J-E-T-S JETS! JETS! JETS!

Let me begin by saying: "Thank you Jets!" Favre-gate finally came to an end today as he was traded to the New York Jets. And for what? We aren't really sure of yet...maybe a 4th round pick, maybe a 3rd round...it depends on how much Favre stinks up the AFC East...

I'm tired of this whole thing but to be honest I've never been so interested in a Jets vs. Dolphins game in September before.

Clearlake -- Finally Free
From the Amber album.

The Frames -- Finally
From the Burn the Maps album.

Chris Cornell -- Finally Forever
From the Carry On album.

Long Live Aaron Rodgers

As someone who has written on this blog 17 times about Brett Favre and my beloved Packers, this news is the final straw...you are dead to me Brett.

You are as big a douche bag as this photo makes you look:

The king is dead, long live Aaron Rodgers.

My solution...the Packers should do nothing and just pay him and bench him. He can ride the pine for the rest of his contract even if Rodgers throws 4 interceptions his first game...don't forget what Brett's first game was like.

Don't Call It A Comeback

I knew it, I frickin' knew this would happen.

This little tidbit talks about Brett maybe playing for the Panthers...

Is This the End?

So I guess this is the end of the Madden curse?

Elvis Costello -- Green Shirt
From the Very Best of Elvis Costello.

Packer Schedule

Next year's Packers schedule came out earlier this week and here are some of the highlights:

Monday, September 8th
Home game against the Vikings
This will be Aaron Rodgers' starting debut and an official end to Brett's starting record [assuming he gets through the pre-season without injury].

Sunday, October 19th
Home game against the Colts
If the Packers are anywhere near as good as they were last season, this will be one of the premier games for the entire league let alone the Green & Gold.

Monday, December 22nd
Away game against the Bears
Above all else, we must avenge our losses to the Bears during last season.

Goodbye

Overall, I think I am taking the news that Brett Favre is retiring a lot better than I took our NFC championship loss to the Giants. I am excited to see what an entire season of an Aaron Rodgers-led Packers team would look like and although I am excited, it is a good thing for Mike McCarthy that he got his contract extension this year rather than next because it might not be so pretty next year.

Supertramp -- Goodbye Stranger
From the Magnolia soundtrack.

The Moldy Peaches -- Goodbye Song
From their self-titled debut.

Peter Bjorn and John -- Goodbye, Again Or
From the Falling Out album.

Engineers -- How Do You Say Goodbye?
From their first full-lenght album Engineers.

Darnells -- Too Hurt to Cry, Too Much In Love to Say Goodbye
From a collection of Phil Spector produced songs called Phil's Spectre: A Wall of Soundalikes.

What Not To Do

So Brett retired than un-retired today...this is exactly what I didn't want to happen...an "is he? isn't he?" thing all spring long...

On Thursday, the Green Bay Packers' official Web site briefly reported he was retiring, but the page under the breaking news section was live for only a few minutes.

"There's nothing to it," Packers spokesman Jeff Blumb told The Associated Press. "People who handle our Web site had set up a dummy page in the event he was to retire. They were asked to take down that page."

Jose Gonzalez -- Stay in the Shade
From the Veneer album.

Maximo Park -- I Want You To Stay
From A Certain Trigger.

Talking Heads -- Stay Hungry [1977 Remastered Version]
From More Songs About Buildings and Food.

Dear Craig Part 2

Dear CS,

Okay, now this is getting to be a little bit ridiculous. Is the McCain campaign the new Green Bay Packers? Months ago people were arguing that McCain should just "retire" and not risk getting embarrassed on the political grid iron...and then comes the season and McCain wins New Hampshire and his primary record is looking surprisingly strong...now he wins the Florida primary and people are talking about maybe even home field advantage in the playoffs...

Now the only question is this: is there a New York Giants [in the shape of Mitt Romney] waiting out there somewhere?

I know you have supported McCain since 2006 and maybe before but did you really have hope that this day would come at his lowest points in 2007?

Sincerely,

Matt

The Beach Boys -- Sloop John B
This is pretty much on every Beach Boys greatest hits including Sounds of Summer -- The Very Best of the Beach Boys.

Pearl Jam -- Hard To Imagine
This is from Disc 2 of the Lost Dogs b-side compilation.

Yo La Tengo -- Mr. Tough
This is from the Mr. Tough single.

I Don't Want To Talk About It

Radiohead -- Let Down
From the OK Computer album.

The Black Keys -- Hurt Like Mine
From Thickfreakness.

British Sea Power -- It Ended on an Oily Stage
From BSP's first second album Open Season.

The Alphabetical Order -- This Too Shall Pass
From the I Am Magically Happening! album.

