Sports Sense

Easily the biggest surprise of this year’s NFL draft is the Denver Broncos’ selection of the University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow in the first round.

Despite being a Heisman Trophy winner and a two-time national champion, most of the so-called draft experts said Tebow’s style was not at all suited for the NFL. His throwing motion was all wrong they said, and he played in the shotgun, never taking snaps from under center. Some have said he might though make a good fullback or tight-end.

But Tebow long ago broke the mold for what we think quarterbacks are supposed to look like, sound like and act like.

“I’m going to go in there and do exactly what the coaches tell me and do it with all my heart,” Tebow said in an interview with ESPN after he was selected by the Denver Broncos. When asked what he thinks the Denver coaches will expect from him, he answered by saying, ”someone that’s going to come in, that’s going to learn, someone that’s going to work , that’s going to stay out of trouble. Someone that’s going to do whatever they ask.“

A corny, yet somehow disarmingly honest response. That’s classic Tim Tebow, a yes sir, yes ma’am, kind of guy.

For some of us from the old school, its hard not to like Tim Tebow. He’s everything you’d want a young man to be. He is polite, humble, bible-quoting and hungry. Oh and I should add – he claims to still be a virgin. Who says that? Tim Tebow does. The Tim Tebow story is so pure, so sappy, it can’t possibly be true, can it?

For the longest time, I too thought he was too perfect. Too good to be true. But once the so-called experts started telling me that he would struggle in the NFL- if he ever played at all – I became a Tim Tebow guy. Why? Because I have a problem with anyone telling me that what I have seen has no merit.

My own eyes told me, no matter how much I didn’t like him or his Florida Gators, that for four years, Tebow always seemed to make the right play, either with his feet or his arm. I always felt that if Tim Tebow was on the field, somehow he’d find a way for Florida to score. Sheer force of will it seemed. His vocal leadership in exhorting his teammates to play harder is now the stuff of college football legend. His leadership was as much responsible for Florida’s success as his play.

But as much as I am hoping that what Tebow says about himself and his convictions are true, I’ve learned the hard way that I must also be willing to accept that the young man’s image might be artificially enhanced (a lie) and that he might one day disappoint his fans by doing some stupid, insensitive, immoral, maybe even illegal, human stuff.

As a kid I cheered for O.J. Simpson. As an adult I’ve cheered for Tiger Woods and Ben Roethlisberger. Obviously I knew nothing about who those men really were, or what they were capable of doing away from their sports.

So when I hear a guy like Tebow say that he will try with all his heart to do everything expected of him and learn and grow and adds that he will stay out of trouble, I want to believe him and hope it comes true. But all I really know is that Tim Tebow was a great college football player who has a chance to be Denver’s next great quarterback.

For now that’s enough. I’ll cheer for that.

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Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger may have escaped prosecution, but he should not elude a suspension and public scorn.

Roethlisberger has never made clear exactly what happened the night he apparently took advantage of an intoxicated woman, who may have barely consented to have sex with him – if she consented at all.

Maybe Roethlisberger explained the circumstances and his thinking to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell when they met the other day. Maybe he has offered insight to the Steelers. But I doubt it. And he most certainly has not explained his actions publicly. All he’s done to this point is to casually “read” a statement the other day, in which he offered a vague and less than heartfelt apology and expressed relief that he was not charged.

The problem for Roethlisberger is that while his actions may not rise to the level of criminal behavior, we do know that what he did do was no less than crude, predatory and shameful.

In her statement to police, Roethlisberger’s accuser said the quarterback plied her with shots of alcohol, before leading her to the bathroom where she claimed he had sex with her. Probably because of the drinking she doesn’t remember many of the details. A fact which became a huge problem for the Georgia prosecutor who knew that without more concrete evidence it would be difficult to convict Roethlisberger.

But while criminal laws may not have technically been broken, there is little doubt that Ben Roethlisberger was most certainly morally wrong.

