Hi, I'm Brett Fa-vra

This story is annoying. It was annoying when there were rumors of him coming back, it was annoying when I heard every 20 minutes that there were text messages, and it's annoying now, that it's taken over television. As much as it's annoying, it's also completely inevitable. Who believed for a second he wasn't going to cause a clusterfuck of controversy about playing again, when he's done the reciprocal of it every year for the last 5.

For anyone who liked Brett Favre before,it's a huge punch in the gut. I liked him as a person, I thought he was decent. But the last couple of years have turned that notion on its head. A person who cares for his teammates, and a player of Favre's seniority and standing should not be acting like this. He shouldn't have been acting like this for the past couple of years, when he held the franchise hostage for most of the summer. And he certainly shouldn't be acting like this several months after his very public, very tearful, very nauseating retirement. And to boot, I'm not even a Packers fan!

I'm so glad that the Green Bay franchise hasn't caved into his demands. Mostly because his demands are erratic and moronic. I find it humorous when I hear analysts say that Brett Favre holds all the cards. What possible cards could he hold? He's proved that he can have one good year in the last five, and he's proved that he's publicly retired. He cannot force the Packers to trade him. He cannot force the Packers to play him. And he cannot force the Packers to release him. In reality, he doesn't hold any card, except this absurd notion of public scrutiny. And it boggles the mind how anyone in the public eye can possibly agree with him. Some of these quotes are preposterous.

"Them moving on does not bother me," Favre said. "It doesn't. I totally
understand that. By me retiring March 3, I knew that could possibly
happen. All I was saying is, you know, I'm thinking about playing
again."

According to Van Susteren, who spoke to the AP by telephone Monday
afternoon, Favre said he was "never fully committed" to retiring and
felt pressured by the Packers to make a decision, a notion Packers
general manager Ted Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy tried to dispel in
an interview with the AP on Saturday.

No Brett, you know what's a ridiculous notion? The fact that anyone could possibly believe that you were pressured into doing anything. For the last 5 years, the league and the franchise has bent over backward for you, living on your every word and pass, they let you have the latitude that no other player in the league would have in making your decision. How could they possibly force you into any kind of a life altering decision, when you've been calling the shots for the last 3 years. It's ridiculous, absurd, and insulting to everyone involved.

That Southern-good-ol'-boy farce has gotten you far enough. It's revolting that you decided to come back, and are now trying to make management seem like they're some evil organization keeping Brett Favre from being Brett Favre. Grow up, you're 38, not 18. I hope they don't trade him, they don't release him, and they don't start him. If they are stead fast in their decision making, Brett will be left alone on an island crying like a little baby with no recourse. He doesn't get a vote, he gave that up at the end of last season.

Hamilton story is perplexing

I have to admit, the only reason I was really watching the home run derby last night was to see how the only player from my team would do. I didn't expect him to win - and he didn't (Sizemore) - but he had a pretty decent showing, with some pretty solid shots. I never thought of him as a prolific home run hitter, even though he's tied for the HR lead in the AL. That being said, last night's home run derby was pretty entertaining all in all. Josh Hamilton single handedly made it that way.

The ending was proper, and you could see that after a scintillating first round he might run out of steam, just like so many big bats quiet in the final round. I think after his 28-home-run-first-round display though, people will believe that Morneau winning was just a bad dream. All in all, it doesn't really matter, because no one can remember the winner from last year, and this exhibition battle means absolutely nothing.

But as I was watching the Derby, and Hamilton's performance, one thing really amazed me - the reaction of the crowd. They took to him in almost a split second after he hit a couple of monster shots. And I'm thinking to myself, only in America could a guy, who a couple of years ago was a worthless junkie, be celebrated for doing something almost equally worthless, on one of the biggest stages in the world. That's right, he's doing something worthless. He's playing baseball, making millions of dollars hitting a ball with a bat. I love sports, but let's be honest, in the big scheme of things they are really nothing.

And Berman, Ravi, and all those guys are falling over themselves talking about how great his story is. That this one time first overall draft pick, who by his own glutenous sins ruined his life for a handful of years with drugs and alcohol. And how now it's a resurrection. A what?! Give me a break. Let's not make his story more than it should be, a lucky break that most of us normal people aren't afforded that athletes are given day in and day out. And let's not celebrate a guy who still walks around with a chaperone because he doesn't trust himself in idle times of the season. I got news for you, a majority of the people in this country have some idle time, and the first thought in our minds isn't, "let's shoot up" or "let's get hammered beyond recognition."

It's a feel good story that he was able to overcome his demons. But let's not blow it out of proportion. He came back to play baseball he didn't come back to win the Nobel Peace prize. I hope he continues to have a great career, with the obvious talent he possesses, but it makes me feel awkward when he's risen to martyrdom, just because he's only a borderline junkie instead of a full blown one.