[UPDATE] Favre requests release; Packers likely to say ‘no’

So much for rumors. As of today, the Brett Favre saga took a real and unexpected turn. According to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, Favre has requested an unconditional release from his contract with the Green Bay Packers. Just an hour ago, Fox Sports’s Jay Glazer reported that the Packers have “no intention of granting that request.” The article suggests that the Packers will trade Favre or even accept him as their starting quarterback before releasing him.

The division foe Minnesota Vikings are reportedly already expressing interest in signing Favre. You can bet plenty of other teams are contemplating what their offense would look like with one of the best quarterbacks in history at the helm.

Count on this drama stretching out for a while. My forecast remains unchanged – come September, Brett Favre will be the starting quarterback for the Green Bay Packers. Trades for players with contacts like Favre’s just don’t work well in the NFL’s salary cap structure, and it seems that the Pack isn’t going to let him go without compensation.

This is an update to this original post.

Brett Favre and Barry Bonds have a few things in common…

1) They are among the best players ever to play their respective sports.

2) They can’t get a job.

It’s that time of year again. Brett Favre has retired and now, according to vast media speculation, he wants to return to the Green Bay Packers. However, this time, again according to vast media speculation, the Packers aren’t listening. They apparently want to move on into the Aaron Rodgers era and let their Hall of Fame QB spend the winter in south Mississippi.

Here’s what I’ve gathered as actual fact. Favre sent a text message to Packers general manager Ted Thompson. We don’t know what the message said, but Thompson is on vacation and will not address it until he gets back. Sports Illustrated’s Peter King reported that Favre’s agent has contacted the Packers, but has received no response.

What I’m getting at is that this seems to be more rumor-driven that fact-driven. In any case, let’s play with the rumor of Favre desiring a comeback and the Packers desiring that he just go away. If this is true, the Green Bay Packers are throwing away a chance at a Super Bowl this season.

Giants vs. Patriots turns into media circus; brings democrats and republicans together

Ah, the power of pigskin.

This weekend, the New England Patriots will look to become the first team in NFL history to make it through the regular season a perfect 16-0. Only the New York Giants stand in their way. After the Patriots’ “Spygate” came to light, there are very few outside of Boston pulling for the Pats. Regardless, everyone wants to see the game.

Except it’s on that freaking NFL Network.

In an attempt to get on basic cable, the NFL Network has been reserving exclusive live games each week as the regular season winds down. This year, they already grabbed Green Bay vs. Dallas, #1 and #2 in the NFC, thus keeping 60-70% of Americans from seeing it (statistics vary on the number on people who receive NFL Network). NFL Network is only offered on satellite and very few cable providers as premium content. Time Warner does not offer the channel at all.

Who wants a 24-7-365 football channel? Not mainstream cable users. Who would watch for anything more than these few live games at season’s end? Not mainstream cable users. NFL Network is trying a power play that may get an otherwise niche network into basic tier packages NBA TV could only dream of.

But this time, they had a game too many people wanted to see, and a chance to make a whole lot of money. Therefore, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced the game would be seen on the NFL Network… and CBS… and NBC.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick said, “It’ll be like the State of the Union, on every channel.”

The political references don’t stop there. On Capitol Hill, senators took time out from working on pressing things to focus on football. Bipartisan efforts are tough to come by – be it the War in Iraq, healthcare, illegal immigration, etc. – it’s tough to get democrats and republicans on the same page.

But this was urgent.

Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Arlen Specter (R-PA) wrote a joint letter to Commissioner Goodell, expressing their concern over the NFL Network’s market positioning move and its detriment to the American football fan.

War, health, our country’s future – we’ll largely agree to disagree. Football? Don’t mess with our football. Maybe a frequent reader of this blog is correct, it has become America’s Sport. Then again, baseball had the Mitchell Report… ah, another argument for another day.

Back to the media aspect of the game. It will be the first NFL game to be simulcast on two broadcast networks since Super Bowl I in 1967, which aired on both CBS and NBC. Why are two networks jumping to broadcast the game? In 2007, football equals ratings. Largely propelled by the Patriots’ quest for perfection, NFL games occupy seven of the ten highest-rated programs on network television this fall. Even ESPN’s Monday Night Football scored a winner when the Pats were playing – the game against the Ravens was the most watched program in cable history. To be fair, that cable record is reset frequently, due to the ever-expanding number of satellite and cable viewers. The previous record was High School Musical 2 on Disney in August. Take that for what it’s worth, but you get the big picture – NBC, CBS, and especially the NFL stand to make a lot of money off this game.

In the end, I don’t mind when congressmen take a little time out to do something for their constituents. At one point this year, I had two senators, a representative, and a secretary of state all looking for my Passport and trying to get me on a boat. I like it when they fight for my football, too. Just take that bipartisan approach to other issues, as well.

As for the NFL holding games ransom… it may bite them. The networks who pay billions to the league for the right to air games cannot be happy with losing potentially historic matchups. Fans are not happy they miss out. If this is the only strategy to keep the NFL Network afloat, then maybe it does need to fit into its niche on satellite and premium cable, rather than cost the league fans and dollars.

