It's February, that means Brett Favre must be Retiring

Who wants Favre now? After one season with the Jets, Brett Favre has retired again, informing the Jets today that he would not return.

Favre, in an email to ESPN's Ed Werder said that he feels okay that he is ending his career with the Jets and not the Packers. I'm sure he's okay with the money the Jets gave him to play one season, too. Plus, what's he doing emailing Ed Werder about a Jets story? Where's Rachel Nichols? Favre to the Cowboys?

Who knows where Favre goes from here. It obviously wouldn't shock anyone if he came back again, but I'm not sure a whole lot of people really care. Maybe he'll just focus on his acting career for those Wrangler commercials. You know, the one where he leads that guy a little too far so he has to dive in the mud to make the catch. What a dick.

Anyway, there's your obligatory Favre retirement post. You'll have to wait until next year for another.

Your Weekend Viewing Guide

Everyone knows that the second week in February is the mecca of sports viewing, what with the Pro Bowl and a golf tournament, or something. Seriously though, there is some great college basketball this weekend and if South Florida's win over Marquette tells us anything, it's that anything can happen. Here's what to watch...can't miss games are marked with a *. Don't miss them or Joakim Noah will haunt you in your sleep. (All times Central)

Saturday:

12:00 PM [NCAAB] Notre Dame at UCLA- CBS
1:00 PM [NCAAB] Pitt at DePaul- Well, it's not on, but it's happening.
3:00 PM [NCAAB] Indiana at Michigan St.- ESPN
5:00 PM [NCAAB] Michigan at UConn- ESPN
5:00 PM [NCAAB] Northwestern at Iowa- BTN
5:00 PM [NCAAB] Coll. of Charleston at Davidson (Curry!)- ESPN2
7:00 PM [NCAAB] Minnesota at Ohio St.- BTN
7:30 PM [NBA] Chicago at Dallas- CSN
8:00 PM [NCAAB] Memphis at Gonzaga- ESPN*
9:00 PM [NHL] Chicago at Vancouver- WGN

Sunday:

11:30 AM [NHL] Detroit at Pittsburgh- NBC
12:00 PM [NCAAB] Purdue at Illinois- CBS*
12:00 PM [NBA] San Antonio at Boston- ABC
2:00 PM [NCAAB] Wisconsin at Penn State- BTN
2:30 PM [NBA] LA Lakers at Cleveland- ABC*
3:30 PM [NFL] Pro Bowl- NBC
7:00 PM [NBA] Phoenix at Detroit- ESPN

Moving On

That was a great end to the NFL season on Sunday, but now it's time to deal with the fact that the NFL season is over and won't be back until the end of summer. Don't fret sports fan, there is plenty to keep us busy and make us forget about the gridiron for a while.

If you're a pro sports guy or gal, you have the NBA and NHL to keep you entertained. I'm no expert on the NBA, but it seems like a great time to be a basketball fan with Cleveland, Boston, and Orlando playing so well in the East and the Spurs looking to get back to the finals despite the Lakers' dominance in the West. Can the Cavs get the one seed to secure home court advantage through the playoffs? And how long will that win streak at home last? The NHL is just as intriguing. It's a great year for the Original Six, as Boston, New York, Chicago, Detroit, and Montreal should make the playoffs.

If you're more of a college sports person, then it's all about college basketball from here on out. Things look pretty good for you folks too. It seems like there is a new number one team every week, and while most years that would indicate some weakness at the top, I'm not sure that's the case this year. UConn, Duke, North Carolina, Pitt, Wake, and Oklahoma all have legitimate shots at winning it all this year. You have great players like Hansbrough, Curry, Griffin, and Thabeet to watch as well. Plus, if you don't have another reason to watch, you can always tune in just to study up for tournament time.

Of course there are other sports that can keep you busy as well. Plenty of tennis, golf, and college hockey is coming up and it's not a bad idea to catch some of that.

Finally, for those of you that just can't get enough, it's time to make like a Lions fan in Week 4 and start looking at those mock drafts. Who is your team going to take? Who should go first overall? There are plenty of idiots like us out there who like to tell you what is going to happen, so read up and be prepared when draft day comes in April.

