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Green Bay Packers offer team stock, sort of, to Cheesehead nation
Congratulations, Packers fans! Those of you who've had your fill of Brett Favre bobbleheads and foam hats resembling Swiss cheese can now shell out $250 for something about as worthless.
The front office is billing it as a chance to become a team owner, an opportunity to be part of history, your chance to show you believe in "the great American story." The Green Bay Press-Gazette, on the other hand, is reporting that the team needs $143 million to add 7,000 seats plus a new sound system, scoreboards, entrances and elevators to storied Lambeau Field.
The good news is the Packers are making sure there is a way to receive the certificates by Christmas Eve, but Packers fans may think they're ordering anvils when they see the $25 shipping-and-handling fee. Seriously, what do these things weigh?
I guess if you think about it, the 20th-most valuable sports franchise in the world (at $1.02 billion, according to Forbes) asking average Joes to shell out $250 per stock certificate to help expand a stadium isn't much of a departure from the great American story. What does Occupy Green Bay think of all this?
NFL: Brett Favre officially files retirement papers
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre “officially filed his retirement papers with the NFL," the league confirmed on Monday.
Favre is known for his on-again-off-again relationship - with the NFL.
In 2008 he retired from the game after his longtime status as the go-to man in Green Bay. He made his second retirement announcement again in 2009 after playing with the Jets. But he returned again with the Vikings.
If he really does retire this time, he will go with a record 297 regular season game consecutive starts and an unbelievable career.
"I know it's time, and that's OK. It is," Favre said after his final game. "Again, I hold no regrets, and I can't think of too many players offhand that can walk away and say that. Individually and from a team standpoint, it was way more than I ever dreamed of."
On the Radar: N.Y.'s snow issue, Ivory Coast crisis, RNC debate, Favre retiring?
New York cleanup debacle - Investigators in New York want to know if four sanitation supervisors bought beer and sat in their car instead of cleaning up after last week's monster blizzard.
The New York City Department of Sanitation has drawn sharp criticism since last week's storm, which blanketed much of the Northeast. Rumors have swirled that supervisors ordered rank-and-file workers to slow down cleanup efforts in retaliation for the city's belt-tightening measures.
Ivory Coast crisis - Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, the African Union envoy to Ivory Coast, arrived in Abidjan in a bid to persuade self-declared president Laurent Gbagbo to step down.
SI.com: NFL had to do something about Favre allegations
The NFL's $50,000 fine against Brett Favre, for failing to cooperate with its investigation of lewd photos and voice mails allegedly sent to former Jets employee Jenn Sterger, came as no surprise to SI.com's Peter King.
With pressure on the league to address the accusations, Commissioner Roger Goodell was compelled to act in some way, King says.
But does the penalty Favre received suit the offenses he was accused of? That remains a cause for debate, but the mere fact that Favre received this punishment speaks volumes about the league and the position it found itself in, King contends.
"This basically was such a black eye for the league that Roger Goodell felt that he had to act in some way, and so a fine and sort of a public slap on the wrist was what he felt like he should do," King told Inside Report's Maggie Gray. "I think the big story here is that it's obvious that they could not absolutely, definitively connect the lewd photos that were sent to Jenn Sterger were absolutely sent from Brett Favre and were pictures of Favre himself."
Meanwhile, bowl madness rolls along today (all times Eastern, all on ESPN):
Armed Forces Bowl (noon): SMU vs. Army
Pinstripe Bowl (3:20 p.m.): Syracuse vs. Kansas State
Music City Bowl (6:20 p.m): North Carolina vs. Tennessee
Holiday Bowl (10:00 p.m.): Nebraska vs. Washington
By the Numbers
45: Number of points scored by the Heat's Dwyane Wade during Miami's 125-119 rout of the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.
880: Number of victories Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski has earned during his career. The Blue Devils' win Wednesday against UNC-Greensboro moved Coach K to No. 2 on the all-time wins list, surpassing North Carolina rival Dean Smith. He trails former boss Bobby Knight by 22.
12: Number of consecutive games in which Oklahoma State's Justin Blackmon posted at least one touchdown and 100 yards receiving. The Cowboys thumped Arizona 36-10 in the Alamo Bowl on Wednesday night.
NFL fines Brett Favre $50,000
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre was fined $50,000 by the National Football League for failing to cooperate with an investigation into whether he sent sexually explicit messages to women, the league said Wednesday.
However, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, based on the evidence available, "could not conclude that Favre violated league policies relating to workplace conduct," the league said.
Favre was alleged to have sent inappropriate messages to Jenn Sterger, a female employee of the New York Jets while he was on the Jets roster in 2008.
"The forensic analysis could not establish that Favre sent the objectionable photographs to Sterger," the league's statement said.
It also said Sterger had not engaged in any inappropriate activity.
See CNN's full coverage of the NFL's decision
Eagles-Vikings Tuesday night football to make history
Forget that the 5-9 Minnesota Vikings were pretty terrible even before Brett Favre began showing his age and before star running back Adrian Peterson banged up his leg.
Forget that the 10-4 Philadelphia Eagles have been one of the most dominant teams all year, have already clinched a playoff spot and are Las Vegas' two-touchdown favorite in the game.
Forget that the Green Bay Packers have already handed the Eagles their division title by pummeling the New York Giants for them.
