Peter King usually uses the last page of his Monday Morning Quarterback column for a collection of random thoughts, and in his last "thing he thinks he thinks", he decided to take a shot at the New York Times. The Times, who acquired the Globe recently, announced that the Boston paper is dangerously close to being shut down, much to the dismay of the state of Massachusetts and King....

You cannot be serious about shuttering the Boston Globe, you New York Times people. That's unjust and ridiculous and will be a black mark against anything you do journalistically in the long-term. How do you walk into the flagship journalistic institution in a six-state region and say, "Unless everyone in the building takes a monstrous pay cut, and a few of you walk away from your jobs forever, we're closing the place?'' What kind of management style is that?

I think everyone is in agreement that it would be a shame to lose an institution like the Boston Globe, and it's certainly good to have someone as widely read as King, to have in your corner.

Ten Things I Think I Think (SI: Peter King)

I never thought I'd see the day that Howard Stern and Chris "Mad Dog" Russo would be in the same studio, but I guess when you work for the same company it's bound to happen. Russo went on Stern yesterday, and after a lengthy conversation about all things Sports radio, and his strained relationship with former co-host Mike Francesa, everyone in New York City decided to start trash talking everyone. The three main opponents were Russo, Francesa and Neil Best at Newsday decided to transcribe some of the action, and here's what a day in New York Sports Radio looks like....

Russo's quotes on Stern: "It depends who you ask. Their ratings, from an FAN perspective, seem to be the same. I have spoken to some other people at 1050 ESPN that said they’ve gotten murdered in certain parts of the tri-state area, Jersey for instance. And if you noticed, ESPN, they moved their show."

"I hear the quality of the show, he misses the energy, he does this, he does that, and I miss Mike, too. It goes both ways. So I’ve heard that. But as far as, Chris, did you see or look at this, that this rating was 10 percent less than when you were there? No."

Finally, Russo conceded ratings were down, just to shut up Stern. "There’s been a little bit of a decrease, if it makes you happy. I’ve got pride, of course."

Francesa: "As sure as I’m sitting here, they’re never catching me, and you can underline that, OK? So the idea that they’re chasing me down in Jersey or they’re chasing me down somewhere, well, you know what, bring friends and ban everybody you can ban and bring a whole lot more ammunition than you have so far, because you have never gotten close, and you never will, as long as I’m sitting here.

"If you’re going to come after us, then you better bring more than pea shooters. Because you know what? The FAN has been No. 1 here for 20 years and it’s going to be No. 1 long after I’m gone. But while I’m sitting here, you can be damn sure it’s going to be No. 1."

Michael Kay: "I'll take the high road. I'm very happy with my life and my standing and find no need to lash out at others. I leave that to those that are seemingly less content with what they've been blessed with."

Well then. It's nice to see that everyone has been getting along since the breakup. I'm not going to pretend to know what radio ratings are like in New York City, but as long as these three keep going at it, they will probably continue to be strong. Good job by Kay not to get into the mess between two former colleagues, but sooner or later he's going to be sucked in. Good times!

I'd love to get video up, but unfortunately Comcast blows, and they won't update On Demand for weeks at a time.

Chris Russo flies first class for Sirius, 'which is fair' (Watchdog)
Mike Francesa-Bill Parcells relationship on the rocks (Watchdog)
You heard from Russo and Francesa; now it's Kay's turn (Watchdog)

Normally when you bring up "radio wars", they are between competing stations and/or shows. Well not at WFAN. Following Chris "Mad Dog" Russo's move to Sirius, they've been going through a bit of issues within their own ranks. Everyone knows that Dog's former partner Mike Francesa has carried on without him, and while he's still upset at the whole breakup situation, he's now aimed his aggression at the WFAN Morning Show, Boomer & Carton.

B&C were joking about who they were going to bring in to be Russo's replacement and Francesa naturally took that as dig at him. Francesa then shot back yesterday at the Morning Show. Via Watchdog....