Oh, and don't forget the Pro Bowl. Nah, screw the Pro Bowl.

Hey, that Game did not Suck

In a time where the media hype machine demands great championship games to meet expectations, the Steelers and Cardinals did not disappoint last night. Sure, the first half was a little slow at times, but the betting, drinking games, and commercials (Doritos!) helped out with that.

Then came James Harrison's interception at the end of the first half. I'm not so sure that Hines Ward is faster than Harrison by the way. With his rumbling run-back filled with Steelers running into Harrison slowing him down, Cardinals on the sideline slowing Fitzgerald's attempt to run down Harrison, and a few blocks in the back thrown in. Calling it a momentum swing doesn't do it justice. The Cards were going in to tie or take the lead going into the half and the Defensive MVP of the league, known for his ability to get to the quarterback, changed it with one drop into coverage.

So the underdog Cards were done, right? Not with Kurt Warner, savior of franchises and not-so-attractive women, at the helm. Arizona went blow for blow with the Steelers the rest of the way and in a fourth quarter marred only by the officials, had victory in their sights after a huge play by Fitzgerald. Then Big Ben leads a fantastic drive finding Santonio Holmes for enough catches and yardage on that one drive to keep TO happy for an entire game. The capper is a perfect pass and an unbelievable catch for the winning score.

However, the great Super Bowl had a less than great finish. It seemed fitting that the game would end with the Steelers' defense making a big play, as they had done all season long. We all saw Woodley make the play, and I think most thought it was a fumble at first glance, but after the replay it looked like there was a good argument to be made that Warner still had the ball as his arm was going forward.

I don't have a huge problem with the result, but the game deserved a better, more equitable finish. To not even review the play is inexcusable by the officials and the NFL. Had the play been reversed, the Steelers likely still win, but they do it with no doubt and then these last few paragraphs could be used to describe how sweet the Steelers are. Again, if the play is reversed the Cards would have the ball around the 30 yard line (there was a 15 yard penalty on the Steelers) with one shot at the end zone. Besides being more exciting, either this or the game ending with an upheld review achieves the best result.

Still, the Steelers are sweet and the Cardinals played some outstanding football during their playoff run. I'm just happy the game lived up to the hype.

A Look at NFL Overtime

There are a few rules in every sport that flat out suck. One such rule in the NFL, and probably my least favorite, is overtime. The advantage for the team that wins the coin toss is huge. We saw the Chargers display this advantage as they knocked the Colts out of the playoffs in overtime this year, while the Colts weren't allowed to touch the ball in the deciding period.

So what is the solution? I have always thought the college system was better, but many people say that it wouldn't fit in the NFL unless the starting position of the 25 yard line was moved way back, at which point it'd take a lot of time to finish OT. Fair enough. Just because college overtime wouldn't work doesn't change the fact that the NFL system needs to go. You know your system sucks when the team that wins the coin toss celebrates. A coin toss should not elicit celebration, but if you win this one, you're going to jump for joy because unless your coach takes the wind, you're probably going to win the game.

Here is my proposition...well, it's not mine actually, I found the article at Slate, via MGoBlog. The author proposes an auction system to decide who gets the ball first. What is auctioned you ask? Field position. Here is how it works:

The auctioneer (the ref) will start at say, the 50 yard line, then the coaches play a little "name that tune" and decide how far back they would take the ball and score. This way, both teams get a chance to have the ball first if they think they can knock it in from their own 25 or so. After the ballsiest coach has made himself known, his team gets the ball and a regular NFL overtime starts.

There is a little more talk of strategy in the article, but my question is: how is this not more fair than the current system? Apparently this idea was floated a while back and never took hold, despite some support. Someone is going to have to do a lot of convincing to persuade me that this isn't a great system to decide who gets the ball first in overtime.