This game will be historic no matter what. Why? Well, because pro football hasn't been played on a Tuesday in more than six decades.
That probably won't be enough to buoy the spirits of Vikings fans, who not only have lost all hope of postseason action, but who also temporarily lost their stadium earlier this month when the roof of the Metrodome collapsed under the weight of snow.
Expect no redux this week, because Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field is outdoors - which seems, at least to this humble fan, like a better place to play football anyway.
Where is Favre's place in sports history?
Say what you will about Brett Favre - about his wavering on retirement or his inability to make decisions. But there's one thing no one can take away from him - his dedication to the game.
In a sport where players are battered and bruised nearly every week, Favre took the hits consecutively 297 times.Â
"Now that it's over, and part of the history books instead of the NFL's week-to-week reality, Brett Favre's 297 consecutive starts streak deservedly will go down as one of the greatest individual accomplishments in sports. And nothing will ever change that, or lessen its impact," SI.com's Don Banks writes, noting the feat perhaps makes Favre the "toughest quarterback who ever suited up."
"To argue otherwise is folly. The beauty of a consecutive-games streak is that it has a quality of perfection to it - and you can't beat perfection," he said. "For almost 19 seasons, the man played every chance he had to play. Case closed. End of story."
The argument, perhaps, is over where that streak deserves to be placed in history. Where does it match up against say Cal Ripken playing 2,632 straight games for the Baltimore Orioles? Or what about Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak? Or "The Great One" Wayne Gretzky, who played 51 consecutive games with a point?
That depends on how you feel about the sports, the differing schedules, and whatever else you can bicker about, though most will argue Favre's streak most closely lines up with Ripken's.
As Time.com's Sean Gregory asks:Â "What's harder: standing on a baseball field for an hour or two, everyday, playing shortstop, or lining up under center once a week in football, where very large men are paid very large sums of money to knock you out of the game?"
Favre's consecutive-starts streak is over
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre is on the team's inactive list for Monday night's game against the New York Giants, meaning his NFL-record streak for consecutive starts at his position will end at 297 regular-season games, Vikings representative Jeff Anderson said.
Favre, who has held the record since 1999, sprained a joint in his throwing arm during last week's game against the Buffalo Bills and didn't throw a ball during Saturday's walk-through. He had limited participation in Friday's practice, the first time all week he participated at all.
He got a reprieve Sunday, the scheduled date for the game with the Giants. The Vikings were forced to reschedule the game when the inflatable roof of the Metrodome collapsed under 16 inches of snow. The game will be played Monday in Detroit.
Favre has started every game since the fourth game of his 1992 season with the Green Bay Packers. He started every game in the 2008 season with the New York Jets, and every game since joining the Vikings in 2009. Including playoff games, he's started 321 consecutive games.
On the Radar: Tax debate, snow slams U.S., WikiLeaks, Favre streak
The U.S. Senate should open debate Monday on a tax compromise reached by President Obama and Republicans, but some Democrats in the House want to change the deal, one of the party's leaders said. Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, who heads the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said the package will get a House vote despite a threat by Democrats to prevent it from reaching the floor. Last week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid released the first version of legislation on the negotiated deal. The package combines extended Bush-era tax cuts with extended unemployment benefits, tax breaks and a payroll tax holiday intended to bolster a sluggish recovery from an economic recession.
SI.com: Peña pens, clubs throw millions at Lee as free-agent race takes shape
With the Yankees retaining their set of free-agent icons, our attention now shifts to rest of the offseason market and where others players seeking new deals might land.
Just yesterday, All-Star first baseman Carlos Peña agreed to a one-year, $10 million deal with the Chicago Cubs, according to SI.com's Jon Heyman. Peña joins Jayson Werth (Nationals), Adam Dunn (White Sox), Victor Martinez (Tigers) and others as free-agent sluggers with new homes.
Although the left-handed Peña hit a career-low .196 with Tampa Bay last season, the Cubs are still attracted to his 28 home runs and first-class defense after trading Derek Lee to the Atlanta Braves last season.
But the biggest star to watch this winter - yes, more than Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera - is Cy Young winner Cliff Lee (above). In his latest update, Heyman reports that a handful of teams are lining up to sign the top-of-the-rotation ace and that two teams have offered him seven-year contracts worth more than $20 million annually.
It's a steep price to pay but one that many baseball clubs are willing to shell out. Currently, there are 22 $100 million-men in baseball, and that number is sure to rise with free agents like Lee and Carl Crawford yet to find new clubs.
The Yankees and the Rangers, Lee's most recent team, are the two favorites to land the starting pitcher, but other teams are expected to join the bidding, says Heyman. With Werth's $126 million deal setting the tone this offseason, Lee's contract could be astronomical and close to the amount of money Yankees star Alex Rodriguez is currently reeling in (10 years, $275 million).
NFL: We're looking at report about Favre
Controversy is brewing over alleged texts and voicemails Brett Favre sent to a woman who is not his wife.
The NFL has said its reviewing reports involving Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre after the sports Web site Deadspin posted naked pictures, text and voice messages it alleges the married quarterback sent to a model and former television host.
When asked about the allegations Friday, Favre declined to comment. Greg Aiello, an NFL spokesman, said the league is reviewing the matter, but declined further comment. CNN could not independently confirm whether the voice heard in the recordings belonged to Favre, or whether the notes were in fact sent by him. FULL STORY
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