And obviously he learned very little from a similar incident involving a woman last year. Rape charges were not filed but a civil case against Roethlisberger is still pending.

Steelers president Art Rooney II said that the Steelers are poised to take disciplinary action against their quarterback but will wait to coordinate the team’s punishment of Roethlisberger with any actions commissioner Goodell may take.

Certainly the commissioner is frustrated with player behavior and most likely he had Roethlisberger in mind when he issued a memo last week reminding teams and players what their responsibilities are under the league’s conduct policy.

“NFL and club personnel must do more than simply avoid criminal behavior. We must conduct ourselves in a way that ‘is responsible, that promotes the values upon which the league is based, and is lawful.’ ”

“These incidents affect us all – every investigation, arrest, or other allegation of improper conduct undermines the respect for our league by our fans, lessens the confidence of our business partners and threatens the continued success of our brand.”

If the commissioner punishes Roethlisberger – and he must – it will send a strong message about what kind of personal conduct is expected of the privileged, well-paid human beings who make up the NFL.

Punishment of Roethlisberger will also provide needed evidence that NFL justice can be colorblind.

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Dancing the cha cha cha is number Eight-Five, my choice to win America’s biggest dance contest.

Over the years, football players have been among the best performers on Dancing With The Stars (DWTS). The new DWTS season which started Monday night finds another fancy dancer from the gridiron – Chad Ochocinco.

I think Ochocinco has a chance to rival the success of Emmitt Smith who won DWTS in season three, and Warren Sapp, Jerry Rice and Jason Taylor who each finished in second place in the seasons they competed.

DWTS is just about the perfect venue for a peacock like Chad Ochocinco. The Cincinnati Bengals flamboyant wide-receiver is used to the spotlight. His spectacular catches and creative touchdown celebrations (he once did the Riverdance in the endzone after scoring) have brought him both fame and derision. But at least we know his name.

It’s hard to be neutral about Ochocinco, who legally changed his last name from Johnson to Ochocinco a couple of years ago to match his number 85 jersey. I like his antics. He has fun and wants to entertain his fans. Still I’m glad he’s not an Indianapolis Colt – he would distract my team. But I like him on a team I don’t care about (the Bengals) and I want him to win DWTS.

As for his performance Monday night, Ochocinco was charming and graceful. It’s clear he has some natural dance moves. Although the judges complimented him, they gave him relatively low scores – a total of 18, which puts him in the middle of the pack. Ochocinco, who danced the Cha Cha Cha will perform another ballroom dance next Monday. I’m hoping he gets lots of fan votes.

Ochocino’s competition is tough. It includes two of the most coordinated and fluid dancers, Olympic gold medal skater, Evan Lysacek and Pussycat Dolls star Nicole Scherzinger, who is no stranger to choreography. Both Lysacek and Scherzinger were excellent.

Others in the DWTS field will most certainly provide entertainment if not victory. We know that 80 year-old Buzz Aldrin the second man to do the “real” moonwalk, will eventually get voted off. But let’s hope he won’t go before we really get a chance to marvel that a guy his age is even moving this well at all.

Who will win? Obviously I’m pulling for Chad Ochocinco, a guy who may never win the Super Bowl, but really could win DWTS. Good luck Ochocinco.

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They are used up and eventually discarded, often years before they should be looking for other work. The NFL running back is fast becoming a virtual relic. The proof of this is never more evident than now based on what happened this week as two of the league’s very best runners were jettisoned by their teams.

On the surface one wonders how it is possible that LT – LaDainian Tomlinson – who holds the all-time single season NFL touchdown record can be let go by the San Diego Chargers at the age of 30? Tomlinson is 10 years younger than quarterback Brett Favre, who is still coveted by the Minnesota Vikings and other teams. And why did the Philadelphia Eagles cut the man who is arguably their most versatile and important player, Brian Westbrook?