After saying he would not be dragged into a verbal war, Mike said "there is a meanness" to Carton. He also said, "If I want to take care of him I could do it in five minutes. It wouldn’t even take me five minutes. He can’t kiss up enough when he’s around here. If he wants a war, bring it on, it won’t be a long one."

After saying he would not be dragged into a verbal war, Mike said "there is a meanness" to Carton. He also said, "If I want to take care of him I could do it in five minutes. It wouldn’t even take me five minutes. He can’t kiss up enough when he’s around here. If he wants a war, bring it on, it won’t be a long one."

Oh but it doesn't stop there. Of course this got back to Carton and here was his response this morning....

"We'd like to be able to poke fun at Mike, and we'd like it if Mike pokes fun at us. We have thick skin and can go back and forth. But yesterday's attack was an uncalled-for, vicious, personal attack, which we're not going to tolerate. And I hope that Mike has come to his senses somewhat. If he wants a war, he's got it, 100 percent. We will indulge him in that starting today. I assume he doesn't want it. We're not looking forward to it, but we'll engage him in it if he wants it. And hopefully from this point on we can all just get along and do our own thing."

Good grief. You rarely see a fights between shows breakout on the same network, but I guess the stresses of the past few months have taken their toll. I really want to see WFAN get back to the way it was before Dog left, but I don't see this ending very well. I enjoy both shows in their own way, but hey.....if you're going to go down you mind as well go down in flames. Let's hope things get personal!

Craig Carton calls Francesa rant 'vicious,' 'uncalled-for' (Watchdog)

I'm was getting about as sick of this feud as you all were, but yesterday it took an awesome turn. Mike Francesa decided to go on a twenty plus minute rant about his former partner and goings on in the media and somehow Neil Best of Newsday transcribed the whole ordeal. Here is a small piece of the explosion....

"Frankly, I have taken a beating here for a month. And I said I never was going to say a word, not one, until the whole cycle was complete, and now the cycle is complete, because the promotional tour is over and Dog has begun his show, and the best to him. No ill feeling. I hope he does well. But as I said, not one time did anybody ask me my opinion of the breakup, just his. My opinion of the show or what happened or anything else, and frankly, I took the worst of it, which is fine. But really the worst of it.

"When the thing started in the summertime it was depicted that I was leaving and that I was the guy who was an ingrate and the guy who was bailing out on FAN after all these years when things weren’t going well and going to do TV and then that didn’t turn out to be the case. No one even asked me if I was leaving. Then it didn’t turn out to be the case. And then the story was that I ran him out. So it went from me being a guy who was an ingrate because I was leaving to me being the bad guy because I ran him out, neither of which was the truth.

"I wasn’t leaving, and I didn’t run him out. Never did. Dog chose to leave, which was fine. He wanted to leave, and again, he has every right to do that. The way it was depicted was ridiculous. I sat here and watched the interviews that went on and commentary and things I read. I read that I was jealous about how much money Dog made, which was never the truth. It mentioned what my salary was and what Dog’s new salary was and how irate I was when no one knew what Dog’s salary was or had any idea.

"You learn a lesson, folks. I hope you don’t get your information from the newspapers, because the stuff that has been written during this time about me has been so wrong. It has never been even remotely accurate, I mean not even in the ballpark accurate.

And that's really just the tip of the iceberg. Francesa goes on to call out just about every media member in New York City and even said that Bob Raissman of the NY Daily News has an agenda. Now I could really care less how this whole thing ends, but if you are the one getting "hammered" in the press, and then you go and complain about it on-air, you're not ever going to get people to come over to your side.

For Francesa's sake I hope he just drops the whole thing because the more he comments on it, the more people are going to think he's just whining about Russo becoming more famous.

Mike Francesa gets quite a few things off his chest (Newsday)

Movies are so formulaic these days that they remind me of the South Park episode where the manatees selected balls to write Family Guy episodes. So you want a chick flick? Okay let's pull out a few ideas....

"Matthew McConaughey as a trash man and a divorced millionaire in Jennifer Aniston meet by chance in a small mining town and set the countryside ablaze." Or a Sports Movie? "Jeff Daniels has to Coach an inner-city school Field Hockey team because of a checkered past at a private school has made him blacklisted at every other school!"

