The week’s “events” in Packerland

By Os Davis  |   Thursday, April 06, 2006  |  Comments( 0 )

Green Bay Packers
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It's time to report on last week's events in Packerland! Let's see...well, Coach Mike McCarthy continues to like the West Coast offense and is planning its implementation. Wide receiver Chad Lucas caught two passes for 28 yards and two touchdowns for the Amsterdam Admirals. Um, Charles Woodson hasn't been signed, Javon Walker hasn't been traded. And then there's…

Oh, forget it. Just forget it. The only thing on any cheesehead's mind, the only (non-)story Wisconsin sports blogs "report," the only Green Bay Packers topic worthy of discussion in the national media remains the same: You know who hasn't made the big decision yet.

Thus the big news coming out of the Packer camp is that the April 1 due date (a term that will need a new dictionary entry by the time the season kicks off) passed without a "yea" or "nay" from Brett Favre on his retirement. An unprecedented third extension (fourth, if you count further time granted due to labor disputes earlier in the year) on a retirement decision that could save the team $3 million in roster bonus plus a lot of uncertainty has been unofficially granted.

Popular media, meanwhile, has taken this non-story and run with it – such is ennui in the NFL off-season – and sports journalists' efforts were recently rewarded with a couple of choice quotes to begin the pot-stirring that will certainly increase the longer Favre waits. Favre indicated that, should he return, the 2006 season would "no doubt" be his last. And then the Gulfport, Miss., Sun Herald quoted the QB's seemingly brash line, "If I don't tell them by Saturday, what will they do, cut me?" Some sources have reported that the quote was said in jest, but news outlets had their sound bite, thankful that tone of voice can't be reproduced in written form.

Then, before you could say, "Gee, Brett, that's a little harsh," Mark Chmura, former Green Bay Packers tight end/close buddy to Favre, instantly increased his googling meter a thousand-fold by calling the QB "selfish" and "hypocritical" on Waukesha, Wisc., radio station WAUK-AM. A commentator on WAUK, Chmura co-hosted the station's Sunday morning football show when he went off on his ex-friend. Mixed in with Chmura's statements that Favre is in it for the money were grudging remarks about the silent treatment given Chmura during his recent sexual assault trial. Chmura added that Walker was an "idiot."

While the press looks for sensation in the waiting game, Packer backers remain relatively patient. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel recently published poll results revealing that approximately two-thirds of those polled want Favre to return. Either Favre's "cut me" comment was taken with a grain of salt in Wisconsin, or Chmura's own cocky contention that "There are fans out there [who] could find out that Brett Favre [ran] over fourteen puppies and they still wouldn't care" may possess a grain of truth.

As another week draws to a close, it appears unlikely Favre will give up any information before Monday. Meanwhile, headlines containing the words "no decision" will doubtlessly daily appear in headlines of newspaper and blog. Fortunately, one good thing has come from this painful wheel-spinning. For the first time ever, Milwaukeeans are excited about their Brewers. At his current rate of decision "making," Favre might fashion one more miracle for history to record: the resurrection of baseball's popularity in Wisconsin.
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About Os Davis

Os Davis has taken a twisted route to get to RealFootball365.com in his nearly 17 years in professional writing, working in any number of capacities in the sportswriting, news reporting and film criticism worlds. In print media, Os has served as editor at a few publications, including Albuquerque's...
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