Favre Cost of Playin= Stickin' it to my Old Team

It was 106 degrees and the sweat was beading up in my helmet so bad that I kept getting blurry eyes. The curious mixture of my hair product and the hard work I am putting in on this summer's day is creating a sting.

At this point in summer football conditioning practice my muscles usually ache like I have been jumping on concrete for eight hours straight in cleats but I don't feel that this year.

Most kids playing high school football are running on the track and playing some 7 on 7 summer drills at camps and what not. I'm catching passes from Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre.

Ya know what's the most cool journal entry in the country this summer?

This hypothetical scene of what it must have been like for those kids down in 'Sippi 'who got the unthinkable....practicing football with the dude who has thrown more TD's than anyone in NFL history and getting to see his legendary cannon for an arm still lasering balls on a line at age 39.

While it was a dream for the kids...Favre fed off that energy and used it to prepare himself for something I think 97 percent of NFL players would tell you they knew would happen.

Oh wait...wait...I have a cell phone call....wait just a second.......wait

HI...TONY... TONY LA RUSSA IS THAT YOU....

HEY MAN THANKS FOR THE CALL...YEAH I'M IN THE MIDDLE OF A FAVRE COLUMN...

YEAH ...I KNOW YOU TOLD ME SO.

OKAY I WONT FORGET TO TELL THE READERS FAVRE'S IN BIG TROUBLE WITH PACKER FANS....

THANKS TONY....

How bout' Favre's lore in the great anils of Packer history.

(cue NFL films voice Stan Facenda....with the weird spastic music playing underneath)

Brett Favre quarterback of the Green Bay Packers took the beloved status he had with the cheeseheads of the frozen tundra and completely pillaged it like a savage viking burning a village.

Okay enough slow mo. This much is clear....Favre has committed high treason in Packerland. Doning that Vikings uni is like seeing Peyton Manning in a Pats jersey or like Derek Jeter gearing up for the Red Sox. Does it make sense to think of Reggie Miller in a Knicks jersey trash talking Subway Jared? No!

Here's the thing though...Favre does what he wants. He dictates his terms of playing at this point....cool...clearly he is a veteran NFL player that despises training camp.

Got that...but you need to gel with your team. He has got to be accountable for his play. He has got to win early or things will get weird due to the secrecy and wounds this Favre circus caused to guy's like Sage Rosenfels and Tavaris Jackson who weren't told diddly and are battling for their livelihoods.

It is easy to know this....the Vikings might have been secret but they are a scary team all of the sudden. Before #4 got hurt last season...and he did get hurt.....the Jets were cruising in first ....he was one of the top fantasy QB's....rolling off 6 TD games....but he couldn't make it to the finish health wise.

What has he done to make finishing this season seem like a safer bet. Practice with high school kids????

He says he can operate the Vikings system in his sleep. I'll take his word...but I also know at some point Brett the Gunslinger is gonna be forcing the ball into some tight seams with passes that will make you say --

"holly why the heck did he make that pass? "

What's really funny is that even with all of this shenanigans of

'I am playing...i'm not playing....I AM!!!!! '

Favre has enough time to get ready for the NFL game. He has got one week of camp and then two weeks back at the Viks complex for intensive get ready for the season type practices.

And this just in Ron Burgandy

Favre is a man...he's built a Super Bowl Winner cause he's made of iron and brawn no doubt....

The Vikings are no woman with a small brain either....Favre plus Peterson plus Berrian, Shiancoe, and Harvin plus a vicious pass rushing defense equals DANGEROUS.

It's Science!!!!!

Finally Mike Vick gets to Move On

Sometimes I feel like I live in a world where I do not understand anything. Or at least, I feel like I have no ability to rationalize with what the majority opinion is. Maybe Willy Wonka said it best

"You should never doubt what no one is sure about."

But you see...I do not believe Michael Vick is a heinous criminal. I do not believe in a world in which men go to jail for 30 days for killing humans (see Donte Stallworth) but then men also go to federal prison for 2 years for financially backing dog rings that kill dogs.

I am sick and tired of watching 2 cent scribes on ESPN and other networks give us there moral statutes on why Vick is 'one of the most notorious players in NFL history' and we need to ease him back into society.

