Favre Watch 2009: No Thanks, I'll Sit This One Out

The story came out yesterday, and as usual, it was the talk of Packer Nation (that is after getting over the euphoria of the Trevor Hoffman signing by the Brewers). Brett Favre talks, and Wisconsin stops what it's doing to take notice.

Not that I blame Packer Nation. The man gave this state, and Packer fans all over the country memories that will last a lifetime. He could run for governor of the state and win in a landslide. If he ran for President of the United States, he'd win the state of Wisconsin. That's how popular he is. He's the new E.F. Hutton. When he speaks, people listen (that's an old 80's TV commercial for those of you wondering).

I admit I read the story. But I also have to admit that I'm happy that I'm not as involved in The Favre Watch as I was for the last few seasons.

Let me give you some background. When I was a producer at Sporting News Radio, and Favre first brought up retirement, my boss gave the entire behind the scenes staff one simple assignment. Find sources close to Favre. Sit on them. Get as much of the story as you can, and be ready to go with wall to wall coverage if he retires. Thankfully I only did that for one off-season, as I moved from a behind the scenes position to a full time on air job in the Summer of 2003.

Fast forward a couple of years, and I'm in Milwaukee doing a daily talk show. The Packers just got done with a 4-12 season. Fans are calling for him to retire. Others want to absolve him for the 29 picks he threw and give him another chance. Either way Lord Favre decided to wait until the week of the draft to announce that he was going to grace us with his on field presence for the 2006 season.

Thank goodness Lord Favre made his decision in early February the following season. That meant we could concentrate on other issues as opposed to the constant "will he or won't he" chatter.

Then came last off-season. The retirement in early March. The stories that came out for months afterward indicating he might be re-thinking his decision to step away. And, of course, the events of last summer. As a talk show host, I know I was personally 'Favred out.' But, you have to give the people what they want, and they wanted Favre, so as a talk show host you HAD to talk about it. Day after day after day after day.

The talk seemed to die down as Favre and the Jets were overshadowed by the problems the Packers went through during the 2008 season. And then, yesterday's news. The news that said he'll take weeks (it'll be months trust me) to decide.

It took about fifteen minutes for the first email to come in. It was from a buddy of mine who runs a sports station in New York. He wanted my advice on how to cover Favre (Tractor) Watch 2009. So, I called him, gave him a few suggestions, and then told him I was glad I wasn't in his position.

And I mean it. He's not Green Bay's problem anymore. He isn't Wisconsin's problem anymore. Let New York worry about him. As far as I'm concerned he hasn't been a Packer since throwing that interception to kill Green Bay's Super Bowl dreams in last year's NFC Championship Game. As far as I'm concerned, out of sight out of mind.

Besides, even if he decides to 'quietly' walk away as he talked about this week, who is to say he will stick to that decision. What's to stop him from waking up one day in June and saying he wants to play again. Last year I thought it was ridiculous to think he would do something like that. Now, I'm not so sure.

I hope he actually does follow through on what he told ESPN. I hope he does walk away quietly. But until the 2009 season starts and he's not under center somewhere, I'm not going to believe it.

And for the first time in a few years, I'm not going to worry about it either. I'll let the New York media, Peter King, Chris Mortensen, Jay Glazer, and Al Jones in Biloxi handle that end.

Good luck gentlemen.

Make sure you check out my podcast for thoughts on Florida's win, the Trevor Hoffman signing, and my NFL Playoff Picks!

Dear B(C)S, You Win!!

First of all, let me start by saying I hate the B(C)S. I've talked about it a million times on the radio. I've written about it dozens of times as well.

We all know the system doesn't work. Check that. Any sane, rational person knows it doesn't work. The only reason it exists is because network executives continue to hand over millions of dollars for the right to air four or five games every year, of which only one matters.

But today, the day of the FedEx B(C)S National Championship Game between Florida and Oklahoma (I'm going with the Gators in case you are wondering), I will make this vow.

I will never again complain about the B(C)S.

I am not going to rip the system if they get it wrong (and they will). I am not going to lament the fact that college football is the only major sport in this country that doesn't crown its champion in some sort of playoff. I will never again design a sixteen team playoff that will make everyone lots of money. No more.

I am done with all of that. Why? Well, the main reason is that a playoff is never going to happen. The College Presidents don't want it. They're making too much money with the current system. The networks will never let it happen. They're making money too. If they weren't ESPN would not have bought the rights to the television package once the deal with FOX expires. The B(C)S conferences will never allow it to happen. They are swimming in money because of the current system.