Oh, and there is a game, right? Patriots win easily. I don’t care; I’ll be in Memphis.

BREAKING: Lott resigns; Bower fired

Just in to the Acropolis news room…

Trent Lott is retiring after 18 years in the United States Senate. Lott, the current Minority Whip, said he is ready to move on to other things. He is the only person in U.S. history to serve as the whip in both houses on Congress. He is also a former Senate Majority Leader.

Names are already surfacing to replace Lott, including Republican Chip Pickering, who announced his retirement from the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this year in order to spend more time with his family. Other names include Democrat Mike Moore, a former Mississippi Attorney General.

Pickering’s seat, on the Republican side of the Pearl River, is already hotly contested.

Despite some speculation, Senior Senator Thad Cochran will not retire, and plans to represent Mississippi into his 70’s.

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And add to that another coaching vacancy among the Mississippi Big 3. A stunning annoucement out of Hattiesburg, where Jeff Bower was fired after 17 years as the head coach of the University of Southern Mississippi. He had a 119-82-1 record in that time span. The Golden Eagles beat Arkansas State Saturday to move to 7-5 and clinch a birth in the Papajohns.com Bowl (Seriously, call it the Pizza Bowl, so much better). Southern Miss has now had 14 consecutive winning seasons under Bower and have made their mark as one of the elite mid-major teams in terms of consistent winning and ability to compete with power conference schools.

With Bower and Orgeron both out, look for Sylvester Croom and Mississippi State to reap the benefits recruiting wise in a state always ripe with athletic talent (as long as they qualify academically). This could mark a significant shift in Mississippi recruiting, because it is now open season in the Magnolia State.

As always, thoughts or comments on the many storylines presented here are appreciated.

A Win-Win Egg Bowl

I was in Starkville Friday for the annual Battle for the Golden Egg. For the first time since a Manning played at Ole Miss, the game actually meant something. Mississippi State could avoid a potential bowl snub by getting their seventh win. The Rebels had the chance to play spoiler. The crowd was more one-sided than any Egg Bowl I have seen, Ole Miss fans were relegated to a thin section of the west side. The rest of the over 51,000 in attendance were decked out in maroon and white.

Boy were we in for an ugly 50 minutes.

Ole Miss picked up where they left off last week against LSU, running all over the Bulldogs. Brent Schaeffer and BenJarvus Green-Ellis cut holes in the supposedly stout MSU run defense. Meanwhile, Coach Croom’s offense could not do anything, aside from dropping passes and running to the line of scrimmage. Despite the domination, the Rebels scored only 14 points, failing to capitalize on many opportunities. A field goal hit the post, Brent again proved why MC’s Adam is the best Schaeffer/Shaffer in the state, missing countless deep passes, and the Rebels failed to convert a fake punt, the first of two odd fourth down calls by Coach Ed Orgeron.

And 10 minutes still remained on the clock.

That’s when Coach O made the decision that ultimately got him fired (I don’t care what Boone and Khayat said). 4th down and 1 near midfield, up 14-0, Ole Miss went for the 1st down rather than punting. The Bulldog crowd, initially baffled, came to life, realizing the Rebel coach had given their team a chance to take back the momentum. The defense at once transformed into the unit that upended Auburn, Alabama, and Kentucky – they stopped the run short and got the ball back. Six plays later, Wesley Carroll, who had been benched for a drive earlier after not being able to hit the side of a barn, hit Anthony Dixon for a touchdown. 14-7, game on.

If you want a game recap, this is not it, but it will get us to the end point a little faster. Bulldogs drive, Carroll throws pick, defense holds, Derek Pegues takes a punt back 75-yards, defense forces 3-and-out, in :36, Carroll drives his team into field goal range, where Adam Carlson makes a career-long 48-yard field goal. 17-14 MSU.

Stats through three quarters:
Total Yards: UM- 290, MSU- 144
First Downs: UM- 20, MSU- 4
Score: UM 14, MSU 0

Final Score: MSU 17, UM 14

The loss was only bittersweet for most Ole Miss fans, because less than 24 hours after the horn sounded, Coach O-8 was fired. Maybe it was the 4th down call. Maybe it was the failure to punish the 20+ players who stole items from hotel rooms all season long, garnering the school national attention of the not-so-good kind. Maybe it was 3-21 in SEC play. Whatever the reason, it is a great move for the Rebels, who should have never fired David Cutcliffe in the first place. But constant 7-4 seasons weren’t good enough for the higher ups at Ole Miss. After this stink streak, the goals have probably been redefined.

Sad though, us Bulldog fans wouldn’t have minded a few more seasons of Coach O’s indecipherable press conferences and befuddling coaching moves.

But back to the best part of the story.

The win ensures a bowl game for the Bulldogs for the first time since 2000 – the Independence Bowl in Shreveport against Texas A&M now deemed “The Snow Bowl.” Friday night, Texas A&M upset Texas to move to 7-5. Seven years later, Mississippi State and Texas A&M could very well meet in Shreveport for the Independence Bowl. Let it snow; let it snow.

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Oh, and I went to see Ole Miss play, and my alarm clock and pillow got back to Jackson safe and sound.