The amount of honesty that Jay Glazer shows on a weekly basis, is refreshing to some, but can get him in trouble from time to time. Earlier this week, Glazer broke the news that Brett Favre was officially heading to Minnesota to sign a deal, and while ESPN credited him with the story, their analysts continued to mock him throughout the day and poo poo the story. Well after his breaking news came to fruition, he went on the Jorge Sedano show, on 790 The Ticket in Miami, and had some more choice words for the "Leader"....

Again, it's refreshing to hear someone who can be serious about his job, but also understand that we're just talking about Sports. ESPN has to be bitter that they spent the whole Summer following Favre around, and when he finally decides to sign with the Vikings, the story is broken by someone else. Burn!

I have no idea why Jay Glazer decided to email out this video, but it's damn funny. The NFL on FOX reporter stopped in at his local Bingo match recently, and showed some elderly ladies just how they play Bingo in the UFC....

Ummm....okay then. While Chris Mortensen is touring every training camp in the NFL, Jay Glazer is trash talking old women in a bingo hall. Whatever recharges your batteries I guess.

If there is one man in mainstream media, that's willing to call out the "Leader, that man is Jay Glazer. The FOX Sports "Breaking News" Expert has made it no secret that he likes the current battle between himself and the likes of Chris Mortensen, so it should come as no shock that he recently decided to deface Mort's Tour Bus. Via PFT....


I'm not entirely sure what gang sign Glazer is throwing up there, but the nuances that he added to Mort's visage are extremely entertaining.

This was about 6 months in the making, but ESPN officially added ex-NFLNer, Adam Schefter, to its stable of NFL reporters today. Schefter had been in a contract dispute with the NFL Network for awhile, and was waiting for his contract to run out. Schefter will join the "Leader" this August, and will continue to be based out of New York. Here are the details via ESPN....

Adam Schefter, one of the top National Football League reporters and insiders, will join ESPN as an NFL correspondent in August. Schefter, who worked for NFL Network, will appear on such programs as SportsCenter, NFL Live, Sunday NFL Countdown and Monday Night Countdown, as well as ESPNEWS throughout the year. He will write regular columns for ESPN.com and contribute to ESPN Radio and other platforms. Schefter will continue to be based in New York.

“Adam has covered the NFL for 20 years and he is widely respected for his professional approach and ability to uncover stories,” said Norby Williamson, ESPN executive vice president, production. “He is a tremendous addition to our roster of NFL insiders who provide year-round coverage across ESPN’s platforms.”

Schefter added: “The name ESPN speaks for itself. Its reputation stands alone. I watched ESPN growing up, so to be a part of the programming that every football fan watches, and really has always watched, and to be a part of such a talented group of people, it’s surreal to me. It feels like I’m a late addition to the Pro Bowl. I’m flattered, honored, humbled - and I can’t wait to get to work.”

During the last year, Schefter established himself as perhaps the best reporter in the NFL. Obviously working for a channel owned by the league helped, but during the last two drafts, no one worked harder and brought more information than Schefter. The move also positions ESPN to be the breaking news king, with both Schefter and Chris Mortensen under their umbrella. This now means that Fox's Jay Glazer will have to work that much harder to stay on top of the pack.

Matt Leinart is really trying to work hard this season, for real. He apparently even met Jay Glazer at the Super Bowl last year, and asked if the MMA enthusiaist to take him through the paces of some of his training regiment. Via Fox Sports....

Good times. Leinart is more man than I am, by getting in the ring like that, but I still just don't see him as a successful NFL QB. Everything just looks so lazy, even his knees and punches, and that is just what he looks like on the Football field. (Yes, I know that's the same thing people say about Jason Campbell, and yes....I agree)

If you've heard anything about Pros vs. Joes over the past few months, it's that just about every athlete has gotten into a brawl with the contestants. Well Spike released the promos for this year's contest (Season Four), and your hosts for this year will be none other than FOX Sports', Jay Glazer and Michael Strahan! Here's a look....

Seems fun enough, right? The premier episode is this Monday, April 27th, at 11pm on Spike TV. Hopefully Pacman doesn't go postal on anyone.

