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Unbelievable

Brett Favre is kind of like my cousin. You know which cousin I'm talking about. The one that does something, than does the opposite, and you think 'What?'. They seem to be doing it all for the attention, and you begin to hate it. Yet at the end of the day, you still love them. Every time you see them, you say 'This is the last time', but it continues over and over. So when Brett Favre said he had "the itch to play", was anyone really surprised? When I first heard about it, I was a little taken back, but there wasn't all that much shock. The real shock was when the reports that he could play for the Vikings came out.

As a Vikings fan, naturally I have some strong feelings about the situation. I don't hate Brett Favre, in fact, I don't really mind him as a person. He isn't my one of my favorite players, but I don't want to kill him. That being said, I do hate watching him kill the Vikings over and over again, and I don't like the Packers. So because of this, I can't exactly see him smiling, having fun and throwing his teammates around...in a Vikings uniform. I just don't really know how it would all come together.

That being said, I also think he could help the Vikings. While Tarvaris Jackson is better than people give him credit for, he isn't an All-Pro QB yet. If Favre came, he could help Jackson a lot, and he could also provide many pointers to John David Booty. I know Favre isn't the most fundamentaly sound QB in the world, and he does make lots of mistakes. But the guy is a Super Bowl champion, and is one of the 10 best QB's ever; so he could teach a lot to those two young guys.

So all in all, I guess I would not mind if Brett Favre came to the Vikings. Now, lots of things would have to happen in order for this to come together. However, I think that the Packers need to go with Aaron Rodgers as their QB. Favre won't be able to play forever, and their franchise can't continue to wait around while #4 decides whether he wants to play or not. So if he does come back, I think the Packers should let him go and move on, which is a very likely proposition. If that happens, it would be interesting to see if Favre decided to play for the Vikings. But if he did, I think I'd be alright with it.

A Huge Trade

With Carsten Charles Sabathia, it is a huge affair. Whether he is hitting monster home runs, flashing that gigantic smile, or downing those chili dogs, it's always big when C.C. comes around. So when the Indians announced that they were trading the Cy Young Winner from last year, there were some big implications. The final trade was Sabathia going to the land of cheese for Matt LaPorta, Rob Bryson, Zach Jackson and a player to be named. With baseball, implications are always many, and this trade was no exception.

The Brewers are now a serious contender in the National League. Not only in the wildcard, but they have a case for winning the NL Central. With Sabthia and Ben Sheets, Milwaukee now has a very good 1-2 punch. Sheets has gone 10-2 with a 2.77 ERA while Sabathia has a 3.83 ERA. Those two form a very admirable first two of the Brewers rotation. But this situation seems almost too good to be true, so what is the catch? Both Sabathia and Sheets are going to be free agents at the end of this year; and both are expected to be asking for a ton of money. Before Sabathia, it was likely that Sheets could be gone, and now with both of them, one will have to go. So the Brewers are going for it this year, and they have a chance. Sabathia is 6-0 combined against the Reds, Pirates and Cardinals.

For the Indians, it means that they have given up the chance to win the division, although I guess anything is possible. But much like a few years back when the traded All-Star closer Bob Wickman, the Indians are parting with arguably their best pitcher after failing to live up to expectations. However, it isn't all bad news in Cleveland. It was widely regarded that Sabathia would be gone after this year, so they probably got a good deal recieving some prospects with a lot of potential, led by LaPorta, who is hitting .288 with 20 HR's and 66 RBI's at AA Huntsville.

With this trade, both teams seem to get a good trade out of it. The Brewers got the reinging Amerian League Cy Young winner to help anchor their rotation as they try to make a playoff push. Much like when the Indians traded Bartolo Colon for Grady Sizemore and Cliff Lee; Cleveland has traded a star for some prospects that could make a big impact in the future. Until then, we'll have to wait and see if C.C. has a big impact in Milwaukee.

A Truly Great Event

Yes, I am talking about tennis. This Sunday, the men's championship took place at the All England Club for the Wimbledon championship. Roger Federer had won five Wimbledon championships in a row, and had established himself as the best player in the world on grass. Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal won his fourth French Open title in a row; recently beating Roger Federer 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 at Roland Garros. Nadal was dominant on clay, Federer was dominant on grass. If Nadal wanted to become the first man since Bjorn Borg to win Wimbledon and the French Open in the same year, he would have to go through Federer.

As Federer tried to become the first person in over 100 years to win six straight Wimbledon titles, he needed to go through Nadal. The match started out with Nadal playing excellent as he won the first two sets to go up 6-4, 6-4. But in the third set, Federed battled back to win the set 7-6. The fourth set was when it really got crazy. Nadal had two match points, but Federer managed to come back from all of them to win the set 7-6, and tie the match at two sets a piece.

