Onion read

Packers Tell Fans They Gave Favre To A Nice Farm Family

GREEN BAY, WI—The Green Bay Packers addressed questions concerning the current status, future plans, and whereabouts of recently retired quarterback Brett Favre by announcing Monday that they had sent him to the country to live on a...

4 gone

So Brett Favre made it official yesterday. He’s retiring.

Man, I’ve watched the thing like a five or six times and I’m still getting choked up ...



We watched it all live on the TV in our office. Actually, I had logged on to the watch it on the Packers Web site … Then Brett broke down barely 10 seconds into the thing, I saw the crowd gathering around our office TV and I joined the group for the spectacle …

Few of us expected him to be so emotional … At times we were ready to cry with him. And there were moments we just laughed, stunned at the flood of tears. And, of course, some of the women were all ga-ga about how cute Brett looked …

At one point, my friend Laura deadpanned “I should call him … ” and reached for the phone as if she was about to call Brett Favre right there in the middle of his press conference and convince him not to retire. “Don’t do it!” she shouted … It was a hilarious moment.

Throughout the news conference, Brett had some super quotes, too. One of them I wrote down: "See life through the windshield and not through the rearview mirror."

But I’m not backing off my initial thoughts when I heard the news of Brett’s decision the other day, and he made it clear today – it was time. And I applaud Brett for recognizing that and leaving at the top of his game.

Sure it sucks, but this season – Super Bowl, or not – was a phenomenal ride for Brett, the Green Bay Packers and all of us fans. There are too many variables in the NFL for the Packers to guarantee another season like it. The team would have to stay healthy, other teams would have to have off years, all the stars would have to align …

And I wasn’t so sure that was going to happen.

Good reads ...
a Favre makes retirement official
a With Favre's departure, Pack hands keys to Rodgers
a Another season probably wasn't worth grind for Favre
a Strain of being an icon won out over love of the game
a A showman to the end, Favre retires right on time
a Photos: Brett Favre Through The Years
a Photos: Memorable Farewells
a Frank Caliendo on Favre's retirement

Brett is retiring

So long Brett.

One of my cohorts just answered the phone and told the person on the other end, "Yeah, we're all crying here."

Ah, well. Considering the thrill ride that was last season, I'm content with it.

You done good, Brett.

More to come.

Sunday reading

Kates and I now have a crib and a stroller for Baby ... Guess what I'll be setting up the next couple of nights?

Fun, fun, fun.

Here's my good reads from the past week ...

Sports ...
a Brett Favre retirement announcement an error
a 10 Truths: Loss of Moss would sink Patriots
a Clemens leaves Astros camp in Florida
a Fiery Milledge reflects Nationals' untapped potential
a Improved fitness tops 10 biggest spring training lies
a Michigan State's Tom Izzo complains about Big Ten Network ... good for him.

The Oscars ...
a Brad Renfro Excluded From Oscar Tribute
a Ratings sink for Oscars

The Internet ...
a The Wisdom of the Chaperones

Politics ...
a Finding Political Strength in the Power of Words
a Obama error: NBC reprimands employee for using picture of bin Laden behind Obama story

Life & other stuff ...
a Mt. St. Helens holds her fire
a Free! Why $0.00 Is the Future of Business
a Starbucks: Did the training help? ... the best reading here is the readers' comments. I'm with the nay-sayers.

Sunday reading

It's 1 degree outside. Perfect for an afternoon inside, preparing and sorting through more baby stuff ...

Here's some of the stories and headlines that caught my eyes during the last couple weeks ...

The Super Bowl ... (Such a great game ... How can we not still be talking about it!?)
a 4th-quarter pass to Tyree is one of the great plays of all time ... "You cannot watch it enough. Or fail to be astonished, at just how clutch that signature play of Super Bowl XLII really was."
a The name of the game is greed ... Amen.
a Former Giants GM not saying 'I told you so' about Manning
a Ten legacies shattered by upsets ... Excellent history lesson in some of sports biggest upsets ...

