Shanoff’s Wake-Up Call: All About Favre (Obv)

By Dan Shanoff
Today’s Calls: Brett Favre vs. History, Aaron Rodgers vs. Nobody, Ole Miss vs. Florida, Spurs vs. Lakers, Javon Walker vs. Randy Moss, Sam Cassell vs. the Big Three, Gilbert Arenas vs. Sidney Crosby and More!
The Opening Pitch: Brett Favre had one final “me-first” moment left.
As a longtime Favre critic, I can round out the universal encomiums with a serious issue I have with Favre’s decision to retire, a fitting end to a career as selfish as stupendous:
Despite coming off his fantastic season, Favre’s initial explanation to the media (that voicemail to Chris Mortensen) seems to indicate Favre bailed on his teammates and fans because he doesn’t think the Packers could win a Super Bowl next season. Hold on just one second ...
(1) If that was among his criteria, shouldn’t he have retired in 1998?
(2) The Packers were a typical Favre “bad gunslinger” interception away from winning the NFC; who knows what would have happened in the Super Bowl?
(3) Does the NFC look so daunting next season that he thinks last season was as good as it gets, rather than something to build on?
(He refined that message as saying he was too tired to want to compete for a championship anymore, which is way more palatable, but the switcheroo was noticeable.)
Then there are those comments from Favre’s agent, Bus Cook, in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (via Pro Football Talk) that Favre didn’t necessarily want to retire (which jibes with the idea that if he thought the team was a SB contender, he would have kept playing).
After the steaming, heaping piles of praise over the last 24 hours, who else wants to bet there is more to Favre’s retirement story?
All that said, I’d be crazy not to give his career the perspective it deserves -- as one of the best of any QB in NFL history.
As you’ve seen on the front page of the site, Favre’s place in QB history is as good a place as any to make sense of his finally (and surprisingly) concluded career:
*All-time records (for both TDs and durability).
*Those 3 MVPs (and that Super Bowl ring).
*The mythical career origins (Billie Joe Tolliver!)
*That signature MNF game after his dad died.
*His 2007 reniassance (which even had me cheering for him).
*His humanizing off-field battle with pill-popping.
*Above all, that “gunslinger” rep (more than anything, for its symbol of the media’s continued and unabashed Favre-fawning).
Mostly, he has the longevity: 1991-2007. If QBs like Joe Montana and Dan Marino were our childhood and QBs like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady are our adulthood, Favre was the bridge between the two, the generation-linker -- a throwback in the EA Era.
No one likely judges Favre the best QB of all-time (or even of his own mash-up of generations), but when you look at the totality of his career, he joins the argument. Not a bad ending.
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Meanwhile, two words for you: Aaron. Rodgers. Sure, Rodgers has been Favre’s successor-in-waiting (and waiting and waiting ...), but do Packers fans really feel secure with Rodgers taking over?
Yesterday’s other big NFL retirement: Lost in the Favre Mania is the official (and long-expected) word that Warren Sapp is retiring; it seems fitting these longtime rivals would go out together.
CBB Bubble Watch: Ohio State makes its NCAA chances more interesting than yesterday with a win over Purdue ... Ole Miss does the same thing, with a win over Arkansas ... Tonight: Florida in a (gasp) bubble-maker/bubble-breaker at home, against (yikes) Tennessee ...
CBB Notes: If someone offers you “5” as the over/under on the number of OTs between Baylor and Texas A&M rematch tonight, take the under ... Belated best wishes to John Wooden for a healthy recovery ... Speaking of belated, I had this reaction when I heard Bob Knight had joined the mainstream media: Ha ha ha ha ha ...
Small-conference tournament madness! Yesterday’s quarters: Big South! Horizon! Ohio Valley! Tonight’s quarters: Atlantic Sun! Patriot! Sun Belt! I love the ruthless efficiency: Just keep winning, and you’re in the NCAA Tournament, no matter how your regular season went ... Meanwhile: Harvard hoops scandal? The Ivy League is going to look into aggressive Crimson recruiting, after being first reported by Pete Thamel in the New York Times on Sunday.
NFL Free Agency: WR Javon Walker got a HUGE deal (6Y/$55M/$16M guaranteed) from the Raiders (not quite as much of a splash as the Pats re-signing Randy Moss, for my money, the biggest free agent “move” of the offseason) ... Pats sign CB Jason Webster to shore up their depleted secondary (not quite as much of a splash as Asante Samuel leaving New England for Philly) ... RB T.J. Duckett jumps to Seattle (not quite as much of a splash as Michael Turner jumping to Atlanta) ...
Draft Watch: Matt Ryan. Would the Fins really use their No. 1 overall pick on the BC QB? Love the rumors that Bill Parcells asked BC for all of the QB’s tapes ...
NBA: Celtics get Sam Cassell. I admit to being totally in the bag for Cassell, from his earliest days as a brash, clutch-shooting rookie on the Rockets title team.
It seems fitting Sam I Am can wrap up his career playing for a title as a phenomenal complement to Boston’s “Big Three,” which is long on rep, but short on rings. (See Nathaniel Friedman’s take.)
Apparently, Cassell won’t be available for tonight’s huge game against the Pistons -- a battle of the two top teams in the East -- but that doesn’t matter. As long as he’s available for the playoffs ...
NBA Last Night: Spurs shoot 33.8 percent but still win their 10th straight ... Kobe scored 17 in the 4th (34 overall) to lead the Lakers over the Kings ... Warriors score a season-high 135, beating Atlanta; is there a team more exhilarating when they score big than Golden State? ... Drew Gooden: 21 and 14 in a Bulls W over the hapless Grizz ... See? It’s not time to bury the Suns just yet ... Hurray: Agent Zero is almost back!
NHL: Sidney Crosby Watch. He assisted on Maxime Talbot game-winner against the Lightning in his return from being sidelined with that ankle injury. (Peter Forsberg made his successful return, after being away for a year.)
MLB Spring Training: Another day, another big deal for one of the defending N.L. champ Rockies, who signed RF Brad Hawpe to a 3Y/$17.4M deal. He joins Matt Holliday, Troy Tulowitzki, Aaron Cook and Manny Corpas with new deals.
Clemens Watch: Brian McNamee’s lawyers want Clemens’ defamation suit against him thrown out because of his “absolute immunity” agreement with the Feds related to cooperating with the Mitchell investigation. Oh, and they want Rusty Hardin off the case as Clemens’ lawyer, because he represented Andy Pettitte at one point in this mess, too. At this point, Hardin might want to take advantage and bail.
The Last Word: Aaand ... we’re back! Special thanks to Spencer Hall for pinch-hitting over the past few days. When I wasn’t getting shot up with Mexican-grade steroids (and I only wish I was kidding about that), I spent my vacation reading Baseball Prospectus 2008 on the beach, cover to cover. The essays leading into each team’s player previews and projections are better than ever -- while I love to read about players or teams that the BP team is high on, they are at their best when they are using a statistical stiletto to carve up certain names across MLB. Highly recommended.
Dan Shanoff writes The Wake-Up Call every weekday morning for SportingNews.com and blogs daily at DanShanoff.com. Got any comments, questions or feedback? Email Dan at shanofftsn-[at]-gmail-[dot]-com.
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