Obviously the Chargers and the Eagles felt that Tomlinson and Westbrook, have taken too many vicious hits and can no longer produce the way they used to. And it appears that the two teams may have a point. Tomlinson’s numbers declined sharply this season, as he finished with less than 1- thousand yards rushing for the first time in his career. And Brian Westbrook suffered a debilitating concussion that sidelined him for much of the season.

Despite their glorious history, running backs have declined precipitously in value in today’s NFL. They are no longer among the highest paid or the most respected. This is in stark contrast to the way it was. Years ago the very best running backs were compensated nearly as handsomely as quarterbacks. This is underscored by the fact that the man generally acclaimed as the greatest football player ever was a running back – the great Jim Brown.

Other players like Gale Sayers, O.J. Simpson, Walter Payton, Earl Campbell, Marcus Allen, Eric Dickerson, Barry Sanders, and all-time rushing leader Emmitt Smith dot the illustrious landscape of the NFL’s history. I could go on but I think you get the point. These are all-time football superstars. What makes NFL executives think that this can’t happen again? Look at how well the Tennessee Titan’s Chris Johnson played as he became only the 5th player to ever rush for over 2 thousand yards in a single season.

But now the thinking seems to be that running backs are interchangeable. What are NFL talent evaluators thinking? But at the same time I know the NFL is a far different league than when Jim Brown played. As a result running backs have fallen pretty far. I’m just hoping that one day these disrespected runners get a chance to get back up.

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The Indianapolis Colts never had a chance.

The Who Dat Nation and the New Orleans Saints were not to be denied on Super Bowl Sunday. Call it fate, destiny or whatever, but something intervened. This was the Saints’ Super Bowl. The Saints reaped the benefits of every break, hit a bit harder and seemed to want it more. But most importantly the Saints were clearly willing to risk it all in order to win sports biggest prize.

Nearly five years after the devastation of hurricane Katrina, the city of New Orleans continues to fight back. And the Saints march to the Super Bowl has come to embody the heroic struggle that many New Orleans residents have dealt with and some continue to deal with. How our country has responded to New Orleans and the other nearby hard-hit areas in the aftermath of Katrina speaks to the best of America.

As such the Saints victory over the Colts means everything to New Orleans and it seems it means a lot to an entire country except maybe the state of Indiana.

Try as they might to dismiss it, the 2009 season for the Colts may forever be symbolized by management’s decision in late December to rest players and play the subs rather than go for an undefeated season. That decision still does not sit well with many Indianapolis fans, who now must deal with the empty feeling that comes with being the Super Bowl loser.

A headline in the Indianapolis Star screamed “The Football Gods Get Their Revenge on The Colts”.

We’ll never know for sure if resting players took the Colts edge away. But what we do know is that the game was won on the field by a hard charging Saints team that clearly knew that a Super Bowl victory meant more than just taking home the Lombardi Trophy for the team.

And when Peyton Manning, arguably football’s best quarterback, throws a pick six interception while driving for the game tying score in the closing minutes… you know the game is over. Tracy Porter the defensive back who picked off Manning’s pass and ran it back for the score said he saw the ball coming all the way. It was meant to be for Porter and the Saints. There were no similar mistakes for Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who certainly moved up a couple of notches in the best quarterback discussions.

The way I see it, for now the Saints are the real America’s Team. Congratulations to the Saints and New Orleans. For Colts fans like me, there is always next year.

This year the Indianapolis Colts never had a chance.

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I’m worried like I always am before an Indianapolis Colts playoff game. Somehow I’ve come to think that the New York Jets can actually beat the once undefeated Colts. I don’t really believe that do I? Still the last time the Jets played the Colts in a playoff game the score was 41 to nothing – Jets win. And even though that game was seven years ago, for a worrier like me it might as well have been last week.