Sports, in general ...
a Expectant in victory: Women's basketball coach still on the ball

Music & entertainment...
a Making A Case For Storied Tunes ... A good piece on Neko Case.
a Review: Sheryl Crow's 'Detours'
a Lohan: 'It's Like, What Was I Thinking?' ... Obviously she wasn't.
a 30 TV Shows You'd Bring Back from the Grave... I was thinking Early Edition before I even started looking through this slideshow. I would totally bring it back -- along with Boomtown, and two not on the list, Committed (a hilarious sitcom that NBC never gave a chance) and -- hello! -- Ed.

Politics ...
a Ask Not . . . What the Press Can Do For Obama
a Why Republicans Like Obama
a Primary pleasures
a Relative Power: We Elect Our Leaders, and Dynasties Are Few, but Sometimes Ascension Looks Like an Inheritance
a Romney's Parting Shot

Life & other stuff ...
a Chicago: The World's Kind of Town?
a Kids Can't Focus These Days. Then Again, Neither Can I. ... pretty much.
a Worth the Paper It's Printed On ... A good argument against a paperless society.
a Spending a night at Trump's place ... and the accompanying blog.

Bummer Tuesday

… I’m officially bumming tonight.

… For weeks I had been looking forward to this night. I had a solid lead from a cohort on a ticket to tonight’s Matchbox Twenty / Alanis Morissette / Mute Math show in Milwaukee …

I’ve already seen Alanis and Mute Math, so that would have been a bonus to see them again. But it was the idea of finally crossing Matchbox Twenty -- one of my favorite bands of all time -- off my list of bands I must see before I die. For weeks I had been imagining the exhilaration of hearing and seeing the guys do “How Far We’ve Come” …

But it’s not happening.

And now we’re getting a snowstorm that’s supposed to drop like 22 inches on us before it's over.

Seriously, even as the snow was pouring down at 4 this afternoon I was looking out my office window and thinking, if she gets back to me before 5, I can still make it through the storm and get up there.

But it’s not happening.

I’m heartbroken for sure. It’s like The Shins downer all over again.

* * *

But 22 inches of snow? Right. I’ll believe it when I see it … Especially since that snow we were getting this afternoon has stopped.

And I’m not sure how much more of this crummy weather I can take. Getting up at 5:30 in the morning and killing my back to shovel …

Sunday night, in all the Super Bowl excitement, Kates and I had no idea it had snowed several inches until we started watching the local news and the station had a report on it. Then we looked out our windows and realized what we’d missed …

And then yesterday, after I’d gotten up early to shovel once more, we got a serious dose of rain. Cold, hard, pouring rain. Rain that was so harsh it was the definition of nasty.

I hate winter.

* * *

So now Kates and I have spent the night catching up on some TV …

First of all, last night’s Letterman.

His recap of the Giants’ Super Bowl run was HA-larious. Few people can tell a story like him …



And then Hillary Clinton was on -- one night before tonight's "Super Tuesday," no less … I’ll just say, I thought she was really impressive …

* * *

We finally got around to watching the "Lost" premiere (Seriously, it did strike me also that the premiere didn't open with another eyeball ...), too ...

I didn't immediately like it, but I'm thinking as I let it sink in over the next couple days it will grow on me ...

There were a couple mind-boggling things that smacked me the moment they were thrown, including Hurly yelling out that he was one of the Oceanic Six. The Oceanic Six!? Great, so only six people survive this whole ordeal!? And now we have to figure out who they are!?

And, whoah, how crazy are the flash forwards!? It changes the whole dynamic of the show! Now the island scenes are the flasbacks!

Also, for the record, I would have gone with Locke. He's been right on a whole lot of stuff -- when it's going to rain, Juliet being a traitor (going against The Others) ...

