octopusonice

If Favre only delayed making a decision about his future after his wife had cancer, I think most people would be sympathetic, including myself. The problem is, it did not end there and in the eyes of many, Favre went to the well too often. Once he's in his mid to late 30's, there's always going to be uncertainty about his future and there's always going to be a reason to 'think things over'. Since he's Brett Favre, no reason is too preposterous. This is not about being able to change your mind or stopping to evaluate your future. This is about someone who habitually draws attention to himself after each offseason by creating drama about retiring or not. He's so good at working the media that Paris Hilton should hire him as a consultant. As far as the Packers hiring a new coach with a new philosophy goes, that's life. It happens all the time in the business world. There's nothing special about it happening to Brett Favre. Boo frickin hoo. I'm glad that in 2007 he made his decision by the time the Super Bowl. It's the least he could have done. Too bad he couldn't have done the same thing this year. I'm not on a high horse as you say. I have had to make decisions, and in some of those decisions, I have had to change my mind. The catch is, whether it was a company I wanted to work for or a place I wanted to move into, no one was going to wait indefinitely for me to make up my mind. Once the Packers allowed Favre an indefinite time to make up his mind on an annual basis, they lost control. They know Favre has them by the nads, and they are tired of it. The question is, how much and in what form will the team have to pay to make him let go?

Similarily, I don't think any Sunday MLB game can be seen in the evening unless it's on ESPN. Gotta love these exclusive rights agreements that take the decision away from consumers.

I will likely get some hate mail from Wisconsinites on this one, but here's what I think regarding Favre: It looks to me like Green Bay was tired of Favre having so much control over the team's future with his "Will I retire or Won't I?" routine that they decided to take it out of his hands this offseason. I think they also feel that last year was an aberration and that they are not likely to the contender they were in 2007. Minnesota is going to be better, and they are not going to sweep the AFC South like they did the AFC West in 2007. So if you think that Favre has taken you as far as he can, and you are tired of his antics, you make Aaron Rodgers the man and see what he can do.

Hossa 1st Stuart 2nd Surprised that Bowman is second in this poll. I think it's only because it happened yesterday. If the time Stuart signed and the time Scotty joined the Hawks was reversed, Stuart would be #2. People in this forum, including myself were worried about that one IMO.

Thanks. You got me thinking on the topic. It's 'his' by the way. LOL

You had me at 'this'

fa-la-la-la-la la-la-la-loooonger! Totally like Ken Kal and Paul Woods. I have to laugh. One time I saw a game at the Joe. Before the game, I have my home Wings jersey on and go up to where Woods is and yell, "Hey Woodsie, how's it going?" and he waved back. Then a couple of days later, the Wings travel to Anaheim and as luck has it, I returned to San Diego. I drive up to the game wearing my road Wings jersey and go up to the radio box and yell up at Woodsie like before. You should have seen the double take! One more thing. About the blabbing. A lot of announcers don't realize the difference between TV and radio broadcasting. On the radio, you have to paint a picture and be more descriptive. On the TV, you should shut up more. Not all of them make the transition. Edit: mispelling (how could one 'daw' a game?)

I think there's something to that, but not sure it applies to the young Roy. Patrick was not the greatest influence as a parent. IIRC there have been issues with alcohol and spousal abuse. There is also a problem that many athletes develop where they are worshipped so much and so much is done for them at an early age (not all of it good) that they believe they are above the law. Several fallen stars like Britney Spears, who experienced success well beyond any accomplishments of her parents, only to turn to alcohol and drugs herself. It is difficult to handle fame and success, and as much as I hate to admit it, I think the Manning family has done well so far with Peyton and Eli. It's not enough to have the skills and tools to succeed on the field, you must also be able to handle life off the field, and unfortunately many don't. Just ask former Chargers Steve Foley and Terrance Kiel.

If anything, I would have expected him to go to Buffalo or Toronto. I thought he still lived in Buffalo in the off season. I am not particularly worried about the Wings' situation simply because Bowman left. Look at the San Francisco 49ers as an example. Lots of teams have copied the system they made popular, the West Coast Offense. All of Bill Walsh's assistants went on to other teams, but how many of those teams have won five Super Bowl rings, like the 49ers did, as a result? None, squat, Butkus*. Knowing a system or copying it doesn't mean you can succeed with it. It's more likely that by knowing Detroit's system, the Blackhawks would be better prepared to defend against it than to duplicate it themselves. Besides, as good as we are, we aren't going to have all the candy in the store. * I know it's supposed to be bupkus, but when you faced Butkus, you got nothing. Edit clarification

You know your team is in good shape roster-wise when the only thing left to talk about is who the will fill out the roster and play for basically league minimum.

A part of me would like it and another part of me wouldn't. This guy is so much a part of the fabric of Sabres hockey that he really belongs to Buffalo. He's in his late 60s and probably won't be doing games for much longer.

I am totally impressed with what KH has done this offseason. Pretty much everyone that we needed to sign has been signed.

Thanks to this topic that's next on my sports to-do list: see a game in Vancouver. You all got me excited about going up there.

In a way, it's good that there is less time to go around for everyone. I think the team with its outstanding depth will be well rested come playoff time.

He's one of the reasons I sometimes wish I was older, so I would have had a chance to see him play. Happy Birthday, Ted!

Hopefully, the signing of Flip and the fact that we are close to the cap will slow down some of the posts like: "<player> was released by <team>, should we sign him?"

I don't know that I totally buy that. Most NFL revenue comes from TV and ads, and less from ticket sales. It's conceivable the Lions would still make money with 10,000 empty seats per game.

I agree with you except the one with the Stanley Cup celebrations changing pictures every 1/10th of a second. I like the idea (reverence to history) behind it, but it makes me a little dizzy watching it. I don't know if it's the kind of thing that would effect epileptic people, but it makes you wonder. I thought they showed it during the SCF frequently, so it's not like it didn't get exposure. The two minute one with the soccer player was well done. I like the scene where the girlfriend is leering at him. Hockey definitely needs an equivalent of that. The game can be marketed to people who never played; I'm living proof of that. However, I think the game would reach more people if more youths played it in areas that are traditionally not hotbeds of hockey like here in Calif.

Good take

I like Thorne's ability to set the drama. I remember from the 1997 SCF when he said something like "15,395 days", referring to the last time they won a Cup. That made it seem even longer. His calls like the game 7 call in 1996 against St. Louis with Yzerman are classic and I always liked hearing him yell "Shanahan!".

Glad to see that they completed the deal with Flip. This team is loaded!

I think the other thing you have to consider is the support for college hockey at the Joe.

Ovechkin works hard and he's good

Once we signed Hossa, any chance of getting Sundin went out the window

I know it's a part of the CBA and I agree with what you are saying; all I'm saying is I don't like it. To me it's like Howard Schultz (Starbucks CEO) going in person to a local Starbucks on some street corner and telling them to order more blueberry scones. Yeah, he has the right to do it, but it's micromanaging. As far as I can tell, the Ducks paid Niedermeyer while he was not playing. No one is being harmed by this, except the Ducks and they chose to do it. Why should the league give a damn about something that's internal to the Ducks organization, and that at the time, the team felt was a non-problem?