I wouldn't be surprised if they actually did this in Hollywood, and is ultimately the reason why I think they decided to actually greenlight this idea. Via Hollywood Reporter via Puck Daddy....

New Line Cinema will presumably answer that question in a film about professional hockey player Sean Avery's experiences in the fashion world, including his stint as a summer intern at a fashion magazine. Avery, who considers himself something of a fashion jock, in May began a summer internship at Vogue, where, among other duties, he served as guest editor of MensVogue.com.

New Line, which is developing and will produce a big-screen account of his experiences in the fashion world and the relationships he made there, has hired ICM-repped Stan Chervin to write the screenplay. Contrafilms' Beau Flynn and Tripp Vinson, who were behind New Line's sleeper hit "Journey to the Center of the Earth," will produce.

Avery, also repped by ICM, was a member of the NHL's New York Rangers at the time of the internship; he's since signed with the Dallas Stars. Avery told The Hollywood Reporter he's always been a fashionista. "I was always trying to be the best-dressed kid in school," he said.

Avery said that though his experiences made for great storytelling, it was his friends that pushed him into Holly wood's stylish threads. Lauryn Flynn, a friend and director of celebrity services at Burberry, brought the idea to her brother, Beau. Lauryn Flynn will co-produce.

The movie will be a romantic comedy.

Good to know. My guess at this moment is that actors who are a little bit younger than Matty Mc and Aniston will be involved, so I'm thinking of a Josh Hartnett-Rachel McAdams combo. You're welcome to submit your own duos in the comments.

New Line producing Avery film (Hollywood Reporter)
Casting the 'Sean Avery: Adventures of a Vogue Intern' movie (Puck Daddy)

It's really a shame that this Osi injury went down. No, not because he's a great player and I want to see him play this season but rather because I was looking forward to Strahan joining the NFL on FOX. I think he's perfect for television, and while five people on set is never a good idea, the addition was a great one for that network.

I speculated that the ex-Giant probably had a clause in his contract that would let him make a return and late last night, Vice President of Communications Dan Bell said the network wouldn't try to stop an "un-retirement". From SBD via Sporting News Today....

SPORTING NEWS TODAY's Dennis Dillon reports if former NFLer Michael Strahan re-joins the Giants, Strahan's contract with Fox Sports "will not impede the process." Fox officials yesterday "gave Strahan their blessing to return to the Giants without jeopardizing his job status." Fox VP/Communications Dan Bell: "If he does decide to go back and play for the Giants, he has our full support and his job will be waiting for him when he returns."

I guess that's the right decision, and obviously a good faith gesture by FOX, but now I'm rooting for Strahan to ignore the Giants and move ahead with his second career behind the mic. And no, not just because I'm a Skins fan. I genuinely think he'll be open and honest about teams and players and someone like that is definitely needed within the NFL these days.

NB of Newsday has been smack in the middle of this mess the whole Summer and now he's moved on to finding out who Mike Francesa's new partner will be. Apparently the network also has to find an update person, which is the topic of his most recent post, but he throws out some very interesting partner possibilities as well.....

The search for an update person seems to be further along than that for a new No. 2 man (or woman).

From what I have been able to piece together, the update list includes Bob Heussler, Jerry Recco, Sal Licata and Jonas Schwartz. Heussler, known as "Mr. Met" on the show, long has shown a willingness to stand up to Francesa and Chris Russo as well as a dry sense of humor.

As for the bigger job . . . all sorts of interesting names have been seriously discussed, from what I hear, including Sid Rosenberg, Chris Carlin, Ian Eagle and even ESPN.com's Bill Simmons.

Hahaha....and I want Chuck Klosterman as a weekend editor!* They have to be delusional if they think that Simmons would ever accept that job, but I guess you don't know the answer until you ask. The leading candidate from what I've heard is Sid Rosenberg, and while he's had his "issues" over the years, it wouldn't really be that bad of a pick. He's seemingly settled down a bit in his old age and has experience working in New York. Albeit with Imus, but experience none-the-less.