"Lost" reads ...
a 'Lost's' fab start to Season 4, and a chat with co-creator Damon Lindelof
a 'Lost': Questions We Need Answered
a Q&A: Michael Emerson on 'Lost'

More on that Super Bowl

Good reads today from the Super Bowl ...
a Giants steal the thunder from Patriots
a Eli makes sure Super Bowl and MVP trophies remain a Manning family affair
a Tyree catches on at the right time
a Brady's O-Line Fails Him Against Giants
a Game's substance is better than Fox's 'Idol' hype
a For advertisers, it was a hit-or-miss affair
a Tom Petty turns Super Bowl into commercial for his upcoming tour
a Giants victory starts champagne party for undefeated '72 Dolphins

I also caught this video on Sportscenter. Classic.

After the Super Bowl

Did I call it or what!? I know, me and a lot of other sports experts, but still ...

I'll laugh and roll my eyes at anyone who calls the Giants win shocking (Which a couple people already have as we're watching the postgame ...)

I'll grant that I would have been quite OK with the Patriots winning the game too and finishing off the rare perfect season. But the facts that the Giants came out of nowhere and caught fire in the playoffs, Eli Manning finally figured out how to play in the NFL and this was basically one of the best Super Bowl games ever makes it a lot more fun to soak up ...

The Giants did just about everything right tonight. And the Patriots couldn't find the holes.

I think Kates and I reacted the way just about everyone else in America did when Eli Manning somehow avoided that sack and launched a bomb that David Tyree somehow held onto ... and then Eli dumped a pass in the hands of Plexico Buress in the corner of the end zone to put the Giants ahead for good. A miraculous game-winng drive.

A game for the ages. Period.

* * *

So about those second-half commercials ...

1) Easily the E*Trade commercials with the talking baby. The first one with the little guy spitting up was funny, but the second one with the clown in the background really had me laughing out loud. Might have been my favorite of the whole night ...

2) The Coca-Cola commerical with the parade balloons chasing after the Coke bottle. So simple. So good.

3) Cars.com came through with another good one in the second half with the witch doctor.

And my honorable mention for the second half goes to the Bud Light commercial with the ability to fly.

On a side note, we saw a commercial for the upcoming Pixar film "WALL-E." Kates and I first saw the trailer when we caught "Juno" last weekend. How adorable is that little robot!? ... I so want to see it.

* * *

Kates spent part of the second half looking through the Sunday advertisments ...

And she found a couple inserts advertising a baby sale ...

"A baby sale!" she announced sarcastically. "I wonder how much!?"

Then later when she found a similar advertisment, "Oh, they're having a baby sale too! Buy two and save!"

Nice.

Sunday reading

Some of the reads that piqued my interest during the last couple weeks ...

Before the Super Bowl ...
a XLI Years Ago, the Super Bowl Was Just An X-Small ... a fascinating read.
a For Aikman, A Seamless Conversion
a '85 Patriots see themselves in '07 Giants
a Fans should be praying for Pats win
a Routs rare for perfect Pats
a Road-tested Giants oozing with confidence
a The Alternative: Great game ... if you like the Pats
a Stress of watching the big game can be hazardous to heart, research suggests ... Great. I'm doomed. It's not so much the Super Bowl -- it's the way I get into some of my Cubs and Jayhawks games that worry me ...

Baseball ...
a Tom Verducci: Team Clemens' latest defense doesn't prove anything ... equally interesting was that Pettitte now appears to be getting behind McNamee.
a Cashman should have pulled the trigger for Santana
a Top three spots set; back of Cubs rotation to be determined at camp

Music ...
a Orpheus Puts Down His Lyre (No More Records) ... There's few things like a good record store. And a good-sounding vinyl.
a Stephin Merritt, indie-rock's chameleon
a Stephen King's Top Tunes of 2007 ... he has great taste. There's also a photo gallery of some of his favorites here.

