Even Brett Favre’s courage and passion for football likely won’t be enough to bring him back for a second season with the Vikings.  Favre’s future was a storyline before and after last night’s NFC playoff game in New Orleans against the Saints.

Fox Sports reported before the game that the Vikings quarterback already knows what his decision will be but so far hasn’t announced whether he will retire.  If the Vikings know, they’re not saying.  “Don’t know if it’s his last or night,” said Vikings coach Brad Childress on KFAN Radio after the game.

Certainly Favre must wonder how much more stress and punishment his 40 year old body can endure.  He looked tired late in the season and never tried to deny during the fall that he was taking a beating on Sundays.

Some work days are worse than others, though, and last night he faced a cheap shot bunch from New Orleans that tried to hurt him.  There were blows aimed at Favre’s head and in the second half defensive end Bobby McCray dove at his legs.  The hit resulted in a sprained left ankle that a crippled Favre was able to overcome.

Time and again the Saints hit Favre as the Vikings offensive line failed him.  His protection all season was spotty, but Favre did the best Rocky Balboa imitation seen in the NFL in a long time.

But why continue on?  His family and friends have to fret a little more about his well being with each season.  Favre has had his doubts, too, twice retiring in the past, only to decide he wanted to play on.

Favre added to his legend with a superb season playing for the Vikings.  He performed with precision (the best passer rating of his career in the regular season) and consistency (only seven interceptions in 16 games).  When he wasn’t passing the Vikings to victories, he was wiling them to wins.

In the closing minute of last night’s fourth quarter he rolled right, threw across his body and saw the football intercepted and returned to the Saints’ 48 yard line.  That play ended the Vikings’ opportunity to try a long field goal to break a 28-28 tie.  Favre and the Vikings offense never had the ball again as the Saints won the coin toss to begin overtime, then drove to the Minnesota 22 yard line where Garrett Hartley kicked the field goal that sent New Orleans to the Super Bowl.

A lot of folks will be surprised if the game doesn’t send No. 4 into retirement (permanently).

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Top prep football recruit Seantrel Henderson told Sports Headliners on Saturday that his final list of potential college programs consists of Miami, Minnesota, Notre Dame, Ohio State and USC.  Henderson was in attendance at the Gophers-Michigan State basketball game on Saturday.

The Cretin-Derham Hall offensive tackle said his college choice will be announced on signing day for prep players, Wednesday, February 3.  Henderson was the No. 1 choice of Rivals.com as the nation’s best prep football player for many months and now is ranked No. 2, https://rivals100.rivals.com/viewrank.asp?SID=880&Year=2010&ra_key=2369.  Media sources doubt that Minnesota will be Henderson’s final choice for a scholarship, but that won’t discourage Gophers coach Tim Brewster from selling his product.

ESPN will tape a segment of its one hour “Homecoming” show on Wednesday night at Cretin-Derham Hall.  Host Rick Reilly will interview Cretin alum and Twins catcher Joe Mauer.

Cornerback Marcus Sherels, who completed his eligibility with the Gophers in December, is training locally for the NFL draft.  His brother, Mike Sherels, said Marcus is being trained by Billy Welle, the same trainer used by Minneapolis native Larry Fitzgerald, the Arizona All-Pro wide receiver.

New Gophers offensive coordinator Jeff Horton was quarterbacks coach for Barry Alvarez at Wisconsin for six years.  He was a graduate assistant for the Gophers in 1984 under Lou Holtz.

Former Gophers national championship coach Murray Warmath celebrated his 97^th birthday last month.  When Warmath was a player at Tennessee he played against Bear Bryant who was at Alabama and later coached the Crimson Tide to national championships.  Bryant died in 1983 but Warmath may live to be 100 or more.

The Gophers hockey team, 4-3 and 4-1 losers to St. Cloud State over the weekend,  is 12-0-0 when holding opponents to fewer than three goals.  Minnesota is 0-12-2 when its opponents score three goals or more.

Fans were entertained at the Wild’s skills competition yesterday including by forward Cal Clutterbuck’s first attempt in the hardest shot competition that registered zero miles per hour on a faulty radar gun.  Later he had a 99 miles per hour shot, fastest of the day.

Defenseman Kim Johnsson went 4-for-5 to win the accuracy shooting competition. Defenseman Shane Hnidy wowed the crowd with an iimpressive shootout goal to win the best style in the shootout challenge.

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It’s a good guess that suspended Gophers forward Royce White will play in his first game for Minnesota within a couple of weeks, and that point guard Al Nolen won’t regain his academic eligibility until next season when he will be a senior.

The Gophers missed Nolen’s defense on All-Big Ten Michigan State point guard Kalin Lucas who scored 22 points on Saturday during his team’s 65-64 win.  Spartans coach Tom Izzo said Kalin’s performance was his best of the season, and that MSU was out played for “37 or 38 minutes.”

Devoe Joseph, who went from substitute to starter because of Nolen’s ineligibility, played 36 minutes and scored 16 points, with seven assists.  Gophers coach Tubby Smith said Joseph has “great stamina” and is probably in the best physical shape of any Gopher.

At his post game news conference, Smith appeared somewhat discouraged after the last minute loss to the Spartans, the third straight defeat for this team, now 3-4 in the Big Ten and 12-7 overall.   A win would have given the Gophers a signature victory over a top 10 team.  Instead, the Gophers must now win against Northwestern at home tomorrow night to avoid a disastrous January.

Gophers freshman forward Rodney Williams will be the No. 11 pick of the New Orleans Hornets in 2011, according to https://www.nbadraft.net/2011mock_draft.  Ames, Iowa prep star Harrison Barnes, who committed to North Carolina after turning down the Gophers and many other schools, will be the No. 2 pick in the draft, joining the Timberwolves.

Teal Bunbury, a Prior Lake native, was the fourth choice in the first round of Major League Soccer’s draft earlier this month after being selected by Kansas City.

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