Left field
The Reuters global sports blog
The Lineman: Week Seven NFL Picks
By Steve Keating
That was more like it, a very solid 5-1 effort in Week 6 after a very tough month of average results.
Could we be perfect in lucky Week 7? Feels good.
Record: 19-17. Last week 5-1
Pick of the Week: 5-1
PICK OF THE WEEK
Green Bay Packers (6-0) at Minnesota Vikings (1-5)
(Lines Packers minus-8.5)
Doesn’t it seem a long time ago that Brett Favre was the only storyline that matter in this NFC North rivalry?
Now it is rookie Christian Ponder starting at quarterback for the floundering Vikes, who are flatter than the Metrodome roof after a snowstorm.
Going against the unbeaten Super Bowl champs is probably not the best way to get your feet wet as an NFL quarterback but the Vikings appear to have given up on Donovan McNabb and will get a chance to see what Ponder can do under fire.
Who will have last laugh in Favre’s finale?
‘Unnecessary Roughness’ is a new regular column on the NFL from an international perspective written by Simon Evans, a British born Reuters sports reporter in Miami.
There is something both admirable and tragic about the way in which Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre is ending his NFL career and on Thursday we should get a clue to whether we are to witness one last year of fine passing and success for Favre and his Vikings or hobbling and interceptions from a soon to be 41-year-old quarterback.
Lack of direction in Green Bay after Favre return
To understand what the National Football League and the beloved Packers mean to the residents of Green Bay you need only ask for directions.
Chances are that sooner or later you will find yourself on Lombardi Ave or Holmgren Way, or might swing by Brett Favre Pass or find yourself on the newly paved Aaron Rodgers Avenue.
Brett Favre: career renaissance at 40?
In one of the most anticipated games of the season, in two rabidly partisan Midwestern states, Brett Favre has gone from beloved icon of the Green Bay Packers to leader of the hated Minnesota Vikings. The dislike reached Hatfield-McCoy proportions Monday night when Favre triumphed 30-23 over the team he proudly represented for sixteen years.
According to the New York Times, the showdown attracted an average of 21.8 million viewers, the biggest audience in the history of cable television, exceeding the 18.6 million who watched the Philadelphia Eagles-Dallas Cowboys game in September 2008 on ESPN.
Favre soap opera is getting a little tired
The Brett Favre saga continued this week when the future Hall of Fame quarterback un-retired yet again to join the Minnesota Vikings.
No one should be able to tell Favre when he should stop playing, but the 39-year-old 10-times Pro Bowler has fumbled his retirement so badly he’s become a national punch line.
Technology and the modern sports fan
“What are you doing?” This simple question is the basic premise of Twitter, the growing social media website that has transformed how many fans get their daily dose of sports news.
In addition to the newsfeeds provided by established brands (@ReutersSport is a good one!) there are feeds directly from the major sports offices (@MLB,@NFL, @NBA). Then there are the athletes themselves, providing everything from perspective on current events to personalized fan interaction.
Too Hard To Say Goodbye
In order to put yourself at the top of any sport (or any profession), it usually requires a mental toughness that differentiates you from the pack. A drive to not only succeed, but to persevere is programmed into the psyche for these men and women.
The signing of future Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martinez and the ongoing saga surrounding former/current NFL quarterback Brett Favre are just some recent examples. To get yourself in the mindset to compete you train your mind just as any other set of muscles, but it can be tough for these greats to just call it quits and walk away. If you’ve never let injury or exhaustion hold you back, how can aging be viewed in a different light?
Should Brett Favre come out of retirement…again?
Although NFL training camps are still weeks away, each passing day brings new reports suggesting that Brett Favre is about to come out of retirement for a second time in as many years. The Vikings have openly admitted their interest and Favre has done the same.
While the New York Jets and Green Bay Packers are trying to rebuild around younger quarterbacks, the Minnesota Vikings appear to be willing to throw a proverbial Hail Mary pass to an aging quarterback in the hopes he can take them to the Promised Land.