TV & film ...
a Striking Television Writers Have Different Story Lines But None of Them Knows How This Chapter Will End

Politics ...
a Barack Obama, Camelot's New Knight
a Kennedys for Clinton
a At SOTU, Obama's Clinton snub was the news ... whatever. This was the only place I saw anything of it.
a How to End the Gridlock
a Candidates' Tunes Hit A Few Sour Notes
a For John Edwards, A Moment of Truth
a Margaret Truman Daniel Dies at Age 83

Life & other stuff ...
a Bid to Replace Tomb Monument Stalls
a Lost Chicago, found on film
a Every snowflake tells own story
a Huge Lawsuit Could Change Handling of the Dead
a Genetic mutation makes those brown eyes blue
a Cable TV bills with a twist ... An interesting story from the aftermath of our tornadoes.

Tom Brady's foot

Why!? are we talking about Tom Brady's foot.

So he was spotted walking in a cast. Big deal.

He's Tom Brady. He's with the Patriots. And the Super Bowl is still 11 days away.

David Letterman had the line of the season the other night after his guest Dan Patrick predicted the Giants would win the Super Bowl ... Letterman told Patrick, The Giants could be up 60 to nothing at halftime, and the Patriots would still win the game 67-60. They're that good!

But you know what? I'm with Patrick. I would not be surprised if the Giants did win.

Onion reads

Bill Clinton: 'Screw It, I'm Running For President'

CHARLESTON, SC—"My fellow Americans, I am sick and tired of not being president," Clinton announced while introducing his wife at a "Hillary '08" rally...

Jessica Simpson Completes Elaborate Plan To Destroy Cowboys' Season

DALLAS—Speaking to reporters she had invited into her impenetrable subterranean Texas lair on Monday, Jessica Simpson gloated over the victory she recently achieved after nearly two years of using her personal charms, her unique brand of...

Sports Through With Helping New Orleans Recover

NEW ORLEANS—Following this year's BCS National Championship game, held in New Orleans' Louisiana Superdome, commissioners from all amateur...

The mourning after

Yeah, we watched the Packers game last night. Wore our Packers pride and cheered our hearts out ...

And lost.

Not a whole lot you can do.

Plaxico Burress played the game of his life. And Eli Manning is finally playing consistently well ...

The Packers didn't establish a running game, and gave up on it way too early ...

It was a game of missed opportunities. Fumbles the Packers had right under their grips and didn't pick up. Balls that should have been intercepted when they sailed over a Giants receiver and dropped in front of four guys in green and yellow closing in on the receiver ...

The Packers watched two missed field goals by the Giants, and still couldn't capitalize ... Given all that had happened -- and hadn't happened -- you knew Lawrence Tynes was destined to hit that winning field goal -- whether it was 47 yards or 77 yards. Another classic championship game ending.

On the bright side ... It was a fantastically-fun season, which few people could have seen coming at this time last year. Brett Favre recaptured some of his old magic, and we discovered some new fan favorites too in Ryan Grant and that dazzling receiving core ... And Last week's "Snow Globe" game was the perfect ride before the crash.

Just like the Brewers so-close-but-not-close-enough season.

Course, me being the superstitious sports fan, I'm finding excuses all over the place ... The Packers being on the cover of Sports Illustrated last week. The fact Kates and I wore our Packers sweatshirts today -- after we hadn't worn them the entire season. The fact that my office prepared and reserved an extra batch of Packers material to last through the Super Bowl...

Sigh.

Nope, not a whole lot you can do.

Except get into rooting for the Jayhawks. And remembering that pitchers and catchers report in a few weeks.

Packers reads ...
a It's the chill of victory
a Bitter pill for Favre, Packers to swallow
a Father arrested for forcing son to wear Green Bay Packers jersey
a Packers fans show their love ... and craziness ... another good one from my friend Raechel.
a Giants, Pats endure cold, advance to Super Bowl
a Packersnews.com

God's country

My mother passed this on today ...

