Will he or won't he? Slim offers his thoughts on the Brett Favre saga.

Since Richie filled in for Casey and offered his opinion on the Brett Favre saga, I figured I would do the same thing. After nearly a three month hiatus, I am returning to the Sports Xtra blog forum as Q2’s “guest blogger.”

Brett Favre is without question a first ballot hall of famer and one of the most entertaining athletes the NFL has ever seen. His passion and love for the game continually made him a fan favorite. Favre holds almost all of the meaningful career records for quarterbacks and has started the last 253 regular season games he played in, making him the most durable quarterback in NFL history. At age 38, Favre’s 2007 season will go down as one of his best, but Green Bay’s season ended on a Brett Favre interception.

Now, in mid-July, Favre is contemplating un-retirement, just as he predicted he would during his retirement press conference. He has always had the desire to play on Sundays; it is the rest of the week that led to his retirement. On Sundays, Brett Favre is still one of the top quarterbacks in the game, but Packer management appears to be ready to move forward into the Aaron Rodgers era. Favre has asked for his release, which, understandably, has raised eyebrows around the sports world.

Fans and experts alike are wondering the same things: If Favre comes back, where will it be? If it’s not Green Bay, will it be the same? Is he 100 percent committed? How much does he have left? I am going to tackle these questions in reverse order, culminating with my answer to, “Where will Brett Favre play in 2008?”

How much does Brett Favre have left in the tank?

Athletically, Favre isn’t the same quarterback he was five years ago, but he is much smarter and much more careful with the ball than he was earlier in his career. He still has the arm strength to play in the West Coast offense that doesn’t ask a quarterback to make many deep throws. He still has the durability, resiliency, and competitiveness to play every Sunday. Brett Favre still has gas left in the tank, and I’m not going to say he’s on empty until we see it.

Is Favre 100 percent committed to be a starting NFL quarterback?

Simply put, I don’t think so. I said earlier that on Sundays, Favre will be there, and his team will be able to count on him. He still enjoys playing the game and will lay it all on the line to help his team win. However, he retired and said he doesn’t want to put his body through training camp and practice. That says he lacks 100 percent commitment, but one day a week, he will show up at the stadium and be ready to go.

If Favre returns to the NFL, will it be with Green Bay? If not, how will it affect his legacy?

If he returns, it should be with Green Bay, but I’m not so sure it will be. Favre and Packer management are at odds right now, making this reunion unlikely. Things can change in a hurry, though, if Aaron Rodgers struggles in training camp or goes down with a preseason injury. Green Bay is not ready to move forward with Brian Brohm as their quarterback, so Favre could hear his number called if something happens to Rodgers.

There are only a couple of other options out there for Favre: Atlanta, Baltimore, Carolina, Miami, Tampa Bay, and Washington. Minnesota is not an option. Green Bay won’t let it happen, and I honestly don’t think the Vikings are that interested. You can probably count out Atlanta and Miami if Favre wants to win. Washington looks like they’re ready to continue the Jason Campbell era, leaving Favre’s options as Baltimore, Carolina, and Tampa Bay. Of those three, Tampa Bay makes the most sense from a football standpoint. They run a West Coast offense, coach Jon Gruden collects quarterbacks, and, with Favre, are a Super Bowl contender. Unfortunately, I have to agree with Richie and say Tampa is a good fit. However, I doubt it happens. If Favre returns, it will be in Packer green and gold.

Brett Favre Comeback???

Q2's Richie Melby here filling in for Casey with a hot sport topic in the world right now. You can admit it, you're sick of hearing about Brett Favre and this potential comeback. I have always been a Brett Favre fan but the whole retire and un-retire thing is a little ridiculous. It reminds me of a great former NBA player who thought it was time to hang up the shoes but wasn't quite ready to go. The media makes a huge frenzy about stories like this to the point where the actual significance of the story is no longer present.

But enough ranting...let's get down to business. As a Tampa Bay Bucs fan (don't even ask) I'm more than welcome to the idea that we're a possible front runner in the Favre saga. To see Brett behind center in a Tampa Bay uniform would make my day (not that we need anymore QB's but don't get me started on that). Anyways the real question here is what do you all think? We want to hear your take about the Brett Favre comeback; whether you think he should stay retired, play for the Packers, be traded to a new team, or whatever. Just respond to this blog with your thoughts or suggestions about #4 and his return. No matter where you stand it sure is making for an interesting off-season.

On the Trail: Back at Home (after some issues)

Mustangs fans, we made it back to Billings. After 5 days of On the Trail with the Mustangs, their 14 game road trip came to a halt after a big win over the Voyagers. Then it was time for the long, late bus ride back to Billings. I know that the players were excited to get back (mostly to play in front of a home crowd, but I understand that some players' girlfriends are coming to Billings so that adds to their excitement!) If you haven't checked out the coverage from this final day (On the Trail: Mustangs ready for Billings home games), make sure and look it up on the website. The Mustangs were very relaxed as I interviewed them today and their answers were pretty amusing. I think they were pumped up to beat Great Falls and enter their Billings homestand on a high note.

Tomorrow night's game is going to be awesome so make sure you come and check it out. I'll be out there with a camera so come up and say hello! I just might get you on camera and throw you on the news. Also don't forget to send all of the pictures you take of yourself, friends, and family to www.ktvq.com so we can put them on our Dehler Park website. Go crazy with those cameras people. It's your chance for your work to be seen by us. I'm excited to see what kind of pictures you guys come up with so make sure and send them all to us.