I'm also surprised with Ian (EYE-IN) Eagle's name being among those mentioned. I'm a fan, and I think he's a pretty good announcer, but the guy comes off as being just boring as hell. Well unless he feels like he's at a Bar Mitzvah....


Mike Francesa, WFAN looking into new cast members (Newsday)

*- I wouldn't really subject you all to him every weekend. It was just an example.

Now far be it from me to poke fun at a Tournament that is trying its hardest to let people know it's right around the corner, but when you employ Don King and the WWE to do so....I have to comment. The U.S. Open is getting underway today, but the past few weeks have been rather interesting in the way of PR for the matches in Flushing, New York.

First up was Nike's campaign hyping the potential final matchup of Nadal v. Federer. The Swoosh decided to turn the potential meeting into a pseudo-weigh in for the two Tennis stars and even brought in Don King to do what Don King does. Hype. Via the Telegraph....

King, speaking exclusively to The Daily Telegraph, revealed his “delight” at being called up to promote one of the greatest sporting rivalries on the planet. “You had the 'Thrilla in Manila’, you had the 'Rumble in the Jungle’ now we have the 'Grapple in the Apple’. We gonna take it to the moon. They try to pretend to be friends. But they’re no kin and they’re gonna bend. They got to be competitive.”

King, getting into character, insisted in his idiolect that the US Open would be “free of trickeration”. Tennis may never be the same. But nor would boxing have had some of its most memorable nights without the genius of King.

As annoying as King is, that's pretty clever and that poster is pretty spot on. You would think that "stunt" was enough, but oh no, they weren't done there. "Hey, Let's try to use the most obvious avenue to cross promote the Tourney. Why of course that's the WWE!"



Well then.....that was special. The collaboration between WWE and the U.S. Open isn't anything new, but I think it's safe to say that having a wrestler jump off a judges chair onto a tennis player is taking it to another level.

'Apple Grapple' brings a gleam to Don King's eye (Telegraph)

The way that networks, newspapers and radio stations are covering Brett Favre is almost more interesting than him playing for the Jets this season. There had been rumors that the Jets were being extremely selective about who Favre interviewed with and now NY Daily News has a shaft by shaft account of the situation....

While their reaction is reminiscent of the Secret Service swooping in to protect the President, it should come as no surprise. When Favre arrived at Jets camp, a rule was immediately set: He would give no one-on-one interviews.

Last week, the Jets' stated policy concerning Favre was altered. The "policy" now seemed to be highly selective and exercised at the Jets' discretion.

On Monday, Favre did a one-on-one telephone interview with ESPN-1050's Michael Kay. ESPN-1050 is the radio home of the Jets (WABC-AM airs Jets games, too). ESPN-1050 promoted the interview as Favre's first "exclusive" one-on-one since joining the Jets. The next day Favre went on WFAN with Mike (Napoleon Solo) Francesa.

While Favre likely did not get paid for the ESPN-1050 interview, this was definitely a form of checkbook chatter. ESPN-1050 got the spot because of its partnership with the Jets. Unfortunately, the interview was a snoozefest with Favre basically repeating much of what he had said since arriving at the Jets Hofstra bunker.

Yes, Jets scribes were shafted here, but the organization had a good excuse. This was just business. The Jets were taking care of a partner. The real kick in the butt came Tuesday when Francesa planted his fanny inside a tent at Hofstra.

WFAN is the radio home of the NFL champion Giants, but there sat Favre yakking live one-on-one with Francesa (seen also on YES). Even Eric Mangini hung around, playing the role of Favre's wingman.

Gang Green operatives breaking their own rule for business purposes is one thing, but allowing Francesa to access Favre gave those covering the team every right to be ticked and also feel like rented mules. Before you say "Who cares," realize this: The beat writers are an essential link between fans and a team. When an organization deprives them of one-on-one access, they are depriving you of original information, too.

