Will Favre play elsewhere? I think so. I think the bridges have been burned. 

Packers president Mark Murphy said he's worked closely with GM Ted Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy on the situation and they have his full support. 

Favre has been working out at Oak Grove High School in Hattiesburg and wants to return to the NFL. Favre and his agent, Bus Cook, asked the Packers for an unconditional release, but the request was denied. 

"Why shouldn't Brett want a release?: Favre's brother Scott told Al Jones, a reporter for the Biloxi Sun-Herald and a friend of Brett's. "They have moved on without saying anything, and that says a lot. If they wanted him back, they would have said so, 'if you want to come back, we want you back.' Why would he want to go back if he's not wanted? You tell me?" 

Recently, Jones stopped by Favre's house and learned Brett wanted to play again. 

"Considering what Brett has accomplished on the field, he deserves the right to change his mind and play in 2008,: said Jones. 

"Thompson's response of being on vacation got the best of Brett. All Brett wanted was an indication he would be welcomed back." 

In an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Saturday Thompson indicated that if Favre returns to the Packers this season is job will be holding a clipboard on the sideline while Aaron Rodgers leads the team. 

"Aaron Rodgers is our starting quarterback," said Thompson. 

When asked if Favre could play for he Packers this season, Thompson said, "Sure." When asked if Favre could be the starter, Thompson said, "I don't know how to answer that. We have moved forward. So we'll have to see where it goes." 

Reading between the lines, it's clear the GM doesn't want Favre back, but he doesn't want to alienate Brett’s tens of thousands of fans who fill Lambeau Field eight times a season. 

"The fans think I'm stoic and I don't care what anybody things," Thompson told the newspaper. "Sure I do. If it's something like fans criticizing a draft choice, I'm fine with that and to know that our fans care so much and we care, too. We care about the legacy of the Packers and the legacy of Brett Favre." 

Thompson's position on the saga isn't being drive by anyone other than himself. He wants to keep his job. 

Former Packer LeRoy Butler said, "This is a business. I can see the Packers' point of view, If it's true Brett called in March to unretire and they accepted him back and he changed his mind, I can understand they saying, 'enough.' If that's not true, it's about accountability. If you give Aaron Rodgers the keys to the franchise and then you take them away again, no one's going to take the word of the Packers again." 

The main concern of this situation: "I'm worried that there will be a divided locker room. If I'm a veteran you can say we have a chance to win now and if you're a young player you might be 'we have a chance to grow with Aaron Rodgers.'" 

Are the Packers going to pay Farve $12 million to hold a clipboard?

SOME HITHER, OTHERS YON: Scattershooting while wondering whatever became of former Saints coach J.D. Roberts?...The Saints have signed the first of their six draft selections when they agreed to a three-year contract with defensive end DeMario Pressley of North Carolina State, who figures to make the team. The team's fifth-round draft choice, offensive guard Carl Nicks, a fifth-round pick from Nebraska, expects to sign before training camp on July 24. "It'll get done," said Nicks. "I'll be on time." He's expected to compete for a backup spot behind starter Jamar Nesbit, a 10-year veteran...Tim Duncan of The Time-Picayune won Story of the Year honors in the Louisiana Sports Writers annual competition. Duncan won the award for an enterprise piece he did on the inaugural Saints team in 1947, catching up with the players and coaches from that team to find out what they are doing now. I won the award in 1971 with a feature on Archie Manning... 

Doneal Mack, who enrolled at UNO after transferring from Memphis because he wasn't getting enough playing time with the Tigers, has dropped out of school after a week and plans to return to the Memphis basketball team without losing eligibility. "Sometimes kids make bad decisions," said Memphis coach John Calipari....Former NFL player and current Philly sportswriter Vai Sikahema made short work of former baseball slugger Jose Canseco the past weekend, knocking him out in the first round of a boxing match in Philadelphia. Sikahema knocked down Canseco twice before the bout was stopped. "In Philly, we chop you down,: said Sikahema, who is seven inches shorter than Canseco. In related news, former NFL tackle Artie Donovan will be wrestling Ted Williams' frozen head on Aug. 15 in Baltimore...The Saints organization mourned the passing of Shell Beach fishing legend Blackie Campo, who only missed to of the team's games in three decades....

Compared with other SEC schools, LSU has relatively undervalued it football ticket prices for several years. The Tigers have won more championships than any other.conference team in the past decade, but its average ticket price per win using 2008 costs ranks sixth in the SEC since 1998. Fresh off its recent national title, the Tigers pounced and raised the price of premium tickets by 12 per cent this year and imposed new donation levels. A minimum donation costs $140 in 2008 and rises to $210 in 2010. In addition, LSU charges a $10 waiting list fee to purchase new season tickets and parking permits. The school expects to generate an additional $17.4 million in the next three years from ticket revenue. At the current rise in ticket prices, the average SEC ticket cost will approach $200 in another 10 years...

Former Saints quarterback Kenny Stabler, color analyst for Alabama, has been grated a leave of absence for the upcoming season following his arrest on a drunken driving charge. :It is with great regret that I will not be a part of Crimson Tide football broadcasts this coming year, but there are matters in my personal life that demand my full attention at this time,: Stabler said in a statement. The man known affectionately as :Snake" to a multitude of college and NFL fans is stepping away from the broadcast booth to clear his name. He insists he is innocent, and fully expects to be exonerated." The problem is, being being :exonerated" in an Alabama courthouse on his most recent DUI charge is a long way from attaching the word "innocent to Stabler's reputation. He worked hard to create a reputation that was anything but innocent. He has been celebrated for being a hard-playing, harder-partying good ol' boy quarterback. As one reviewer of his autobiography wrote, Stabler has "never tried to hide his love of loose women, hard liquor, and fast cars and boats." Maybe when it's all over he'll be found not guilty. But innocent?.

Sound bites... 

Archie Manning, at the Manning Passing Academy this past weekend, on his youngest son Eli when he was a camper at the camp: "He had the longest, skinniest, whitest legs. I couldn't tell whether he had fun or not, whether he really wanted to be there. I think he knew he was expected to be there." 

Bobby Brown scored the go-ahead basket with less than 30 seconds left and gave the Hornets a 77-75 victory over Charlotte at the Las Vegas Summer League on Sunday. Brown had a game-high 20 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds. Center Hilton Armstrong scored 14 points and forward Julian Wright scored 11 with 5 steals. Former Brother Martin player D.J. Agustin  hit 15 points for the Bobcats. First-round draft choice Anthony Randolph formerly of LSU scored a game-high 30 points on Friday for the Golden State Warriors. The No. 14 pick in the NBA draft led the Warriors to a 96-89 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. "I had a lot of fun," said Randolph after his first game for the Warriors. "My coaches told me to come out and be aggressive and let the game come to me, and that's what I did. This is a dream come true for me. I am having fun and enjoying myself."...Awful joke of the week: Why did the buffoon golfer take two pairs of pants with him to the golf course? In case he got a hole-in-one...Alabama is having disciplinary problems this offseason and the Auburn fans are coming up with numerous jokes. For example: What is Nick Saban's biggest concern? Does the NCAA count bail money as a recruiting violation?...Hollywood South:  "The Bad Lieutenant" began production here the past week and "Mardi Gras" will wrap on Tuesday. "I Love You Phillip Morris" and "Fallen Angel" wrapped two weeks ago....Ed Staton can be reached at edcoachstaton@yahoo.com.

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