Rumors abound! Adam Schefter went missing from the NFL Network sometime about a month ago, and there were rumors that he was holding out for a million dollar contract. Well today, several sources have confirmed to PFT, that ESPN is interested in the NFL reporter....

Several league and industry sources have told us that Adam Schefter, who still is under contract with NFL Network, will join ESPN later this year.

Schefter is still under contract with NFLN, but he has not appeared on the air since early March. Schefter told Neil Best of Newsday on March 23 that he remains under contract with NFL Network until the middle of August.

It remains to be seen whether and to what extent Schefter’s arrival affects the current NFL insider lineup at ESPN. At a minimum, it could make for a spirited-to-the-point-of-awkward in-house rivalry between Schefter, Chris Mortensen, John Clayton, Michael Smith, and the army of beat-writers-turned-bloggers who compete to break news.

UPDATE: We’ve heard it from yet another source. However, ESPN Bill Hofheimer told us via e-mail Wednesday night that he cannot confirm the report.

Schefter has built up an incredible set of contacts working for the NFL's cable channel, and a move to ESPN would be a huge get for the "Leader". They would then have a gaggle of NFL news breakers, and the only competition left would be Glazer at FOX. Oh and if there's one network that could get Schefter his million bucks, it would be ESPN.

The bad news for the NFL Network is that, not only will they be losing a stellar reporter, but Schefter will not be on Draft coverage this year. That guy was a rock star in predicting picks and trades last year.

Sources: Schefter To ESPN (Pro Football Talk)

Another interesting crossover happened during Media Day on the NFL Network. A panel including NFL News Breakers, Jay Glazer of FOX, Michael Silver of Yahoo and Adam Schefter of the NFL-N, discussed reporting on the league and "journalistic integrity". You can even catch a slight jab at the one NFL reporter missing from the round table....

The panel was obviously missing that one key participant that Glazer took said jab at, but that certainly could have been by design. Great discussion all around, and it's interesting that the two up-and-comers are actually friendly and respectful of each other. I don't really know what was going on with Silver's glasses, but great points from him on the Internet side of things as well.

Oh and speaking of Mort, is he even in Tampa today? I haven't seen him moseying around among the masses at all.

There are really only three reporters who are in the running for the NFL's top stories each week and those are Jay Glazer of FOX, Chris Mortensen of ESPN and Adam Schefter of the NFL Network. Schefter was relatively quiet the past few years, but after owning Mortensen during the 2008 NFL Draft, he did some excellent reporting and probably slid into the two-spot in the hierarchy of "NFL Breaking News Reporters".

Well all last week, Mort was trumpeting the fact that he had a source saying that Mike Shanahan would be replacing Herm Edwards in Kansas City. While that seems like a great storyline, and a seemingly good replacement, Schefter is here to tell you that it's false....entirely false....

Despite rampant reports that the Chiefs are negotiating with former Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan to replace Herm Edwards, they are not, sources said Friday.

The Chiefs never have made any contact with Shanahan — never. And there have been no contract negotiations.

So unless people I have known for years are blatantly lying to me, Shanahan will not be the next coach of the Chiefs. It’s not happening. People can keep talking as if it is, but it’s not. Shanahan will not be the coach of the Chiefs in 2009.

Obviously I've taken quite a few shots at Mort over the years, but when is the guy ever right? I mean seriously. If we're talking percentages here, Glazer is probably above 75-80% accurate when breaking news, Schefter is close to that as well, but Mort is probably under 30% with stories over the past year. As I've said before, if this was any other job, that kind of performance wouldn't be tolerated.

Glazer has already taken his shot(s) at Mort in the media, so it seems it's Schefter's turn now. Let's get this battle cooking guys, because I'm already bored with Media Week, and it hasn't even started.

Shanahan isn’t a candidate in Kansas City (NFL.com)

I had no idea that the Favre Family knew what a blog was, let alone that they had one on Blogger (using the most basic template possible), but alas there it is....The Family of Favre. It's a good enough website on the family with pictures, stories and links to charities. Nothing out of the ordinary really. Well outside of the latest post titled "Family".