Very Interesting. I can completely understand giving ESPN 1050 the first interview following the trade, but the WFAN is baffling. Raissman, who wrote the piece, even goes on to say that the Jets have also yet to grant its local TV partner, SNY, and sitdown with Favre. How would you feel if you were SNY and a Giants radio station in WFAN got an interview before you did? I'd be pretty upset.

Also, Newsday's Neil Best has a collection of quotes from various announcers in regards to Favre coverage this year. It's a really good look into their thinking, so check it out. Here's a small sample....

"We should be paying part of his salary."- Jim Nantz

"I'm hoping it's more play action. I hope he's holding the ball more, dropping deeper. I want to see him throw it down the field more because everyone says 'gunslinger, great arm,' but Green Bay led the league in short passes."- Phil Simms

"He's certainly given a shot in the arm to this city. It's been great. It seems like it's all we talk about on the radio."- Boomer Esiason

"As far as adapting to terminology and plays, if there's anybody in the league who can do it, it's him, because of the experience he's had. Football is football. You read coverages. Coverages don't change much. It's just the approach to the offense."- Dan Marino

"It's like being dropped in the middle of Japan, trying to speak that language and you have to figure it out for yourself ... You might see some ugly picks early in the year. You might see early throws that look like he doesn't know what he's doing. It's because he doesn't."- Rich Gannon

It's a shame that Gannon probably won't to get to call any Favre game this year (#1 and 2 teams will get all of them) because he seems to be the only analyst being realistic. Good for him. CBS will be banking on him early in the season, so it will be interesting to see how Nantz, Simms, etc. cover him. I'm not rooting for Favre to have a bad season, but rather hoping that CBS doesn't sugarcoat things if he does.

Brett Favre, Jets run quarterback sneak on media (NY Daily News)
CBS hoping to bank on Jets' Brett Favre bonanza (Newsday)

It was a foregone conclusion that Chris "Mad Dog" Russo was heading to Sirius Satellite Radio, but it it will be made official today at 10:30am at Sirius HQ on Sixth Avenue in NYC....

It appears Siriux/XM radio is ready put an end to the speculation and officially announce Chris “Mad Dog” Russo as their newest sports host.

The satellite radio provider has scheduled a press conference for tomorrow morning to announce the addition of a “major sports media personality.” A representative would not confirm that the press conference was called to announce Russo, but the inference is fairly obvious.

It was reported that Howard Stern spoke on his Sirius/XM morning that Russo could be brought on imminently. It is not yet clear if Russo will get his own channel, like Stern, or just host a sports show.

As it said in the section above, the form of the radio show is not yet known, but the deal is projected to be large and certainly long-term. It's a great hire for Sirius because Russo is cut of the Stern mold, and is yet another bombastic personality the radio network can add to its stable. For WFAN though, it's seemingly a sign of the difficult road ahead. Francesa isn't strong enough to carry the show on his own, and if you add to that the fact that the Mets and Esiason deals are up soon, you're looking at some tough choices for the AM station.

Sirius XM Likely To Add Mad Dog Tomorrow (NY Post)

(Photo via TSH)

And just like that, the long rumored breakup between Chris "Mad Dog" Russo and Mike Francesa has finally come to pass. Neil Best of Newsday first reported on the rift back in June and now according to Newsday, it's official....

WFAN announced Thursday that it has released Chris (Mad Dog) Russo from his contract.

This means the end of his 20-year partnership with Mike Francesa on the highly successful “Mike and the Mad Dog Show.”

Russo, whose contract was to run until the Fall of 2009, has been rumored to be headed to Sirius XM Radio. Sources said Russo has no signed agreement with the satellite company.

Russo will not make a final appearance on WFAN.

Renowned for his signature greeting - "AAAAAAANNNNNNDDDDD good afternoon everybody! How are you todaaaay?" - and his tirades, Russo joined WFAN in December 1988 as an overnight, weekend and fill-in host.

These two were the best and worst of Sports Talk Radio, but in the end, I'm sad to see them split. They were loud, obnoxious, combative, stubborn and a tad bit dumb, but I just couldn't get enough of them. I listened to them for a good three hours the day that the Mitchell Report came out and I was riveted.

