Monday Night FavreBall

* Note: I had planned to offer some thoughts on the documentary portion of WWE’s new DVD release, “The Rise and Fall of WCW”. However, today was so packed full of sports tidbits that my intended post grew to be very long. Therefore, I am deciding to delay posting the review until tomorrow. I will also offer up my thoughts on Monday Night Raw and ECW at that time. Stay tuned!

Monday Night Football Thoughts: Well tonight was really the big “debut” and test of new Vikings QB Brett Favre, but there was news even before Monday Night Football. Favre told ESPN that he believes he may have a cracked rib. Wow, that would be just a great omen already for the Vikings huh? The team had not officially examined Favre though and head coach Brad Childress stated right before kickoff that Favre was fine and ready to go. With all that swirling around, Favre was expected to play the entire 1st half of the game against the Houston Texans, so how did he look?

In my estimation, it was a solid performance for Favre, but it was not spectacular. But that is the whole point with this Vikings team. They have the pieces in place to be a great football team and they do not need spectacular QB play. All they require is solid and reliable efforts, which they have not had in years, and it looks like Favre will finally give it to them. He went 13-of-18 for 142 yards and 1 TD and did an effective job of moving the ball, not turning it over, and already showcased his ability to move the team and score points in the 2 minute drill. Not bad for a guy who has been with the team for 12 days.

I thought that Favre looked very good. He showed great mobility for a guy almost 40 years old and he actually was able to create a few plays moving his feet and escaping the pocket. The arm strength is still there and his accuracy was fairly decent last night as well. I would suggest that the Vikings try to work on their blocking however, because I thought Favre had to scramble a little too much and a few throws were rushed. To have a great season, the Vikings will need to keep Favre off his back and give him the time he needs to pick apart defenses. The only mistake Favre made last night was throwing a pretty bad crackback block, which he got flagged for. I don’t believe it was a dirty play at all, but it certainly was a bad decision for him to be trying that.

From what I saw, the Vikings could actually be real contenders after all if they play to this level. Adrian Peterson is an absolute beast and he will take a great deal of pressure off of Favre. If he improves in the passing game and players like rookie WR Percy Harvin develop as the season goes along, then the sky could be the limit. I saw Favre make some really nice decisions last night as well. That is another key to success. Favre does not have to be a reckless gunslinger on this team. If he manages the game and does not turn the ball over, the Vikings will be rolling. Throw in a stout defense and you have the makings of a dangerous team. The only big question out there now: can Favre stay healthy and not wear down like he did last season? I really did not notice any ill effects of a potentially cracked rib. Favre took 2 sacks and got hit numerous times and I did not see him wincing in pain at all. So I guess we will just have to wait and see if he can survive and if any new reports surface about the ribs.

On a final note, the Houston Texans still look like they will be a .500 team at best this year. QB Matt Schaub has had his own injury issues and questions and he goes out there and sprains his ankle just running out of bounds. The Texans do have weapons on offense but an injury to Schaub will not help, especially when the defense still looks like it has a ways to go. The Texans have a good pass rush with DE Mario Williams, but if they can not get pressure on the opposing QB, it looks like they will get picked apart in the secondary. I hear some people talking playoffs for the Texans this year, and I am not sure that I buy that yet.

The Game’s Quick Hits

- Word has finally come in that Kansas City Chiefs QB Matt Cassel has a sprained MCL in his knee and could miss 2-4 weeks. This puts him in jeopardy of missing the Chiefs’ season opener against the Ravens on September 13. While I don’t like seeing players getting hurt, this is certainly good news for Ravens fans. Baltimore didn’t really need any extra help to beat the Chiefs come opening day, but if QB Tyler Thigpen is behind center for Kansas City, it could be an ugly day out there for them and a dominating performance for the Ravens to start the year. The Chiefs also fired offensive coordinator Chan Gailey on Monday, seemingly in response to the team’s poor offensive efforts in the preseason and dating back to last year. Truly, it seems as if the Chiefs are in a bit of turmoil here.

- In more injury news, Baltimore Ravens CB Samari Rolle was placed on the physically unable to perform list and will miss at least the first 6 weeks of the season. Rolle continues to have problems with his neck that plagued him last year and he intends to have more surgery to stabilize it and allow him to continue his career and not retire. Obviously, this is not news that Ravens fans wanted to hear, but hopefully Rolle will be able to recover and rejoin the team for the stretch run. I have to say, the Ravens look like they do not miss Rolle with the way the defense has looked this preseason. He has not practiced with the team and did not even make it to training camp, so this news does not come as any type of blow to the team. However, Rolle would be able to provide more depth and tons of experience, so I hope that the Ravens don’t suffer a rash of injuries in the secondary. I would like to wish Rolle well on his recovery. He has always been an effective player and good citizen of the NFL, so here’s to hoping he makes it back this year.

- New England Patriots QB Tom Brady finally broke his silence and told Boston radio station WEEI that he expects to play in the regular season opener and is ready to play this week in the team’s final preseason game if he is allowed. Don’t expect that however since the Patriots usually sit their starters in the final preseason game. So slowly this story and injury seem to be much ado about nothing. Have to wonder if some of those defensive ends and linebackers try to target Brady’s shoulder though.