A Musical Tribute To Brett Favre

A little anecdote about Brett Favre & living in Wisconsin: when I was home over Christmas break and visited the local Shopko they had stacks and stacks of the Sports Illustrated edition naming Brett Favre Sportsman of the Year [the one they had to do all those extra printings of]. Next to those stacks and stacks of Sports Illustrated there were stacks and stacks of 8 1/2 x 11 picture frames just begging for you to proudly display your Brett cover.

Super Furry Animals -- Lazer Beam
From the Love Kraft album.

Bloc Party -- Hero
This song can be found on the Two More Years single.

Ben Folds Five -- For All The Pretty People
From the Whatever and Ever Amen reissue.

Wilco -- Bob Dylan's 49th Beard (Live)
From the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot import bonus disk.

The Black Lips -- Cold Hands
From the Good Bad Not Evil album.

The Go! Team -- We Just Won't Be Defeated
From The Go! Team's first album Thunder, Lightening, Strike.

Live Blogging the Packers vs. Seahawks Game

1:15pm PST: I miss James Brown...watching three idiots and a James Brown look-a-like laughing at their inside jokes on the pre-game makes me almost wish the NFL network was broadcasting this one....

1:17pm PST: They just had a neat little piece on Lee Remmel, the Packer's PR Director, who is retiring after 62 years on the job.

1:23pm PST: My sister calls...why isn't she watching the game? Or at least praying for victory....

1:29pm PST: So today as announcers we get Marv's son Kenny Albert, Daryl "Moose" Johnston, and Tony Siragusa trolling the sidelines for "news."

1:33pm PST: It is snowing as the players are announced...in Wisconsin we would call if "flurries" ...if it were snowing like that here in Seattle, school would already be canceled for Monday and we would have our three total snow plows working double shifts...

1:36pm PST: Okay the game's over...Packers win the toss...see you in the NFC championship...

1:38pm PST: A record Brett doesn't have: he is 2nd to Joe Montana in playoff games started and touchdowns thrown.

1:40pm PST: Okay, breath in breath out...we've fumbled and Shaun Alexander has scored...this is not happening...this is not happening...

1:46pm PST: Ryan Grant's 2nd fumble inside 10 minutes...I don't know if I am going to be able to handle this and I might have to turn this off if it gets much worse...my stomach is hurting and I feel nervous...

1:50pm PST: Seattle's best receiver Deion Branch is injured so we are taking a break...I need to take a breath and get some chips...

1:53pm PST: Seahawks score again but I don't think the receiver had two feet in...come on McCarthy challenge it...

1:54pm PST: He challenges it but the refs rule he can't challenge it...14-0

1:55pm PST: If I have to hear that damned car commercials playing Andy Kim's "Rock Me Gently" I am going to scream...We've seen it twice so far...

1:59pm PST: Now we're moving...20 yard pass...

2:01pm PST: Favre to Jennings...TOUCHDOWN....YES YES YES YES 14-7

2:03pm PST: The replay shows that the play the Packer's scored the touchdown on was a play only between Jennings and Farve. Everyone else was playing a run play, including Ryan Grant...

2:09pm PST: Hasselbeck is sacked...4th down...man is it getting messy down there....it is snowing harder than at the start of the game...

2:14pm PST: We are moving again...4th and inches...we're reviewing the spot of the ball...The verdict: "they are re-spotting the ball and will remeasure" FIRST DOWN! YES...here we go....

2:20pm PST: Ryan Grant is running like a man possessed...1st and Goal

2:21pm PST: RYAN GRANT TOUCHDOWN...14-14....a weight has been lifted...

2:27pm PST: First play of the 2nd Quarter...SEAHAWKS FUMBLE, PACKERS RECOVER...

2:29pm PST: I didn't think I would say this nearly an hour ago but give Grant the ball every time...

2:33pm PST: Favre to Jennings...TOUCHDOWN....21-14

2:38pm PST: As I am watching the refs measure the placement of Seattle's ball, I remember my sister once saying "can't they just see the yellow line."

2:40pm PST: Personal foul...Seahawks get another chance...As my adoptive team I would be rooting for the Seahawks if they were playing anyone but the Packers...

2:45pm PST: So the Seahawks get a field goal that they shouldn't have...21-17...time for some Pizza Bursts....

2:51pm PST: Brandon Jackson gets a chance to touch the ball...7 yards....

2:54pm PST: We are getting a nice little drive together here....two straight 3rd down conversions...2 minute warning...

3:00pm PST: Brett may have just done one of his Top 10 plays of his career with the pass he just did to Donald Lee...1st & Goal...

