Brett Favre has signed his letter seeking reinstatement to the Green Bay Packers but may not send it to the NFL until Monday or Tuesday.
Favre said in a telephone interview that he did not report to the Packers' camp Sunday with the rest of the team in part because general manager Ted Thompson pleaded with him to delay his arrival.
Such is the drama that continues to build around Favre.
He offered to compete for his old job but was told that wasn't possible.
He admits he has spoken to Minnesota Vikings coach Brad Childress but says it wasn't tampering.
He's open to a trade, but not just to the New York Jets or Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
He's hoping commissioner Roger Goodell can mediate the impasse that he has reached with the Packers.
Brett Favre wants to play, at least for now. He has flip-flopped more times than a pancake at IHOP. What is the team suppose to do? If he returns, there will be a divided locker room, second guessing all over the place, and Green Bay might end up losing their successor to Favre.
The Packers should not give him his outright release. Favre retires, the Pack moves on with Rodgers, all is well. Favre wants a meeting in March to say he wants to unretire, then cancels. The organization seemed willing at that point to let him return. Now, almost 4 months later, he wants to play?
What is he gets into training camp and decides it is just too much and he really doesn't want to play. This is selfishness at the utmost degree. If the team tries to trade him, what will they get? Probably not much. Forget the other divisional teams and maybe most in the NFC (maybe Tampa is a possibility). You think Favre wants to go to Baltimore or Oakland? Surely, he wants to go south. Carolina would fit but are the Packers willing and able to make a respectable deal with other teams knowing that he has to be traded? He has put this organization is a terrible spot.
Billy Packer will reportedly be replaced by CBS studio analyst Clark Kellogg. Packer, a color commentator, will be replaced in CBS' coverage by studio analyst Clark Kellogg, according to media reports Monday.
Jim Nantz will continue in his Final Four play-by-play role.
Packer, 68, will leave CBS after 28 years to pursue "other projects in basketball," according to The Miami Herald.
Speculation of Packer's exit was fueled amid widespread criticism during this year's tournament.
Early in the 2008 semifinal between Kansas and North Carolina, with the Jayhawks up 38-12, Packer declared, "The game is over."
North Carolina cut the lead to 54-50 with 11 minutes left in the second half before Kansas pulled away, winning 84-66.
The Jayhawks beat Memphis 75-68 to claim the national title.
Packer, who began his Final Four run at NBC, later defended the comment to USA Today.
"My job is to say what I see, not have some kind of subconscious feelings about offending anybody. ... It probably annoyed some people, but I don't concern myself with having some agenda that's contrary to what I'm seeing," he said. Ian Kinsler is doing things few people predicted. He still has glove issues but this guy can play the game. I was fortunate to be able to meet him about 1 1/2 years ago and speak with him. He was confident, bordering on cocky, but still a pretty nice guy. Kinsler hits 25
Kinsler extended his majors-best hitting streak to 25 games with three hits and drove in three runs, and Young and Bradley also had key hits, leading the Texas Rangers to a wild 12-11 victory over the AL Central-leading Chicago White Sox that clinched another series win.
"We're showing a lot of character, clawing our way through games," said Young, who has a 15-game hitting streak. "We're playing as a team. ... The momentum we've built up over the last couple of months, hopefully we can carry that over into the second half.
The Beatles are still a little bit popular The hand-painted drum skin that appeared on the sleeve of the Beatles' ground-breaking 1967 album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" sold for $1.1 million at auction on Thursday in London, four times its estimate.
Billed as the "world's most famous drum skin," it was the star lot of Christie's rock and pop memorabilia sale in London, and eclipsed the other highlight, John Lennon's handwritten lyrics for hit song "Give Peace a Chance."
The manuscript still fetched $834,000, well above pre-sale expectations of around $500,000.
Belgian brewer InBev has announced it will buy its U.S. rival Anheuser-Busch for $52 billion to create the world's largest brewer.
