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It is a officially becoming a Shakespearian story. A lovable hero with a character flaw that has become way more than an achilles heel. Make no mistake, Ted Thompson and the Green Bay Packers have screwed this thing up so badly that the Quantum physics of this whole ordeal can't help but to irreparably damage the 2008 season.

Meanwhile, Aaron Rodgers, the unfortunate stepchild in this messy divorce has handled the situation very well. But, so what. If the Pack goes 12-4 this year, they were supposed to. On the other hand, every interception, every bad pass, every loss, every 4th quarter deficit that he was not able to overcome will haunt this team and their fan-base for years to come.

Meanwhile, whether or not Favre plays anywhere or not, the conversation has just gotten crazier by the day. A $20 million dollar buyout to stay home? Are you serious?

Ted Thompson is gutless. He's like the guy who dumps his girlfriend but will decide who she gets to date. Memo to Ted: Trade him to Minnesota, it's the only viable option left. You can't have it both ways. If you don't want him playing for you, why are so afraid to play against him?

I don't think it's appropriate to say that NBA referee Tim Donaghy got off lightly. Sure, he only got 15 months is prison instead of the 20-years some people speculated he might receive when this story took hold last fall, but his flagrant foul against the sport he loved has brought his life as he knows to an end... forever.

Even when he gets out, he'll serve 3-years of supervised time and he'll be watched more closely than Michael Richards at a BET convention. Add to that he's been ordered to pay $1.4 million in restitution. Given the sentence in total, you can see his antics have cost him dearly.

And in court, he was excoriated by the judge who told him that he was basically a disgrace and that his actions hurt many people, especially his family.

It's hard to believe that Tim Donaghy is the only culprit in this mess, but for now he's certainly the poster child for self-destruction. This story doesn't involve drugs, violence, alcohol abuse or even Madonna. But it does speak to a greater truth that once again reverence for authority is in full retreat in this country, even if it only involves a game.

Ah, the Circle of Life. What was golf like before Tiger? Hold that thought. After shooting back to back 70's at this week's British Open, Greg Norman got himself in position to win his first major in a while.

He looked relaxed and confident. Maybe his new marriage agrees with him. Maybe his $103 million dollar divorce settlement got him fired up.

Whatever it was we had a another great story developing. And even though he faltered on Sunday we all watched more fervently. Everyone wants to know who will carry the torch until Tiger returns. Do you remember back to 1997 who was the #1 player in the World before Tiger Woods emerged?

You guessed it...Greg Norman

It was the shark before the Tiger and now the shark was circling again even though in the end, he looked like a fish out of water..

Ah, the circle of life...

I hear caller after caller on talkshows say they are tired of the Favre story. I call Bulls***!

I want more. So far all we really have is the preview, the movie trailer... But, what's the end game? Does Favre play in Green Bay? Does he play elsewhere? Does he end up sitting out the year? Meanwhile, what kind of season do the Packers have? In the end there will only be one standard of measure this year. How many games do the Green Bay Packers win in 2008? Do they go 13-3 or 4-12? Or, somewhere in between? Now I come to my point. In the words of the great Ralph Waldo Emerson (or was it Jerry Glanville?) "The NFL stands for Not-For-Long if you don't win. This is a bottom-line win now league, and I am sure of one thing. The league is not kind to first-year starting QB's. So to those who say they have had enough of Brett Favre and that it's time to give this Mr. Rodgers a chance, don't complain if it turns out 'not to be a beautiful day in the neighborhood.' In the meantime, Memo to the folks that are sick of Brett Favre: He didn't rape anybody, sell drugs, hold up a bank or throw somebody through a plate-glass window. Why are you so pissed at this guy? He is guilty of wanting to play football. That's it! He wants to PLAY FOOTBALL!!!!!!!

Sure it's a little messy right now, but Mgt. needs to sit the hell down, crack open some Meunster cheese and figure it out. You were knocking on the door of the Super Bowl last year and you want to blow it up because he changed his mind a couple of times? What the hell? You can change your mind at Burger King, and even they don't take it personal, and you don't even have to be a Hall-of-Fame QB! I love this story and I want to know more. I want to see how it ends. Curly Lambeau and Vince Lombardi must be spinning in their graves. And if Ted Thompson doesn't check himself, he might be joining them soon. Favre's 4,000 yard performance probably earned Thompson 2-3 more years at the helm. And he wants to 'move-on?' Organizations are not successful because they 'move-on' or make arbitrary decisions. They are successful only if they win! Unless your name is Matt Millen or Red Klotz, you have to win to be successful!

The fact is, this story is just beginning and I want more.

Let's the games begin....

After watching his performance for the Texas Rangers this season, and the show he put on during the Home Run Derby Monday night, it's amazing to think that Josh Hamilton didn't play baseball at all for the 4-year period between 2002 and 2006. His troubles have been well chronicled, beginning with his car accident in 2001 to the incredible stranglehold that drug addiction had on him for the next several years.

Temporarily, he lost his baseball career, his family, his freedom, his sanity, and he almost lost his life. Now, he has been clean since Oct. 6, 2005, and he's passed every test.

He was given a chance to play ball and his rapid rise to the Major Leagues has been nothing short of miraculous. In just 675 career at-bats he already has 40 Home runs and a .302 lifetime average.

But more importantly, he is batting 1.000 when it comes to justifying the faith his close friends and family have in him. Three times every week, Hamilton is drug-tested. He actually looks forward to urinating in the cup because it gives him a chance to pass another test.

He likes passing these tests, it's his way of showing he is worthy of the fortune that is starting to come his way, and he wants to prove his worth.