By Joe Santoro
Sports fodder for a Friday morning . . .
Why are the New York Jets so excited? Brett Favre's in town? Don't forget that this is a franchise that used to get excited about Richard Todd, Browning Nagle, Pat Ryan and Glenn Foley (the last Jet QB to wear No. 4) at quarterback, not to mention Chad Pennington and Kellen Clemens. With Favre, the Jets are now only slightly less boring. They are still not a playoff team, let alone a Super Bowl contender. Favre's biggest weapons, after all, are Thomas Jones, Laveranues Coles and Jerricho Cotchery. It's not exactly Wayne Chrebet, Keyshawn Johnson, Matt Snell and Don Maynard, is it? This is a 4-12 football team who just added an aging quarterback who can't make up his mind. OK, now they are a 7-9 football team.
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If you thought the hype around Favre in Green Bay was over the top, wait until the New York media gets a hold of him. You'd have to think that Favre would have been better off hunting and fishing, kicking back and selling blue jeans and spending his millions of dollars with his family in the peaceful serenity of rural Mississippi rather than running for his life under the media spotlight in New York. This mess definitely didn't turn out like Favre had planned, did it?
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You have to feel for the New York Giants. They win one of the most amazing Super Bowls in history and they aren't even the top story this summer in their own city. The Favre hype has already started in New York. You can already buy a No. 4 Brett Favre Jets jersey on newyorkjets.com. Foley is probably wondering why anybody would want to buy his jersey, by the way. In New York, though, it's all about marketing, hype and getting the big headline on the back page. And that, in case you don't understand why a bad team would want an old quarterback, is the only reason why the Jets took on the Favre Fiasco with open arms.
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The San Francisco Giants have invited Barry Bonds to take part in the team's celebration of their 50th season in the Bay Area before Saturday's game. That was a classy thing for the Giants to do. Here's hoping that the Giants will have a special announcement during the celebration " that Bonds has been signed to a contract to play the final seven weeks of the season. Why not? What else do Giants fans have to look forward to the rest of the year? Bonds, after all, will still be the best Giants hitter on the field this Saturday.
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What can we expect out of the Wolf Pack football team this year? Well, it all depends on the defense. We don't care who plays quarterback. Chris Ault could take snaps under center and this team would still wear out the scoreboard at Mackay Stadium. With a horrible defense, the Pack will finish 6-6. A mediocre defense will leave it at 8-4 and a great defense will leave it, well, Pack fans will learn what BCS stands for. We're betting on 8-4 and another bowl party at the end of the season.
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Some United States cyclists showed up in the Beijing airport this week wearing black masks. They were worried about the air quality in Beijing. Bad move. The next day they had to apologize. We just have one question. What's wrong with the airport security in Beijing? Let's see what would happen to four young people who would be stupid enough to walk through an airport in this country wearing black masks. Let's just say they wouldn't have to worry about picking up their suitcases from baggage claim.
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A Toledo basketball player has been accused on shaving points in a game in February 2004. In the game in question, the player made his only shot of the game (a 3-pointer) but he missed his only two free throws. Wow. Two missed free throws. What a scandal. If that's not a red flag for illegal gambling, I don't know what is. Again, we only have one question. If this guy was indeed shaving points and fixing games, what were they paying him? A couple of burgers?
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What is keeping the Jets from now dealing Favre to the Minnesota Vikings for a couple players and a draft pick? Favre really wanted to play in Minnesota. Favre in a Vikings uniform would really upset the Green Bay Packers. The Jets aren't going anywhere with or without Favre. The Vikings could go to the Super Bowl with No. 4 in a purple jersey. Just a thought.
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One last Favre thought . . . How long do you think it will take ESPN and the NFL to switch its first Monday Night Football game from Packers-Vikings on Sept. 8 to Jets-Dolphins? We're surprised it already hasn't happened.
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It sure is great to see former legendary Carson baseball coach and athletic director Ron McNutt back in uniform and back in the dugout. McNutt, who built the Carson High baseball factory, will make sure the Galena High baseball team picks up where it left off after coach Gary McNamara resigned after the 2007 season. Northern Nevada high school baseball has missed McNutt the past three years. Galena now has three of the best coaches in the state in its three most prominent boys' sports with McNutt, Steve Struzyk (football) and Tom Maurer (basketball). By the way, since we are on the subject of legendary coaches returning to the sidelines, how long do we have to wait for Joe Sellers to pick up his old coaching whistle once again?