But that isn't why I am never going to complain about the B(C)S again. Neither is the fact that none of the suits really care about what you and I want. No, I'm going to stop complaining because everyone else is complaining.

Let's start with USC head coach Pete Carroll. Full disclosure here. I covered Pete when he coached the Jets in 1994. I worked with him for a season at One on One Sports/ Sporting News Radio.He is a damn good coach, and he's a good man as well. He is not normally a complainer. But he's been complaining for about five weeks now that his Trojans should have a shot at the National Championship. Well, under the current system, the Trojans might have been able to get to Miami even though they lost to Oregon State had they won the Pac 10 Championship Game. A game that doesn't exist. Oklahoma and Florida were able to come back from losses during the regular season by winning their conference title games. So, If Carroll wants to complain to someone, then he should call the Pac 10.

Then, after dismantling a Penn State team that looked like it didn't belong on the same field as the Trojans did, Carroll complained again, going so far as to say he thinks he has the best team in the country. Coach, you beat Penn State. A Big Ten team. Considering how pathetic the Big Ten did in the bowl season, it might be wise to keep your mouth shut.

Then there's the complaining that Texas did. Mack Brown and the Longhorns might have had a right to complain after they failed to make the Big 12 Championship Game. At that time, Brown chose to take the high road. Then, after coming from behind to beat Ohio State in the FIesta Bowl Monday night, Brown complained about pretty much everything. Not going to the Big 12 title game, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the economy. you get my drift. Brown went so far as to say he'd vote the Longhorns Number One in the final Coaches Poll (not that his vote's going to make any difference).

Brown's just coming off like a baby with that one. Were the Longhons jobbed out of the Big 12 title game? That's debatable. Yes, the beat Oklahoma, but they did lose to Texas tech. Just because you beat the Sooners in October doesn't guarantee that you get a spot in your conference championship game. If the Longhorns would have taken care of business in Lubbock, then they'd be playing tonight in all likelihood.

And then there's Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff. He is now claiming the BCS is biased against Non BCS conferences. He says the system is unfair. He is even talking about a possible lawsuit.

Would Shurtleff have taken this step if the Utes hadn't completed a 13-0 season by beating Alabama in the Sugar Bowl? Hell no. He would have been as quiet as a church mouse. He's only complaining because the Utes have had two undefeated seasons (and two BCS appearances in the last few years) with nothing more than a trophy (not the crystal football given to the BCS champions) to show for it.

To me, this move smells of pandering to his constituency. It's a political move, pure and simple. Besides, didn't the smaller conferences ban together a few years back and threaten a lawsuit? I believe they did, which is why we now have the fifth BCS game. The BCS added the game to shut the smaller schools up. And since then, we've seen Hawaii, Boise State, and Utah all crash the BCS party.

If Shurtleff wants the Utes to be in the title game, then maybe someone at the University of Utah ought to think about joining a BCS conference. This way their schedule would be tougher than it currently is. If the Utes do that and go through the season undefeated, they'll get the recognition they deserve. And by the way, I didn't see Shurtleff complaining when Boise State wasn't awarded the championship after beating Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl a couple of years ago.

I'm not saying that USC, Texas, or Shurtleff are necessarily wrong. I'm just saying that after eleven years of this, eleven years of complaining, eleven years of calling for a playoff, I'm tired. I'm done. I can't do it anymore. I give up. I don't like it. But I don't see the point anymore.

Real change may be coming to Washington January 20th. But, it will never come to college football. And I've finally come to terms with that.

For my prediction on tonight's game, check out my podcast!

After Hoffman, Brewers Should Sign Pettitte

If you listen to my podcast today, you'll find out how I feel about the Brewers' pursuit of future Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman. If you didn't, here's my take on that in a nutshell. I'm all for it.

That being said, there are still holes on this club. Second base has not been fixed. Neither has third base. Rickie Weeks and Bill Hall are still on the roster. The only addition has been Mike Lamb (not the answer). Russell (The Muscle) Branyan left as a free agent.

But, there are even bigger holes on this team. Namely, the rotation. If the season were to start today, the Brewers would be going with Yovani Gallardo, Jeff Suppan, Dave Bush, Manny Parra, and Seth McClung. I've said it before and I'll say it again. This is not the kind of rotation a contender puts out there. It's the kind of rotation that mediocre teams put out there.

The Brewers lost CC Sabathia. Ben Sheets remains a possibility to return, but my guess is that if he hasn't re-signed by now he's not going to. Besides, the fact he is still out there leads me to believe that there are teams who are not convinced he is going to be healthy enough to help in 2009.