I almost skipped past it because of the title, but the post is actually Deanna Favre's first blog entry. One that actually serves as a defense of her husband against the "continual attacks" from the media....

But, over the past weeks, we have been deeply affected by the various media reports and accusations that have unfairly questioned Brett’s loyalty, fairness and character... Our children, family and friends have been so supportive and steadfast during these times. Brett and I have two wonderful girls, who, daily, show us unconditional love and remind us that everything will be okay. And, they remind us that media reports, accusations and rumors become irrelevant in light of the joy they bring to our family and in how they remind us that, in all things—even the tough things--- God has a bigger, better purpose.

But, I will say, most hurtful are those media reports who would like you to believe that Brett is eaten up with bitterness over his split with the Packers. Still feeling some grief, sure… but not bitterness. Yes, in the beginning, Brett was angry and hurt with the way things ended, but how could he not be? Brett gave most of his career (and his adult life) to the Packers. They were more than just an organization but also became our home away from home and our surrogate family. We will always love the Packer fans for making Brett more than just the focus of their applause on game day, but as part of their families, too. Again, how could any of us not be hurt and brokenhearted about such a loss of connection? Thus, certainly, Brett does not, in any way, hold a vendetta against his former team. But that has not stopped some from scrutinizing his every move and blaming him for so many things that simply are not true. Some incidents, like the locker room pranks appear funny (but they are still untrue)… Others, like the questionable phone calls to other teams, are hurtful, distasteful, and… still untrue as they have been reported.
Because of this, lately, my heart has been so heavy.

She's kind of all over the place (not unlike myself), but you get the general idea. Let me first say that I'm sure Deanna Favre is an amazing person. She survived Cancer, wrote a book AND helped her husband beat addiction (she was also the only guest on MNF that was even remotely interesting). She is certainly a better person than I.

With that said, while it's great that they are sharing their lives with their fans, it was an extremely sketchy decision to post this. I mean Brett was caught in an all out lie whether he was helping the Lions or not. He went running to Peter King and Chris Mortensen to deny the whole thing, before finally admitting to the Millen conversation in a press conference. I know athletes play the media, and vice versa, but to come out and try and defend something in this fashion just reeks of a PR stunt. Not saying that it is, but it's just odd.

It'll be interesting to see if anything is added to the site in the coming weeks. I'm guessing it will go dormant for awhile.

Family (Family of Favre)
Deanna Favre Thinks the Media is Hard on Brett (The Sporting Blog)

The more and more I write this afternoon, the more and more I realize what a crazy past two weeks this has been. We've had a war of words between two highly respected former QBs and announcers in Troy Aikman and Boomer Esiason. We've had a network that calls themselves, "The Worldwide Leader in Sports," completely ignore a story when they could have reported it as a rumor. AND we had a person at that same "Leader" make a Hitler reference and cause a double standard in suspension policies. Just wild all-around, right?

This site really tries to be a "watchdog for the watchdogs", and while I think it's succeeded in that to some degree, it ultimately just a drop in the bucket. Well a drop in a bucket, from about the 100th bucket, in a line of proverbial buckets. Jay Glazer however has an idea. A very good one in fact. In a discussion with USA Today's Michael McCarthy, he has proposed the idea of a "Media Scorecard"....

Jay Glazer, Fox Sports' NFL insider, says his goal is to make his rivals at ESPN "miserable." Still ticked after ESPN issued an internal "hot list" instructing staffers not to follow his report that New York Jets quarterback Brett Favre snitched on his old Green Bay Packers team to the Detroit Lions, Glazer views this week's leak of the private directive to ProFootballTalk.com as a personal attack.

"It's disappointing. What we should do as a result is start keeping score," says Glazer, who broke Favre's trade to the Jets and the firing of Lions GM Matt Millen. "If they want to talk about credibility, let's keep score, starting from Week One of last year, and see who broke what, who was right and who was wrong. I don't think they'd want that."

