Brett Favre is the golden boy of pro football, so it’s strange to see him getting blasted on national television. Last night on The Best Damn Sports Show Period the gang went off on Favre after showing clips of an interview with Javon Walker. Walker blew out his knee and is out for the season, but he’s pissed off at Favre for making comments earlier this year when Walker was threatening a holout. Favre made it clear in the press that he felt Walker should be in camp, and Walker claims these comments destroyed his negotiating position with the Packers. Now he has a season-ending ACL tear, and he’ll have to fight hard next year to earn the big contract he felt he deserved.

John Salley in particular ripped Favre, saying Brett could sit comfortably with his millions while Walker just lost his best chance at a big payday. Salley argued that holdouts and threatened holdouts were part of the negotiation process, and Favre should not interfere in another player’s business. The rest of the panel agreed, with Rodney Peete saying that Favre should be ashamed of himself. Some also made a distinction between this case and the T.O. saga, since T.O. had already received the big contract, while Walker had not.

I’m not sure how I come out on this one. In today’s sports world this situation highlights the tension between team loyalty and the big paydays available to star players. It is interesting, however, to see Favre dragged into this controversy while struggling through a losing season. This probably isn’t what he had in mind when he decided to return for another season.

Last week’s picks:

START

QB – Brian Griese – 139 pass yds, 2 TDs, 1 INT
RB – Willis McGahee – 140 rush yards, 1 TD
WR – Daunte Stallworth – zero catches

BENCH

QB – Michael Vick – 167 pass yds, 2 TDs, 1 INT, 64 rush yards
RB – Ahman Green – 85 total yds, 0 TDs
WR – Robert Ferguson – 4 catches, 68 yds, 1 TD

What we learned: While Griese’s yardage numbers weren’t overly impressive, the two TDs made for a good day. McGahee is officially back and should be a weekly start against all but the top rush defenses, even though the Bills have no passing game. Stallworth was a big disappointment after a huge day against the Giants and playing from behind all day against the Vikings. He’s far too inconsistent to be counted on. Vick performed well with a bad hammy. Ferguson looks like an every week start, no matter whom Green Bay faces.

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Charlie Weis? Gone.

Romeo Crennel? Gone.

Tedy Bruschi? Gone.

Ted Johnson? Gone.

Rodney Harrison? Gone.

Todd Light? Gone for most, if not all, of the season.

Kevin Faulk? Gone, reportedly for eight weeks with a leg injury.

I tell you what — if the Patriots win the Super Bowl this year after all the losses they’ve been faced with, Canton should welcome Bill Belichick and Tom Brady right after the game. The AFC East may not be the best division in football, and the Jets and Bills have their own injury concerns, but at this point, would it surprise anyone to see the Patriots miss out on the playoffs?

On the other hand, would it really surprise anyone to see New England overcome the odds and obstacles and wind up in position to win another Super Bowl? Not after what we’ve seen from Belichick, Brady and Co. the past few years.

We’re about to learn just how great this team really is. Most teams couldn’t withstand the loss of their starting left tackle, but along with losing Light, the Pats are trying to overcome the losses of their offensive and defensive coordinators, a starting linebacker, a third-down back, and two team leaders (and excellent players) in Harrison and Bruschi.

Maybe my preseason prediction of the Pats being overrated was accurate after all. Then again, maybe they’ll make me look foolish for ever doubting them.

In 1998, when Mike Holmgren demanded a head coaching job that also included complete control over all personnel decisions, it was obvious that he was going to have to find that job at a franchise other than the Green Bay Packers. The team was on the heels of two consecutive Super Bowl appearances and GM Ron Wolf was regarded as one of the best of the business and was deservedly given much of the credit. It was clear that the Packers weren’t going to fire him to appease Holmgren’s misguided career aspirations – back-to-back Super Bowl appearances weren’t enough? Many thought that Holmgren would land in San Francisco, a franchise that was familiar with the coach’s work and was at the time somewhat unhappy with their coach, Steve Mariucci, a Holmgren disciple. Oddly enough, the two teams faced each other in the playoffs that year and the futures of both coaches may have been altered by a blown call in that game. During San Francisco’s final drive (with the Packers leading 27-23), Jerry Rice fumbled after a catch. The Packers recovered, but the referee watching the play called Rice “down by contact� and the 49ers kept possession. The drive ultimately resulted in a last second touchdown pass from Steve Young to a then up-and-coming Terrell Owens, which gave San Francisco the win, 30-27. Had that fumble call gone the other way, Mariucci would have likely been fired for losing a first round playoff game at home and Holmgren would have been the favorite to take his place. The win bought Mariucci some time in San Francisco and forced Holmgren to look for complete control elsewhere. He ultimately signed with Seattle, where he has had mixed success in seven seasons and has recently had to relinquish his GM duties. Oh, the irony!

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“Fast” Willie finally had a bad game and LT2 finally caught a pass. Kurt Warner and Chad Pennington are out with injuries. What does this mean for your fantasy squad?

Post all of your Week 4 roster questions here.

This weekend is going to be the most exciting weekend of regular season baseball in ages.

The Red Sox, Yankees and Indians all have the same record, 92-64, with six games left to play. Each team is playing the first three games, curiously, against the bottom three teams in the AL East. Cleveland faces off against the Devil Rays (who swept the Tribe when they came to the Jake in August), the Yankees play the Orioles, and the Red Sox play the Blue Jays, starting the series off with a win earlier today. Cleveland then hosts the White Sox to finish the season, while Boston hosts the Yankees. Don’t be surprised if neither division is clinched until Sunday afternoon.