Chicago Bears Legends

Since it's the offseason for the Bears, all we hear about are the Bears deficiencies at essentially every position and crazy trade, free agent, and draft theories on how to fix the problems. Well here is a little change of pace. Here is a list of some of the craziest games the Bears have been a part of. A lot of these may be more myth than fact, but they are intriguing nonetheless. I found these on Wikipedia, so here goes:

The Staley Swindle (December 4, 1921, Buffalo All-Americans vs. Chicago Staleys): The Staleys, having won every game of their 1921 season (partially by refusing to play any road games) except their Thanksgiving game against the then-undefeated All-Americans (who, other than their match against Chicago, also had played all of their games at home), challenged the All-Americans to a rematch. Buffalo, having already scheduled their last game for December 3, agreed on the condition that it be considered a "post-season" exhibition match and not be counted in the standings. When Chicago won the rematch 10-7, Staleys owner George Halas persuaded the league to count the game in the standings by playing two more games, in an effort to discredit the All-Americans' "post-season" claim and to bring their win percentage to the same as the All-Americans. The league then instituted the first-ever tiebreaker for the championship (a now discontinued rule stating that a rematch counts more than a first matchup) and handing the championship to Chicago. The "Staley Swindle" name is primarily used by Buffalo sports fans.

First Ever Indoor Playoff Game (December 18 Portsmouth Spartans vs. Chicago Bears): Due to severe blizzards and sub-zero wind chill, the first ever NFL playoff game was moved indoors to Chicago Stadium. Because of the size of the arena, several rules were adapted for the game, including an 80-yard long field. The Bears defeated the Spartans 9-0.

The Sneakers Game (December 9, 1934, Chicago Bears vs. New York Giants, NFL Championship game): The game was played at the Polo Grounds in frigid weather on a frozen field. At halftime, New York coach Steve Owen provided his team with basketball shoes for better traction. Gliding on the ice with the sneakers, the Giants scored 27 points in 10 minutes during the fourth quarter, and ended up beating the undefeated Bears 30-13.

The Most One-Sided Victory in NFL History (December 8, 1940, Chicago Bears vs. Washington Redskins, 1940 NFL Championship Game): Sparked by a comment made by Redskins owner George Preston Marshall, who had said three weeks earlier that the Bears were crybabies and quitters when the going got tough, Chicago crushed Washington, 73-0. This game currently stands as the most onesided victory in NFL history.

The Fog Bowl (December 31, 1988, Philadelphia Eagles vs. Chicago Bears, NFC Divisional Playoff Game): A heavy, dense fog rolled over the stadium (Soldier Field) during the second quarter, cutting visibility to about 15-20 yards for the rest of the game. The fog was so thick that TV and radio announcers had trouble seeing what was happening on the field. The Bears ended up winning 20-12.

The Instant Replay Game (November 5, 1989, Chicago Bears vs Green Bay Packers): On the final play of the game, Green Bay quarterback Don "Magic" Majkowski rifled a desperation pass into the endzone which was caught by receiver Sterling Sharpe, a TD that with the extra point would give the Packers a 14-13 victory. A penalty flag was down, and it charged that Majkowski had thrown an illegal pass after he stepped over the line of scrimmage. After review, the play was ultimately ruled a touchdown for Green Bay. The Bears organization protested, and to this day, it is marked in their media guide as "The Instant Replay Game."

My personal favorite? The Staley Swindle. My least favorite? The Instant Replay Game. There was no allowance in the rule book for refs to use instant replay; what the hell was that?

Today's Links -- Inauguration Day Edition

• Obama takes the oath today; Tiger Woods spoke at the "We Are One" rally yesterday. At another rally, an old white woman called Tiger an Asian terrorist.
• ESPN ombudsman Le Anne Schreiber is done at ESPN. tWWL is searching for a new watchdog and since I didn't get the Lions GM job, I'm available.
• Beat Lebron and the Cavs, then lose to Duhon and the Knicks. Those crazy Bulls.
• The Sox signed Bobby Jenks to a one year deal, avoiding arbitration with the rotund closer...Cubs do the same with Gregg.
• Cardinals hooligans vandalized McNabb's Arizona home. Seriously? This is less insulting and way less funny than this Steelers sign, which I laughed at for a while during the game.
• Kurt Warner is going back to the Super Bowl. Oh great, more Brenda Warner covera...wait, what?
• Blackhawks lose at home to Minnesota, despite 40 saves by Khabibulin. 4-1 final.