The other good thing they had going for them was that they had no affiliation with ESPN Radio and still nationally known. Local Sports Radio outlets are slowly being purged across the Country, and with Daniel Snyder having already bought up every DC station, I think the last of my out-of-town Sports Radio go tos are gone.

Update: Via WFAN operations director Mark Chernoff....

"WFAN announced today it has signed a multi-year contract with Mike Francesa making him the sole host of afternoon drive (1:00-6:30PM) on the nation’s first and most listened to all-sports station. Mike began his career at WFAN in 1987 and has been heard in afternoons on the station since Sept. 5, 1989."

Chris (Mad Dog) Russo out at WFAN (Newsday)

I don't think Jenn Sterger is inherently bad at what she does (she does pretty well on camera), but it's amazing how one little comment from Brent Musburger has landed a FSU student in various writing jobs from blogs to Sports Illustrated. The girl even landed on the E! show "Byte Me: 20 Hottest Women of the Web" at #19.

Well according to the Randy's Radar (the official Jets' blog) she's got a new gig and is now an employee of the New York Jets....

Jenn Sterger, a southern girl with flair, is taking her act to New York. In an effort to improve their gameday experience, the New York Jets have hired Sterger as the club’s gameday host.

“It will be fun. It’s going to be sassy,” Jenn told me recently of her new role. “I plan on fully embracing my new role as a New Yorker.”

In her new position, she will interview celebrities and will host a pregame “Keys to the Game” segment and the club’s pregame components up until player introductions. She’ll also play a role during TV timeouts and at halftime.

“I thought it was a great project. I think it’s really cool that you guys are trying to integrate a new kind of media into your gameday experience,” she said. “It’s going to be fun and more interactive for fans. If it gets them in the seats earlier and out of the freezing parking lots a couple of beers earlier maybe, so be it. I promise I’ll put on as good a show as I possibly can.”

I do have to agree that it's definitely a cool idea, but with the whole that went down last year, they might want to be careful with how much she "interacts" with the fans. Also, just a random question here, but what celebrities are going to Jets games in the middle of the Winter? Just curious.

Jenn Sterger Set for 'Sassy' Jets Role (NY Jets)

I know the Brett Favre stuff is finally settling down, and that you probably don't want anymore piled on, but I found this angle pretty interesting. CBS killed in the ratings game last year on the shoulders of the record breaking Patriots. Almost every game they played received a ton of viewers up until the end of the year when they had to play the Jets and Dolphins, before the Giants game. If the Pats had any other good teams in their division they would have destroyed ratings records.

Enter on, Brett Lorenzo Favre....

Unless Favre fails to make even a middling improvement in the Jets' 4-12 record in 2007, CBS can look forward to a nice ratings bump, at least early in the season.

"Even if the Jets aren't good, they become that much more interesting to watch in New York, if nowhere else," said Rick Gentile, a former veep at CBS Sports who is currently director of the Seton Hall Sports Poll. "Compared to what they've had, they now have something to watch."

Citing CBS as a "clear beneficiary" of the deal, he speculated that "New York's ratings could go up 15%, and 15% of a 10 million person market is a nice chunk." In any event, he added, "It will improve it by some percentage, and some percentage of the New York market is just big numbers. So the advertisers have to be ecstatic."

The Jets are currently scheduled to play only two games on national television, a Monday nighter on ESPN at San Diego on Sept. 22 and a Thursday-night game Nov. 13 vs. their archrivals the Patriots on the NFL Network.

In fact every single network wins out. Now NBC can use Favre's Jets as a flex option after the Cowboys, Pats, and Colts six game primetime windows have been used up. The Jets still provided some crappy matchups near the end of the season (Dolphins and Bills), but there's still the option for NBC to use games against the Seahawks and Broncos (who beat Favre in Super Bowl XXXII), if CBS doesn't protect them.

The Pats and Jets have also already been bumped up to CBS' 4:15 slot in week two. Now if they could work on getting the craptastic Ravens off my TV every Sunday (I know it's not happening, but a boy can dream right?).

