Remember, It Could Be This Bad

Anytime you get yourself down about what Brett Favre is/has done to the Green Bay Packers and their possible quarterback situation and/or team morale, just sit back, relax, and be glad you're not a Chicago Bears fans.

They take the Two-Face approach to making the really tough decisions: They flip a coin.

Rex Grossman will throw the first pass of the Chicago Bears’ 2008 training camp when the first practice begins at 3 p.m. today.

Offensive coordinator Ron Turner flipped a coin and Grossman won the honor of starting out with the first team. Kyle Orton won a similar coin flip at the start of the team’s organized training activities.

“We did it toward the end of the first quarterback meeting.” Turner said. “Kyle called it and Rex won. He called tails and it was heads, so Rex will start with the 1s today.

“It was the opposite of the OTAs, when Rex called it and Kyle won it. Now we will just alternate every other day.”

Bears coach Lovie Smith said Tuesday that he hoped to have the starting quarterback determined by the third preseason game, but he wouldn’t tell anyone the exact date and time he had in mind to name the starter.

Decision on a flip. So it's not just proximity that makes Barack Obama a Chicago Bears fan I see.

Best man

By now, most of you have read or heard the Green Bay Packers' response to Brett Favre's request for his release.

The Green Bay Packers are aware of the latest developments regarding Brett Favre.

Brett earned and exercised the right to retire on his terms. We wanted him to return and welcomed him back on more than one occasion.

Brett's press conference and subsequent conversations in the following weeks illustrated his commitment to retirement.

The finality of his decision to retire was accepted by the organization. At that point, the Green Bay Packers made the commitment to move forward with our football team.

As a retired player, Brett has the option to apply for reinstatement with Commissioner Goodell. If that were to occur, he would become an active member of the Green Bay Packers. As always, the Packers will do what's right and in the best interest of the team.

As with all Packers greats, Brett's legacy will always be celebrated by our fans and the organization, regardless of any change in his personal intentions.

Brett and Deanna will always be a part of the Packers family.

The lovely Doreen from Waukesha wants to know why the Green Bay Packers don't allow comments at their website. She would like to tell them they are full of... natural field fertilizer.

As a somewhat disinterested observer, I think that a team's management is just insane if it pushes out the door a once-in-a-lifetime quarterback when he can still pitch the ball downfield and isn't hearing imaginary footsteps in the pocket. There's probably 12-16 decent starting quarterbacks in the NFL. There's 32 teams. Somebody in the Packer organization needs to ask the Chicago Bears what it's like to field ten men and a cheerleader on offense. So far what the Packers have seen out of Favre's replacement is that if Aaron Rodgers sneezes he's likely to break a rib. Meanwhile the current job holder takes punches better than Rocky Balboa.

As for Favre's decision to un-retire, it's pretty easy to understand. Nobody in his family wanted him to retire, and he has fifteen million reasons to show up at training camp. Maybe the price of gas for his lawn mower was more than he planned. Whatever the reason, the Packers owe it to their fans to field the best team possible, not just the players Ted Thompson drafted.

The Packers may be ready to retire the number 4 jersey, but the wearer isn't ready yet to turn it in. Meanwhile, there are plenty of teams around the league ready to field number 4 for one or two more seasons. So don't be surprised to see fans at an NFL stadium pro-shop near you buying number 4 jerseys to wear to their team's game.

Given the Packers' statement, how will number 4 look in purple?

When the going gets tough, the governor gets going

The Wisconsin Club for Growth has discovered a pattern in the governor's schedule:

This week, Doyle announced he would be heading to Ireland and the UK, leaving budget negotiations behind. This will be Doyle's sixth "trade mission" since 2003, but the only thing Doyle is likely to "trade" is a budget headache for a nice cold pint of Guiness. The state revenue generated by Doyle's previous trade missions seems to have gotten lost somwhere in the couch cushions at the Governor's mansion.

Our illustrious Governor has a knack for fleeing the country when he sees trouble brewing. When Doyle Administration staffer Georgia Thompson was indicted for allegedly rigging a state travel contract to benefit one of Doyle's biggest contributors, Doyle sought refuge in Baghdad. Apparently he thought it would easier to dodge suicide bombers than members of the Capitol press corps.

Last September when the state budget was months overdue and a deadline for setting state aid to local school districts was looming, Doyle fled the country, this time taking his entourage on a 12 day trade mission to China and Japan. Before abandoning budget negotiations at home to down saki with Japanese officials, he threatened a government shutdown if legislators didn't come to an agreement. The impact of Doyle's Asia trip is still unknown.