The deal would create the world's largest brewer and put the U.S. beer-maker in the hands of Belgian-based InBev.
The acquisition means control over America's largest brewer, the No. 2 worldwide, moves overseas. Based in St. Louis, Missouri, Anheuser-Busch has more than 48 percent of American market share with brands that include Bud Light.
InBev is the world's second largest beer maker, with brands that include Stella Artois and Becks.
The deal must be approved by shareholders and European and U.S. antitrust regulators. The merger will produce the fourth-largest consumer product company worldwide
Ok, for most people out there, this is not the biggest story....or even a big story. BUT, for me, this is a neat thing. As much as I cant stand Rolling Stone, they finally acknowledged Rush for the first time since May of 1981. in retrospect, that is really hard to believe. This magazine does not like this group and for whatever reason, has basically refused to even mention Rush in their publication.
Rush never sleeps Under bright houselights, the 17,000-capacity venue is quickly filling with fans of the Canadian rock trio Rush — many resembling the two young men I find sitting 10 rows from the stage: brow-fringing hair, utilitarian glasses, sprouts of chin whisker. They look straight out of an '82 yearbook photo of the after-school D&D club — a suggestion neither finds insulting.
I've never thought of us as particularly cool," says Lifeson, now 54 but still in possession of much of his thick blond hair. Within Rush, Lifeson is known as "Lerxst" — a band in-joke from years ago, when the three members entertained themselves by inserting extra syllables and accents into proper nouns. But, "We were filling these places, and I noticed everybody knew all the lyrics, knew the drum fills and had that mentality like, 'This is my band. I found these guys,' " says Lifeson.
What follows is difficult to describe. It involves hysteria. It involves tears. It involves air-drumming of a brio rarely witnessed — not just the standard cymbal-snare pantomime, mind you, but a dizzying recital of tom, bell, cymbal, wind chime, all in perfect sync with the onstage movements of Peart, Rush's drum god and lyricist. It's a kinetic genuflection, variations of it occurring all around me. To my right an unaccompanied woman in camp shorts raises a thumbs-up sign every eight bars. A few rows up, a man is air-drumming, guitaring and bass-playing simultaneously (a spectacle resembling full-contact hacky sack). From behind, a fortysomething man yanks my shoulder during a solo to yell, "That's an ES-355 guitar he's got there!" And for the next three hours, during songs about religion, suburbia, tidal pools and trees, most of this crowd will sing along with every word. Complete album guide
Have a Ham Slamwich On-deck hitter David Murphy tossed his bat and helmet into the air. Ron Washington leaped onto the back of coach Art Howe, almost knocking him to the ground. Ian Kinsler tried to hurdle the dugout railing and instead ended up eating dirt.
And they could not have looked more graceful doing it.
Such are scenes from a pennant race. Whether they remain in the hunt all summer or not even until the end of July, the Rangers, with a most improbable 5-4 win over AL-West leading Los Angeles on Wednesday night, served notice they aren't going anywhere for now.
Josh Hamilton clinched the win with the first walk-off homer of his career. It came off primo closer Francisco Rodriguez with two outs in the ninth of a game in which the Rangers started reliever Warner Madrigal and a game they never led until the final pitch.
The Rangers have won two of the first three games of the series to inch within 6½ games of Los Angeles. A series-clinching win tonight would put them 5½ games out heading into the final weekend before the All-Star break
The Mavs make a huge splash by signing Diop and JJ. Wow, thank goodness those two are locked up for the next few years. The Mavs paid Diop 2x what he is worth...and for 5 years. Positively insane.
Diop's contract will start at $5,585,000. With the maximum eight percent raises, The five-year deal will be worth $32.393 million.
"It's great signing a five-year deal," Diop said. "Knowing you're back where you want to be is important to me. There were three or four teams that offered me the mid-level. But it wasn't a hard decision. The only way I would have ended up somewhere else is if it was for a lot more money, not a little."
