Closure.....Finally.

But the NEW YORK JETS??? Can this be far behind?

More thoughts after THE CHECK today, and this topic will be put to rest for good.

Jeff

Wait! Brettfavre To "Compete" For Job!

In a not-so-stunning change of events, it has been announced that Brettfavre is now on his way to Green Bay and - ready for this? - will be allowed to COMPETE (nod, nod - wink, wink) with Aaron Rodgers for the Packer starting Quarterback position. Gee, I wonder who will win???? Here is what I think about this:

1. It is more apparent than ever that Brettfavre runs the entire Green Bay Packer organization. They bribe the guy with an offer of $25 million to basically "go away," which he turns down. (Hey - THAT'S the team I'd want to play for. The one who offers me millions NOT to show up). Now they are going to hand him the starting job after promising the position to Aaron Rodgers. He blackmailed the team by threatening to play for their arch-rivals and they gave in. Pathetic.

2. If I was Aaron Rodgers, I would demand a trade immediately. How can Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthey even look him in the face? Rodgers is a 1st-round pick who is in the 4th year of a 5-year, incentive-laden contract. He has not started a game.

3. My good buddy Jase has taken a calm, collected view of this whole affair. Jase, a life-long Packer fan, realized that the Packer organization gave Favre opportunity after opportunity to return to the club after last year. He was able to see through the "Favre is God" opinion that many Packer fans share. Not all fans share this clear vision with Jase. If you want to read some funny (demented and sad, but funny) stuff, check out the fan comments on the Milwaukee Journal and Green Bay Press-Gazette Packer articles. Favre is basically immune to any criticism and Rodgers has been vilified for throwing an incomplete pass in the Packers first scrimmage. Favre could basically take hostages at gunpoint and it would be the hostages fault according to these fans. But at least we have this sweet photo of he and his wife landing in Green Bay (somebody also gave a link to his flight info in the comments in the Mil. Journal, which is frighteningly sad):


4. I wonder if Ted Thompson or Mike McCarthy will have to do Favre's laundry?

5. Get the tissues ready for John Madden.

6. Favre was never, ever going to the Vikings. Well, actually he was. THAT is why he will now be "competing" for the Packers starting quarterback position.

We'll see what happens now. It's going to be a circus.

Monday morning update: Now, conflicting reports say the Packers may have actually contacted the Vikings about a trade for Favre. I think that I am officially going to shut up about this whole topic until something substantial happens. This is ridiculous...

Jeff

Livan Gone; Gardy Suspended

It's been an eventful week on the Twins front. First, the trading came and went with no deals by the Twins. I hope this did not come as a shock to anyone. I read quite a few comments on various web sites from people who were very upset the Twins did not make a trade. People were calling for the basic "Derek Jeter for Brian Bass" type trades, which usually don't materialize for some reason. Personally, I think the Twins brass is very reluctant to trade any of the young pitchers on the staff or position players because any success they will have this year is basically "gravy." The Twins are realistically building for 2010 when the new stadium opens.

Secondly, the Twins took 3 of 4 from the Hated (capital H) White Sox to pull within 1/2 game of first place. Gardy (who I love) got ejected after a horrible call in the third game and punted his hat (see above). After this punt, hats rained down on the field along with a few baseballs. Now, Twins fans are usually very good natured - almost to a fault. When things get bad at the Dome, Twins fans usually purse their lips and utter such language as "drat, darn and dad-gum." Once every five years, however, Twins fans snap. Remember the return of Chuck Knoblauch in 2001? For three straight nights, fans in left field threw coins at him in left field. I was there with some guys from THE CHECK one night, but did not hurl anything at Knoblauch except insults. The second game was delayed and Tom Kelly was forced to walk out and lecture the perpetrators or the game would be forfeited. Bob Casey, the late-great beloved public address announcer screamed at the fans to "STOP THESE SHENANIGANS OR RISK FORFEITURE!" Casey usually saved such rage for his "NOOOOOOOOO SMOKING" message before each game. I miss that guy.

Anyway, a couple of nights ago, after hats and baseballs rained down on field, Ozzie Guillen (who I also love, by the way) pulled his team off the field and got in a screaming match with two old guys seated above the Sox dugout. They looked like those two old guys who heckle from the balcony in The Muppets.

That was fantastic, and another reason baseball is the greatest game out there. Guillen and the old guys were really screaming back and forth and Ozzie really let them get under his skin, just like the old guys on The Muppets did to Kermit the Frog. Gardy ended up getting suspended for Saturday night's game against Cleveland because MLB blamed him for "starting the fracas." Oddly enough, these "fracases" usually occur on "Dollar Dome Dog Night" in which hot dogs are $1. I can't really explain that one. Booze, I can see. But Dome dogs?