Today's Links

• Bulls beat Cavs in overtime. Lebron makes 1 basket in the last 28 minutes. Obviously more to come on this. (StevieY sent me a message wondering when my 4 posts about this game would go up today)
• Oh god. The Ronnie Woo-Woo movie is coming out soon. I can't stand that guy.
  
• Thursday Dick Joke Jamboroo, Championship edition. The Nazi shark, fittingly, is a Duke fan.
  
• Reggie Miller gets interviewed about Barack Obama and basketball. I didn't read it, but i feel bad for Judd, who keeps sending me links and I never post them. Sorry if this sucks.
• More Obama basketball stuff from TrueHoop.
  
• Isiah Thomas's brother peed on a church. Thats the whole story I guess.
• The Dong loves the Colon signing. It can't hurt I guess, especially with the Sox rotation question marks. Oh and I guess that Figgins rumor wasn't true.
  
• An interview with the Fridge. He's still as goofy as ever.
• Looks like Warren Sapp will be helping to coach Tommie Harris. Meh.
  

Today's Links

• Illinois absolutely wrecks the Hoosiers. No matter how Illinois does this year (looks like they will be pretty good), it's going to be fun to watch how horribly shitty Indiana is.
• Marinelli gets hired as D-Line coach of the Bears. Can they please just give him Babich's job?
• Is Kenny Williams about to make a crazy desperation move? Probably.
  
• Matt over at Blog-a-Bull seems to be reaching here, but I think he's implying the possibility of a Nocioni for Bosh trade...seems unlikely.
• Want to watch a video of Michael Jordan's mom? Well here you go.
  
• The NFL Playoffs this year have been awesome. So much for home field advantage mattering much.
• Is a lack of leadership to blame for the Bulls overtime loss to OKC? Hinrich will be back Thursday, so that might help. At least they beat the Wizards Friday.
• Did you see the Blago-Burris sketch on SNL? The Burris part cracked me up, the Blago part was so-so.
  
• The Hawks downed the Predators, so that little 2-game skid is gone. Oh, and I'm going to the Hawks game on Wednesday, should I bring binoculars? Or just not know what's going on 90% of the time because the puck is too small?

Your Weekend Viewing Guide

Now that college football is over, we have a weekend of college basketball, NBA, NHL, and the best weekend of the season for the NFL. (All times Central) *must watch of the day

Saturday:

• Now, Hurry!- NCAAB: Kansas at MSU (CBS)
• 2:00 PM- NCAAB: Indiana at Illinois (BTN)
• 3:30 PM- NFL: Baltimore at Tennessee (CBS)*
• 7:15 PM- NFL: Arizona at Carolina (FOX)
• 7:30 PM- NBA: OKC at Chicago (WGN)
• 7:30 PM- NHL: Chicago at Nashville (CSN)

Sunday:

• 12:00 PM- NFL: Philadelphia at New York Giants (FOX)
• 12:30 PM- NCAAB: Wisconsin at (14) Purdue (CBS)
• 3:45 PM- NFL: San Diego at Pittsburgh (CBS)*
• 6:00 PM- NHL: Nashville at Chicago (CSN)
• 7:00 PM- NCAAB: (3) UNC at (4) Wake Forest (Hope you have Satellite TV)
• 7:00 PM- 24 Season Premier (FOX)

Today's Links

• Sam Smith is right, Bulls fans are angry. He's somewhat of an apologist for them though.
• Oh yeah, and Larry Hughes wants out. Finally he agrees with me on something.
• Chicago native Curtis Granderson accepts an invitation to play in the World Baseball Classic.
• Great National Championship. Florida wins. Hats off to Tebow, that guy is a monster.
  
• You know, there's number 2s, and there's number 2s.
• Milton Bradley is introduced for the Cubs and he's going to wear number 21. Oh and his problems are a thing of the past.
• Thursday Dick Joke Jambaroo. That Nazi Shark has been making bad calls on the winners of games all year.
• The ownership questions in San Diego and Chicago may play a big impact in any Peavy-to Chicago deal.
• Dennis Rodman is in a movie about a midget basketball team playing against full-size people, with Dennis Rodman as Himself.