There were reports that the Brewers were interested in St. Louis free agent starter Braden Looper. As of now, nothing has come of that, and even if it did, how much of an upgrade is Looper? There were reports the Brewers were interested in Randy Johnson, but he went to the Giants, and besides, he might be washed up anyway.

In other words, the Brewers have done diddly squat to improve the rotation this off-season. Derek Lowe appears to be headed to either New York, Philadelphia, or Boston. Randy Wolf (the guy I've been campaigning for) doesn't seem to be on GM Doug Melvin's radar.

But, I am not going to give up trying to help the Brewers. In fact, I have a brand new name they should be considering. Andy Pettitte.

Yes, the same Andy Pettitte that just rejected a $10M deal from the Yankees. The same Andy Pettitte that was named multiple times in The Mitchell Report. Yes, the same Andy Pettitte that will be thirty-seven years old on June 15th. If I'm Melvin, I'm on the phone with Pettitte now, before Joe Torre has a chance to woo him to Los Angeles (Pettitte and Torre are particularly tight).

Why am I so high on Pettitte. There are a few reasons.

The man is a bona fide winner. At one point in time he was one of the top five pitchers in the game. He may not be that guy anymore. He may not be the guy that you could call a stopper anymore. But he is a guy that will make over thirty starts a year, keep you in every ballgame, and be a guy that the youngsters (Gallardo and Parra) can look up to and go get advice from.

Don't underestimate the four World Series rings that Pettitte owns as well. He has been where this organization wants to go. He's been there many times. He's the kind of guy who can teach a young club how to deal with October baseball (sorry, four games against Philadelphia doesn't make you a seasoned playoff veteran).

And speaking of playoff experience, Pettitte has plenty of it. The guy pitched in seven fall classics and has a post-season mark of 14-9 with a 3.96 ERA. That's a pretty impressive resume.

Here are a couple of other numbers for you. In 2005, Pettitte went 4-0 against the Brewers with an ERA of 2.70 (he was 2-0 at Miller Park). In 2006, he was 1-1 against The Crew with an ERA of 1.93. If you can't beat him, and the Brewers couldn't, sign him.

I understand he turned down that $10M offer from the Yankees. So, the Brewers would be wise not to lowball him. Is Pettitte worth the $16M he was making last year? Probably not. But he is probably worth $12-$14M. And, if the Brewers were willing to make an offer of over $20M to Sabathia, then you have to think the money is there to make a run at Pettitte.

This isn't the time to pinch pennies. Fans won't accept it, and the Brewers would be wrong to think that one playoff appearance is good enough. They cannot get complacent, otherwise they'll be left in the dust.

It's your move, Doug.

Tuesday's Podcast

The Tuesday Show is now online. Check it out and let me know what you think!

Bucks Should Buy, and Soon!

For the first time in a couple of years, the Bucks are relevant in January. It's not a joke anymore when you use the word Bucks and playoffs in the same sentence. The changes John Hammond has made have paid off. Scott Skiles has done here - up to this point - what he did in Phoenix and Chicago. Take what he was given and improve on it.

Two years ago at this time, we were all waiting for Senator Herb Kohl to end the Terry Stotts experiment. Last year at this time we were waiting for the Senator to fire Larry Krystkowiak because we could see he just was not a good NBA coach. We wanted someone with a track record. Someone who could get the most out of the players he had considering the cap situation. Skiles was the right guy, as was Hammond.

This year, Bucks fans aren't waiting for the other shoe to drop. There is actually a little bit of buzz surrounding this basketball team. Buzz that there hasn't been in a long time, maybe since George Karl was here. The crowds may not show it yet, but if the Bucks keep winning, tickets will be harder to come by than they are right now.

The Bucks started off the season with a hard schedule in November and survived. There really isn't a reason to think they can't survive a January schedule that is jam packed with eighteen games and three sets of back to backs. The teams on the schedule (outside of Atlanta) aren't as fierce as the ones the Bucks played earlier in the season.

The point here is the Bucks have a chance to solidify their playoff position in the Eastern Conference and maybe even move up in the standings (after all, it is the East). The one thing they have shown this year is that they beat the teams they are better than, and this month features teams they are better than in Washington, Minnesota, Sacramento, the Clippers and Indiana (three of the teams who have already changed their coaches this season).

