A Gold Medal For the Games

Following the first week of competition at the 29th Olympiad, I believe there are two major storylines for Team USA. First, and most obvious, has to be Michael Phelps. They call him Superman for a reason, and after watching the 23-year-old Baltimore native win the 100 meter butterfly tonight by .01 second, the young man is unbelievable. He is reportedly worth several million dollars in incentives, and analysts believe he'll be worth even more upon his return home from Beijing, especially, if he wins his eighth gold medal tomorrow night.

The second storyline has somewhat bothered me over the past few days. In the team gymnastics competition, China won the gold over the United States, but was it a fair victory? A media outlet from China reported that at least one of the Chinese gynasts is 13 years old. According to the International Olympic Committee, gymnasts must be 16 years old at one point during the same year as the Olympic Games. If the report is correct, then China would have to forfeit their gold medal. What's the big deal you might ask? In my opinion, cheating is cheating. If this were the Americans, I would be arguing the same point. The Chinese gymasts are claiming the accusations are incorrect. According to their passports which is used by the IOC to judge their official age, each one of the Chinese gymnasts are eligible to compete. However, it is speculated that their passports could be doctored by the Chinese government. Unfortunately, cheating has become somewhat of a revived theme in just about every sport or competition these days. Whether it be abusing illegal drugs or even lying about age, it's all relative in the sense that the rules are being broken. And it makes you wonder, if China is allegedly willing to lie about something as simple as a girl's age, what else are they willing to doctor?

Either way, I must say the 2008 Games have been a pleasure thus far to watch, and I will continue to cheer for Team USA with pride and adoration for the Red, White and Blue.

Just Make Up Your Mind, Brett

The Brett Favre saga seems to be growing more dramatic by the day. The future Hall-of-Fame quarterback has admitted to retiring immaturally, and he wants to come back. However, the Packers seem to be heading in an all new direction by building for the future with their young quarterback, Aaron Rodgers. But, of course, the situation is much more complicated than that. Favre still has three years remaining on his contract with the Packers worth $39 million. He was set to earn $12 million this upcoming season with the Pack, $13 million next year, and $14 million during his 20th season in the league. Green Bay has made it very clear that they don't want Favre anywhere near the Packers' headquarters, which is interesting, considering that Favre is a legend in Wisconsin. He's only started 275 consecutive games and thrown for an NFL record, 61,665 yards and 442 touchdowns during his career. He also led the Packers to their first Super Bowl win in nearly 3 decades during the late 90's. But despite all the records, Green Bay has made it official, they are done with the Brett Favre era, and they want a divorce. In fact, they're even willing to offer the quarterback a $20 million dollar severance package over the next 10 years to stay retired.

In my opinion, Favre has been fairly selfish about the issue. He retired back in March. The Packers needed to fill his void, so they gave his job away to Rodgers. Now he wants back in? Just a month before kickoff to the 2008 season? While I understand Favre's legendary status in the NFL, the league will endure well beyond Brett Favre's career, and the Packers are intelligent enought to realize that. They want a quarterback for the future, and Favre is only a temporary solution. He bailed, and now he must earn his job back. If he still wants to play, he might consider coming back with a new team that is amidst rebuilding. Unfortunately, for him, he only wants to play in the NFC North, and I don't see that happening. How can the Packers let Favre play against Green Bay wearing a Minnesota Vikings uniform? The franchise would be run out of town. If the divorce is finalized, Favre must play in the AFC. You can't let the guy come back to Green Bay and beat you.

That being said, let's play the devil's advocate for a moment. It would be great to see Favre either traded or released and picked up by the Vikings considering that the team's season opener is in Green Bay on Monday Night Football. And, the Packers are scheduled to retire Favre's jersey in front of a sold out Lambeau Field. Wouldn't that be primetime television at its best?! It will be interesting to see how this story unfolds, but it's hard to blame the Packers in this situation considering that Brett just needs to make up his mind.