And Glazer didn't appreciate the report by Peter King of NBC and Sports Illustrated in which Favre himself described his story as "total" bull. "Did he give up family secrets? Yes. Was it total (bull)? No."

Well, as a pseudo-member of the Sports Media, I had thought about taking on this task by myself, but lucky for me.....someone beat me to it. PFT's Mike Florio....

The relevant factors listed will be the scoop, the person who broke it, whether it was confirmed by a credible independent media outlet (OK, that will require some subjectivity as well), whether it was confirmed or denied by the persons involved, and whether the report was accurate, inaccurate, or inconclusive.

For starters, we need to come up with a good list of reporters to include. Here’s our work-in-progress roster: Jay Glazer of FOX, Chris Mortensen of ESPN, Adam Schefter of NFLN, Peter King of too many media outlets to list, John Clayton of ESPN, Alex Marvez of FOX, Michael Smith of ESPN, Michael Silver of Yahoo!, Jason Cole of Yahoo!, Charley Casserly of CBS. (Let us know who we’re missing, or whether any of these guys shouldn’t be included.)

The exercise begins Sunday and runs through the Super Bowl. We’ll then decide whether to keep it going, or whether to change it or expand it.

I think this is ultimately a great idea, but when we start to talk about the "merit of inclusion", I think that's when it gets sketchy. Many of you have talked about not even caring about who breaks news on trades and firings, and I think that's a fair point of view. If you're just a regular Sports Fan, who cares right?

I think the lesson that ultimately needs to come from this is that ESPN needs to understand that giving credit to someone else isn't a bad thing. Us Blogs do it all the time and the sharing of information will only make the public more informed. Waiting for Chris Mortensen and Michael Smith to confirm a story, just so you can spin the headline to cater to them, really needs to stop. It's not fair to the viewing audience, or the person who actually broke the news, and just makes you look like a poor sport. Hopefully something like a "Media Scorecard" can make that a reality.

Reporters engage in their own kind of trash talking (USA Today)
We're Keeping Score, Starting Now (Pro Football Talk)

Well that was quick wasn't it? On the heels of Brett Favre's press conference this morning, where he admitted to talking with Matt Millen before the Packers-Lions, ESPN has decided to lift it's "Favre Embargo". The topic has been running on Sports Center all morning and here is video of both the press conference and one of ESPN's many updates on it....

Shane Bacon over at Fanhouse says that the story was mentioned almost immediately following the press conference earlier this morning, and that they're all over the story now. I decided to ask on of AA's sources over at the "Leader", and Shane's assessment appears to be right on. Expect updates on the situation throughout the day on NFL Live, ATH, PTI and the late editions of Sports Center.

As far as the decision itself, I just don't understand it at all. While I get that ESPN has to keep all of their "ducks in a row", they very easily could have reported it as a "rumor" from the beginning, and avoided this whole mess. I actually feel bad for the anchors now because they are the ones that will come out looking bad. It'll be interesting to see how Trey Wingo handles it on "Live" this afternoon.

In the end, I think everyone needs to just know that Brett Favre will always be looking out for number one, and you just can't believe a word the guy says. It's really unfortunate that ESPN feels they have to cater to someone like that.

FYI- I added the Glazer audio to the post earlier today if you want to hear it just click the link below, or scroll down....

Dan Le Batard Sides With Jay Glazer (Awful Announcing)

ESPN Has Decided to Report the Brett Favre/Lions Story (Fanhouse)
So Here's Why ESPN Completely Ignored The Jay Glazer-Favre Story (Awful Announcing)

I missed this last evening, but Jay Glazer was on Dan Le Batard's radio show, and had some choice words for ESPN concerning the whole Brett Favre texting situation. The interesting thing however, wasn't Glazer's thoughts on the situation, but rather Le Batard saying that he didn't believe the network he works at. Via SbB....

Before Glazer came on the show, Le Batard weighed why ESPN wasn’t reporting the story, saying, “ESPN is ignoring the story entirely. It’s not their story. Their guy didn’t make that story. Or they haven’t been able to confirm it. Or maybe the story is wrong.”