Tonight's return home got interesting for Kyle and I. About the time we reached Ryegate, maybe a little passed there, we ran into a little trouble. We were playing a music trivia game where we had to come up with Hit songs from the 90's (such as The Boy is Mine by Brandy and Monica) DON'T LAUGH IT WAS KEEPING US AWAKE AND ALERT!!! All of a sudden Bambi and his mother darted across the road and I was driving and forced to slam on the brakes. I went into the left lane to avoid hitting the mother and ended up clipping Bambi and tearing off a piece of our Jeep's bumper. Could have been much worse but still what an ending to our roadtrip!

We got back into the station a little before Jennifer and Rob showed up for the morning show. Make sure and check out all of Montana This Morning in about an hour and a half. Also for all of the latest coverage on the Mustangs continue to log onto the website and stay tuned to the 5:30 and 10 news where we will welcome the Mustangs into their new home at Dehler Park. Hope you all liked our coverage from On The Trail with the Mustangs. See you at Dehler Park in about 14 hours!!

-Richie

On The Trail: Final Game Pre-Day

Hello Mustangs fans, Richie coming to you on our final day of On the Trail with the Mustangs. Their 14 game road trip is finally coming to a halt after tonight's Game 3 with the Great Falls Voyagers. I know these guys are excited to get to Billings. They're a little tired from the long days on the road and in the heat (it's about 92 degrees right now from what I'm told). I just got to the field and am waiting for the team to arrive so I can get those last interviews from them and we'll send them your way for Scott to report on the news.
After the game tonight we'll be making the drive back to Billings where hopefully we can get the Mustangs arriving at Dehler Park (Check out our Dehler web site) so we can see their first reaction of being in Billings and seeing their home field. More on that on Montana This Morning tomorrow.
Anyways log back on after awhile and we'll have all of the latest pictures from life on the road. Until then I either need to find some suntan lotion or get in the shade.

-Richie

Here are some pics of the Sunday night's light malfunction at Dehler:

On The Trail: No Habla Espanol

Well what can I say? I've spent the past 4 days with the Mustangs; hanging around them, listening and talking with them and so on. Today I decided to get to know some of the Spanish speaking players and all I can say is that the 3 years of Spanish I took in school was time well wasted. I couldn't keep up or understand hardly anything they were saying. If you haven't already seen the story make sure and check it out. I had to find out about the challenges that occur between the Americans and the foreign players. How do they hang out and talk with one another? What do they talk about? All that good stuff. Most of the players speak at least a little bit of English so it works out alright. The American players try to pick up on Spanish but most of them have no idea what they're actually saying. It was fun looking into that aspect of the team.

The weather has been RIDICULOUSLY hot up here in Great Falls (as well as everywhere else). Alot of the players and staff have been saying that this is nothing compared to where they come from. And since many of them reside in Texas, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, etc...I think they know what actual heat is like. Still if I get sunburned any worse it may cause some problems.

Only one more road game to go and I'm hearing that Dehler Park was having issues with the lights tonight. Well I hope they get that all worked out by Tuesday because the Mustangs are growing more and more excited to get back to Dehler and play. Might be difficult to play a game when it gets dark and the lights aren't working correctly. I'm sure they'll get it all figured out and Tuesday's home game will be good for the community.

If you haven't already, make sure to check out the latest Exclusive stories we have posted on the website. There's some pretty good stuff on there including the story on Ed Cohen, the play by play radio guy, sneak peeks at life in the dugout, and of course everything else we have done so far on this trip. I'll be back tomorrow with more updates. Have a good night.

-Richie
(PS special shout out tonight to Stef and Courtney. Courtney for hanging out even though she has to be up at 5AM tomorrow and Stef for putting up with me and my field producer, Kyle. Thanks ladies. You're the best!!)

The Rundown

Ed Cohen invited me up to the skybox as he announced the play-by-play live for the Billings radio listeners. Thanks again Ed!
I will have a web exclusive story on Ed on KTVQ.COM's Mustangs page later this week!

I also shot video of some of the team's Latin-American players trying to master another game that the Great Falls ball club uses for promotions between innings.... (Click here to play online)

I'll have a full story about the Latin-American players on the 5:30 News and online...

Here are two pics of the team: Pitchers have thier meeting with Tom and Tony works with the guys on their swing (Best to stay behind the netting)

Mustangs ride over to Great Falls' Centene Staduim

The next long bus trip is to the Magic City! As Billings fans await the team's first home game, the boys of summer are focused on winning on the road - here in Great Falls.

When we (Field Producer Ricky K and I) first arrived at Centene Park, we met up with our Great Falls sister station's weekend sports caster. KRTV's own Greg Smith. The whole news team over at "KR" is very accommodating to our needs as we continue to send reports back to Billings for the Q2 Newscast.

I was able to catch up with Mustangs Manger Julio Garcia after he shopped online for cross-trainers and before the team's pre-game conditioning. We already have an interview with Garcia up on our website.

As we waited with the team for practice to start, the temperature was reaching near 90! Some of the guys that came up from Florida were saying that it was nice (sans the high humidity). Everybody's favorite European-in-Montana weathercaster, Hedi, reported Saturday that we should expect 93 on Sunday and near 100 on Monday.... Summer finially showed up in Montana. (Click here to view Great Fall's weathercast)

During the game Garcia granted me access the dugout. Now I can show you a new point of view on what it is like to be a Mustang. Kyle was able to grab a shot of me during the second inning.... This will be great for my scrapbooking class.... I mean... show the ladies at the bar.

As with every trip from Helena to Great Falls, I continued an American tradition - taking pictures of landmarks from the windshield of a moving car. Here's a pic of the "Sleeping Giant"