Terry Bradshaw was in New England to announce a football game one weekend when he noticed a special telephone near the Patriots' bench. He asked quarterback Tom Brady what it was used for and was told it was a hotline to God. Terry asked if he could use it. Brady replied, "Sure, but it will cost you $200." Terry scratched his head, then thought, "What the heck, I need help picking games." He pulled out his wallet and paid $200. Terry's picks were perfect that week.

The next week, Terry was in Indianapolis when he noticed that same kind of phone on the Colts bench.He asked what the telephone was for and Manning told him, "It's a hotline to God if you want to use it, it will cost you $500." Recalling the previous week, Terry pulled out his wallet without hesitation and made the call. Terry's picks were perfect again that week.

Last weekend, Terry was in Green Bay, when he noticed the same kind of telephone by the Packers' bench. He asked Brett Favre, "Is that the hotline to God?" Favre said, "Yes, and if you want to use it, it will cost you 50 cents." Terry looked incredulously at Favre and said, "Wait a second, I just paid $200 in New England and $500 in Indianapolis to use the same phone to God! Why do the Packers only charge 50 cents?" Favre replied, "Because in Green Bay, it's a local call...Welcome to God's Country."

Sunday reading

What a weekend for football ...

That Packers-Seahawks game!? Awesome ... Kates and I were putting our Christmas decorations away as we watched it, but with all that snow it seemed like we should have been putting them up! Ryan Grant was phenomenal. The whole season has been phenomenal ...

As Kates and I were out for lunch today we over heard an older man say "The only thing the Bears did this year was teach the Packers how to play in the snow." Got that right. If Green Bay would have done just a few things differently in their three losses, we could very well be talking about two perfect teams in the NFL this year ...

And then did anyone think the Patriots were going to lose? Right.

Then today. As we settled in for the games I mused out loud that if everything fell into place, next weekend would be a doozy: Patriots-Colts. Cowboys-Packers ... Ah, but it wasn't meant to be ...

I was rooting for the Colts, though I'm not entirely surprised the Chargers took care of them ... and then! How' bout them Giants!? I'm sure the whole neighborhood heard us hoopin' and hollerin' when R.W. McQuarters intercepted Tony Romo's final pass. Kates and I looked at each other, slapped a high five and chimed "See ya in Green Bay!"

Good stuff.

Catching up on several weeks worth of good reads. Here they are ...

Sports ...
a Which teams got their holiday wishes?
a Dawson getting robbed worse than Santo ... It doesn't matter. They both deserve to get in.
a Price high for Orioles' Roberts: But Cubs seem ready to add Marshall to get quality leadoff man ... Sounds like a good deal to me ... as long as it doesn't include Matt Murton.
a Alderman wary of Wrigley deal ... I kind of side with the alderman on this one. No one wants to see Wrigley turn into some schmaltzy, over-commercialized ballpark -- at least no more than it is already.
a Dope Springs Eternal ... Good stuff from my friend Matt.
a Favre in charge: There's just no beating St. Brett ... Fercripesakes! Have I mentioned how much fun we're having this season!? My friend Raechel sent this one ...

Media & the Internet ...
a Zero tolerance on the air: Even Woods' defense can't keep golf analyst from paying for remark
a Sun-Times wrestles with new reality
a Chicago Sun-Times newsroom layoffs only just beginning
a William Shatner and Priceline.com have both benefited from his stint as company spokesman
a People Are Doing Double-Takes, And Taking Action, As Web Snapshots Are Nabbed for Commercial Uses

Politics ...
a CLASS PRESIDENT 2008 ... a good perspective.
a Obama: Judge Him by His Laws
a Obama Tries to Prove Electability to Blacks in S.C.
a Parties Trading Places
a High-profile backers offer message and momentum
a Presidential Pet Display Finds a Place to Park ... now this is an exhibit I could really dig.
a Playing That '70s Funk Again, but Not in a Good Way ... Interesting how history repeats itself.
a Women Are Never Front-Runners

