Hey Brett...Don't let the door hit you on the way out

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 15:37:00 -0400

Before discussing Mark Sanchez, Manny Ramirez and “Lost”…

Until the 2009 NFL regular season begins, I will not be 100 percent convinced that Brett Favre is done, even following the news that he submitted his formal retirement papers with the league office. I mean, there are ample reasons to be skeptical of an athlete who made Sugar Ray Leonard seem almost decisive about his career plans in comparison. This back and forth, the "will he or won’t he" return drama made has been more annoying than any B-grade soap opera plot. His prima donna ways of holding up the Packers plans probably made even Madonna cringe.

Needless to say, I am not sad that, if it is true, Brett Favre is done. Hallelujah.

Yes, the gunslinger from Kiln, Mississippi was, at his peak, one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history and has nearly every major league passing record, three most valuable player awards (the last one coming in 1997) and a Super Bowl trophy to show for it. Outside of Barry Sanders, Favre was the most exciting player in the league, must-see TV for sure. He took chances that even the most brazen criminal might deem too risky, played through every bump and bruise and did it all with a John Wayne movie star flair. With that said…

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Big Ben's performance clocks in as one the best

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 14:17:00 -0400

Before discussing Anquan Boldin, A-Rod and Carrie Underwood...

Now that the 2008 NFL season is officially over (for me it was the moment Kurt Warner fumbled the ball for the final time. Seriously, who over the age of 25 actually watches the Pro Bowl anymore?), but before the clock on the Super Bowl chatter strikes 12, I want to add one final take on the performance of Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger.

Now, every Super Bowl winning quarterback not named Trent Dilfer (or perhaps even Roethlisberger when the Steelers beat the Seahawks) ultimately gets props for winning the big game (in Eli Manning's case, it apparently will come in the form of a massive new contract) and certainly Big Ben is no exception. Yet, as I see it, the praise has not been loud enough.

Seriously, does everyone really understand what Big Ben did during the regular season, the playoffs, the Super Bowl and yes, on that final breathtaking drive? He directed a typically run-based offense that was without its first-round pick (Rashard Mendenhall) for most of the season, spent several weeks with their third-string runner (Mewelde Moore) as the starter and for nearly the entire campaign was simply unable to punch it in on short yardage plays.

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Ben's Brain - Baseball

Hey Brett...Don't let the door hit you on the way out

Big Ben's performance clocks in as one the best