The on again off again Brett Favre-to-the-Vikings saga is dead......for now. Favre spoke to Minnesota head coach Brad Childress before he was scheduled to fly to Hattiesburg, Mississippi & told him he wanted to stay retired........for now. Favre hates surgery & it was generally thought he would have to undergo a procedure to repair a bicep tendon that tore around week 10 least season. We'll see if this decision to stay retired results in him filing retirement papers with the NFL, something he hasn't done so far. So I'm going to try not to speak of Favre going to the Vikings......for now.

Apparently Sports Illustrated's Peter King can get it wrong just like everybody else. Yesterday King reported ex-Colt wide receiver, Marvin Harrison had decided to retire. Today thru his agent, Tom Condon, Harrison made it clear he isn't retiring & expects to play this season. Who might be interested in Marvin right now is unknown, but if he wants to play, I'm sure someone will step forward & offer him at least a one-year deal.

The Denver Broncos have signed yet another running back, oy vey. They already had 4 leftover RB's from last year, they signed Correll Buckhalter, J.J. Arrington & LaMont Jordan in free agency, then they drafted Georgia's Knowshon Moreno. And today they signed Darius Walker, also a free agent, formerly of Notre Dame & the Houston Texans. That gives them 9 tailbacks going into camp. The overkill meter has been pegged.

The Miami Dolphins announced today that they had sold the naming rights to their stadium. What was once Pro Player Stadium is now Landshark Stadium.  Named after the beer company O.K., but doesn't it sound kind of weird the Dolphins play at Landshark?

Jet quarterback Kellen Clemons has raised a valid issue. Does his agent, David Dunn, who also represents 1st round draft pick, QB Mark Sanchez, have a conflict of interest problem?  Seem like it to me, Dunn should only have one horse in this race.

Tyrone McKenzie, the New England linebacker who tore his ACL last Saturday during rookie mini camp, is going to be taken care of with a proper contract. Drafted, but unsigned, rookies are able to participate in mini camps pursuant to a "letter of protection". He is entitled to the average of the contracts for the guy drafted in front of him & the one immediately after he was selected.  Oregon CB Keenan Lewis was picked before him by the Steelers & Mizzou's Chase Coffman, was picked after McKenzie. He gets the average total dollars & the average guaranteed dollars. The only stumbling point can be the length of the deals, hopefully they will be the same. Third round deals are commonly 4-year contracts.  Irregardless, McKenzie will receive some money as soon as the other two sign their contracts. Good, I have to say I wondered about this young man a lot since I heard he'd been injured.

Six ex-basketball & ex-football players from the University of Toledo have been indicted along with 2 Detroit area businessmen for their roles in a large point-shaving conspiracy. The businessmen, Ghazi Manni & Mitchell Karam, paid the players with cash & "other services", anybody having a hard time figuring what that entails?  The pair had telephone wagers on hoop games totaling $407,000 over a 2-year period. The FBI, NCAA & Nevada gamers were all in on the investigation.

On the lighter side, ESPN is no longer broadcast anywhere on the Brigham Young campus.  ESPN & their sister stations, ESPN2, ESPN News & ESPN Classic, are gone in a cost cutting move. The ESPN package cost the University more than the combined price of all the other channels they wanted to be able to provide on campus. So on this campus, that is so strict about drinking, smoking, swearing & sex, it can throw ESPN into that mix. Seriously, I have absolutely no problem with all the no-no's on this campus, it's a private school that celebrates the Mormon faith, certainly nothing wrong with that. Students know what is expected of them before they enter school. I'm certainly too weak to adhere to their rules & no ESPN? No Mike & Mike in the Morning? I can't even think of doing without Greeny & Golic. No PTI? Once again my late afternoon wouldn't be complete without Tony & Wilbon. College Gameday?  Forget it, we haven't missed one literally in years. Oh, I could live without Chris Berman & Stuart Scott, but no Erin Andrews? C'mon.