Thirdly, the Twins made a great decision by releasing Livan Hernandez and Craig Monroe and calling up Fransico Liriano from Rochester. Nothing against Hernandez or Monroe personally, but this move had to happen. Hernandez was a class act all year, and he could have ripped the Twins for letting him go now. But, instead, here is what he had to say:

"I had fun here," Hernandez said. "It's a great city for baseball. They treat people professionally. I never think I made the wrong decision when I decided to sign with the Twins."

Hernandez was 10-8 with a 5.48 ERA in 23 starts, but was just getting hammered since May. Since May 17, he was 4-7 with a 6.59 ERA and .364 opponent's batting average in 14 starts. The Twins infielders lives were at stake with all of the rockets being hit at them. Hell, the fans in the outfield seats' lives were at stake with all of the rockets being hit at them. Meanwhile, Craig Monroe was brought in to supply some offensive "pop," was hitting .203 and just never panned out.

Liriano? They had to bring him up. Never mind that he was 10-0 with a 2.67 ERA in his past 11 starts for Rochester - they had to shut up his agent. Liriano will be making his first start against hated Cleveland on Sunday, and me and Three Kooks will be there.

I will be an interesting pennant race. The Hated Sox have picked up Ken Griffey Jr. The Twins, however, might just have Karma on their side. Ask me again, however, in early September when the Twins return from playing 20 of 29 games on the road.

That stretch will determine the entire season.

Peace,

Jeff

Canadian Sasquatch Sighting

There has been yet another Sasquatch sighting. This time - north of the border. Roger from THE CHECK forwarded a story to me that was published by the Canadian Broadcasting Company (that's CBC to you and me). According to the report, two women in Ontario were berry picking and had a run-in with the legendary Stink-Ape. Here's more(!):

Helen Pahpasay and her mother were north of Grassy Narrows, Ont., about 230 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, to pick blueberries last Tuesday when they spotted a hulking figure from their truck at about 10 a.m. CT.

"It was black, about eight feet long and all black, and the way it walked was upright, human-like, but more — I don't know how to describe it — more of a husky walk, I guess," she told CBC News.

"It didn't look normal."

Didn't look "normal?" Well, I bet you're not so hot yourself, Helen. And, of course The Sasquatch is going to be pissed off if a person is picking berries in his territory. That would be like someone searching for food in your refrigerator. What did Helen and her mother do when they saw the creature? Here is more from the CBC story:

The creature seemed to spot them, then ran off into the woods, Pahpasay said. She and her mother debated chasing the creature to try to get a closer glimpse, but were so shaken they decided to abandon their berry-picking excursion and return home.

Others returned to the area later and found a large, six-toed footprint, Pahpasay said. "What do I think it was? Right now I'm not even sure what it was. But it really scared both of us," she said.

"There's been talk of Bigfoot, sasquatch. And I'm still not sure what it was, but I've never seen anything like it."

Pahpasay says she and her mother aren't the only people in the area with a sasquatch story. A couple of men from their community said they also saw the creature three years ago, she said, and a similar animal has been mentioned in old lore about the area.

You know, I believe that Helen and her mother made the right decision not to "chase the creature" into the woods. You know how that type of decision usually ends up in the movies. Thank goodness that had the sense to turn around and high tail it out of there. Now, I certainly don't doubt any details in their story except for the part about six toes. Come on, Helen - are you crazy? Sasquatch's have five toes because they are humanoids. Everyone knows that. Now, of course, the author of the report had to throw this little ditty in to end the story:

Skeptics say it's preposterous that a large mammal could have evaded detection in North America throughout history. Despite numerous alleged sightings, no one has ever produced concrete evidence such as skulls or bones, they argue, while footprints, film or photos can be manufactured.

Whatever. Have they seen the Roger Patterson film? Manufactured? Put down the crack pipe, buddy that's real. When will people stop requiring "hard evidence" and start BELIEVING!

Come on.

Jeff

A Slice of Americana

I just walked into my sons room. It was a little past their bedtime and I was checking to see if they were asleep. They were in their bunk bed quietly, intently listening to the Twins game on the radio.

That, folks, is a slice of Americana that really warms my heart.

Peace,

Jeff

Some Thoughts....

Here's some stuff to ponder...