-And in other Patriots news, LB Tedy Bruschi retired today as expected. Bruschi told everyone that his work was finished in the game and he achieved everything that he wanted to achieve. Sources are also saying that Chiefs LB Zach Thomas will also retire. Being a Ravens fan and being able to watch the excellence of LB Ray Lewis for years has allowed me to have a great deal of appreciation for the linebacker position. Bruschi and Thomas are two class acts and were highly effective players, so they will be missed. Hearty congratulations to them both for excellent careers.

- It also seems like the injury story on Buffalo Bills WR Terrell Owens is coming to an end. Owens returned to the practice field on Monday and the Bills could start hoping he would revive an offensive that has looked dead in the preseason since he went down with a sprained toe. I still believe it is only a matter of time before Owens runs his mouth or blows up totally after the team struggles or QB Trent Edwards starts to not get him the ball.

- In an update to the story on possible NCAA rules violations by University of Michigan football, former Michigan WR Toney Clemons, who has since transferred to Colorado, went on record and told ESPN that the allegation about Michigan violating NCAA rules on limiting how much time players can spend on training and practice are true. In fact, upwards of 10 players have spoken out and none dispute the report. Clemons told ESPN that he spent upwards of 12 hours on Sundays doing team activity and regularly went over the limits of 20 hours per week and 4 hours per day. As I speculated yesterday, these players have no reason to throw their team and University under the bus unless this story is true and it seems like it is. I am not surprised at all because Michigan football has been on a downward trend recently and Coach Rich Rodriguez has to be feeling the pressure. At a press conference on Monday, Rodriguez got teary several times and became emotional and flatly stated that he cares about the players, the coaches and the University know the rules and abide by them, and all this speculation is just an attempt to “tear up” the rebuilding efforts of the team. The University will have to try and argue that much of this time being put in by the players does not count against the “organized” time allotted because it is voluntary and they can claim that strength and conditioning personnel are only monitoring the workouts for safety purposes, which is allowed. To me, this is obviously an excuse to skirt the rules, so it will be interesting to see what ultimately goes down here. I hate to be cynical and all and maybe Rodriguez had nothing to do with any of this, but it seems obvious that the players got some kind of message to put in longer hours than they should have been. Or maybe it was just confusion and the time these players are putting in really is voluntary. My guess is that Michigan may “self-report” themselves for “minor” violations down the road and probably end up losing a scholarship or two.

- Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey has stated that C Yao Ming is progressing well from foot surgery and there is a slight chance he could actually return during the 2009-2010 season. Doctors have also stated that the injury does not appear to be career threatening any longer. Not much else to say on this except I am pleased to hear that Yao’s career is not in danger. He definitely is a dynamic player when healthy and one of the top centers in the league. Houston has seemingly had trouble, along with bad luck, finding a way to build a championship team around Yao, so they can only hope that he comes back healthy and they can begin to make progress.

- The Minnesota Timberwolves failed to reach an agreement to buyout PG Ricky Rubio’s contract and his rights were traded to FC Barcelona in Spain and he will not be able to join the Timberwolves until the summer of 2011. I have no desire to get into the specifics of the money and dealings and only wish to reiterate that the Timberwolves look like fools in this, in my opinion. This now becomes a wasted draft pick for 2 years and for a team that needs immediate help, I believe they should have traded this headache to another team because they had to have knowledge that this scenario could go down. I suppose the only consolation is that Rubio can still work on his game and will only be 20 years old in the summer of 2011. If this guy develops into a star, then I guess the whole thing will be worth it.

- Recently released P Brad Penny has cleared waivers and intends to sign with the San Francisco Giants. He is expected to immediately go into the starting rotation and replace Joe Martinez. Considering that I have never heard of Martinez and he is sporting a 7.52 ERA this year, this seems like an upgrade. If Penny can pitch 5 innings per outing and keep the Giants in games, then it is probably a good move. The Giants are now tied for the Wild Card with the Rockies, so maybe this move will put them over the top. Only time will tell…

- And staying in the NL West, the Dodgers tried to keep pace with the wheeling and dealing and last minute acquisitions of their rivals by trading for Jim Thome and P John Garland. They completed these transactions before the midnight deadline so that Thome and Garland are eligible to be on the Dodgers’ postseason roster. Thome has been strictly a DH the past two years with the White Sox, so who knows how they will be using him. Without question, it seems like LA is determined to try and win it with offense though. Garland could be an effective pickup and any added help when it comes to the rotation is welcomed. Only one more month to go until the postseason and things are certainly heating up.

- U.S. Open Update: #1 seed Roger Federer extended his U.S. Open winning streak to 35 matches by beating wild-card entry Devin Britton 6-1, 6-3, 7-5. A little surprising to see Federer get pushed to 7-5 in the 3rd against a wild-card, but obviously it is nothing of concern. No other big upsets occurred in today’s action, with only a few lower 20’s seeded players losing on the men’s and women’s side. The biggest surprise was probably the fact that #3 seed Venus Williams needed 3 sets and 2 hours, 43 minutes to win her first round match against 47th-ranked Vera Dushevina 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-3.