loss short of the Super Bowl for Brett Favre and the Packers. I know how they feel because the Steelers lost four times at home in the AFC Championship Game and once in the Super Bowl in the last 15 years before finally winning it all in 2005.

So my advice to teams like the Packers and Cowboys and other teams who fell short is don't despair, keep trying, re tool a lttle bit this is the salary cap era after all and keep it going, because we never know what's ahead

Still losing after having a 13-3 record and a home game in the NFC Championship game is tough. It's a long 6-7 months to training camp and a whole another season and playoffs to get back to the point they were this last weekend one win away from the Super Bowl.

But the Packers, Cowboys and others have good teams. It just takes good special and lucky teams to get to this point and beyond. Congratulations to the New England Patriots and New York Giants on their Super Bowl appearance this year and we'll see if the Patriots can acheive the perfect season.

Anyway I hope Brett Favre will come back again. I think he will. The good times have returned to Green Bay and while that's no guarantee for future success, they have a better chance for a few years again so Favre and the Packers better take advantage of it before it's too late. My advice to Brett Favre, not that he'll listen to me is to play one or two more years if he's healthy and has the desire. That would make him 40 years old in 2009, give him a couple more shots at the Super Bowl and no regrets in the end no matter what happens.

As for the interception in overtime of the loss to the Giants last Sunday, he shouldn't be totally judged on that. It was a mistake, but he was trying to drve the Packers for the win, much like his playoff inteception against the Eagles in 2003. Maybe Favre can try to be more careful in his passes, but that would somewhat take away from his gunslinger mentality that has given him much success and never keeps him out o####ame winning drive until it's over. Needless but important  to say no matter what Brett Favre's retirement decision he's a first ballot Hall Of Famer whenever that is.

As I said we'll see what happens and only Brett and his family know his future plans, nut one or two more years with this Packers team is what he should do. As for the future, keep developing Aaron Rodgers and look at other free agent or college options as well.

In closing it was a great season for Brett Favre the Packers and other NFL teams and fans as well. That's why it's so tough when the end of January or in this case Febuary comes and when the Super Bowl is now played, because we have to wait 6-8 months until the new season starts again. But we always survive that. Football is the longest and toughest offseason, but we always have NFL news, the draft in April and in the last few years the NFL Network to keep us busy and football entertained. So have a great offseason fans and enjoy the Super Bowl friends and we'll talk soon again. Best wishes and have a great and productive day.  fenfan

Hello friends,

In this post I want to talk mainly about the latest in the NFL and a few other things that are happening in sports lately. So what was the biggest moment in the NFL last weekend. Was it Adrian Peterson running wild in only his eighth NFL game setting a new single game rushing record with 296 yards and his second 200 yard rushing game overall. Was it the Colts Patriots on Sunday afternoon which turned out to be a pretty good game 24-20 Patriots but not the shootout everyone expected in Super Bowl 41-1/2. Or how about Big Ben Rothlisberger and the Steelers throwing 5 touchdown passes in the first half against the Ravens in a 38-7 win in the rain on Monday night in front of all the Steeler Super Bowl legends who were being honored. Nice throwback jerseys as well Steelers. And oh yeah to my buddy fishrmn congatulations to Brett Favre and the Packers on their 7-1 start but you'll still need a running game as the cold weather starts and the playoffs come later on.

Anyway I'm looking forward to the start of the second half of the NFL season this Sunday when Adrian Peterson and the Vikings visit the cold Lambeau Field and the Packers in Adrian Peterson's first great cold weather outdoor test. Remember back in the 1990's the great Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders rushed for only minus one yard against a great Packers defense in the playoffs so I'll be interested to see how Adrian Peterson does this weekend and beyond as we push towards playoff time in the NFL. The Steelers have a divisional game in the AFC North against the up and coming Browns who are only currently a game behind the Steelers, but they're still a young team and I like the Steelers this weekend as they make their push towards a division title and the playoffs after that. I think they can play with the Patriots and Cots and they have a matchup with the Patriots on December 9th. However I've learned that regular season wins don't always mean a great deal if teams meet in the playoffs again and sometimes the regular season winner will lose the playoff game so I don't know how excited you can get about the regular season wins. Just play as well as you can get in the playoffs and go from there. Even if a team has to play on the road in the playoffs they can win sometimes if they're the better team or have they have the momentum. We'll see and hopefully they'll be some good playoff rematches this year.