While talking to Glazer, Le Batard said, “I would think what ESPN is doing there is prideful. You know how this stuff works, you get beat on a story and then you don’t want to acknowledge that the story exists.

And after the interview, Le Batard remarked, “I’m siding with Jay on this one.”

I'd love to get you the audio, but apparently 790 The Ticket hasn't updated podcasts in about a week, but I'll try my best to get a hold of it. Anyway, I wonder if ESPN will be upset with Le Batard after their "do not comment" edict wasn't followed. I know that he's only a part-timer at the network, and obviously he doesn't have to follow the rules outside the doors, but ESPN can't be happy after hearing that. Yet another interesting wrinkle.

Update: Here's your audio, complete with some nice shots at ESPN....



Le Batard Sides With Fox On ESPN Story Boycott (Sports By Brooks)

When I was away this weekend, Jay Glazer broke news about Brett Favre being a virtual snitch within the NFL. The story obviously set waves throughout the NFL, MSM and blogosphere, but one network has decided to completely avoid the topic, and that network is of course....ESPN.

A lot of sites took the time to mention this yesterday, but I personally wanted to give it a day. Sports Center occasionally skips past items of this nature, but when NFL Live, Monday Night Countdown, MNF, Primetime at Halftime and late night SC, fail to mention it....something has to be up. That something was an inner-office release that stated Glazer's story was "not true" and was not to be mentioned under any circumstance. Via PFT....

Under the heading “DO NOT REPORT . . . DO NOT REPORT . . . . DO NOT REPORT . . . DO NOT REPORT” (um, we get the point) appears the following:

“Yesterday, FoxSports reported that Brett Favre spent 60 to 90 minutes before the Week Two game between the Lions and the Packers educating the Detroit coaching staff regarding the Packers’ offensive strategies. WE HAVE BEEN TOLD BY RELIABLE SOURCES THIS REPORT IS NOT TRUE. We did NOT report it yesterday. Today, the NFL responded to the report, saying even if Favre did this he did not break any league rules. We are NOT reporting it today, because that would mean airing the erroneous report. DO NOT REPORT IT.”

Well then. That's odd, huh? I don't know why they would go to that length to not mention a story, but it becomes even more odd when you consider that it involves Brett Favre. I'm also pretty sure that Jay Glazer isn't making these items up as he goes along, so there has a deeper meaning to that message, right?

ESPN obviously picks and chooses which athletes they want to have relationships with, so they can attempt to break stories first, but this takes it to a whole 'nother level. This brings in a ton of questions regarding fair reporting, but I don't think I'm blowing anyone's mind when I say that ESPN has a laundry list of biases. I have an email into ESPN PR to see if they want to comment, but I'm not expecting anything groundbreaking.

Update: Here's the statement from ESPN PR....

"Like all reports that come in, we gave careful consideration to this one, but we couldn't confirm it. Its obviously a judgment call and given the nature of the story, we needed to bring a lot of sensitivity to our reporting and do what we felt was the most responsible thing. We will continue to monitor it, and to be very clear, our approach had nothing to do with the outlet that originally reported this."

So there you have it.

ESPN Issued Internal "Do Not Report" Warning On Favre Story (Pro Football Talk)

It still continues to amaze me that Baseball steroid users are sent into purgatory but with Football ones the transgression is almost forgotten entirely. But that's a discussion for another day. Shawne Merriman of your San Diego (Super)Chargers has just been hired by FSN to be an analyst for their Sunday Football show, Pro Football Preivew. Via the LA Times....

The Chargers linebacker will be an in-studio analyst for FSN's Pro Football Preview, which Fox says will be the first time a current player has served in a full-time capacity for any national pregame studio show for any sport.

The show will be taped in Los Angeles on Thursdays, and Merriman will be flown by private plane to and from San Diego so that he doesn't miss practices. He will be joined on the show by host Jay Glazer and analyst Eddie George.

"It is one thing to have somebody who played talk about what's going on each week, but to have somebody who is still playing takes our show to another level," Fox Senior Vice President Rick Jaffe said in a written statement. "The insight he will bring just raised the bar for every NFL pre-game show on television."