Perhaps the timing of Doyle's upcoming trip to Ireland can be explained by the ongoing trial of racketeer and Doyle pal, Tony Rezko. Doyle and Rezko dined together before sharing a luxury box at a Packers-Bears game at Soldier field. Last week, testimony in the Rezko trial turned to Wisconsin and the man who introduced Doyle to Rezko. It is unclear whether Doyle is leaving town to escape the budget mess he created or to elude embarrassing questions about his ties to Tony Rezko. The one thing we know for sure is when the going gets tough, Governor Doyle skips town.

I bet Ireland is lovely this time of year.

Now starting for the Green Bay Packers...

Aaron Rodgers?

WTMJ-AM's Charlie Sykes is talking about it right now.

I know there's going to be a lot of wailing and screaming in Packerland today, but if anything Brett Favre was under-appreciated. Beyond the stats and raw talent, there is a special "x" factor that so few quarterbacks have. Ask the Chicago Bears. You can't draft for it. You can't trade for it. But when a team finds that special quarterback, he's an extremely rare and wonderful player to have.

Update! Packerama reports nobody has been sighted yet looking to jump off the Leo Frigo Bridge. Meanwhile, ESPN's Chris Mortensen might have an explanation which sounds more like throwing a tantrum than coming to the end of the road.

Mortensen reported that Favre, who wanted the Packers to obtain Randy Moss when he was a free agent last season, had once again pushed for Moss to join the Packers. Favre had spoken to Moss late last week and was willing to commit to more than just this season if Moss and the Packers could come to an agreement. But the Packers did not pursue Moss, who re-signed with the Patriots on Monday.

It is Chris Mortensen, so take it with a grain of salt.

Update 2! Brett Favre's brother confirms that Brett will retire. Scott Favre also announced that he will be the Libertarian candidate for quarterback.

Update 3! It's official. ESPN's Chris Mortensen changes his story again. Packerama quotes from the Press-Gazette:

Mortensen said Favre told him his decision to retire was based on the “mental wear and tear” of another NFL season, and that he couldn’t commit to it again. He said Favre was “mentally worn down” from the intense game preparation demanded during the course of an NFL season.

According to Mortensen, Favre also said he and his wife, Deanna, agreed that “anything short of winning a Super Bowl would be a disappointment” and not worth the time.Favre said his relationship with McCarthy and Thompson was good, and played no role in his retirement decision, Mortensen reported. “It’s more about the mental wear and tear,” Mortensen said.

Update 4! I just heard someone tell Jeff Wagner on WTMJ-AM that Favre retiring is like the day Elvis died. I think a little Prozac may be in order. Speaking of perspective, Brats & Beer has a blog rundown of reactions to Favre's retirement. Meanwhile, I think there's an election in Texas and Ohio today.

One for you Packer fans

From Czabe.com:

Super Bowl thoughts

Prediction: I'm going to pick the Indianapolis Colts over the Chicago Bears, 30-16. I think the Colts' defense is adequate enough to stop the Bears, and offensively I just don't see Rex Grossman able to lead his team down the field like Peyton Manning can. Peyton Manning wants this to be his best game ever. Grossman is looking forward to the after game parties.

As for the Bears' defense, it's overrated, as the last half of the season has shown.

Rooting interest: What do White Sox fans become in the winter? Bears fans. All the more reason to root for the Colts.

The Commercials: We should all watch a little closer this year. Not because the commercials will be any better, but because Katie Crabb from North Prairie won a contest and her commercial will air during the game. She and her teacher, Jessica McBride, are in Miami for the game.

The whole Kevin Federlein fry cook commercial controversy is overblown, kinda like Kevin Federlein.

Patrick at Badger Blogger will be "live-blogging" the commercials.

I guarantee some of the commercials will be more offensive than the half-time show.

Are you not entertained? Billy Joel and Prince. Neither are expected to bare a breast. But seriously, what people tend to forget is that the whole Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake performance was not family friendly before the supposed "wardrobe malfunction." Supposedly the NFL is concerned about its image and its viability as family entertainment. It could start to move beyond lip service by looking at the entirety of their productions, including the commercials that air during the games.

I'm not a prude. But there's a time for adult entertainment (like the Sopranos or Rome on HBO) and a time for family entertainment. The NFL needs to make a choice which category it belongs in.

Game meal: Home made chili. Chips and salsa. Coca-Cola.




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