If they are going to solidify their playoff position they should to everything they can to get that done. The NBA trading deadline is February 19th, and there have been rumblings that the Bucks are looking to make a deal or two. Word around the league is that there are very few if any untouchables, including Michael Redd. Names like Charlie Villanueva are said to be on the table. The Bucks are said to have interest in any number of players, including Milwaukee's own Carl Landry, now with the Houston Rockets.

The question is should they buy or sell. Buy pieces to help with a playoff run or sell pieces like Redd to give them more flexibility as far as the cap is concerned. The feeling here is that the Bucks should be buyers.

It doesn't seem as if the Bucks need all that much. They are solid in the backcourt with Luke Ridnour and Ramon Sessions at the point. Redd is one of the league's better shooting guards. Richard Jefferson has been everything he's been advertised to be at the three spot. Andrew Bogut's point production may be down from last year, but his defense and rebounding have been what they always were, and you had to figure with Jefferson coming in someone's numbers were going to drop.

The problem spot has been the power forward position. Villanueva is an offensive player who either doesn't have interest in playing on the defensive end of the floor, or simply lacks the ability to do so. There are nights when he plays thirty-five minutes a game and nights when you barely see him. He is obviously not Skiles' favorite.

On the other hand there is rookie Luc Richard Mbah a Moute. The second round pick has been more than just your average rookie. He's averaging more than eight points and six rebounds a game. He plays the kind of style that Skiles likes and rewards with playing time.

But, can Mbah a Moute do it alone at the power forward spot? At some point you figure he is going to hit the rookie wall. NBA rookies almost always do, and the Bucks need to be prepared for that. Mbah a Moute played a lot of games for a UCLA team that routinely found itself in The Final Four, but 82 games compared to forty is a completely different animal.

The Bucks should get him some help. it doesn't have to be someone who has a flashy offensive game because the Bucks have enough offensive players. They need another Mbah a Moute, and if they have to deal Villanueva to get that player than so be it.

The perfect guy might just be Landry. He's 6-7, 245 pounds (Mbah a Moute is 6-8, 230). He averages just over twenty minutes per game. He puts up the same kind of numbers that Mbah a Moute does. Would you rather have forty-eight minutes of that kind of players as opposed to the twenty-six minutes you're getting per game from Mbah a Moute? Of course you would.

Landry is also from Milwaukee, and he has the kind of attitude Milwaukee fans like to see in a player. Landry is a hard nosed, blue collar kind of player. Combine that with the fact he's from here, and maybe fans start to fill the Bradley Center more than they've been doing.

And, the sooner you make the deal, the sooner you start reaping the benefits. The Suns made the Shaq trade in February of last year and weren't able to fit him in to what they were trying to do. As opposed to the Lakers trade for Pau Gasol, which came earlier in the season, and is generally regarded as being the reason the Lakers made the NBA Finals last June.

This is not to say that Landry is the missing piece for a title run. But he may be the difference between a playoff spot and another lottery season. And, after years of lottery seasons, it would be nice to play meaningful basketball in April.

Buy or sell? Buy, and buy soon.

Monday's Podcast

The Monday Podcast is up and running!

Cliff

The Weekend Wrap

I hope everyone had a Happy New Year! Here's looking towards a great 2009, starting with Wildcard Weekend in the NFL.

Cards dealt a divisional game: Give Arizona credit. They are one dimensional. They pretty much pass and that's it. But, they beat an Atalanta team that knew what was coming and still couldn't stop them. I don't think the Cards can win this coming weekend. The availability of injured WR Anquan Boldin will have a lot to do with what happens. But, either way, win or lose, it's been nice to see Kurt Warner do what he's done years after people wrote him off as being washed up.

San Diego Charged Up: I was sad to see the Colts lose the way they did. I have long believed that the overtime rules in the NFL are just not fair. They should do it the way college does it, if only to be fair to both teams. I don't want to see Tony Dungy's coaching career end this way if he does indeed choose to retire. But, the Chargers have been to hell and back this season, and despite my dislike of Norv Turner (better co-ordinator than head coach), I couldn't be happier that a guy like Phillip Rivers advances. He's one of the better quarterbacks in the league, and one of these days, he's going to get the recognition that he deserves.

Baltimore Bumps Miami: As a Jets fan, I was not sad to see the Dolphins lose. Before the Jets-Patriots rivalry got going, the Jets' biggest rival was Miami. That being said, the difference in this game was defense. The Ravens have a pretty good one. They also seem to - after a number of years - have this whole offense thing figured out. We saw a number of teams hire first year head coaches and make the playoffs. But, John Harbaugh, who had never even been a co-ordinator before getting the Ravens job (special teams isn't the same as defense in my book), is the one that made the divisional round of the playoffs. And he did it with a rookie quarterback in Joe Flacco who has developed quicker than most thought he would. Harbaugh and Flacco don't get the same kind of pub as Matt Ryan and Mike Smith of Atlanta, but they aren't making tee times for today now are they?