It's not really a new concept to have a player sit-in for a show or two during the season, but to have someone on every week on a national show, is a pretty big deal. I'm not the biggest Eddie George fan in the world, and I'm not sure how Glazer is as a host, but it might actually be worth checking out. Merriman might just be able to give some good middle of the season insight. Well unless he's cut of the Herm Edwards mold.

Chargers' Shawne Merriman will be in-studio analyst (LA Times)

Well then. That headline got your attention didn't it? It was clear on Wednesday, when I labeled Glazer the "Media Winner", that I was impressed with the FOX reporter, but today he took that to another level. In a brief interview with Newsday's Neil Best, Jay gave some insight into the biggest NFL story in years was scooped in an Orlando airport and even threw a potential jab at ESPN....

Fox's Jay Glazer has compiled a string of NFL-related scoops, but he had to go beyond the usual call of duty to win the Brett Favre-to-the-Jets sweepstakes late Wednesday night.

He spent nearly 24 hours in the Orlando airport waiting for the news to come down.

"I never wanted to kick Mickey Mouse's -- -- so much in my life," he said Thursday from the office of Panthers coach John Fox, whom he originally was to visit Wednesday.

"Dude, you get real creative when you spend an entire day waiting for a huge scoop in a damn airport," he said. "I felt like Tom Hanks in 'The Terminal.' I started making friends in the stores."

So the story goes like this (allegedly)....

1) ESPN's reporters are all over Favre. They suck up to him early on basically laying all their eggs in one basket. Text messages fly and the reports start rolling out all in Brett Favre's favor.
2) GM Ted Thompson isn't happy that he is getting dumped on by the biggest Sports Media entity on the planet.
3) Rachel Nichols ends up with Brett Favre on a tarmac in Green Bay (there's really no reason for this here besides the fact it was funny to write).
4) Glazer wisely chooses Thompson for information knowing that a GM would know that his OWN DAMN TEAM would know about a trade before a player would (crazy I know).
5) Glazer is told from "sources unknown" to not board a plane to Charlotte that day, and sat in the airport all day waiting for word.
6) Glazer gets the call from his "sources unknown" and goes live with the biggest NFL trade story in the history of the game at 10:45pm.
7. ESPN is still talking about Tampa Bay's plans up until about 11:25pm.
8) ESPN catches on at around 11:30 or so and scrambles to verify. They credit Glazer for a good 30 minutes before changing, "as reported by FOX Sports" to "as confirmed by Michael Smith".
9) End scene.

Arguably one of the biggest trades in Sports History was found, scooped, and written, all in an Orlando airport over 1,300 miles from the scene. How awesome is that? Healthy competition is something ESPN hasn't had for awhile now and I'm stoked to see new ideas and new people getting to things first these days. It's about damn time and someone needs to start the slow clap for Jay, immediately.

Update: As SOTG pointed out in the comments that "Mickey Mouse" comment could have been in reference to being in Orlando. I'll see if I can't get a confirmation one way or another.

Fox's Glazer spends day in airport, gets Favre scoop (Newsday)

(Oh and having someone [*ahem*MichaelSmith*ahem*] verify a story through a press release doesn't mean shouldn't continue to give credit where credit's due.)

Or should I rather say has just begun (muhahaha!). At 10:45 pm last night, Brett Favre was officially traded to the New York Jets and is allegedly prepared to report to camp as soon as he can. The winner in the battle royale for who would break the story first appears to be Jay Glazer of FOX Sports, but in the end I think we're all losers in this crazy roller coaster ride....

The Brett Favre era in Green Bay is now officially over. But Favre's legendary career is not.

The month-long saga has finally come to an end, with the Packers trading their future Hall-of-Fame quarterback to the New York Jets.

The exact compensation was not immediately known, but it is believed to be a single draft pick that increases in value depending upon how the Jets perform during the 2008 season.

As a result of this, the Jets will likely release a quarterback. Signs have been pointing to Chad Pennington as the likely culprit because the team will need to free up cap room to fit Favre's contract under the salary cap.

