You can't spell "interminable career" without "I-N-T"

As I said here, you simply can't believe Brett Favre is retired until all 32 teams have played a game and Favre has not suited up for any of them. After officially retiring for the second time this February, Favre is now in talks with the Vikings and might come back to play for them. I don't even know what the real story is at this point--first he was considering coming out of retirement, then he supposedly told Vikings coach Brad Childress he wanted to remain retired, and now he will reportedly play for them as long as his shoulder doesn't require "major" surgery.

Can anyone truly say they're shocked by these developments? This is what Brett Favre does. Why is it that some of the toughest, manliest athletes in the world are also the biggest drama queens? Why do people like Roger Clemens and Brett Favre lack the ability to anticipate how they might feel a few months down the road?

Now, I want to point out that I don't think these wishy-washy athletes tarnish their legacies by coming back to the game. The fact that Jordan came back to play for Washington for a couple years doesn't affect my opinion of him as a player even the tiniest bit. I don't look at Clemens', Jordan's or Favre's numbers any differently, I just think less of them for being insincere in their dramatic news conference retirements.

But here's the long and short of it: Come on back, Brett! Favre led the NFL last year with 29 interceptions, and he's thrown 84 over the last four seasons. He got hurt near the end of last season (hence Minnesota wondering if he needs major surgery) and the Jets fell apart down the stretch, going 1-4 and missing the playoffs. Sure he's a legend, but a 40-year-old interception prone quarterback coming off an injury? If I were allowed to pick a division to put him in, I'd go with the NFC North. Tillman and Vasher, get to work developing your post-interception dances, cuz you're gonna need plenty of them.

Granted, Favre is a step up over Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels, but as a Bears fan, I have absolutely no problem seeing #4 standing behind center when the Bears take on the Vikings. I don't want the drama of yet another season with post-retirement Favre, but I wouldn't mind the excitement of two Bears victories over Minnesota.

Cubs notes
The Cubs will be without Aramis Ramirez for about four to six weeks. Ryan Freel takes his place on the roster, and Bobby Scales started at third base Saturday.

This hurts, but the Cubs can deal with the loss if they can continue to get strong pitching and get some sort of contributions from guys like Bradley, Lee and Soto, who have done next-to-nothing to this point. The Cubs are two games over .500 despite minimal offensive contributions from several of their key players. Hopefully this injury will only cost them a few wins over the next month or two, and the Cubs can still be right in the thick of it when Ramirez returns.

MLB notes
-I was shocked to see that Evan Longoria's five RBI Saturday gave him 44 for the season. He's on pace to drive in 222 runs. Plus, Longoria's teammate Carlos Pena has 32 RBI--the two of them are on pace to drive in 380 runs this year, which would shatter the record of 347 set by Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth in 1931. The duo is 1-3 in the majors in RBI and 1-2 in HR (with Longoria first in RBI and second in HR).

(hat tip: Baseball Musings)

-Did you hear Bob Brenly pull a Steve Stone on Saturday? Micah Hoffpauir stepped up to the plate in the 5th, and Brenly said, "I don't do this very often, but I think Hoffpauir's going to hit one a long way right here." And on the first pitch he saw, Hoffpauir launched one out to right center. Great job, Micah; but even greater job, Bob Brenly.