Another matchup I'm looking forward to in the NFC later this month of November is the Packers at the Cowboys on Thursday November 29. It's on NFL Network so it will be harder to find without satellite besides local areas but it will be quaterback Tony Romo of the Cowboys who's from Wisconsin against his boyhood idol Brett Favre who's never won in Dallas and it will be interesting to see how this game comes out and if they meet in the playoffs as well. Finally will the Patriots go 16-0 or 19-0. I don't know but I think it will be hard for a few reasons. Teams occasionaly slip up although that doesn't appear to be the Patriots problem, coaches sit players but Bill Belichick will play everyone even in a 52-7 win like the had against the Redskins a few weeks ago. So what will happen. They''ll probably trip up against some inspired team when they're coasting or trying to get ready for the playoffs. And if they do get in the playoffs I wouldn't want to be the team that wins all their regular season games, but loses in the playoffs so we'll see friends and enjoy the rest of the season and best of luck to your teams.

Finally one last comment outside the NFL. In college basketball last night there was an upset as Gardner Webb beat Kentucky in an early season non conference game just like Appalachian State did to Michigan in footballl. Ironically both are from North Carolina. But as big an upset as these both are it doesn't surprise me as much as it used to because of the increasing parity in college sports. Even George Mason in the Final Four a few years ago didn't seem as big as it would have 20-30 years ago because athletes don't stay in college as long and they go to the smaller schools more often when they're turned down by the big ones.

Well I look forward to your comments friends and we'll talk soon again. Have a great and productive day and best wishes always friends. Your pal. fenfan

Hello sports friends,

Well yesterday was March 1 and in the NFL that means the start of free agency when teams can gain and lose players or decide to resign them based on their salary cap situation which is a fact of life in todays NFL where there is more parity but also more roster turnover where teams don't stay together for a long period of time in general like they used to. However most teams try to keep their best players if they can within the salary cap.

Anyways yesterday the Steelers my favorite team released linebacker Joey Porter because of salary cap reasons they say he was supposed to get a bonus in the final year of his contract and they didn't want to renegotiate or sign an extension. Now I am really disappointed in this because Joey Porter has been one of the Steelers best players both on and off the field the last decade. He has been the emotional leader with big hits on the field and emotion good and bad off the field He stood up to Seahawks player Jeremy Stevens taunts against the Steelers before the Super Bowl, he led pre and post game team dances in the locker room and he was a great hard hitter who also incidentally unfortunately got shot as an innocent bystander in Colorado a few years ago and came back. which shows a lot of heart.  Now he also has a big mouth which got him in trouble like the pregame fight with the rival Cleveland  Browns during a pregame a few years ago which got him kicked out o####ame, but his emotion was always for the team and former coach Bill Cowher and that will definitely be missed. He was this Steeler teams Jack Lambert and Ham from the 70s and Greg Lloyd from the 90s. A great player with heart whoI think should have been one of the special Steelers to retire a Steeler and I am very disappointed. Hopefully the Steelers and their new coach Mike Tomlin know what they're doing and they usually do as an organization. Great players come and go I understand that but this is one I really wish hadn't gone and they might pay for the loss of Joey Porter because of the kind of player he is on and off the field.

Also shortly I want to mention a few other things quickly. It was nice to see Lovie Smith get his well deserved extension and raise in Chicago as their head coach. Despite the Super Bowl loss the Bears could be headed for great things if they can figure out if Rex Grossman is their long term quarterback or not. Meanwhile north of Chicago in small town Green Bay they are thinking of bringing fomer Vikings and Raiders wide receiver Randy Moss to the Packers which would be like bringing the next notch of Terrell Owens to Green Bay. A great talent especially from his years with the Vikings but a lot of attitude and he once mooned the Packer fans in a playoff game. But Brett Favre says he would like to play with a player like Moss and I'm wondering what my friends in Packer country think. I know you're out there reading. Anyways take care friiends, best wishes and have great and productive days always.

Hi Sports Friends,

I don't know where I'm going with that title except that Peyton Manning seems like a superhero along with Coach Tony Dungy in leading the Colts to their first Super Bowl since 1970 when the team played in Baltimore.. And did you see Don Shula smiling as he went to present the Colts with the Super Bowl trophy. Now I know he's mostly remembered as the Dolphins coach who went 17-0 in 1972 and led his team to two Super Bowl victories in Miami. But he also had four Super Bowl losses one of which was in Miami in Super Bowl 3  to the Jets and Joe Namath when he was the head coach of the Colts. Who knows maybe he was being professional but maybe a small part of him was smiling because he could finally  present the Colts with the trophy that he didn't get in that Super Bowl when the Colts lost as heavy favorites to the New York Jets.

Anyways about this Super Bowl game I rooted for the Bears and thought they had a chance when Devin Hester returned the opening kickoff 92 yards and Mussin Muhammed scored a touchdown to give the Bears a 14-6 lead. But from there the rain poured, Rex Grossman couldn't carry the Bears and Peyton Manning/Indiana Jones I think thats a cool parallel and the Colts defense carried them the rest of the way.