Brett Favre frenzy hits New York (Variety)

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, like many of you, really thought that there was too much money on the table for a breakup to actually go down, but there's even more news today that Mike and the Mad Dog could be done for good. Mike Francesa went through a lengthy tale of what's going on today and here's a transcript from the original breaker of the story, Neil Best....

Dog got it in his lap on Monday. I made sure I was near a TV at 1 o’clock when he came on. I thought he handled it well. Everything he said as far as the relationship was true. You know, we’ve been together 19 years. That’s a long time. And in a very visible position for 19 years, so we’ve kind of carried on this relationship in a very public way, so that when there’s been fights they’ve been made public and when there’s been battles they’ve been made public.

Now there haven’t been many in recent years. The last bad one before this was probably about eight years ago. I think it was in 2000 we had a bad one. And I’d say in the last 19 years we’ve probably had four or five bad ones. This one was pretty bad.

He gave you the timetable. I would say we did have a meeting in May where we decided we had maybe carried it onto the air and we were not being very professional so we apologized. He apologized, I apologized, because I thought I had handled myself terribly. I apologized for that. I thought I carried it onto the air and was very unprofessional, which is something I don’t want to ever try to be.

When you do this this long, you are going to have problems. I think we’ve patched it up on the air. Have we patched it up off the air? Not really, to any real extent. I’ll give you an example: We haven’t spoken this week. So that should give you an indication. With everything that’s going on, we haven’t spoken this week. So I think that’s a pretty good indication of where we are right now.

There's even more over at Watchdog, but geesh....that's kind of depressing isn't it? It's a shame that one fight in the past eight years would cause a breakup, but if you can't do it, don't try and fake it. Hopefully something will change but it's not looking good.

Mike Francesa admits future with Chris Russo is murky (Newsday: Watchdog)

Yes my New York friend it is. In an extremely interesting promotion MLB and the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation are going to begin placing replica Statue of Libertys throughout the city. Even more interesting is MLB's press release surrounding the idea....

An open letter to the people of France:

Bonjour! We in America are still very thankful for the Statue of Liberty.

She is a fine lady. She still stands for freedom and huddled masses and all of that.

But let's face it, she needed to dress for a baseball game like everyone else here.

So we thought you should know that we have taken a few, um, liberties.

Major League Baseball announced more details Thursday about the "Statues on Parade" that will have everyone talking. It is going to be the most amazing celebration of the Statue of Liberty since the 1986 centennial celebration in the New York Harbor.

There will be 42 Statues of Liberty, each standing 8 1/2-feet tall, stationed around New York leading up to the July 15 All-Star Game there. These will start showing up on Friday at popular locations around the Big Apple, including Times Square, Carnegie Hall, Radio City Music Hall, the New York Stock Exchange and, yes, the Statue of Liberty.

Every Major League team will be featured and there will even be two extra statues for the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants. Seems pretty cool if you ask me, but I don't know how well an eight foot tall Red Sox statue is going to go over in Times Square. They might want to throw that one way out on Staten Island.


Statue of Liberty gets MLB makeover (MLB.com)

People have been ragging on the New York Post for years, but this piece just made me laugh. Via The Realests comes news that the Post says NBC could be interested in Michael Strahan for coverage next season. There's only one problem. The Strahan they're referring to is a Hall of Fame Linebacker....

Even NBC is getting in line to talk to the Hall of Fame linebacker, who can turn on the charm and talk like a college professor about football. "It's not what he's used to being paid," says one insider familiar with the trajectory of Strahan's new broadcasting career. "But at least he can be assured that he won't blow out his knees on a Sunday morning."

I know it's tough when a TV guy tries to write about Sports but you've got a whole stable of Sports guys that can help you out with that one. I also love how he quotes "an insider", but can't even get the guy's position right.

Also, if NBC hires Strahan to make him the 20th person on their coverage, and puts him with Tiki Barber, I'm going to throw up.