Those of us who come from Indianapolis are used to being disappointed. I grew up in a city that never seemed quite worthy of, or comfortable with, top tier status. As such we natives have historically both derisively and proudly called the city Naptown, a place where not much happens, but is nonetheless a great place to raise a family. But its kind of like having to kiss your sister – not much joy in that.

But things have changed quite a bit in my hometown over the years and so has my perspective and reality. So now as a grown man I’ve spent a lot of time defending the Circle City (the better nickname) and extolling its virtues.

This is as good as it gets in Indianapolis. It is a city that remade itself by meticulously developing an enviable reputation as an international sports capital. And as a bonus Indianapolis now has one of the NFL’s best teams, it’s best quarterback, and a beautiful retractable roof stadium to play in. But perhaps the best and scariest fact of all is that the Colts are again the favorite to win the Super Bowl. The Colts help make Indianapolis mean something.

The rational me believes that if the Colts play their best game Sunday they should easily beat the Jets, who ironically thanks to the Colts, backed their way into the playoffs. But like many of the folks back home – the skeptical me is unduly focused on the fact that it was the Jets who a couple of weeks ago ended the Colt’s improbable bid for an undefeated season.

So will the Colts beat the Jets on Sunday and advance to the Super Bowl? I certainly hope so but I’m not sure yet. I’m from Indianapolis and I’m still worried.

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He leads one of the NFL’s best teams. But we barely know who he is.
What does this brother have to do to get some love?

His team remains undefeated which means he’s now 14 and 0 – the best record ever for a first-year NFL head coach. But all we seem to know is that he’s the guy who replaced the noble legend Tony Dungy.

He apparently blends in so well that the commentators never give him his due for his leadership and knowledge.

Even though he’s not publicly complaining, it’s got to be tough being virtually anonymous despite so much success. No one is calling him a genius even though he replaced an icon and actually improved on his team’s brand. One game at a time is the way he looks at it. But don’t lose sight of the fact that every win means he’s extending his own record breaking victory streak.

He’s on the road to 19 – 0 and the Super Bowl. One day the masses will notice he’s a very good coach, maybe they’ll notice in February.

Who is this unassuming, under-appreciated man? His name is Jim Caldwell, head coach of the Indianapolis Colts.

The way I see it he’s the NFL’s coach of the year. He deserves the love.

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The Drive now belongs to the Tennessee Titans’ Vince Young.

With the clock running out on Sunday, Vince Young drove his Titans down the field 99 yards in 18 plays, overcoming three 4th downs, and won the game against the Arizona Cardinals. Final score, Tennessee 20, Arizona 17.

The play that ended it was a touchdown pass in the end zone as time expired. It does not get any more dramatic than that.

The drive is a defining moment for Vince Young who less than a year ago was considered by some at best immature and quite possibly unstable. A run-first quarterback who glowed briefly but quickly flamed out. While yesterday’s remarkable game winning march down the field is a statement for Young it is also a parable about patience and redemption.

Tennessee which began the season 0 – 6, has now won five games in a row, and is not ruling out the playoffs anymore. And off the bench after reflecting on his mistakes and learning the finer points of team leadership, Vince Young has won all five of those games.

And now he is starting to look like the player he was in college, when he led Texas to a national championship with what may be the greatest performance in college football history.

Like that game nearly four years ago, or yesterday’s final drive, most of us watch football hoping that we will see a Vince Young dazzle us at his best.

There is nothing like seeing a player give his all and do it in an unforgettable way.

That is what Vince Young is capable of. But unrealized potential is why he has disappointed so many of us until now.

Perhaps the lesson we can learn from Vince Young’s saga, is that sometimes we must be willing to wait awhile for those who still need to mature and grow. Some of them deserve our patience and understanding, which if given can be generously rewarded.

I’m sure the Titans and their fans are glad now that they didn’t give up on Vince Young.

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Remember this – the Tennessee Titans have now won four games in a row. The winning streak was extended Monday night with an impressive victory in the Titans’ original hometown of Houston.