Barea, meanwhile, signed for $1.5 million next season. Two years of the three-year contract are guaranteed, with the third at the team's option. The Onion takes on Mark Cuban
Billionaire Mark Cuban, tired of the opposition he has encountered from NBA management in his role as owner of the Dallas Mavericks and frustrated with opposition from the MLB owners' association in his attempt to buy the Chicago Cubs, liquidated almost all his personal wealth and holdings and purchased the entirety of sports for an undisclosed but undoubtedly large sum on Monday.
"I'm pleased and excited to announce to fans of—well, of everything, really—that a new era has begun in the game, activity, contest, race, national pastime, world championship tournament, sport, or sports that you love so much," a cheerful Cuban said Tuesday morning in a press conference held to announce his acquisition. "So many of the things that have frustrated me about sports—the officiating, the ivory-tower attitude of the powers-that-be, the fact that I am not in control of every single aspect of them—all of that is about to change."
July 4 has many different meanings. Some think of it as a day off from work. Others (see retail workers) see it as another day that they have to work when they should be at home with their families. Others see the 4th as a day to have friends and family over to enjoy some hamburgers and hot dogs. Still other see today as an opportunity to hit the lake and party.
There is a very small minority that actually appreciate and reflect on what this day means to our country. Talk about David vs Goliath. If you have never taken the time to read the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution, you should. They are fascinating documents written by talented and creative minds.
Some people criticize this day because the military gets too much "play" in the press. What is wrong with that? These people volunteer to protect us every second of every day. They are a big reason our country has remained free and a power.
Also, I get tired of the argument that if our Founding Fathers did today what they did in 1776, it would be considered treason. They created this country from an oppressive regime that offered no form of representation. They did what they had to do so that you would have the opportunity to live free.
Today, instead of having to start an armed revolution against the government, all you have to do is get involved and vote. If you don't like the policies and practices of the government, then you have to do something to make changes. Back a candidate, vote, volunteer, picket, or maybe ever run for an office.
Now, something funny from our founding fathers......
On to SPORTS Most seem to be in favor of the Avery signing, though I still have my doubts. But, this is obviously a Brett Hull signing and he knows a little bit about hockey. This team will be good next year, but the hockey might be even uglier that normal. Avery does have some skill and is only 28. If healthy, maybe he will add a little scoring punch to partially replace Hagman's goal totals.
From ESPN's Scott Burnside Stars sign forward Sean Avery to four-year, $15.5 million deal Not sure exactly what New York Rangers GM Glen Sather was thinking. He made little effort to keep Sean Avery in the fold as the forward waltzed off Broadway and into Dallas. Now, the Stars have another talented, gritty forward to help take some of the pressure off captain Brenden Morrow.
"I just thought it was a no-brainer to have him in our lineup," Avery's former teammate in Detroit and current Stars assistant GM Brett Hull said Wednesday after the deal was done. "He goes against the stream, which I kind of like. Kind of reminds me of me."
There are always two trains of thought when it comes to Avery. There's Avery the player, who can antagonize with the best of them, but also knows how to play the game. The Rangers were a much different team -- read better -- with Avery in the lineup than without him. Then, there's Avery the diva, whose penchant for the dramatic has been off-putting to both teammates and opponents in the past.
The Stars believe Avery the player is the most important part of this equation. Dallas upset the defending Cup champs from Anaheim in the first round of the playoffs and then preseason Cup favorite San Jose before dropping a six-game series to the Red Wings in the West finals. Does Avery make the Stars better than Detroit? No. Not with the Wings adding Hossa. But Avery ensures the Stars will have more grit and no complacency in the dressing room after a season of unexpected playoff success.
Free-agency grade: B+
Gilbert, when healthy, can play and make no mistake, he is still getting a brinks truck load of money
Gilbert Arenas gives up $16mil Gilbert Arenas is accepting less money from the Washington Wizards, invoking an attitude far, far removed from the world of his working-class fans.