The New York Post: Still Morons (The Realests)
The Courtship of Michael Strahan (NY Post)

It was pretty crazy with SNY and the Mets last week as Willie Randolph took on the announcers, but this takes it to the next level. Keith Hernandez got on former teammate Gary Carter for openly pursuing the head coaching job and he had some words for Carter on-air yesterday. Via Newsday....

"I have great respect for Gary as a player," said Hernandez, now a TV analyst. "He's a Hall of Famer. When Johnny Bench left the game, he was the premier catcher in the National League.

"But that being said, and I've kept quiet for such a long time, but for the people out there listening, just go in the dictionary and look up 'unconscious' and you'll find a picture of Gary Carter.

"I know that's strong, but it just happens too many times and it's just, you're walking around unconscious."

Play-by-play man Gary Cohen also lambasted Carter for his comments and all of this going on while the Mets are just 3 and 7 in their last ten. I think it's about time for everyone to try and stop distracting the team and just call the games, but it's entertaining none the less.

Keith Hernandez rips ex-mate Gary Carter on air (Newsday)
Willie Randolph Vs. SNY (Awful Announcing)

I've known certain athletes that have had issue with Skip Bayless before (Troy Aikman), but you rarely here about active athletes taking issue with the guy. Well that's not the case anymore as Billy Wagner ripped the Skipper on the Michael Kay Show yesterday. Via The Sports Point....

"Everybody wanted to make this out to be so much more than it was. And it really got carried away. I mean it carried into being called a racist and being traded and fined and somebody naming Delgado. I mean that to me is just irresponsible journalism and if you can't, if you can't do your job with fact than why the hell are you doing it."

When asked specifically who he was referring to and who brought racism into the equation, Wagner responded, "SKIP BAYLESS".

Wagner continued, "When things like that get thrown out there, that doesn't hurt Billy Wagner, that hurts Billy Wagner and his four kids and his wife and his foundation and his charities he does and the people around him, and to me that almost gives me the right to say, 'You know what, I don't have to talk to the media anymore if you're going to mistreat me when I'm there every day.' I don't have to be there every day."

Wagner was referring to the following clip in which Skip alleged him to be racist somehow, and hopefully I'll have the audio soon. I really can't believe this doesn't happen with Skipper more often, but I can't seem to find where he calls him a racist.



Billy Wagner Rips Skip Bayless (The Sports Point)

There's a battle going on in New York and Willie Randolph and various SNY personalities are in the middle of it. The whole thing began when Randolph decided to respond to criticism by hinting that announcers on SNY were racist because of their treatment of black coaches in New York. SNY's personalities shot back today, and here's a collection of quotes during the war of words....

"I don't know how to put my finger on it," Randolph told the Record's Ian O'Connor. "But I think there's something there. Herman Edwards did pretty well here and he won a couple of playoff [games], and they were pretty hard on Herm. Isiah [Thomas] didn't do a great job, but they beat up Isiah pretty good. ... I don't know if people are used to a certain figurehead. There's something weird about it. They're the artists, I'm the canvas."- Willie Randolph

"Why is Willie wasting any time watching us, for one, and two, I just think it's wrong. I think his comments are wrong. I think some of the best things we do are watching not only Willie, but also his staff, go about their business educating these young men on how to play the game."- Ron Darling

"In my 17 years of major league baseball and 10-plus years of being up here in the booth, I've just never heard of a manager make those kinds of comments before, and I'm really quite surprised that Willie made those comments."- Keith Hernandez

"It's stopping you from doing what you're supposed to be doing: getting ready for the game. Part of the problem we have now is that the manager has chosen to make comments about things that you would think that for him should be water under the bridge. Who cares what anyone says? You care about wins."- Ron Darling

People involved in Sports are so sensitive aren't they? The crazy thing about this whole mess is that SNY is the Mets own channel, so the organization can't be happy with anyone involved it this right now. Expect this to be swept under the rug shortly, but if the Mets fall in the standings (seriously...they're 1.5 games out of first) look for it to resurface.

Mets' Randolph in hot water over latest comments (Newsday)
SNY announcers react to Willie's comments (Newsday)