3:01pm PST: RYAN GRANT'S 2ND TOUCHDOWN...28-17

3:04pm PST: Hasselbeck takes a knee and it is halftime...I really can't believe how things went down in this half...I never would have predicted what happened...hopefully the Packers can keep their momentum going...

3:10pm PST: I am boycotting the Fox halftime show...let's see what else is on...the best alternative is to jump in halfway into the Tim Robbins & Martin Lawrence buddy comedy Nothing to Lose.

3:18pm PST: We're almost ready to start as the Packers kick off to the Seahawks...

3:21pm PST: 3 and out for the Seahawks...let's avoid another ruffing the kicker penalty shall we boys?...

3:27pm PST: Brandon Jackson TOUCHDOWN! Everyone is getting in the mix! 35-17. Holmgren looks soooo pissed!

3:36pm PST: the Seahawks have a drive together but they are facing a 3rd and 10...they converted...1st down for them...

3:39pm PST: the Seahawks drive continues...but one thing is clear...the Packer running game is much stronger than Seattle's...they are running 2 failed run plays and then convert on a 3rd down pass...and the snow is coming down even harder now...

3:41pm PST: the Packers stop them and so they are going to kick a field goal...Josh Brown and his electric pants are going to try to get 3 points...
3:42pm PST: It's good...35-20

3:48pm PST: Ryan Grant runs one for 46 yards and sets the Packers playoff rushing record...

3:50pm PST: And Brandon Jackson runs for 10 more...forget Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor...it's Ryan Grant and Brandon Jackson!

3:54pm PST: TOUCHDOWN #3 FOR #25! Mason Crosby [who should be Rookie of the Year] kicks it though...42-20

4:01pm PST: 3 and out for the Seahawks and they punt on 4th and 2 which is a little surprising...no return for the Packers.

4:05pm PST: Grant runs for 28 more...if I haven't said it already...All is forgiven Ryan. He is over 200 yards for the day...Fun fact: Ryan Grant has degrees in both Sociology and Computer Science from Notre Dame.

4:08pm PST: The Packers try something different other than touchdown...a punt...

4:10pm PST: We are down to about 9 minutes on the clock...

4:14pm PST: It's 4th and 10 for the Seahawks and this is the most important play of the game...incomplete...PACKERS TAKE OVER! Now it's time for 8 minutes of the Ryan Grant/Brandon Jackson running game

4:18pm PST: Brandon Jackson goes for 20!

4:20pm PST: We didn't do much on this drive except take 3 minutes off the clock...

4:22pm PST: Hasselbeck gets sacked by KGB...2nd and 22...

4:24pm PST: Packers get the ball back again following a punt...Brett comes out of the game and Aaron Rodgers comes in...

4:27pm PST: My dad calls to talk about the Packers...as my Mom says, "nothing makes your Father happier than the Packers winning."

4:33pm PST: I miss the final plays but who cares, the game is over. PACKERS WIN! 42-20

I can't wait for the Giants / Cowboys game tomorrow...

Super Furry Animals -- Run-Away
From the Hey Venus! album.

Johnny Cash -- You Win Again
From the Forever Johnny Cash set.

OK Go -- The House Wins
From the Oh No album.

Simon & Garfunkel -- A Hazy Shade of Winter
From the Best of Simon & Garfunkel collection.

No Doubt -- Running
From the Rock Steady album

10-2, 11-2, 12-2, 12-3

I've been out of practice writing about the ups and downs of the Packers seasons these past few weeks with finals wrapping up, traveling, and hacking up a lung for weeks on end...but last weeks loss to the Bears for the 2nd time this season set me over the edge...

But I have to take a step back...breath in, breath out...I didn't think the Packers would make the playoffs this year let alone be in a position to get home field advantage in the playoffs...breath in, breath out...It is a miracle we have gotten this far....breath in, breath out...I should appreciate every game like it is Brett's last....

But the team that made up 1/2 of the Ice Bowl, now looked like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when they used to regularly visit Lambeau Field in December. All the receivers were huddled around the little heaters they had or bundled up in their parkas. Brett looked like he was discovering the North Pole. I know he is from Mississippi but what good is having home field advantage in January if in fact we aren't very good at playing in cold weather and in stormy conditions.

This song ties in nicely I think...the way the Packers played is a lot like the way Ella's abusive husband ends up in the song...dead in the market. This is essentially the opposite of the infamous Carole King song, "He Hit Me (It Felt Like A Kiss)." Ella's version should have been called, "He Hit Me And I Beat His Brains In."

Ella Fitzgerald -- Stone Cold Dead in the Market (He Had It Coming)

This song comes from a 75th Anniversary Decca Boxed set of Ella's work that my sister found in the clearance rack at the Electric Fetus for $15.99.