1. From the "Why always Wisconsin" files. As reported in a Friday AP story:

Complaint: Man shoots lawn mower
MILWAUKEE — A 56-year-old Milwaukee man is accused of shooting his lawn mower because it wouldn't start.

Keith Walendowski was charged with felony possession of a short-barreled shotgun or rifle and misdemeanor disorderly conduct while armed. Walendowski said he was angry because his Lawn Boy wouldn't start Wednesday morning, according to the criminal complaint.

"I can do that, it's my lawn mower and my yard so I can shoot it if I want," Walendowski told police.

A woman who lives at Walendowski's house reported the incident. She says he was intoxicated (Editors note - gee, really?). Walendowski could face up to an $11,000 fine and six years and three months in prison if convicted.

A call to Walendowski's home went unanswered this morning. (Editor's second note: For some reason, that last sentence struck me as very funny)

Why can't that stuff happen in Idaho? Or Nevada? Why? Then again, there have been a few times I might have done the same thing to my lawnmower if I had a firearm handy.

2. Freealonzo had a very interesting post last Thursday in which he posed the question - What songs would you want played at your funeral? Now, I hope that my funeral will be many decades from now (thank you Zocor!), but he poses a great question. Believe it or not, I have thought about this a lot. That will not come as a shock for those of you that have known me for awhile. Here are the three that I would like played (in 2058, of course):

--The Waterboys - "This Is The Sea"

--The Beatles - "In My Life"

--Neil Young - "One Of These Days"

So there you go. How about you? What songs would you like played at your funeral?

3. Twins third-baseman Mike Lamb has grown a beard. It has not helped his hitting. (As I said that, he just drove in a run with a double - not kidding).

4. I saw The Dark Knight today with The Eldest Son. Great movie - all 2 1/2 hours of it. It's well worth seeing. Not a lot of laughs, however. The film was rather dark, and I am not talking about the lighting. This was not the "Adam West Batman" that I grew up with.










Heath Ledger should be handed the Academy Award right now for his portrayal of The Joker. (Posthumously, of course.) He. Was. Creepy. I'm lucky that Cesar Romero, and not Heath Ledger, portrayed the joker in the version that I grew up watching. Ledger's portrayal would have sent me to some early psychiatric counseling, I believe.





That's all for tonight.

Jeff

Favre Update......Buckle Up!

The Brettfavre news just won't stop. Check this out from Judd Zulgad's Viking blog on Startribune.com:

As we await the NFL’s decision on the tampering charges filed by the Packers against the Vikings for “inappropriate dialogue” with Brett Favre, Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel had an interesting bit of information in a piece he wrote about the quarterback today.
McGinn writes that a source said Favre had continued to use a Packers-issued cell phone and that when the team checked the phone records it found “repeated calls to coach Brad Childress and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell.”

The possibility of Favre having used a phone issued by the Packers had been speculated on last week after the Associated Press reported that Green Bay informed the NFL it felt “an investigation of the phone records would show more than ‘normal contact’ between the Vikings and Favre, even before he formally asked for his release to play for another team.”
Bevell served as Favre’s quarterbacks coach in Green Bay from 2003-05 and the two have remained close. That relationship made it difficult to believe the Packers could prove much by simply pointing to conversations between Bevell and Favre. However, if Favre’s phone records also point to conversations with Childress that could be a different story.

The Vikings have remained mostly quiet on this subject since news broke nearly a week ago that tampering charges had been filed. Minnesota issued a statement last Thursday, saying the Vikings “are not commenting on this issue. These types of matters are handled by the league.”

The Vikings, if found guilty, could face penalties that include loss of draft picks and/or fines.

Now let me get this straight. Brettfavre, who make $12 million dollars a year, carried around a Packer-issued cell phone. And Mr. Favre allegedly used this Packer-issued cell phone to call the Minnesota Vikings. Repeatedly.

Folks, it doesn't get any weirder than than this. This cements the fact that Brett might not be the brightest bulb in the tree. I wonder if the Packer-issued phone was Green and Gold with a "G."

Am I in a dream? Somebody wake me up. I know - I'm going to be woke up and the Packer - Giants NFC Championship game will just be starting. Right? This is all part of THE VISION. The Packers, led by the resurgent Brettfavre, are about to go to the Super Bowl. Right?

Somehow, someway, the Vikings will probably lose draft picks over this. There is no question about that. The Joe Smith fiasco all over again.

But let me get this straight - Brettfavre used a Packer-issued cell phone to repeatedly call the Minnesota Vikings.

What the hell is going to happen next?

Jeff