To be completely honest with everyone, I've had this post ready to go for three days. Of course all the Jets mentions were Bucs mentions, but other than that everything has stayed the same. I knew Glazer was going to get to the story first, and I put together a cute little look back. Shall we?
_____________________

Best Quotes:

"I'll practice my butt off, if it comes to that, and I think we all know what the end result will be, but this probably isn't going to work."- Brett Favre

"I do believe if the Packaneers and Buccaneers can get together on compensation, uh then it's reasonable in light of the circumstances"- Chris Mortensen

"This has been going on for over a decade. Going into '96, the Super Bowl that he won. He talked about it prior to that game that if he won that Super Bowl he may in fact retire. And since that time it's been twelve years now that we've talking about whether or not Brett's going to retire."- Troy Aikman

"ESPN's Michael Smith has confirmed that Brett Favre has been traded to the Jets."- Stuart Scott (Well good for him)

"I’m a football coach. I know (talking to the media) is part of my job description, and I don’t mind doing it, but I have no desire to stand out there and answer all the political questions. I’m going to tell the truth, and that’s that. I’m not going to be politically correct. I’m sick of it."- Packers Coach Mike McCarthy

"We are a good football team. We’re trying to become a great one. We’ll do anything we can to get better. And if that involves looking at other players, by George that’s our job. That’s our responsibility."- Bucs Coach John Gruden

“Once you’re on another team, you’re on another team. I think for the most part the locker room would have liked to see him back here. But like I say, once you’re on another team...”- Packers CB Charles Woodson

“The train has left the station, whatever analogy you want. He needs to jump on the train and let’s go. Or, if we can’t get past things that have happened, I have to keep the train moving.”- Packers Coach Mike McCarthy

“Yeah, dead man walking.”- Jeff Garcia

"We're talking to Tampa and the Jets. I don't think anything has changed. We'll see what happens."- Brett Favre

Timeline:

-March 6: Favre's tearful press conference.

-Week of March 24: During the coaching staff's spring break, Packers offensive line coach James Campen, whose in-laws live in New Orleans, goes up to visit Favre in Mississippi on March 26. On the 27th, Campen tells McCarthy Favre is having second thoughts and McCarthy should call him.

-March 29: Favre calls McCarthy to deliver a message: Thanks, but no thanks.

-April 24: On the 24th, McCarthy explains the team's decision to place Favre on the reserve/retired list.

-May 6: With the NFL draft out of the way, Thompson visits Favre in Mississippi and has lunch on his back porch. Thompson says they have a "good conversation," but don't spend too much time talking about the idea that he might be having second thoughts.

-June 7: During a staff retreat in Kohler, Wis., Campen says he's worried about Favre. McCarthy tells Campen to go to Mississippi - not as an official team intermediary, but as Favre's friend.

-June 16-20: Acting on Campen's advice, McCarthy calls Favre. They play phone tag for a few days but eventually connect. "You and Ted need to have a plan if I do come back," Favre says, according to McCarthy. "Either give me my helmet or give me my release."

-July 4: Favre sends a text message to Thompson, who responds by saying he is traveling and asks if they can talk Monday. Cook begins texting Thompson, and a conference call is arranged.

-July 8: A conference call is scheduled involving Favre, Cook, Thompson, McCarthy and Russ Ball, the team's VP of football administration/player finance, to discuss Favre's request for a release.

-July 27: Packer players report to camp, without Favre, as the quarterback agrees to let Thompson try to work out a trade solution in hopes of keeping Favre from coming to Green Bay.

-July 29: Favre finally faxes his official request for reinstatement to the league.

-July 30: Reports leak that Packers president Mark Murphy flies to Mississippi to extend a lucrative olive branch: $20 million over 10 years for Favre to stay retired and remain with the Packer organization in a marketing capacity.

-July 31: Trade talks become serious with the New York Jets. Favre apparently decides he doesn’t want to play for that team, and reportedly considers the marketing offer.

-August 3: Favre flies to Green Bay at the same time the Packers are having their Family Night scrimmage. He’s greeted at the airport by cheering fans.