TV & Entertainment ...
a Ad-Libbing Late-Night Shows' Return ...Letterman and "A Daily Show" haven't been too bad so far ... Letterman shaving his beard during the show and having Goose Gossage deliver a Top 10 list? Not bad at all.
a Letterman, Leno, Conan and Kimmel return to late night talk shows
a Late-night hosts back on schedule: Audience may prove tough to draw back ... I could see it.
a Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert had their jokes ready. Clearly there was some writing going on
a A sequel with the same ending: As they did in the '88 writers strike, the studios are pushing themselves out of the picture
a Jamie Lynn Spears is not the first teen to have a baby
a As Scripts Run Out, Reality Kicks In
a A TV Lover's Lament ... Um. I don't miss it so much.
a 'Daisies' is lone new broadcast TV show to earn Globe nod ... Ok. I am missing 'Daisies.'
a Writers' Work Stoppage Will Soon Have Quite an Impact. Here's What's at Stake
a Katherine Heigl: outspoken
a Rainn Wilson: My Life During the Strike

Music ...
a The industry watches Radiohead's experiment as the album arrives on CD months after its online release
a Hannah Montana's double -- Report: Transformation to Miley Cyrus during concert involves stand-in ... interesting revelation. And in related (ludicrous!) news: Mom Apologizes for Hannah Montana Essay

Life & other stuff ...
a City residents can trade in Christmas trees
a Last Air Jordans? Nike unveils 23rd Air Jordan ... and I've never ever owned a pair.
a Tata Reveals World's Cheapest Car
a 15 Weirdest Work Stories of 2007
a Picturing the World, Around Us ... Saw this exhibit several weeks ago. It's good stuff.
a C'mon, Get Happy? It's Easier Said Than Done
a 50 things I've learned in 50 years, a partial list in no particular order
a Make it a new year, not just another year ... a New Year's resolution all of us should live by.

Sunday reading

Good reads that piqued my interests the last couple weeks...

Sports ...
a It's been 14 years since the attack on Nancy Kerrigan, but in many ways Tonya Harding hasn't moved on
a No Game for a Family
a Bulls' interim coach Myers will be stressing sacrifice
a Bulls' firing line could expand
a Boylan gets a chance to make Bulls his own
a NFL takes a sack in TV drama
a Which teams got their holiday wishes?
a Change won't gum up Wrigley ... I still refuse to call Comiskey anything but. And I will cry if Wrigley's name is changed. Like Morrissey says: "A corporation would have to be idiotic to come in, wipe out the name Wrigley Field and slap something like Great Dot.Com Ballpark across the front of the building and believe everyone will jump onboard." But that's not the point of his column ...
a Sports Illustrated does first-ever 3rd printing for Favre issue

TV & Movies ...
a BEST FILM ENDINGS ... EVER!
a 'Hunt' recounts search for John Wilkes Booth after Abraham Lincoln shooting

Media ...
a Driver who crashed into TV studio 'wanted to be on the news,' prosecutor says

Education ...
a Elementary Math Grows Exponentially Tougher

Looking back on 2007 ...
a Best & worst viral videos of 2007
a Best nation & world photos
a Best sports photos
a Predictions, please: The top 20 questions for 2008

Just perfect

Kates and I are in Ohio tonight.

We've just finished meeting and spending much of the day with our new niece. She's adorable.

Now we're back in our hotel room. Kates is in the corner reading a book, and I'm watching the Patriots finish off the Giants and their perfect regular season ...

The Giants, as I predicted when the Patriots were losing the game earlier tonight, have fallen apart in the fourth quarter. The Pats started putting the pressure on a bumbling Eli Manning and took control.

And then, how about that go-ahead touchdown! Seconds earlier, Tom Brady had thrown a bomb to Randy Moss, but the ball was underthrown and Moss dropped it. Then they go back and try the exact same play again and -- bam! -- Moss catches it in stride for a 65-yard touchdown that not only gives the Patriots the lead, but gives Brady the record for most touchdown passes in a season and Moss the record for touchdown receptions in a season.

