The Fate of Favre

Brett Favre is continuing his quest on making the Packers' life a living hell by filing for reinstatement and is hell bent on showing up for training camp on Friday. The Packers are so afraid of Favre showing up that they reportedly offered him $20 million dollars to remain retired and it now looks like they are considering the possibility of trading Number 4 to the Vikings just to end this mess once and for all. It looks like this drama is about to set the stage for the final act.

In the meantime, fans wondering what it would look like to see Mr. Favre don the jersey of his rumored destinations can head on over to the EA Sports' Madden 09 website to get a glimpse of the retirement challenged quarterback in his possible new threads. The company behind the Madden curse has gone so far as to simulate the 2008 season with Favre behind center of the Jets, Vikings, Bears, and Buccaneers to compare how each team's success would differ versus their current QB situation. While putting any emphasis into the results is a complete waste of time, I will tell you that none of the squads end up even making it to Super Sunday. Of course, this simulation is a complete farce because it doesn't take into consideration the most likely fate for this year's Madden cover if he decides to return to the field...CAREER ENDING INJURY.

Favre Holding Packers Hostage

It seems as though Brett Favre's retirement will be short lived. That is unless he decides to change his mind…again. For a man who makes so many split second decisions on the field he sure has a hard time making a definitive one off of it. The problem is that Number 4 simply can't make up his mind on what he wants to do. Ultimately, Favre is holding the Packers back and sabotaging his own career.

Two years ago, teammate Donald Driver thought it was a forgone conclusion that Favre was going to hang it up. He didn't. The Packers drafted Aaron Rodgers in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft in order to groom him as Favre's heir apparent. Well, let the grooming continue...or maybe not. If Favre actually takes the field this year he won't be wearing the green and yellow.

Favre suddenly feels unwanted in Green Bay. Maybe it has something to do with the Vikings trying to coax him into playing in Minnesota this season. The Packers won’t let that happen, but are tired of Favre jerking them around on whether or not he wants to come back and play. At some point the Packers have to move forward and waiting on Favre every year only holds the organization back. Green Bay has made their intentions clear and Favre has conveniently used the Packer’s stance as an excuse to escape Titletown.

Apparently Mr. Favre hasn’t read up on the Madden curse. EA made a bold decision this year in deciding to put the retired Favre on the cover. Obviously, the decision was made in part to celebrate the career of the Packer great, but mostly to avoid destroying yet another star player’s season. If Favre were to come back and play for another franchise imagine the implications. In all likelihood we will witness the first ever Madden cover athlete to play for a different team than the one he is pictured in on the cover in the same season. There is no telling how this may turn out. By changing teams, Favre may have avoided the Madden curse all together and in turn will lead his new franchise to the Super Bowl. More likely, however, Favre is tempting fate and will be decimated by a career ending, catastrophic apocalypse of epic proportions. I don't even know what that means, but to put it simply...this will not end well.

Picturing Favre in a uniform other than that of the Packers is almost impossible. Favre says to let him worry about his legacy, but where is his loyalty? The Packers organization and the fans of Green Bay have treated Favre like an iconic figure. He is literally a folk hero in Green Bay yet has decided to turn his back on the entire community. Favre is willing to taint his legendary status simply because another franchise showed interest in him. It’s just another reminder of the disconnect that exists between the professional athlete and the fan. A fan would never turn his back on his team, but even the most beloved player in the history of a franchise doesn’t think twice about it. Well, maybe in Brett Favre’s case he does, but the end result is all too familiar.

Hamilton Has Finally Arrived

Josh Hamilton is Major League Baseball's next superstar. Hamilton had become an afterthought to most baseball observers after being the first overall selection in the 1999 MLB Draft by Tampa Bay. Hamilton's talent was so immense he was mentioned in the same breathe as Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez. He was destined to be baseball's next great star, but his fast track to the majors was derailed by drug addiction.

Hamilton's struggles to stay clean have been well documented and the Tampa Bay organization never gave up on him throughout his journey back. He was finally able to conquer his substance abuse problems in 2006 and has been clean ever since. Inexplicably, after sticking with Hamilton throughout his dark days, Tampa Bay left Hamilton unprotected in the Rule 5 draft where he was selected by the Chicago Cubs and then traded to Cincinnati. Hamilton flashed his potential in 2007 with the Reds despite battling injuries and being bounced around the line-up.

Hamilton was traded to Texas in the off-season for highly regarded prospect Edinson Volquez and both players have prospered in their new surroundings. Hamilton is the starting center fielder, firmly entrenched in the number three spot of the Rangers' line-up and exhibiting his elite natural ability at the plate. Baseball observers are now noticing Hamilton again as he was named American League Player of the Month. Hamilton batted .330 with 6 home runs and 32 RBIs during the first month of the season. As baseball tries to move past the "Steroid Era," there isn't a better story going than Josh Hamilton. Anyone who loves baseball should being rooting for Hamilton because his story is one deserving of more attention.

Boston College Wins College Hockey Championship

We like to apologize for our lack of post-game coverage because Be Nasty decided to watch the game on campus while enjoying Sam Summer's, highlight parties, John Oates, and watching others play individual games of slap the bag.

Moving on:

After two straight years of disappointing performances in the National Championship game, BC proved that the Third Tynes a charm (thank you Lawrence Tynes) after they defeated Notre Dame 4-1 to reach the summit of NCAA hockey. Nathan Gerbe was a man on a mission against Notre Dame, scoring BC's first two goals and tallying assists on the other two. He took the team on his back during its National Championship run with an incredible 7-goal and 11-point performance.

Gerbe Records Hat Trick in 6-1 Win

We here at Bleeding Sports pride ourselves on our analysis and full coverage of every top flight sporting event. Our very own correspondent Be Nasty took time off from his 18-hour a day Investment Banking gig to travel out to Denver and cover the NCAA hockey Frozen Four. Be Nasty even snapped a few photos to chronicle the shellacking that Nathan Gerbe and the boys from Boston College laid on those lumberjacks from North Dakota.

Who are the Chefs?

This classic Snickers commercial popped into my head the other day for whatever reason. Great Googly Moogly, naturally the ad can be found on YouTube allowing Bleeding Sports to share with all our friends. I still get a kick out of it after all these years.

Kansas Breaks Through

They were the worst of the #1 seeds and barely escaped the upset to Davidson in the Elite Eight. Now, they are the National Champions. College basketball fans had become accustomed to watching Kansas fail to live up to expectations and choke in the NCAA tournament. Can you say Bucknell or Bradley? But the Jayhawks silenced the doubters by reaching the Final Four and then blitzing a North Carolina squad that had looked invincible during the tournament.

The National Championship game went back and forth until Memphis and freshman star Derrick Rose took control. Facing a nine point deficit with two minutes to play, Kansas seemed destined to fall short yet again. It looked like just another disappointing ending to a season of high expectations for coach Bill Self and his team. Only this time, the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player, Mario Chalmers, and his Kansas teammates decided to write a different ending.

Give an assist to Memphis. Despite his best efforts to diffuse talk of his team's struggles from the foul line, John Calipari's Tigers couldn't seal the deal from the charity stripe. Kansas rode their momentum and emotion into overtime exhibiting brilliant offensive execution and stifled Memphis on the defensive end. As the buzzer sounded, the result was one amazing Jayhawks comeback.

Kansas finally has their One Shining Moment.