I NEVER thought I would agree with much that Terrell Owens has to say....but when he got after NFL commissioner Roger Goddell in response to Goddell further punishing Vick on top of Vick's NFL suspension and 23 month jail sentence...I could not have agreed more.

"I think the Michael Vick situation is unfortunate,” Owens said. “I think the way the commissioner is handling it is unfair to Michael Vick. I think he’s done the time for what he’s done. I don’t think it’s really fair for him to be suspended four more games. It’s almost like kicking a dead horse in the ground.”

Did Mike Vick make the kind of decisions you pay a franchise player 100 million to make? NO!

But I also know covering pro sports as long as I have that infidelity and other indiscretions could be attached to players you think are daisy do rights in Vick's same position.

The point is not... oh he did this and others do this...it's that people are human. We make mistakes. We deserve not just the cliche second chance...but we all deserve the right to make our best case as to why we are not what the public image has pegged us to be.

Having lived in the South near where Vick grew up, I know the kind of neighborhood, friends, and the lifestyle he grew up around. I know what kind of ill advised ideals are revered and that is all debatable. What I believe cannot be argued is the fact Mike Vick served federal prison time to get this chance to reprove himself.

He has paid a ginormous price for the right to show something we would all want. Unless you are Jesus Christ reincarnated, I am pretty sure all of us have a worst moment or bad decision that we are glad we are not defined by. If you never have a chance to atone this world and society would never evolve.

That is why the Philadelphia Eagles are brilliant and why they will benefit from giving this guy a second chance to change peoples opinions about what kind of human being Mike Vick is.

Vick is getting mentoring advice from Tony Dungy. Players and personnel people from every organization around the league love and respect Tony.

This is a man that has drank from the supreme elixirs like winning a Super Bowl and writing a best selling book. He has also had to swallow the ultimate poison like losing son James to suicide.

Dungy's ability to stay even through high's and low's is helping Vick and it has alot to do with his signing by the Eagles.

Andy Reid said it during the signing presser-

"Tony has taken and spent alot of time with Michael. Tony is a good friend of mine. I've had a chance to visit with him and talk through some things with him."

"I've done my homework...I feel Michael is on the right track."

The Eagles know Vick's head is in the right place but they also know the guy is hungry to get back to being and proving he is one the best and most dynamic players ever to suit up in the NFL.

Is he a great quarterback? I would say the majority opinion with sports fans and football experts is no. Vick's career record of 47-49 as a starter is not great but QB Warren Moon was 102-101 career and he is in the Hall of Fame. Vick did take the Atlanta Falcons to the NFC championship in 2004. Many fans and insiders point to his problems throwing with accuracy. Vick has never completed more than 57 percent of his passes in a season.

Look close at the numbers and you will see a quarterback who has thrown more touchdowns than interceptions 71 to 52. Compare that to Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw's first six year totals of 66 TD to 90 INT.

In Vick's last full season in 2006, #7 did something we have never seen- 2,500 yards passing 1,000 yards rushing....FROM A FRIGGIN QUARTERBACK...are you kidding me???? It was not a fluke either because in 2004 he went 2,300 yds passing and 900 yards rushing.

The guy is not as accurate as Tom Brady or Peyton Manning and will never be...but those guys will never run for a 1,000 yards from the QB position in the NFL. The goal is to move the ball...secure it....and score touchdowns to help win games. Vick has proven he can do that.

Now he has to prove it again after being gone for 2.5 years and Philly seems to be on the surface a good fit. The Eagles have a solid organization with good structure in place. There is a culture of strong veteran leadership with an expectation and proven track record of winning.

Andy Reid is an incredibly diverse offensive coach. Look at the powerhouse he has turned RB Brian Westbrook into in terms of doing things from every angle on the field. Westbrook is a top 5 pick in most fantasy leagues because Reid gets him the ball in so many different ways.

The only weird thing about Vick's signing is the fact that Donovan McNabb is the incumbent franchise QB. He just re-signed a two year deal. Philly has always had a 'we love you...ahhh maybe we don't' attitude with Donovan and that is really ridiculous when you look at the body of work he has given Eagles fans.