"What can I do for my family with $127 million that I can't do with $111 million?" he told The Washington Post.
The unpredictable three-time All-Star point guard, in vintage Agent Zero fashion, told the Post and the Washington Times on Thursday that he has agreed to re-sign for $111 million over six years, considerably less than the maximum deal he said the Wizards offered him when the free agency period began on Tuesday.
Arenas negotiated the deal from China, where is traveling as part of promotional tour for a shoe company, and did so without an agent.
"I'm basically giving back $16 million," Arenas told the Washington Times. "This is in line with what I've been saying the whole time. You see players take max deals and they financially bind their teams. I don't wanna be one of those players and three years down the road your team is strapped and can't do anything about it."
Young, athletic, has an upside...yet, the Mavs still sign him. Mavs go Green Gerald Green, a former high school prodigy out of Gulf Shores Academy in Houston, has agreed to a one-year contract with the Dallas Mavericks, Green’s agent Colin Bryant said.
A first round pick of the Boston Celtics in 2005, the slender, 6-foot-8 Green was part of the trade that sent Kevin Garnett from Minnesota to Boston. The Timberwolves traded Green to Houston last season. He played in one game for his hometown team before being released.
I dont like Sean Avery for this Dallas Stars team. Yes, he has a troubled past on the ice, but that is not my reason. The Stars need a scorer on the wing. As much as people for years have complained about the Texas Rangers lack of pitching, the same can be said about this hockey team in terms of them needing a scoring winger, at least since Brett Hull left. Stars looking at Sean Avery
Mr. Leadoff
Rangers look encouraging For a change, it was pondering the worst that helped the Texas Rangers to a 3-2 win at Yankee Stadium. Kinsler's leadoff double against Rivera and subsequent steal of third opened the door for Michael Young to bounce a ball through the infield for the go-ahead run.
The win, clinched by C.J. Wilson's second consecutive save, pushed the Rangers three games above .500 (44-41). Though Kevin Millwood exited the game with a bruised right shin after five innings, the Rangers were still able to clinch a series win in their final regular-season visit to New York. They can finish off their first sweep in New York since 2003 tonight.
Chiefs can't stand their fans Mike Florio of profootballtalk.com, in a stunning exhibit of investigative journalism, has uncovered the dastardly plot going on behind the scenes at One Arrowhead Drive. Apparently the Chiefs are conspiring, skulking in dark corners and trying to prevent their fans from standing up at football games.
Yes, it’s true. Just read the chilling words for yourself, straight from KcChiefs.com:
The Kansas City Chiefs are committed to creating a safe, comfortable and enjoyable experience for our fans. When attending a game, the stadium staff will proactively intervene to support an environment where event patrons, their guests and other fans can enjoy the event, free from the following behaviors:
Standing and/or obstructing the view of other fans
Oh, the horror!
Silly introductions aside, let’s examine what’s really going on here.
First of all, the “no standing” rule has been a part of the Arrowhead Stadium Code of Conduct for years now. This is nothing new.
It’s not enforced nearly as strictly as Florio’s rant might suggest, however. If you’ve watched a Chiefs game on television or attended one in person, you see fans standing all the time. It’s no big deal. To paraphrase a line from Pirates of the Caribbean, the “no-standing” rule isn’t exactly a rule – more like, a guideline.
It’s in place because people sitting down at a football game – as the vast majority of the Arrowhead crowd does for extended sections of the action – don’t enjoy people blocking their view. If you’re out of your seat, moving around during an offensive drive, and generally making a nuisance of yourself
Beatles lost interview A Beatles interview from 1964 that was recently unearthed from a film canister in a south London garage aired yesterday on the BBC. In the interview, John Lennon and Paul McCartney discuss how they first met as teenagers. “I was playing at a garden fete in the village where I lived just outside Liverpool, playing with a group, and he came along and we met,” said Lennon, while McCartney credits a friend named Ivan with arranging the chance meeting that helped fuse the most successful songwriting duo in rock history.