Your Weekend Viewing Guide

With NFL Playoff football upon us, there will be good games on all weekend. Enjoy! (All times central)

Saturday:

• 11:00 a.m. - NCAABB: 3Pitt v. 8Georgetown (ESPN)
• 11:00 a.m. - NCAABB: 21OSU v. 23Minn (Big10)
  
• 3:30 p.m. - NFL: Falcons v. Cardinals (NBC)
  
• 7:00 p.m. - NFL: Colts v. Chargers (NBC)
• 7:30 p.m. - NBA: TWolves v. Bulls (WGN)
  

Sunday:

• 11:00 a.m. - NCAABB: Illinois v. 24Michigan (Big10)
  
• 12:00 p.m. - NFL: Ravens v. Dolphins (CBS)
  
• 3:30 p.m. - NFL: Eagles v. Vikings (FOX)
• 6:00 p.m. - NHL: Hawks v. Flames (CSN) There Andrew, are you happy?
  
• 7:00 p.m. - 24: Redemption (FOX)
  

Holiday Links

• Luol Deng is not, and never was, that great. Here is a great analysis by the numbers of why it was a mistake to sign him to a huge deal.
• How about the best sports injuries of 2008? You think Rose's apple-slicing incident will be in there? I'm guessing yes.
  
• The last Thursday Dick Joke Jamboroo of the regular season.
  
• Have you ever heard of the "College of Coaches"? It was a little known, yet hilarious technique employed by the Cubs in the 60s. What a nightmare. A perfect example of Chicago Cubs ineptitude over the last century.
• Are the Texans going to bench their starters? That would be great, but it seems unlikely (and shady). The Bears can use all the help they can get though.
• Top Ten Chicago sports stories of 2008.

Stink and Wiley Think Brady's Sexy

So I happened to catch the end of NFL Live last night on ESPN, looking for some highlights of that Colts-Jags game that no one saw. I didn't see any highlights, but I did catch an interesting exchange.

Trey Wingo was talking about a riveting story that immediately reminded me why ESPN is no longer part of my television viewing when there isn't a game on. According to a survey, good looking NFL quarterbacks are paid better than quarterbacks that aren't as attractive. Hmm.

Before I get to Wiley and Schlereth and their attraction to Tommy, I did a little research. Manning, Brady, Palmer, Eli, Favre, Delhomme are your top earners this year; you can make your own conclusions. Personally, I wouldn't date any of those guys.

On to Wiley and Schlereth. I can't remember the question Trey asked, but what resulted was Wiley referring to Tom Brady as very "fine" then clarifying that he was definitely talking about his looks. Then after Stink mentioned something about Wiley and Brady having a bit of a "bro-mance" going on, professed his own love for Tom's adorable mug.

Wiley did come through with an excellent point though when he mentioned that he must be pretty good looking based on that girl on his arm. This is usually how I tell.

In regard to the best looking quarterbacks making the most money, this is a typical way for men to look at the world. He is the best looking, so he makes the most money. But let's think about this. Who decides which men are good looking? The women. Isn't it more like "he has the most money, so he is the best looking"? Just sayin'.

Today's Links

• If the Cubs get Peavy, are they going to look to deal big Z? (The source is totally unreliable)
  
• God explains Week 14 of the NFL season.
• It looks like Kerry Wood is going to be a Cleveland Indian. I'm glad we don't have to face him now that he'll be in the American League. I'll be cheering for you Kerry.
• Did the Tribune disrespect Ron Santo? No wonder this guy can't get respect from the Veteran's Committee, his hometown paper doesn't even respect him!
• Some quick hits about the Bears from WCG.
• Personally, I think Kobe Bryant should not be compared to Michael Jordan. Kobe should be Kobe, not the next Michael. That being said, MJ was way better than Kobe is, and this guy proves it with all kinds of crazy metrics and statistical analyses.
  
• So apparently the Peavy deal is done. No wait, my bad, it's not even close. This is why I refuse to write anything extensive about the Peavy story until it is a done deal.
• Bulls beat the Knicks in a shootout. Well both teams shot a lot, not many went in. Either way Bulls win.
  

More on the 'Plaxident'

The hilarious details of the Plaxico Burress saga are too many to digest in such a short time. However, that doesn't mean we aren't going to try like hell to get every ounce of funny out of this thing.