The streak started just over a month ago after a humiliating loss to the New England Patriots, 59 – 0.

At that point the Titans were winless on the season. Six straight losses. Nowhere to go, but up. At least that’s what they always say when it looks like there is no hope.

But apparently hope springs eternal for 86 year-old Titans owner Bud Adams, who called for Vince Young to return to the starting line-up after the Patriots loss.

Titans’ coach Jeff Fisher apparently agreed with the owner and benched veteran quarterback Kerry Collins. For tarnished star Vince Young it was now or never.

But clearly it is Now, as the return of Vince Young is propelling a once floundering team.

Monday night’s 20 -17 win over the Houston Texans is actually making it possible for Tennessee fans to think about the playoffs…

Well okay, if not this year, most certainly it looks like there are big games ahead for the Titans in the near future, if they keep playing like this.

The resurgence of the Titans of course coincides with the return of Vince Young, who is looking more and more like the guy who was simply unstoppable at the University of Texas, the guy who won the national championship over USC. Against the Texans, Young passed efficiently and ran effectively when called on and when he had to. At times Houston’s defense didn’t seem to know how to defend against him.

Vince Young’s return to relevance seemed unlikely a year ago when there was good reason to think that he had just about lost his mind. After the opening game of last season Young seemed to come apart emotionally when he was injured and benched in favor of Kerry Collins.

There were rumors of a suicide attempt after that game. Although Young has strongly denied trying to take his own life, his reputation was badly harmed. Making matters worse, the Titans went on to have the league’s best record last season with a troubled Young on the sidelines and many wondering if he was finished as a player. But that was then.

Of course the new Vince Young is helped greatly by the spectacular running of blazingly fast tailback, Chris Johnson, who has been timed at 4.24 in the 40 yard dash. Johnson is leading the NFL in rushing and looks like he might make a run at a two thousand yard season.

With Johnson, Young and an improving defense, Tennessee is keeping faint hope alive for the faithful in Nashville.

And right now it looks like whether they actually make the playoffs or not, Vince Young and his re-energized teammates will make it hard to forget these Titans.

.

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It’s as bad as its ever been here in Washington. I’m not talking about the health care debate, but football. The real glue in this transient city has long been the Redskins. But its been nearly 20 years since the Redskins have fielded a consistently good team.

Making matters worse is that not only is the team mediocre, the Redskins are no longer a respected franchise. And now it appears, the next nail is being hammered – the fans are turning off. The same fans who have technically sold out every home game since the sixties. The same fans who used to watch in big numbers on TV at home.

The man who usually takes most of the blame for Redskins’ woes is Dan Snyder, a hands-on owner, whose only experience in football was when he bought the team ten years ago. Surprisingly I don’t think Synder is the biggest problem anymore. The real threat to the team is apathy.

I was at the game Sunday. Another horrendous loss to a no-win team. Previously 0-5 Kansas City came into Washington’s FedEx Field and shocked the falling Redskins 14 – 6. The Redskins are floundering with a 2 – 4 record on the season.

There were a lot of empty seats as thousands stayed at home. While there was a good measure of booing from those who were there, I got the distinct impression that many of them didn’t really care, and were booing out of habit. For some of them going to the game now is just a ritual.

And sadly many of the young Redskins fans have no idea what a good team wearing burgundy and gold actually looks like.

The Redskins have not scored more than 20 points in a game in two years.

Last week the team brought in an old bingo caller (really) as an offensive consultant, to make recommendations to head coach Jim Zorn. One of a series of desperate moves the team is now making.

But the man they should have called is in Tampa right now – Doug Williams. The former Redskins quarterback and Super Bowl hero is a player personnel executive for the Buccaneers. But he should be here in Washington in some capacity.

Doug won nearly 80 percent of his games as the head coach of his alma mater, legendary Grambling State. He has worked as an NFL assistant coach as well as in the front office.