I've said it all season long. I was cheering for the Pats to go 16-0. They're a classy team that's oh so talented and fun to watch. Plain and simple.

Red Sox win the World Series. Patriots go 16-0 and look like a good bet for the Super Bowl. And the Celtics are looking unstoppable. Oh, to be in Boston right now ...

Songs in the key of life ... and sports

Nothing like starting the day before dawn. With shoveling ... And ending it long after dusk. With shoveling.

I hate winter. My back hates it too. And my knees.

I've never wanted a snow blower so badly.

... We got a solid couple inches of snow on Saturday, you may recall. And last night we got blasted with the second part of the storm. 10 inches. ... Kates woke me up at 6 this morning to go out and shovel; by then several inches had fallen and it was still coming. It took me about an hour to complete the job (we have a good sized two-car driveway and sidewalks on two sides of our house), before I went in to warm up and get myself ready for work -- only to see everything I cleared completely re-covered with snow by the time I came back out to leave for work. Grrrr!

And it proceeded to snow long and hard all morning ...

So when Kates and I finally arrived home about 7:30 tonight, I knew I had my work cutout for me again.

It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the dang plows, either. This year, it seems, they're plowing even closer to the curb -- which means less snow left on the roadway and more of it blocking the edge of our driveway. Beginning with the weekend storm, it's taken me almost as much time to remove the gargantuan chunks of snow left by the plows as it's taken me to shovel the rest of the driveway ... and when we came home tonight, it was obvious the plows had come through again because there at the end of our driveway was another blockade of snow ...

No problem. My little Neon punched through it like a tank.

Good thing it's powdery snow.

* * *

I've been wanting to say something about that Patriots-Ravens game the other night ... I only caught the fourth quarter, but ...

Holy cow! The Patriots survived -- or the Ravens botched -- four fourth downs during that final New England drive. Geez, the Ravens had Tom Brady stopped! Stuffed! on a fourth-and-one, only to have whistles blown in the Ravens defense's faces because one of their coaches had called a timeout ... Then the Ravens had the Pats stopped again on a run, only to have a Pats lineman called for a false start and Brady got another chance, which they converted. And a fourth fourth down play resulted in a holding call, before the Pats finally found the end zone for the 27-24 win ...

It was an incredible thing to watch ... And I'm not gonna lie -- I want to see the Patriots go 16-0. They're a classy team to watch, and I want to be able to say I remember when ...

* * *

... I opened our mailbox tonight, and there it was -- the issue I'd been waiting for -- Brett Favre in all his green and gold, as Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year.

The cover is an instant classic.

I can hardly wait to read it ...

I was talking with a friend about the Packers over supper tonight, and he nailed it when he said it was hard for him to remember a more enjoyable Packers season. Sure the great seasons during the mid-to-late '90s were fun, but those were kind of expected. This year has been made even more spectacular by the fact that almost nobody forecasted Farve's and the Packers' success ... It's been a heckuva ride.

Speaking of nailing it, this read, sent to me this week by my friend Raechel, is a classic too ... If only there were more like Brett. Then again, perhaps it's a good thing there's not. We'd probably take Brett for granted too ...

* * *

Saving my favorite for last ...

The winter baseball meetings. While everyone else was obsessing over Johan Santana (Over-rated ...) The Tigers quietly were going after the guy I was looking at this offseason as the best player available or on the block -- and then they not only swiped Miguel Cabrera, they got Dontrelle Willis too!! (Read it from the Tigers here.)

Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge.

Lordy, lordy. I'm still trying to catch my breath.

And I'd almost forgotten the wonderful Edgar Renteria deal ... I can smell a Tigers World Championship right now ... It could be sweet.

In the mean time ...

I like this Cubs deal ...

Sunday reading

So the storm that was coming yesterday? ... Yeah, it came all right -- in the form of a wet, icy mess. Shoveling the driveway and sidewalks last night was like trying to shovel Lake Michigan ...

