Here We Go Again

August 5, 2010

Once again borrowing the philosophical words of Yogi Berra, it is deja vu all over again. Yes, we heard again this week that Brett Favre (below) is retiring from NFL football. And yes, we have lived through many of his retirements. Annually, it seems. In fact, I am not sure we could not move into 2011 without Favre announcing that he is retiring from the game. After all, he had not retired yet this year. Until Tuesday, that is.

If Favre does the unexpected and follows through with his retirement, August 3, 2010 will be a day that many a Minnesota Vikings will look back with a sinking feeling. We’ll have to wait and see what Favre says later this month. But, as of this moment, it appears the Vikings will begin the 2010 season with Tarvaris Jackson at quarterback. And that did not work out so well in 2008.

Favre, at age 40, led the Vikings to a 6-0 start to the 2009 season. After a 10-1 record in their first 11 games, they lost three of four but eventually made the playoffs, winning the NFC North division by one game over the Green Bay Packers. During the season, Favre defeated the Packers twice, including a four-touchdown performance at Lambeau Field.

After a playoff victory over the Dallas Cowboys, the drive for another Super Bowl ended in the NFC Championship Game in overtime against the New Orleans Saints. Favre’s final throw was intercepted by New Orleans at the end of regulation, and a potential winning field goal never had a chance to be attempted.

Favre holds nearly every major career passing record, including passing yards, touchdowns and victories as a starting quarterback. He is the only player in NFL history to have been named The Associated Press’ MVP in three consecutive seasons.

Jake Will Start In Cleveland

In what will likely surprise Carolina Panthers’ fans who watched Jake Delhomme, (below) last year, the Cleveland Browns have announced that the former Panthers quarterback will be their starting signal caller.

I have to admit that my first thought was wondering just how bad the Browns are or will be in 2010. My second thought was wondering if there is any chance Delhomme will have the last laugh over the Panthers releasing him. I sincerely doubt it.

Delhomme will not have nearly the offensive talent that surrounded him during his career with the Panthers. Talent that was clearly wasted last year while he struggled and seemed to throw more passes to the defense than his own receivers. Remember? Remember the 18 interceptions Jake threw last year compared to just eight touchdown passes. I am not going out on a limb saying that he looked both confused and done last season. Even moreso after Matt Moore replaced him during the last half of the campaign and saved the season for the Panthers.

Cleveland seems to believe in Delhomme. They released former Pro-Bowler Derek Anderson and traded Brady Quinn to the Denver Broncos. The Browns then signed Delhomme to a two year deal that will pay him a guaranteed $7 million the first season. The Browns also acquired Seneca Wallace from the Seattle Seahawks and drafted former Texas star Colt McCoy in the third round, providing an entirely new cast under center.

In other words, Delhomme became the starter almost by default. This chapter of Delhomme’s saga should be interesting.

Has Nutt Gone Nuts

College football has had a rough off-season. Some high-profile schools are now on probation and several players have made news within police blotters. In other words, the sport could use some good public relations.

In what can only qualify as bad public relations, Mississippi head coach Houston Nutt announced last week that he has a new quarterback.

Nutt’s controversial decision to add trouble-plagued Oregon exile Jeremiah Masoli to his roster on the eve of preseason camp is so transparently pathetic in its desperation you wonder how he can make it with a straight face. And yet we should hardly be surprised. Nutt and many others often make decisions that leave us wondering what certain coaches will do for a few extra wins.

Masoli, the star quarterback for Oregon’s 2009 Rose Bowl team, was desperate to find a new football team following his June dismissal, and Ole Miss just happens to be in desperate need of another quarterback following the transfer of second-stringer Raymond Cotton. And so, thanks to a convenient NCAA loophole, Masoli, a recent sociology grad, may wind up starting for an SEC team less than six months after being charged for second-degree burglary, and just three months after getting caught with marijuana while already on suspension from his former team.

Another black eye for the SEC when it least needed it.

What message does this send to Nathan Stanley, the Ole Miss sophomore who, while Masoli was in self-induced football exile, spent the offseason dutifully working to earn himself a starting job? What message does it send to the families of future recruits about Nutt’s attitude toward discipline? And what does it say about the SEC and NCAA that they would allow this to happen? Masoli is changing locales solely because his previous team wouldn’t let him stay.

Don’t Mess With Kim Jong-il

Reports out of North Korea regarding the country’s national soccer team are not good. Word has leaked out that North Korea’s dictator, Kim Jong-il (below) publicly punished his team upon their arrival home after losing 7-0 to Portugal. After the embarrasing loss, jokes were already being made about what Jong-il would do with his national squad.

Sources have been reporting that North Korea’s coaches and players were summoned to an auditorium in Pyongyang and subjected to a public shaming, six hours in length, on a stage in front of 400 people, including various ministers, athletes and university students. The players were “subjected to a session of harsh ideological criticism,” a Chinese businessman told reporters.

The further punishment that the players might have received, disturbingly, remains unknown, but it seems as if head coach Kim Jung-hun might have gotten the worst of it. There are rumors that coach Kim Jung-hun and some players have been expelled from the Worker’s Party and been sent to perform forced labor at a residential building construction site.

Of course, it is hard to confirm any stories out of one the world’s most walled-off nations. That, in itself, makes one worry about the fate of the athletes.