For one day, the Tampa Bay Bucs turned back the clock to 1976. And for the first time this season, the team tasted victory in doing so. It was a memorable day for the Buccaneers organization as they combined their past with their future. Wearing the infamous (and often ridiculed) creamsicle orange uniforms (complete with Bucko Bruce on the helmet) for the first time since 1996, the Bucs unveiled a Ring of Honor at Raymond James Stadium and inducted Hall of Fame defensive end Lee Roy Selmon as their first member. Meanwhile, rookie quarterback Josh Freeman made his first National …read more

Remember the Vikings-Packers game last Sunday? Of course you do. It was former Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre’s much-anticipated return to Lambeau Field, wearing the uniform of the arch rival Vikings. The stage was set for an incredible game. And it did turn out to be a good one, with the Vikes winning 38-26.
Well, as expected, a lot of people watched on Fox—29.8 million viewers, in fact. That made the game the most-watched program on television since the Academy Awards back on February 22 (36.3 million viewers). The Vikings-Packers viewership tops that of the season finales of popular prime …read more

After a week of saying and doing all the right things preceding today’s game against the Green Bay Packers, Brett Favre returned to the place where he is a living legend—where he quarterbacked and led a team for 16 years, Lambeau Field—and exacted revenge beat his former team 38-26. As with his previous win over Green Bay just four weeks ago, Brett was outstanding. He was 17-of-28 passing for 244 yards and four touchdowns this afternoon as the Vikings improved to 7-1 heading into their bye week and the halfway point of this 2009 season.
I couldn’t be more impressed with …read more

Before Brett Favre finally signed a contract with the Minnesota Vikings this past summer, the very idea of him running onto Lambeau Field dressed in purple sent a shockwave of hysteria throughout the National Football League—not to mention throughout the national media, who figured such an occurrence would rank right up there with the parting of the Red Sea. But here we are, a mere four days from this event actually happening, and the excitement is somewhat less than what I had anticipated it would be. Sure, there’s a buzz. A lot of people are talking about the Vikings vs. …read more

With his impressive three touchdown performance in leading the Minnesota Vikings to a 30-23 win over the Green Bay Packers last night, quarterback Brett Favre became the first QB in NFL history to have beaten every team at least once. A record Monday Night Football audience watched as Brett exacted revenge beat the team he had become synonymous with for 16 seasons. Brett was an impressive 23-of-31 for 271 yards, finding eight different receivers and throwing the ball as well as I have seen him throw it in his Hall of Fame career as the Vikes improved to 4-0.
Brett has …read more

As Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre makes his 273rd consecutive start tonight, it’s a much-anticipated game that comes against the team he was a legendary member of for 16 seasons—the Green Bay Packers. It will be the first time Brett has played against his former team and if he wins the game, he will have beaten every team in the National Football League.
The media hype behind this game has been extraordinary. But one game does not a season make. Sure, it’s an NFC North division game and a win would give the Vikes an early two game lead on the …read more

Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco promised to do the “Lambeau Leap” if he scored a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers today. Well, he did score on a 13-yard reception from QB Carson Palmer in the third quarter. And he did leap. But he first sought out at least a small patch of orange amidst all the cheese before taking the plunge, so to speak. And it wasn’t much of a leap. He didn’t appear to really have his heart in it. But the Bengals won the game 31-24, so everyone in Cincinnati is happy—for now. They host the defending …read more

They will treat him to something special on Father’s Day. Maybe it will be a new set of golf clubs or dinner at his favorite steakhouse. But the real Father’s Day present from eight NFL rookies will be unwrapped in September on Kickoff Weekend. At that time, if all goes well, they will give dad a gift 173 sons have presented before — following in his footsteps as an NFL player.
For one rookie, he will follow the NFL path of not only his father, but also his grandfather. Linebacker Clay Matthews, a first-round Draft pick of the Green Bay Packers this year …read more

It’s that time of year again. Green Bay Packers three-time Pro Bowl receiver Donald Driver wants a new contract. So, to apparently make some kind of statement, he’s not taking part in the team’s “voluntary” OTAs. Donald is scheduled to make $3.9 million this season and $4 million in 2010, pretty fair I think, especially considering he caught 74 passes for 1,012 yards and five touchdowns last season—his lowest totals in five years.
I’m not sure what kind of new deal D2 is looking for, but at 34-years-old, he’s obviously trying to cash in one final time before he’s considered over-the-hill. …read more

I’m really not sure what to make of this quote, but I guess I’ll milk the “Brett Favre Unretirement Watch” for all it’s worth with this latest tidbit. According to the N.Y. Daily News, Brett not only wants to play football again, he wants to do so in a manner that will allow him to exact revenge on his former team, the Green Bay Packers. I could see that.
According to an unnamed source, Brett wants back into the NFC North:
“Favre can’t stand Green Bay. He wants to play Green Bay and say, ‘I told you so.’ His bitterness is creating …read more