Kates and I just finished watching "Elf" on TV ... We saw it in the theater a few years ago, and I hadn't seen it since -- mostly because I haven't had a high regard for it. I think perhaps it was one of those movies where it was so hyped that we went in with huge expectations, and left the theater feeling let down. So last week when my cohorts were putting together a short list of the greatest holiday movies ever made, I bemoaned "Elf" going on the list ... Seeing it again today, I realized how charming of a little holiday film (and cast) it really is. Forgive me.

Here's some of the reads that piqued my interests last week ...

Drew Peterson ...
a Relative's help alleged in Peterson case ... Like I've said: The twists get better each day ...
a Peterson's camcorder footage shown on 'Good Morning America'

Music ...
a 'Idol' Jordin Sparks makes CD debut ... I do like her first single.

TV ...
a Late-night laugh-in

Baseball ...
a Dodgers' activity absent after Torre ... Yep. It's pitiful.
a Raines deserves Hall of Fame induction ... Until I read this story, I wouldn't have taken a second look at ol' Rock. Indeed he's a worthy candidate ...
a What the voters got right ... and wrong ... more on baseball's objectionable postseason awards. This one is quite a bit closer to my opinions compared to a column I cited last weekend on the same subject. Jimmy Rollin should have finished at least third in the NL MVP voting ...
a Hometown Views of Bonds Are Unchanged
a Next year's Rockies: Six teams poised to go from sub-.500 to postseason ... I do believe the Reds are going to be in it next year; they've been on the cusp for a couple years now. But the Royals and the Rangers!? I'll believe it when I see it ...

The Internet and media ...
a How Do You Tell a Web Name From A Typo?
a Storming the News Gatekeepers: On the Internet, Citizen Journalists Raise Their Voices

Politics ...
a Calculation and Conviction
a Her Heart's in the Race: Michelle Obama on the Campaign Trail and Her Life's Path
a Obama's Amnesia Problem
a Oprah Winfrey, Bill Clinton Bring Star Power to Iowa

Life and other stuff ...
a Capturing final, precious moments
a The Truth About Lying: Our Lives Are Filled With Untruths. But Why Do We Lie, And How Can We Tell When Others Are Full of It?
a What's wrong with this picture?
a Lincoln had cancer, doctor theorizes
a Is Lincoln Earliest Recorded Case of Rare Disease?
a Step Inside, and Back in Time, and Dial Away: The Area's Last Public Phone Booth Is Shabby but Holding On

More on Thursday night's football game ...

a In heart of Packers country, Romo's hometown faces tough choice

It was fun while it lasted

Game over. Cowboys win 37-27. Packers fall to 10-2 (although, they should be 11-1. Stupid Bears game).

Turns out the Packers almost pulled it out in the second half. And they might have, had it not been for a tricky pass interference call ...

But hey, that Aaron Rodgers didn't do too bad for being thrown into the game after Brett Favre went down. The Packers were down by 17 when Rodgers entered the game, but he got the Pack back in the game and kept the team in it until the last minute. As the TV analyst just said, Green Bay has had a tough time in Dallas, but tonight might have been the best 10-point loss they've ever had ...

Now we all hold our breath that Brett can recover...

I'm going to bed.

Love 'em, hate 'em

That’s just great. Brett Favre is hurt. And this Packers-Cowboys game is turning into a route … for the Cowboys. Terrel Owens just scored, dumped popcorn in his helmet and the Cowboys are up 21-10.

Kates and I are being as vocal as ever tonight, too. I'm not sure our television has ever taken so much abuse ...

“I hate the Cowboys!” Kates just yelled. You should have heard the venom in her voice.

I laughed. “What did the Cowboys ever do to you?”

“They’re cocky!” She paused. “And they don’t have real grass! Just like the Vikings. I don‘t like them either!”

She’d never admit to being a sports fan. But she never ceases to amaze me with the things she learns and picks up …