Archive for May, 2009

The Pioneer-Press reports that negotiations between Antoine Winfield and the Vikings on a contract extension have hit a big fat snag: The agent for Pro Bowl cornerback Antoine Winfield said in a text message Sunday night that talks of an extension with the Vikings have broken down. “There are no active negotiations and there are no further talks planned,” Ashanti Webb said in a text message. Asked how he feels about that, Webb said, “Disappointed. Very disappointed.” Webb did not return follow-up messages asking whether he or the Vikings cut off talks and whether Winfield would attend the team’s mandatory [...]

Yahoo! Sports has been taking it on the chin ever since ESPN seemed to shoot down their “Brett Favre is retired and that’s the end of it” story with their own “Favre sent X-Rays to the Vikings so na-na-na” story.  This has created enough bad feelings at Yahoo! Sports that one of their editors, Mark Pesavento, has gotten into a pissing match with PFT’s Mike Florio, screaming at Florio – via email – that Rick Schwartz is right and Jeremy Schaap is wrong, and those alleged X-rays that passed from Favre to the Vikings never passed, and Favre is still [...]

What other Vikings bloggers are saying about Brett Favre (because there’s nothing new to report and frankly I can’t muster the will to whip up anything of my own right now): Daily Norseman:  “To sanitize a commonly used phrase, both the Vikings and Brett Favre need to either defecate or remove themselves from the porcelain waste disposal device.” Pacifist Viking:  “Perhaps it was all just a test of Viking fans’ loyalty.  Make die-hard Viking fans actually want Favre, then leave them in shame, making all their future ‘Favre was an overrated media creation’ arguments sheepish and tainted.” Realfootball365: “Favre has [...]

Here’s one I hadn’t heard before:  according to someone with knowledge of the inner-workings of Brett Favre‘s family, the “burning desire” Brett feels to get revenge on the Packers and specifically Ted Thompson has less to do with him and more to do with his wife Deanna.  Per Patrick Reusse of the Star-Trib: I haven’t been around Favre enough to attempt psychoanalysis. So, a Wisconsin reporter was asked to put the quarterback on a couch. Question: The theory that this return is motivated by a hatred for the Packers’ Thompson. Is it valid? Reporter: “I buy the revenge factor, although [...]

Greg Bedard, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writer and invaluable Twitterer, has offered a bit of clarification on the whole Brett Favre X-ray story.  Basically, if the Vikings are looking at X-rays of Favre’s shoulder and not, say, MRIs, then they must be looking for something besides the torn tendon everyone’s known about for months.  In fact, it’s possible that Favre’s arm is way more screwed up than previously reported.  One source told Bedard: If you put your finger in (Favre’s) shoulder it goes right through. That’s not a good sign. There’s a reason why he hasn’t picked up a football yet. Ew. [...]

Reported just now on ESPN by John Clayton (apparently Jeremy Schaap gets credit for the original scoop):  Brett Favre has sent X-rays of his right shoulder to the Vikings for them to have a gander at.  I’m assuming Brett didn’t just do this for yuks, but by Minnesota’s request.  Not being a medical professional, I have no idea how much you can tell about a torn biceps tendon from looking at X-rays.  Perhaps someone out there who knows something can shed light on this.  My understanding has been that Brett can play with his injury, but not without pain.  And [...]

Maybe you were wondering what Jared Allen‘s mullet is looking like these days.  Well, now you don’t have to, thanks to this capture from a recent Jared appearance on NFL Network.  Solid. JS Online

So what do Brett Favre’s former Jets teammates think of all the drama surrounding the guy who was supposed to lead them to the playoffs last year but instead led them to a disappointing finish, then deserted them?  Let’s just say there are some unhappy guys in Jetsland right now.  The most scathing words came from an unidentified Jet, who said: I’m tired of being part of his soap opera. If he really wanted to win a championship, he’d be right here. Let’s call it for what it is: He wants to play for Minnesota so he can stick if [...]

The sports media seem to have collectively given up on the Brett Favre-to-the-Vikings story, in the wake of a Yahoo Sports! report that had Farve calling the Vikes and telling them thanks but no thanks.  It may, however, be too soon to completely pack away dreams of Favre in purple.  The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel quotes league sources as saying “the interest on both sides was very real and still might be,” and goes on to say that many in the league are “still waiting to see what happens” as regards the Yahoo! Sports report.  And then there’s this from the ever-popular [...]

Rick Schwartz of Yahoo! Sports says Brett Favre has told the Minnesota Vikings he is not coming out of retirement to play in 2009.  Schwartz says Favre had a phone conversation with someone connected to the team in the last day and informed them of his decision.  This would certainly seem to jibe with the developments of the past day, including Bus Cook‘s adamant denial of Favre’s desire to return, and our discovery this morning that Brad Childress had never left Minnesota for that alleged meeting.  Of course this doesn’t mean the reports by Ed Werder et al were wrong:  [...]