Doug, who proved at Grambling as both a player and a coach, that he has a creative offensive mind, would bring football savvy to a floundering team, give the Redskin’s fan base the positive jolt it needs and serve as a mentor to the guy who now wears number 17, Jason Campbell.

Memo to Dan Snyder: You seem to be able to find room for just about everyone else, find room for Doug Williams. He could be your general manager or your coach or advisor.

I’m pretty sure he will take your call.

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On Wednesday controversial broadcaster Rush Limbaugh was knocked out of the ownership group that is hoping to buy the St. Louis Rams. Thank goodness!!!

But on Thursday Limbaugh got up and came out swinging. He loudly blamed everyone but himself for what happened to his potential ownership share.

Limbaugh also took a swing at his former partner in the deal, Dave Checketts, who dropped him from the group. Limbaugh says it was Checketts who sought him out to join the ownership group and assured him that there would be no problems with the NFL about his involvement. Now Limbaugh suggests that Checketts betrayed him in order to keep the deal alive.

But it shouldn’t end there. Ironically, I too have a problem with Dave Checketts.

If in fact Checketts approached Limbaugh, why did he do it? If Limbaugh asked Checketts if he could join the ownership group I wonder why did Checketts say yes? In either case I question Checketts’ judgement, and I now wonder whether Checketts is fit to own the Rams even without Rush Limbaugh.

Limbaugh is a polarizing personality who seems intent on not just advancing his own conservative political views, which is his right, but to demonize, demean and ridicule anyone who dares disagree with him. And that is wrong. Although I am not a conservative, I believe strongly that you can nonetheless be a conservative without being intolerant and cruel.

If and when Limbaugh ever learns this and takes it to heart, then perhaps he can own an NFL team. The same can be said for Dave Checketts, who like his former partner, Limbaugh, also might never own an NFL team. Checketts should have known better than to team up with a loudmouth bigot.

Let’s consider the knockout of Limbaugh and perhaps Dave Checketts a victory for civility.

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Another blow to the pro football ownership hopes of Rush Limbaugh.

Now an NFL owner says he doesn’t want to see the conservative broadcaster in the owners box.

Indianapolis Colts owner, Jim Irsay said Tuesday that there is no way that he would vote to approve the controversial Rush Limbaugh as an owner of an NFL team.

Limbaugh is reportedly a key part of an ownership group seeking to buy the St. Louis Rams.

According to a report from the Associated Press, Jim Irsay said, “I, myself, couldn’t even consider voting for him. When there are comments that have been made that are inappropriate, incendiary and insensitive … our words do damage, and it’s something that we don’t need.”

Irsay has earned the credibility to speak out against Limbaugh. He has proudly hired two African-American head coaches in this decade. And Irsay who won the Super Bowl three years ago with the revered Tony Dungy at the helm, now has a high-powered, undefeated team under new head coach Jim Caldwell this season. Some football insiders believe this could be the Colts best team yet.

But Irsay will need at least another 8 owners to join him in opposition to Limbaugh. NFL bylaws require that at least 24 of the league’s 32 owners must vote in favor of an ownership change.

Several NFL players have spoken out against Rush Limbaugh, and they have been joined by the NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith who indicated the other day that he also strongly opposes Limbaugh’s bid.

Sports have long been the place where America has tested its appetite for tolerance. But changes on the playing fields and on the courts did not come without many disappointments, hurts and shame. But more than 60 years ago several significant racial barriers were hurdled.

Joe Louis won the heavyweight championship of the world in the 1930s. Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin in front of Adolph Hitler. And of course Jackie Robinson integrated Major League Baseball in 1947. Those three athletes transcended their sports and helped change the way America viewed and treated all African-Americans.

Here’s hoping a united front of NFL owners, players and fans speak up strongly against Rush Limbaugh and send an even more powerful message about the kind of progress we’ve made as a nation.