Eagles Flying High: One of the hottest teams in the NFL over the last five weeks has been the Eagles. It doesn't come as a surprise that they go into Minnesota and knock off the Vikings. Andy Reid and Jim Johnson know Brad Childress like the back of their hand - he was, after all, on Philly's staff for a number of years. But Donovan McNabb, since his November benching, has played with a chip on his shoulder. He has to be considered one of the league's best once again, and the rubber match against the Giants next weekend is going to be a game you don't want to miss.

Please Give Us A Plus One: The bowl season finally gave us a couple of meaningful games over the New Year's Holiday. Maybe none more meaningful than The Rose Bowl Game (presented by.. ah, whatever).

The USC-Penn State matchup was supposed to be one of the more closely contested games of the season. it turned out to be a blowout. Don't get me wrong, Penn State didn't give up. They could've flown the white flag early in the third quarter, but they hung in there. Despite that fact, they still lost by two touchdowns.

USC wasn't only dominant, they were superior. Superior to the point that you have to agree with Trojans head coach Pete Carroll when he says they are right up there with the Oklahomas and Floridas of the world.

Until the Gators or Sooners beat the Trojans, it's hard to argue with his logic. They lost to Oregon State this year. That was it. They handled Ohio State, another BCS team. They lost a conference game, just like Oklahoma did, and just like Florida did.

I know we're probably never going to get a playoff in college football. But how about a plus one? Wouldn't you like to see USC take on the winner of Florida-Oklahoma. And while we're at it, what about Texas? They'll probably beat Ohio State and will deserve to be mentioned with the Gators, Trojans, and Sooners as well.

The BCS, as we all know, is an imperfect system. The game that was added on a couple of years ago was only added on so the non BCS conferences wouldn't sue the BCS. The fifth game gives the 'little guy' a chance. That's how Boise State got into the BCS, and that's why Utah is there this year.

But it doesn't solve the inherent problem that the BCS has. The system doesn't crown a true national champion. Florida deserves to be in the game because they beat then #1 Alabama. And Oklahoma had the good fortune of winning late in the season, when others faltered. that's why the Texas fans have been complaining loudly for the last month.

The Florida-Oklahoma winner will win the BCS title (the AP vote could theoretically go in a different direction), but wouldn't you like to see USC play the winner in what would be the closest thing to a playoff that the BCS could give us?

Again, the fact that ESPN signed a four year deal with the BCS means that it isn't going anywhere. But reconfiguring, and making that fifth BCS game a plus one would be way better than what we have now.

Favre's Future: It looks like the future Hall of Famer hasn't won the hearts and minds of his teammates. Thomas Jones told a New York radio station that Favre should have been benched (and he probably was right) during the Jets loss to Miami in the final week of the regular season. Safety Kerry Rhodes went on record as saying he'd welcome Favre back if he 'did it right.' (that means going through the off-season program with the rest of the team, something Favre never did in Green Bay). And, some teammates who did not want to be identified told a NY newspaper that Favre was distant, wasn't really part of the team, and never connected with his new teammates (not dressing in the team locker room, etc.).

It looks like it took the Jets (though owner Woody Johnson hasn't figured it out yet) less than a year to realize exactly what a diva Favre is. The difference between what has gone on with the Jets and what went on in Green Bay is that the jets don't feel they owe it to Favre to let him get away with this.

The Packers always did. They looked at Favre as the reason they won the Super Bowl in 1996 (he was only a part of the reason and not the game's MVP by the way). Therefore, starting with Ray Rhodes after Mike Holmgren left, they let Favre get away with murder. Skip the offseason training program? No problem Brett. You don't feel like coming in for minicamps or OTA's? No problem Brett. You want to take six months to decide if you're going to play again? No problem Brett. The trend continued with Mike Sherman and Mike McCarthy until Favre pulled the I retire/I'm back game last summer.

Woody Johnson may want Brett back, but it sounds like the players, the guys he has to go to war with, don't. Reports say Bill Cowher didn't want the Jets job because he didn't want to coach Favre.

It seems to me like Johnson is the only one who wants Favre Year Two in New York. If Brett were smart, he'd look at his eroding skills, lack of relationships in his new locker room, and decide to retire. This time for good.