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Shanoff’s Wake-Up Call: Anything But Favre

Aug 5, 2008, 12:50 PM UTC

Today’s Calls: Brett Favre vs. Mike McCarthy, Prince Fielder vs. Manny Parra, Cliff Lee vs. Roy Halladay, Steve Smith vs. Ken Lucas, USA Hoops vs. Amanda Beard and More! â†µâ†µThe Opening Pitch: OK, OK, I’m there. I have tried to hold out. I have tried to make the best of it. I have heard your complaints and your gripes and I’m ready to commit to the “A.B.F.” Campaign:â†µ

â†µâ†µAnything But Favre.â†µ

â†µâ†µ(If you hate this story, please skip right over it: There’s a ton of great stuff in the column today. Don’t be discouraged!)â†µ

â†µâ†µHere is the last, last straw (and this time I mean it!):â†µ

â†µâ†µFavre and Mike McCarthy met last night. McCarthy was supposed to meet with the media at 9:15 p.m. EDT to talk about it.â†µ

â†µâ†µThe meeting ran long, so they simply cancelled the media meet-up.â†µ

â†µâ†µThe meeting ran long! (Hysterically read into it!)â†µ

â†µâ†µI don’t think the Packers realize that this is a 24/7 story: McCarthy could have told reporters he would talk with them at 2 in the morning, and it would have been carried live.â†µ

â†µâ†µWhat did they talk about for so long? Who cares? And do you really think McCarthy would tell you?â†µ

â†µâ†µHere’s how I’m betting it went, abridging 3 hours into 2 seconds:â†µ

â†µâ†µBF: “I want to start.”â†µ

â†µâ†µMM: “Um, OK. What about Rodgers?”â†µ

â†µâ†µBF: “Your problem.”â†µ

â†µâ†µMM: “Um, OK.”â†µ

â†µ

â†µI want this story to end. It is the Lewinsky Saga of sports.â†µ

â†µâ†µMLB Instant History: Are the Brewers imploding? Intramural shoving matches (with obligatory YouTube coverage!) aren’t usually a sign of a team gelling for a playoff run. ... Cliff Lee reaches 15 Ws (doing it against the Rays, no less). ... Record-Breaker: Raul Ibanez, who packed 6 RBIs into a single wild 7th inning in which the Mariners scored 10 runs on the Twins. ... I guess Mother Nature isn’t much of a Cubs fan. ... Fantasy Stud Pitcher: Roy Halladay (8 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 8 K, 13th W). ... Injury Watch: Joba Chamberlain. ... Walkoff Watch: Got to love the Angels’ walkoff walk! ... Aha! The secret to the Rays’ successful youth movement? PEDs in the minors!â†µ

â†µâ†µMLB Scandal of the Day: For once, Ozzie Guillen should have kept his mouth shut: He was correct on the merits of the argument his pitcher wasn’t throwing at anyone; he was wrong to boast of ordering pitchers to hit opposing players. Now MLB is looking into it. â†µ

â†µâ†µMore NFL: Steve Smith apologizes to his team. But, as you’d ask any child who threw a temper tantrum, are you sorry for what you did — or are you only really sorry that you got in trouble for it?â†µ

â†µâ†µMeanwhile, Ken Lucas thinks the beating he took might rally the Panthers all the way to the Super Bowl. If Carolina gets off to a fast start, look for every team to encourage their biggest star to pummel a teammate.â†µ

â†µâ†µDepression is no joke: Here’s hoping Eagles OL Shawn Andrews works through the problems he is suffering with right now.â†µ

â†µâ†µNo. Way.: LaDainian won’t play much in the preseason. (More urgently: Is Tomlinson still the consensus No. 1 overall pick for fantasy GMs? I love Purple Jesus, but LDT would be my pick.)â†µ

â†µâ†µToday’s Name to Know: Condrew Allen, the Packers rookie CB who was taken off the active roster to make room for Favre. Let’s hope Allen at least gets a signed Favre jersey out of the deal. (No, ABF’ers, that doesn’t count as Favre coverage! Or does it ...?)â†µ

â†µâ†µCFB: More suspensions for Georgia? That’s a(nother) foreboding sign for the nation’s top-ranked team.â†µ

â†µâ†µMeanwhile, Sunday Morning QB picks Florida to end the season as champs (shockingly, what his preseason poll is based on), and I now feel totally validated as a fan and pundit having picked the same.â†µ

â†µâ†µOlympics Air: In a SHOCKING admission, the IOC’s own top medical expert said that Beijing air quality poses no “major” risk to athletes or fans. (Like he was going to say: “Cough! Wheeze! Um, you’re all going home with asthma.”)â†µ

â†µâ†µOLY Security: Um, this is more than a little scary.â†µ

â†µâ†µOLY Politics: What role, if any, should politics play in the Games? I fully expect some athletes to create “protest” moments while in the medal spotlight; sadly, I also fully expect NBC to cut away from those moments – NBC’s allegiance is to China and the IOC, not US viewers.â†µ

â†µâ†µI am less offended by USA basketball players’ reluctance to say or do anything potentially soul-searching about conditions impacted by China than I am USA Oops honcho Jerry Colangelo ordering them not to.â†µ

â†µâ†µEh, this isn’t quite what I was thinking of. (h/t: Larry Brown Sports).â†µ

â†µâ†µSports Media: Erin Andrews, Cont’d. Let this be the last word, an utterly sensible and smart take from Spencer Hall.â†µ

â†µâ†µBlogs: FirstCuts gets its own stand-alone blog with its own bookmarkable URL. (Or add it to your RSS reader.)â†µ

â†µâ†µPolitics and Sports: Barack Obama’s love of hoops has made him fodder for sports bloggers beyond mere campaign coverage. Here is a phenomenal new hoops-themed Obama T-shirt.â†µ

â†µâ†µThe Last Word: FC Barcelona has always had a fantastic reputation as a humanitarian-focused sports team. (Rather than taking sponsorship dollars for their jersey, they paid UNICEF to put the organization on their jersey.)â†µ

â†µâ†µThey are also involved with Malaria No More, and if you live in NYC, there is an incredible exhibition this afternoon at 5 p.m. involving Barca players at Chelsea Waterside Park (23rd St./12th Ave.)â†µ

â†µâ†µGreat team — even greater cause. If you go, shoot me an e-mail and let me know how it went; I’ll put it in the column tomorrow.â†µ

â†µâ†µDan Shanoff writes The Wake-Up Call every weekday morning for SportingNews.com and blogs daily at DanShanoff.com. Got any comments, questions or feedback? E-mail Dan at shanofftsn-[at]-gmail-[dot]-com.â†µ

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