UPDATE

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We learned this week that Rush Limbaugh is part of an ownership group trying to buy the St. Louis Rams. But a couple of NFL players are making clear that they are having none of it. Saying they would never play for a team owned by Limbaugh.

Let’s deal with facts. Limbaugh is a race-baiter. His history for fostering racial division is long and distressing. But he is also an extremely well-paid, highly-skilled, professional broadcaster. Which means Limbaugh knows exactly what he is saying on his number-one rated radio show. That makes him especially dangerous.

While I’m not a conservative, I do not for one minute believe that most conservatives are racists. But where are the decent conservatives to straighten out the Limbaugh’s of the world when their discourse turns ugly? Does their silence make them complicit in Limbaugh’s and others’ demeaning rants? I believe it does.

Rush Limbaugh is famous for criticizing what he calls “the drive-by media” or as they are also known – “the mainstream” media.

But the irony is that some of those very same mainstream media companies own many of the radio stations that carry Limbaugh’s show. And not one of them has repudiated the hateful things that Limbaugh has often said, and why should they? Limbaugh is making millions for them.

So why might it fall on the NFL to decide if Rush is acceptable or not. Sadly, millions of Americans think he’s just fine – the ratings certainly say so – and so too do the broadcast companies that profit from him.

This is a deeply polarized time in this country.

It’s a time when President Obama who is bi-racial can be called a racist with very little in the way of protest from anyone. Glenn Beck, the TV host who stupidly called the president a racist, is still allowed to spew his ignorance on the air. And Beck’s network, Fox News Channel, has done nothing so far to reign Beck in. Fox officials simply point to his ratings, which continue to go up.

So while I applaud the players for speaking out against Limbaugh, I am appalled that too many other Americans and corporations for way, way too long have been willing to sit in silence and do virtually nothing about racial hatred broadcast over the air.

I don’t think this is really about the NFL or Rush Limbaugh at all.
It’s really about us and what we are willing to put up with.

UPDATE

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Record ratings! Lots of people watched Brett Favre’s revenge game with the Minnesota Vikings against his former team the Green Bay Packers.

An estimated 21.8 million people tuned in. That’s 3 million more people than have ever watched any cable TV program in history.

Such is the power of Brett Favre. It certainly didn’t hurt that Favre played well and the game was competitive.

This is what ESPN had hoped would happen when it acquired Monday Night Football.

Maybe now ESPN can make its case to televise the Super Bowl one day.

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Okay I admit it. Brett Favre really did defy time. Quick release, pinpoint accuracy, almost all of his passes at just the right moment.

That is how Brett Favre used to play in his prime. That’s how he played last night on Monday Night Football.

Thanks largely to Favre, Minnesota won at home 30 to 23.

Favre wanted to put a hurt on Green Bay, and he did. Publicly he said the game was not about revenge. But the fact is he had a great game in a Minnesota uniform against his old team. Favre proved without a doubt that he can still play. Revenge enough.

But I praise Favre reluctantly. The last few years I’ve found it really hard to support this guy. Honestly, I’m way past tired of his yearly drama agonizing about whether he wants to play or not.

But what do I know? Maybe Favre really did want to retire those three or four times, but changed his mind. But does the past really matter? Not after last night. The hollywood ending actually happened. And best of all Favre gets to do it again later this season when he and his Vikings travel to Green Bay. It will be really interesting to see how Packer fans will respond to Favre.

A couple of points. Do note that Favre’s replacement in Green Bay Aaron Rodgers had nearly 400 yards passing. But Rodgers was sacked multiple times. He didn’t have a lot of time to throw but he threw anyway. And Rodgers threw it pretty well. Aaron Rodgers is a first tier quarterback – even if for now he is known mostly as the guy who replaced Brett Favre.

As an added bonus, the Minnesota/Green Bay game is expected to go down as the most watched cable TV program of all-time.

Brett Favre is Mr. Monday Night once again.

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