Thanks to Top Ten Nominee, we have some idea of how geography plays into the incident.

Point A happens to be the offices of the National Football League. Point B is where Plaxico shot himself in the thigh, at a club called Latin Quarter. It's a little hard to see, but I think you can get the idea of the insane proximity between the club and the NFL's offices.

Walking, this is a distance of .1 mile, which is somewhere around 500 or 600 feet. Plax is lucky that Goodell wasn't in his office late that night, or he could have been there in two minutes. Maybe he was.

This is like Barry Bonds shooting up steroids while going down the slide at Miller Park, or Donaghy asking David Stern for his cell phone so he can call his bookie. Oh Plaxico, please keep the content coming.

Hit Of The Season

Take a look at this hit the Steelers put on Wes Welkah on Sunday. Ouch.

Fake Field Goal Follies

Over the long Thanksgiving weekend I watched about as much football as a person can handle. I caught a sweet Lions game, plenty of high school state championship games, a bunch of college football games, the outcomes of which were irrelevant because the computers know all, and finally a little NFL action Sunday.

By far the highlights of all the pigskin theatrics were a couple of fake field goals gone horribly wrong. First up, Nebraska lines up for a field goal against Colorado and....uh....oops.



That's just awesome. Now, the Raiders being the NFL powerhouse that they are, never miss an opportunity to find ways to thoroughly embarrass themselves.



Yes! Two for two on the tricky field goals. What are the odds the Lions try this next weekend? He probably wasn't the first coach to call this particular play, but I can't help but think that this is Les Miles' fault. Coaches, next time you think about pulling a fake field goal, kick it! Unless of course you have Steve Nash as your holder.

Sports Turkey of The Week

In honor of Thanksgiving, I am going to hand out an award called the "Sports Turkey of the Week". The award is being given to Plaxico Burress. Unfortunately he is not here to accept the award, since he is in the hospital after shooting himself in the leg:

New York Giants receiver Plaxico Burress suffered an accidental gunshot wound Friday night in a club, according to multiple sources.

Details of the incident weren't immediately available, but according to a source the wound was not considered life-threatening.

Fox Sports.com reported that Burress accidentally shot himself in the leg and spent the night in the hospital.

I know Burress doesn't like to practice, but this is a little overkill on trying to get out of it. What an idiot.

Your Turkey Day Viewing Guide

Naturally, this will be all about the football extravaganza taking place today. Let's not waste any time.

Tennessee @ Detroit, 11:30 CT

The Titans are coming off their only loss of the season heading into Detroit on Thanksgiving. The Lions are coming off 11 straight losses and have one huge advantage on Tennessee. The Lions have ample experience when it comes to losing. Who knows how the Titans will bounce back from their first loss of the year? We know how the Lions will respond to their 11th loss: with loss number 12, obviously. As a Lions fan, the fun isn't in the destination, because we know how these things end; it's all about the journey. Hopefully it's not just your typical blowout, rather a gut-wrenching late comeback fueled by something really exciting, like Culpepper lining up behind the right tackle and the center snapping the ball through the endzone. The Lions know drama.

Seattle @ Dallas, 3:30

You can taste the anticipation of Julius Jones' return to Dallas! Well, maybe it's just that crazy casserole that doesn't look like it belongs at the table. You know what I'm talking about. There is always one spoonful gone because the husband of whatever crazy relative made it is scared into trying some. Anyway, this shouldn't be much of a game either, with Romo returning to form against a suspect pass defense. If that GHB in the turkey doesn't knock you out, this one should have you snoozing by mid-third quarter.

Arizona @ Philadelphia, 7:15

Finally a good game to watch on Thanksgiving...errr, for 10% of the country to watch. If by some chance you get to take this game in, consider yourself lucky, it's a great match-up. A lot of the talk leading up to the game is about McNabb and his benching last week. Lost among this babble of things no one really cares about is the issue of whether Warner can bounce back after a tough game against the Giants Sunday in which he took some hits. The Cards can clinch the division with a win. If McNabb can perform well and the Eagles get Westbrook going, this could turn into a real shootout, which again, no one gets to see. Dear NFL Network, drop dead.