9-1

As Brett Favre (age: 38) battled Vinny Testaverde (age: 44) today it was a match up for the record books as two quarterbacks this close to collecting social security had never met before...The miracle season continued as the Packers wiped the floor with the Panthers...

Up next for Boys in Green, the Lions on Thanksgiving Day...a win would essentially lock up the division title.

And one more thing...yes, that is the typical size of the lunch that kids in Wisconsin eat.

Damien Rice -- 9 Crimes

From the 9 album.

The Polyphonic Spree -- Section 9

From The Beginning Stages Of... album.

Nine Black Alps -- Attraction

From the Nine Black Alps EP.

Neil McCarthur (Colin Blunstone of The Zombies) -- Twelve Twenty Nine

From the Into the Afterlife album.

7-1

Another game and another milestone...with the win over Kansas City, Brett has beaten every NFL team, becoming the third quarterback to do so...interestingly the other two quarterbacks [Tom Brady & Peyton Manning] did it just last week.

I wish I was in Wisconsin during weeks like this...

The Clash -- The Magnificent Seven

Interpol -- Song Seven

Matthew Friedberger -- Seventh Loop Highway

You should buy this from the Clash, this from Interpol, and this from Matthew Friedberger's band The Fiery Furnaces.

Another Record

The Onion's take on another Brett Favre record:

Dan Marino Hosts Hour-Long HBO Special Celebrating Favre's Interceptions

NEW YORK—Dan Marino, the former Dolphins quarterback, former multiple NFL all-time record holder, and current co-host of HBO's Inside The NFL, was the host, producer, and head writer of the hour-long HBO special Mr. 278, which...

New Young Pony Club -- Get Dancey (Edit) [Get Dan-cey...get it?]

The New Young Pony Club have a new single "Get Lucky" out October 22nd.

4-0

Another Sunday, another record broken by Brett Favre, another win, another reason to go skipping down the street to school tomorrow...I think we all need to stop, take a breath, and saver this while it lasts...

Eddie Money -- Two Tickets to Paradise

Get all your Eddie Money merchandise in one place...namely here.

3-0

Has it been 10 minutes since the last time I mentioned I'm from Wisconsin?...more importantly, have I mentioned that I am a Packer fan?...and this weekend was a big weekend for me and my fellow Cheeseheads:

• Packers crush the Chargers
• Brett Favre ties Dan Marino's touchdown record
• I received my Season Ticket Waiting List Postcard....what?

Let me explain...I have been on the Packers Season Ticket waiting list for three years now and each year the good folks in Green Bay send a postcard telling me roughly how many decades I have to wait to get tickets...

So I am 69,193 on the list...things are looking up as last year I was over 72,000 if I remember right...to put this in perspective the entire Lambeau Field has a capacity of 72,922 so I have to roughly wait until nearly all the seats at Lambeau turn over from one person to another...if roughly 3,000 go through the list every year than I will be waiting about 23 years until I can see Brett Favre's daughter Brittany lead the Packers to the Super Bowl again!

Brainstem of the Day: Al Sharpton

Brett Favre gets dragged through the mud...er...water by someone who honest to God thought he could be the President of the United States...don't count on Wisconsin's 10 electoral votes...

“If the police caught Brett Favre (a white quarterback for the Green Bay Packers) running a dolphin-fighting ring out of his pool, where dolphins with spears attached to their foreheads fought each other, would they bust him? Of course not,” Sharpton wrote Tuesday on his personal blog.

“They would get his autograph, commend him on his tightly spiraled forward passes, then bet on one of his dolphins.”

See the next post for an UPDATE.

Football Season

Salon's sports guy King Kaufman writes about NFL's decision to do something something with DirectTV and the Internets or something...anyway, he writes:

So, fine. I think it's a poor decision in the long term, but then again, NFL fans seem incapable of being offended enough by the league's anti-fan stance to do anything about it. The single most fan-unfriendly deal in North American team sports is the NFL charging regular-season prices for exhibition games, and then forcing season-ticket buyers, the best customers, to buy those exhibition-game tickets.

Couldn't disagree more. I've been on the season ticket list for my old home team, The Green Bay Packers, for a few years now and I'm not expecting to get tickets for a few decades or sooner if the Packers endure a few 2-14 seasons minus Mr. Favre. My only option for Packer games is buy online at above face value or pre-season.

The same is true where I live now, Seattle. Since they made it to the Super Bowl two seasons ago Seahawks tickets are sky high. My only shot to get a nice ticket at face value is pre-season which I am doing next Saturday versus my arch nemesis, The Minnesota Vikings.