Now I picked the Bears in this game and believed they could win, but I knew they almost had to play perfectly or close to it or Peyton Manning and the Colts defense would pick them apart as they did 29-17. So congratulations to the Colts and to Tony Dungy for all the historical reasons. Mostly though he's a great coach and it was nice to see him and the Colts succeed after Tony Dungy's son James death to suicide a year ago and the Colts and Peyton Manning who have been waiting for this moment for a long time. Who knows maybe a few old Colts fans in Baltimore smiled too but probably not too many after the way the left Baltimore in 1984. Anyways it was a nice victory for the Colts franchise and now only 7 months until opening weekend in the NFL in September. And we'll see Brett Favre again in Green Bay for a 17th year. Who will be playing in Glendale Arizona in Super Bowl 42? We'll find out that answer next year. Congratulations Colts fans and talk to you soon. Best wishes and have a great and productive day friends.

Hello Sports Friends,

Well I'm wishing for one more present in my stocking as an NFL fan and I hope it will be delivered by the man disguised as Santa Claus in Green Bay that is #4 Brett Favre. Love him or not love him and there have been several fans who have felt both ways about Favre, you have to respect him and you have to admire him as an NFL football fan. I mean honestly can you imagine what Green Bay is going to look like at quarterback after #4 wiith his 250-270 straight starts I can't remember the exact total including playoffs retires. Aaron Rodgers?? Even before his broken foot which Brett Favre might have played through, we didn't see the answer at backup quarterback in Green Bay. Back up quarterback in Green Bay?! They rarely play so I never really knew they had one since #4 always plays through the pain no matter what no matter how effective he is.

Favre can be brilliant of course having been to two Super Bowls and won one. He has had several playoff apperances and last minute touchdown drives. But he can also throw 30 interceptions and that's why he'll pass Dan Marino for the most touchdowns and interceptions as well. Like Marino the Hall of Famer, Favre the Hall of Famer to be has had weapons/players to play with, but he has also been a gunslinger and Lone Ranger who tries to do much sometimes. That is where the costly interceptions and other mistakes have come in.

Still Brett Favre is exciting to watch no matter who you like and he has grown on me like Larry Bird and Martina Navratilova among others who I didn't like because they often beat the teams and players that I liked, but when their careers got older I began to admire and even like them somewhat because of their great talents and we fans and players alike would like to be just like them because they are winners. Think Michael Jordan, Joe Montana and Wayne Gretzky along those same lines as well.

Anyways I hope Brett Favre comes back and I think he will because like Roger Clemens in baseball he still loves to play and can't get it out of his system. It's funny we always want our athletes to go out on top when they still have it and we dont wan't them to be like Muhamad Ali, Johnny Unitas, Willie Mays or Steve Carlton among other athletes who went a little too long in their careers. But unless they retire early like Barry Sanders and Jim Brown and you always wonder what could have still been. Or go out on top like John Elway and Jerome Bettis with Super Bowl titles after great careers. But besides those abberations of good fortune to retire at exactly the right we'll never know when exactly these great athletes like Brett Favre should be done. So let them play it out till it's over. For example we thought Michael Jordan had the perfect ending to his legendary NBA career aftewr hitting the game winning jumber to win the sixth NBA championship for the Chicago Bulls against the Utah Jazz in the 1998 finals. But a couple years later much to our perfect ending fan's chagrin he came back and played until he had that little bit of gas we didn't know he had left in the tank. I think Brett Favre, Roger Clemens and others for that manner should get the same opportunity and then we can all say that he gave us everything he possibly had even if it's a little too much and not good enough at the end. Remember baseball pitcher Nolan Ryan gave us 27 years in his sport.. So Brett Favre my best advice like all the people I have mentioned is to play it out to the end and then we'll talk about your great Hall of Fame to be career afterward. You'll be satisfied, we'll be satistfied and we won't judge you even if your play is more poor at the end. Age does that to all of us but wisdom keeps us around longer and Brett Favre has definitely had a lot of that on the football field so I hope he comes back for as long as he wants. I could say that about the 80 year old Penn State football coach as well. So play as long as you want because life is too short in the end and you wan't to get everything out of it you can. Sitting back and relaxing doesn't always do it. Sometimes it makes us more tired and lethargic. So enjoy your great and productive days, have a Merry Christmas and talk soon friends.

P.S. This is dedicated to my special Packers fan friend who helped get me started in blogging and wanted me to write something about the Green Bay Packers. Well this is my Christmas present to you and all of the NFL fans like me who enjoy football and great players like #4 Brett Favre no matter who our favorite players and teams are. Sometimes as sports fans we just enjoy certain players and teams because they make the viewing of the sport better and I think Brett Favre is one of the special players who does that so that's why I decided to write about him. I wish him and everyone else good luck with their future as long as they use it in a productive and good manner. Have a great day friends!