In the fifth set, it was evident that both Federer and Nadal were not as strong as they were at the beginning of the match. There had been three rain delays, which had caused more than two hours of delays. The third delay came when the fifth set was tied at 2-2. In a side note, Centre Court will be getting a retractable roof in time for  next year's Wimbledon. Anyway, as play resumed, both Federer and Nadal were still playing at a very high level as Federer took a 5-4 lead. When the sixth game came winding down, Federer needed just two points two win the match. But Nadal was able to get them, and eventually they played to tie the set at 7. After that, Nadal won both games, and dropped to his feat, out of many emotions.

When it was all said and done, Rafael Nadal had defeated Roger Federer 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 9-7. It was the longest final in Wimbledon history, and it was one of the best. For those of us who did see it, you know what I mean. Federer's streak of 65 matches won on grass was over, and Nadal had established himself as arguably the number one player in the world. With Nadal just 22 years old and Federer just 26, this could be a rivalry that lasts for years to come.

Agent Zero Gets Some Zeroes

Leave it up to Gilbert Arenas to make some noise. Last week, he opted out of his contract to become a free agent. He did this fully expecting to re-sign with the Washington Wizards, and unlike Baron Davis, he stayed true to his word. He signed a six year contract worth $111 million. That is a lot of money, and he is probably overpaid. But the most intriguing about his new contract? He was offered $127 million; and he turned it down. "I'm basically giving back $16 million" he said; "What can I do for my family with $127 million that I can't do with $111 million?". For starters, he can't even feed his family! Long live Latrell Sprewell!

But if someone was going to do this, wouldn't a likely person be Agent Zero? This is the guy who wasn't supposed to get recruited, and was shouldn't have gotten a scholarship from Arizona. When he got it, he wasn't supposed to get any minutes, so he wore #0. When he left, he wasn't supposed to succeed in the NBA. So once again, he wore #0. This is a guy who throws his jersey into the stands after every game "so one less kid has to shell out $200 bucks on an authentic jersey". How can you not like this man?

So, why did he turn down $16 million? It is so that he can help his team. By turning down all of that money, he allowed the Wizards to sign Antwan Jamison, and they still have some for Caron Butler when his contract is up; if those three are still playing together. Personally, I think this is great. An athlete is finally showing that there is more to his team than himself, and that the money can go elsewhere.

Granted, Arenas will still be making $111 million, which is far more than most Americans come close to. But in this day and age, and with everything wrong with the NBA, isn't it nice to at least see something like this? Even if it isn't all that big of a risk, in this case, it is the thought that counts. And personally? I think it's great.

You Heard it Here First

That;s right, I am talking about the New York Mets. What am I saying? That the Mets are going to have a huge second half and make the playoffs. Yes, I did just say that. Now, this might not seem like that bold of a prediction, but I guess you can take it however you want, lol. Currently, the Mets are 45-44 and are in third place. They are behind both the Florida Marlins and the Philadelphia Phillies, and are just ahead of the Atlanta Braves. They are in fourth place in the wild card, behind Flrorida, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Milwaukee Brewers. So why do I think they will make the playoffs?

First of all, they have had many injury problems. Pedro Martinez missed some serious time. Ryan Church was hurt. Plenty of guys on their roster were out, and some still are. Moises Alou, Luis Castillo, Orlando Hernandez, the list goes on and on. But they will be coming back, and will help a lot. When the whole roster is healthy, this is a very good team. When Trot Nixon, Damion Easley and Fernando Tatis are playing, they aren't quite as competetive. That's nothing against those guys, and Easley has actually filled in nicely. But those three aren't Castillo, Alou and Church.

Next, the Mets acquirred Johan Santana for a reason. They needed someone who could be at the front of the rotation and dominate down the stretch. Santana hasn't had a Cy Young type of season so far, but he has an ERA of just 2.96. He has always been a good pitcher in the first half, and a dominating one in the second half. In the second half of the year, Santana has been nearly unhittable, and has won two Cy Young awards off of that. With him leading the way, look for some improvement.

Next, they will be out to prove that they are a better team than last yeat suggets, and that they deserve respect. It might not seem like much, but I think it could make a difference in the second half. David Wright didn't make the All-Star team. Jose Reyes didn't make the All-Star team. Carlos Beltran didn't make the All-Star team. Santana didn't make the All-Star team. Should they have made it? That is debatable, but I'm sure some of them think they should have, even if they aren't saying it. Combine that with everything else, and the key players on this team will really want to do some damage. 

The Mets do have weaknesses, but so does every other team, although they are getting better by the day. Carlos Delgado is finally producing well, and he has 15 HR's. The managerial situation is over, and Jerry Manuel seems to have the team under control. With everything combined, I think that the Mets will cause some surprises make a serious run for the postseason.