-August 4: NFL commissioner Roger Goodell reinstates Favre, and the Packers add him to the 80-man roster. McCarthy is scheduled to meet with Favre, then address the team, then address the media. However, his meeting with Favre extends to roughly 4 hours — Thompson also meets with Favre — and the team meeting and media conference are canceled. Goodell also rules the Vikings didn't tamper with Favre.

-August 5: Favre and McCarthy meet again at Lambeau Field. Then, Favre, Thompson, Murphy and others meet at Favre’s home in Ashwaubenon. McCarthy indicates Favre’s mindset isn’t right for him to rejoin the team, but says he plans to speak to Favre again in the evening.

-August 6: Favre is traded to the New York Jets.

Media Winner: Jay Glazer of Fox Sports

Jay had both the trade story today and the overnight report that Favre and the Packers were at a standstill after all night meetings. I don't know how he does it, but the guy can't be sleeping more than 4 hours a night.

Media Loser: ESPN

They're not necessarily a loser in all of this, but they threw everything at this and got scooped once again. I don't entirely blame them for their over-the-top coverage, but you could tell that they wanted to break the story live on a "Sports Center Special" for the last two days. Glazer also reported the story about an hour before ESPN did, and Sal Pal was still on Sports Center talking about the Bucs deal as FOX's story went live. It seems like they've been scrambling all night and ESPN.com still doesn't have a full story up as of midnight. They sure did try though and I feel bad for Wendy Nix after being stuck in Green Bay for what seems like three months.

Also, their hole plan for Brett Favre's jersey retirement ceremony before the opening Monday nighter is trashed and they have to go back to the drawing board. At least they have a new angle now.
__________________________

In the end I think the process gave ESPN a good look at how draining the 24-hour news cycle can be and they have to now be more prepared than ever to go live with Sports Center next week. The bottom line though is that a majority of Country honestly cared about the outcome (I don't care what you all say) and all of the outlets searching for more and new information is a great thing. Say it loud and say it proud New York....

Brett Favre is the quarterback for your New York J-E-T-S, JETS! JETS! JETS!

Packers trade Favre to Jets (FOX Sports)
Packers detail timeline of Favre's decisions (FOX Sports)
Favre timeline: It's been a strange 5 months (Packer News)

(Photo via FOX's Alex Marvez)

I can't even begin to imagine the tricks that Sports reporters have to pull of to get some of the exclusive stories that they get, but you can't say they don't work hard. Yes even Chris Mortensen.

Well word is now out that Jay Glazer may have used of all things his UFC/MMA connections to get his hands on the the Brett Favre Retirement story before anyone else. Via Richard Deitsch of SI....

A couple of months ago, knowing Ultimate Fighting champion Randy Couture was one of Brett Favre's sporting favorites, Fox's Jay Glazer helped arrange a meeting in Green Bay between the UFC heavyweight champion and the Packers quarterback. The reporter and QB have long been tight.

When I spoke with Glazer in December, he told me the story he wanted most was Favre's retirement. He got it. Give ESPN's Chris Mortensen credit for saying Glazer got it first, even though Favre's voicemail to Mortensen pushed the story to another level...

Here's the original story from Glazer and it's amazing to think that connections in MMA could have helped Glazer land the biggest NFL story in the past 10+ years. Oh and to get Chris Mortensen to mention your name on air too is a pretty impressive feat. I said it before and I'll say it again...Jay Glazer is the hardest working man in Sports and I hope he keeps this up next year.

Media Circus (SI.com)
Couture has inspiring message for Pack (Fox Sports)

(Yes, that's Glazer in the photo above from a fight in 2003)

Is Jay Glazer the hardest working person in the biz or what? First he gets the Patriots videos after Cameragate and now he has footage from the Las Vegas brawl (or jumping) with Levi Jones and Joey Porter. Bravo Jay!

Joey Porter And Levi Jones Fight In Vegas (Ballsiest)

P.S.- Joey Porter is a bitch! Bee-yah!!! (Catch me saying that to his face)