If these teams are smart, they will not look past their games tonight. Misery loves company, and teams that have been eliminated from playoff contention love taking other teams down with them (witness Detroit’s glee in beating the White Sox last night, which pulled the Indians to within two games of first in the AL Central). These first three games may look like pushovers, but they are anything but, and if the Sox, Yanks or Tribe lose two out of the next three, they put themselves in serious trouble.

And let’s not forget the NL West, where the Giants are staging a massive comeback on the sluggish Padres. The Giants have won 10 of 14 since Barry Bonds returned (say what you want about the guy, but no one impacts a game the way he does), while the Padres look gassed. The Giants could very easily take that division over. Meanwhile, the Phillies haven’t given up on the wild card, a game and a half down to Houston and playing the Mets and Nats. The ‘Stros, meanwhile, have to go through division arch rivals St. Louis and the Cubs, and those games will not be taken lightly.

Still, the real story here is the Sox/Yanks/Tribe scenario. Two of those three are going to the playoffs, and it’s entirely possible that all three of them could wind up going, depending on what the White Sox do. No matter how you slice it, this is gonna be fun to watch.

RUNNING BACKS

Mewelde Moore, MIN – It’s highly doubtful Moore still on your waiver wire, but he’s now the starting running back for the Vikings and you should snatch him up immediately if he’s still available.

Marcel Shipp, ARI – J.J. Arrington has been a disappointment thus far and HC Dennis Green seems to have more confidence in Shipp at the moment. Marcel is a must-add if you already drafted Arrington.

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The Bills lost linebacker Takeo Spikes for the year with a torn achilles.

The Patriots lost safety and team leader Rodney Harrison for the season with a torn ACL. Meanwhile, starting left tackle Matt Light could miss most of the season with what is reportedly a broken bone below his right knee.

The Jets lost quarterback Chad Pennington for the season with a torn right rotator cuff. To make matters worse for the Jets, backup QB Jay Fiedler went down the very next quarter with a partially torn labrum and is expected to miss at least six weeks.

So which team had a worse day?

The Bills were in trouble anyway, and until Kelly Holcomb replaces J.P. Losman, their offense will continue to sputter. Losing Spikes means they’ll give up more points but it won’t substantially affect the final outcome of their season.

Harrison is probably the best player of this bunch and, with New England’s already depleted secondary, losing him could be crucial. Then again, the Patriots have proven that they can handle just about any amount of adversity thrown their way, so maybe they rebound from this. Don’t, however, discount the Light injury. Losing your starting left tackle for an extended period is a huge blow. I don’t care what team you are.

Of course, the Patriots will probably figure out a way to still make the playoffs, or at least stay in contention until the bitter end. The Jets, on the other hand, are toast. The Pennington injury was bad enough but losing Fiedler in the same game is downright crippling. Hello…Brooks Bollinger? The guy’s played in exactly one NFL game during his three-year career, attempted a total of nine passes, and completed five.

So who do the Jets call first, Vinny Testaverde or Jeff George?

Did I really just see Clay Aiken doling out advice to Brett Favre on Monday Night Football’s halftime show?

I mean, I’d swear Aiken and Jimmy Kimmel were just analyzing Favre’s slump and reviewing proper throwing mechanics.

And then I watched Aiken throw the ball like my wife. On national TV.

No, I had to be hallucinating…. Right?

Heading into the season, there were some who insisted that Peyton Manning should be the top overall choice in fantasy football. Coming off his record-setting 49-TD performance, that argument certainly carried at least some validity. Even if Manning failed to match last season’s remarkable numbers, 40-45 touchdowns seemed like a virtual lock.

Fast forward to week three of the NFL season and, if you happened to choose Manning over LaDainian Tomlinson or even Shaun Alexander in your draft, you’re likely looking for the nearest ledge to jump from. Going up against a Cleveland defense that allowed Brett Favre to throw for 342 yards and three touchdowns a week after Carson Palmer totaled 280 yards and two scores, Manning failed to throw for a TD for the second game in a row this week. In comparison, Manning threw for at least two touchdowns in all but two games last season: a week 15 win against Baltimore (one TD), and a 33-14 loss to Denver in the final game of the year, in which Manning only attempted two passes before resting up for the playoffs.

So is it time to panic? In a word, no. Manning could still lead the league in touchdown passes by the end of the year, after ripping off a few five-TD performances in the next 13 games. But while there was little chance of him repeating his record-breaking campaign from last season, the 40-45 TDs that just a month ago seemed like a virtual lock now appear to be a long shot. Manning would have to average 2.92 TDs per game going forward to hit 40 by the end of the year, which would nearly match his 3.06 per-game output from last season. When you consider he threw for 26, 27 and 29 TDs in the three years leading up to last season, Manning now looks destined for 30-35 touchdowns, which are still good numbers but hardly worthy of the top pick in the draft, or even a selection in the top-five.

HEADLINERS

Daunte Culpepper: 300 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT; 36 rushing yards
Speaking of ledges, all Culpepper owners can now step down from theirs. The best part about Culpepper’s line against the Saints is the absence of any turnovers. The loss of Nate Burleson, who may be out for another week or two with a knee injury, certainly is cause for concern but the best news for Culpepper this week may have been the emergence of RB Mewelde Moore, who started for the ineffective Michael Bennett and ran for 101 yards on 23 carries. If Moore, an excellent runner and receiver out of the backfield, continues to start and produce, the Vikings offense, and Culpepper, should rebound nicely.
ALSO: Drew Bledsoe (363 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT; 1 rushing TD), Donovan McNabb (365 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT), Kerry Collins (345 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT)

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