Author: David Shama

Brett Favre, 37, the old “gunslinger” who just won’t retire to catch the fastest train to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the guy who is public enemy No. 1 to passionate Vikings fans, comes with his (somewhat) rejuvenated Green Bay Packers to the Metrodome on Sunday.  Favre, by the way, is a bit rejuvenated himself having quarterbacked the Packers, 4 wins, 12 losses last season and 1-4 to start this season, to two wins in Green Bay’s last three game. 

Favre had played three straight games without throwing an interception until last Sunday when he was intercepted twice in a 24-10 loss to Buffalo. Still, he has thrown four touchdown passes in his last three games as the Packers improved their record to 3-5.   

In the past there’s been talk, including from loyalists in Green Bay, that Favre should retire or be traded. But he is full of football life.  Heck, in the Packers’ home game against Arizona on October 29 he attempted a not-so successful “Lambeau Leap” into the stands to celebrate his first rushing touchdown in a few years.   

This is the stuff of legends and Favre is adding to a legacy that includes three straight seasons as the NFL’s most valuable player.  He’s always played with passion and been hell-bent to succeed even when facing physical and emotional challenges.  He was, by the way, once recognized by a national magazine as the toughest guy in America. 

Viking place kicker Ryan Longwell, who played nine seasons with Favre in Green Bay, talked recently about his former teammate.  He said Favre has a childlike enthusiasm to play football and he may continue on for multiple seasons. “He just loves the game so much,” Longwell said.   

Longwell hasn’t seen any decrease in the “velocity” of Favre’s passes.  “When he gets time to throw the ball, he can pick apart everybody,” Longwell said. 

Favre lives in a “fish bowl” in Green Bay, Longwell said, and because of the public attention Favre generates he can’t go out to dinner or the movies.  Longwell remembered attending a movie with his friend where Favre had to enter the theater after the lights went off. “He’s larger than life over there,” Longwell said. 

In a different way, Favre is pretty big stuff over here, too.  Awhile back Sports Illustrated wrote that Favre was considered sports enemy No. 1  by Minnesota fans. 

Over the years Longwell has been “amazed” at the accuracy and velocity of Favre’s passes. He said the the 16-year veteran can still make throws that separate him from other quarterbacks.  Talk to Longwell, though, and you learn quickly he admires Favre as a person and enjoys his company.  Both are three to four handicappers and played golf together during their Packer days. 

“If you can’t get along with Brett, you probably have got some issues,” Longwell said.

The Timberwolves opened their season at home last Wednesday night.  Now they are nearing the end of a four game trip playing in Los Angeles against the Lakers tonight.  The travels began with back to back nights in Denver and Portland (a win, then a loss, with both games decided late in the fourth quarter).  Last night another loss, this one in Sacramento.  Four games in five nights are unusual and only a five game road trip later in the schedule appears more challenging. 

“It’s going to be fun getting out there and playing back to backs every other day, and it gives us a chance to see where we’re at,” said Wolves guard Ricky Davis before the road trip started. 

Ending the schedule in Los Angeles should be fun.  A lot of players enjoy the glamour of Los Angeles including the who’s who scene at the Staples Center where somebody like Jack Nicholson may offer a sarcastic comment now and then.   

The Lakers, 3-1, could be the surprise of the league and before the season began looked like a team that might block the Wolves from earning the sixth, seventh or eighth spot in the Western Conference.  The Lakers won their first three games, including two wins without super star Kobe Bryant who led the NBA scoring last season and is Charles Barkley’s pick to win the league’s MVP award.  Wolves’ guard Troy Hudson said Bryant is “probably the best one-on-one player in the entire league.”   

The Lakers, 45-37  last season and a first round loser to Phoenix in the playoffs, have been led by versatile forward Lamar Odom, averaging 23.8  points per game and making 67  percent of his three point shots.  Hudson admires Odom’s skills that include handling the ball and passing like a point guard.  “He definitely compares with the better players in the league,” Hudson said. 

Odom and Bryant are the stars but the team has improved players such as forward Luke Walton and 19-year-old center Andrew Bynum who are making a difference.  The Lakers have been playing with unity and enthusiasm, not too surprising since coach Phil Jackson is a passionate teacher of team play. 

The Lakers, who play 15 of their first 20 games at home, will want to get another home court victory against the Wolves.  Minnesota, 9-32 on the road last season, hopes to end with a somewhat successful but trying road trip.

St. Paul Saints owner Mike Veeck has known Detroit Tigers president Dave Dombrowski for 30 years and includes him among his “closest friends.”  They worked together with the Chicago White Sox in the 1970’s and Dombrowski helped Veeck with his alcoholism in the 1980s. 

Veeck said the Tigers’ success starts with his friend who he describes as a “great judge” of talent.  Unlike some presidents who aren’t well schooled in baseball, Dombrowski has an extraordinary mind for knowledge and details about players.  He also doesn’t hesitate to “pull the trigger” on trades and speaks his mind, according to Veeck. “The thing I love about him is he tells you what he thinks of a player,” Veeck said. “He doesn’t care who is in the room.” 

Veeck said Dombrowski “runs a scout driven organization” and that scouts, even low level ones, are loyal to their boss.  When Dombrowski changes teams, they follow. Dombrowski built contending teams in Montreal and Florida in the 1990s and his 1997 Marlins won the World Series. 

Veeck predicts the Tigers, a young team that made it to the World Series before losing to St. Louis, will be a force in the American League for the next few years.

What happened in the series where they lost to the Cardinals in six games?  “They (as a young team) have got to learn to win,” Veeck said.