But if you listen and believe McNabb this might not be a problem after all. McNabb and Vick are good friends and several news outlets are reporting it was McNabb who went to Eagles management and said 'let's look at this.'

"I'm the quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles. I'm pretty sure when Chad Pennington went to the sidelines last year in Miami for the wildcat formation he didn't have a problem with it. I won't either." McNabb's reaction to Vick's signing.

That sounds good now and certainly drips a little of being spin-doctorish but we shall see what happens if the Eagles start slow and McNabb struggles...let us see how the city of brotherly you better win or else we get not so lovey feels then.

I love it though, more drama in a league oozing with it now that Michael Vick is back!

How Could Watson Do That

The most unbelievable moment in sports almost happened Sunday and I don't use ...THE MOST tag.... lightly or recklessly.

Are you serious??? FIFTY NINE YEAR OLD....Tom Watson had an up and down, 2nd cut about 12 to 15 feet away, to win the friggin British Open.....age 59????


That doesn't even make sense?


I know Tom Watson....ahhh 8 majors...5 British...dude is a master golf jedi period....but damn I thought he could pick up that spare.

Then I felt bad he didn't....but he did put his name back into the mainstream...he did pick up close to mill (don't really know the official number but I'm close) and even though he didn't hit it- I'll be mired perpetually in the thought of... how the heck did he do that?

I am so disillusioned as a sports fan these days though from steroids...I mean...I can't say I don't think ..hey is this guy juicing? I mean, how can you explain in his words "a 59 year old GEEZER" playing for major when the previous record in one of the oldest games...is 46 or so?

Look up Steve Croft's story about a year or so ago on 60 minutes right in the precipice of the Bond's is using story. 60 minutes had a doctor who was making bank on helping 55 to 65 year olds use steroids under control and producing in this doctor's and his patient's minds results that were off the charts in terms of cognitive and physical performance upgrades.

I know its whack...Tom Watson is a good dude...he was just turning back the clock and was totally legit...I have no discernible evidence of anything remotely contrary....BUT... having to sit there through...McGwire...Bonds....Clemens....Manny.....Arod....it takes its toll on you.

It's the "I'm constantly whacked out thinking people are on roids effect." It's an effect that I have no idea what the cure is. I mean it was trust but that's gone.

While we are here on this turf...let me just ask how long do we tolerate the baseball writers mission to keep Big Mac as the Hey-Suess of the steroid era?????

'He can never be in the hall...it's not moral!!!!! Just look at him lie to Congress.'

God that is sooooo weak. Sammy Sosa forgot to speak English. Arod flat lied to the American public, who knows if he's told the truth yet. If you are going to say McGwire can't get into the Hall because he wasn't forthright with Congress...keep em all out. McGwire shouldn't have to be the pariah of steroiders who don't make the Hall.

He went from a guy who started to hit in the low .200's to a guy who with alot of hard work changed his swing completely and mastered the strike zone to the tune of a record amount of walks.

Big Red etched himself in the exclusive 500 club with 5 seasons of 49 bombs or more, and set the single season HR record before it got reset by Bonds. The guy won a gold glove as a first baseman.

Hall of Famer period...and if he's not than no one who has that shroud over them should be either. I have heard reports that current Hall of Famers will walk out if they see suspected steroiders get in. News flash old timers...love your moxy but dudes juiced. Alot of them...you see there were 100 million dollar and in Arod's case 250 million dollar contracts out there being signed. You cannot police the number of guys who did it. There were pitchers, position players, hell even mascots...ok...kidding about that!

None of this nonsensical drivel has given me any realistic perspective on how the heck it was possible for Watson to make it look so elementary but I do know this.

If Watson can do it at 59 ...think about Tiger and the possibility of what he'll do at that age....I'm looking forward to that day because watching what Watson did even falling just short was a truly rare and real moment in sports. Live unscripted drama like what Watson provided is why sports is still the best reality show going.

I live for moments like that....there's a zillion baseball games going on all summer but Watson was riveting. Thinking about a 59 year old man winning a major in which Tiger Woods couldn't even make the cut....that's making the impossible ....seem believable.