The Columnist

That is precisely what is happening to arguably one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. Much like that of Barry Bonds, this is a self-inflicted tarnishing, albeit not nearly as frowned upon as that of the controversial home run king. Brett Favre needs to stay retired. Not only for the Packers organization and its fans, but most importantly, for himself. Brett Favre retired with everything that personifies the position of quarterback. With durability, class, success, and heart, Favre drew millions of supporters as he appealed to the people with his blue collar style of play. Favre was left with one of the greatest legacy's in sports solidly intact, but the "itch" that he is craving to scratch is causing that legacy to diminish.

One must remember, there are two fierce egos involved in this ugly media frenzy, that of Brett Favre and that of the Green Bay Packers. That being said, no one is bigger than the organization, or at least they shouldn't be. In the case of Favre, this is debatable. We've seen Favre play games with the Packers over the last few seasons over will he or won't he call it quits, and every year, the Packers have seemingly waited tolerably patiently. The Packers had drafted Favre's replacement in Aaron Rodgers a few years earlier in the event that Favre would retire as he had hinted at before. However, Favre insisted on continuing and the Packers accommodated him. Now, when Favre "officially" retires, balling at his press conference, and uttering the unthinkable words "it's over", the Packers were set to move on. The team had groomed Aaron Rodgers for a year or two, then he just sat waiting for his chance which had now come and he was ready. The whole off season consisted of getting Rodgers comfortable in his starting role and his teammates were coming to know him as their field general. The page had turned on a legend and was set to reveal a young, promising successor.

In the case of Rodgers, he could not possibly handle it any better than he is. If there is one thing that Rodgers did pick up from his time watching Favre, it was his class and charisma because it is hard to root against the kid. Rodgers, a once first round pick, has seen virtually no playing time in his first three seasons in the league, yet still says all the right things when pressured on the Favre situation. With today's spoiled and overpaid athlete's, many would speak out disrespectfully or demand a trade. Rodgers just calmly states that he has to be prepared for anything and he is just happy to be a quarterback in the NFL. While he is blessed to be where he is in his life, few his age would look at the glass as being half full, but Rodgers does.

As for Favre, there will be the loyal supporters, and maybe rightfully so, that will insist upon his past value to the team and irreplaceability. One can't help but to believe Favre when he speaks of Ted Thompson and his borderline truthfulness with Favre, or lack thereof. Favre was frustrated with the lack of urgency to acquire talent to further improve the team and he was right in feeling slighted perhaps. All that being said, the bottom line is that Favre retired and the Packers moved on. Almost every athlete that leaves the game they loved has the desire to return the following season, but they fight that urge off and eventually they are satisfied with retirement. Favre doesn't know how to fight that urge and he's now blinded by his love for the game and cannot see the flaws in his decision and the hypocrisy that he is exhibiting. Having yet to ask for his reinstatement from Commissioner Roger Goodell, one can only hope that the media's assessment of Favre's indecision is giving him a different perspective on the situation. A perspective that may see his legacy as a Packer unchanged.

Major League Baseball decided that the All-Star game may have, perhaps, been losing a bit of its luster by following the in wavering footsteps of similar exhibitions such as the dunk competition in the NBA and the Pro Bowl in the NFL. Inevitably as it seemed, Bud Selig would not take this lying down and got the ball moving towards making "this one count" as promoters would coin it. The All-Star game now represented a game which saw the winning league gain a crucial home field advantage in the upcoming World Series. Now, that is quite a decent amount of incentive to go out on the diamond and come away with a win. However, there are two things that are absolutely essential towards making this enhanced exhibition run smoothly and justly, play to win and forget the need to play every single reserve.

There are currently 32 players on each roster for the All-Star game, and inflated number from the traditional 25 in order to get more players on the team, ultimately eliminating "snubbed" players and further satisfying the viewer. The game was hesitant to avoid catastrophe last night, flirting heavily with it in the 2008 affair and realized it in the 2002 All-Star game in a 7-7 tie. This prompted the quick fix in reviving fan interest with the home field advantage incentive in the Fall Classic. To avoid future scares, managers of the All-Star game need to play position players longer and play the absolute best players for the situation at hand. Ignore the fact that fans at home and the players in the dugout crave the need for their 60 seconds of limelight. As far as pitchers are concerned, starters should be going two or three innings each, about a pitch count of 40 and the bullpen should be treated as it were a normal game. The manager should plan on a closer and everything else should merely revolve around that, with no need to play every single guy.

Last night I'm watching, and I see Grady Sizemore in for Manny Ramirez after Ramirez took two at bats, then Alex Rodriguez exited, followed by more of the same from the AL and NL stars. Why are the best players taken out in the least significant part of the game? Why aren't the later innings decided by the clutch at bats of Rodriguez and Ramirez? Perhaps because managers know the pressure put upon them to play every person in the dugout and ultimately make everyone around them happy. What these managers don't consider is that if the Tampa Bay Rays were to make it to the World Series, both their fans and Evan Longoria would clearly surrender the attractiveness of an appearance in the game for home field advantage. For the record, let's be clear, who would you rather have up in the bottom of ninth, Evan Longoria or Alex Rodriguez? Who would you rather having trying to cash a runner in from second with two outs in a close and late situation, Carlos Quentin or Manny Ramirez? While Longoria and Quentin are both having tremendous, breakout seasons, they have not proven the clutch abilities of the aforementioned sure-fired Hall of Famers.

That being said, the best players need to be in the game for the entire game. If it seems fitting in a later situation that Ian Kinsler should be batting over Pedroia, then make the move. This can also work in reverse, if Kosuke Fukudome isn't producing, go to the hot bat of Matt Holliday as early as needed. The point is the game should be played to win and win at all costs, after all, it "counts". As far as injuries go, these are professional athletes and they risk their health on an every day basis, and those athletes need to think about the importance this game carries with it. Starters should certainly be allowed to pitch two or three innings rather than the one last night by Ervin Santana. Relievers, as well, should be pitching one or two frames, not a limited two thirds such as K-Rod did last night. Baseball can avoid these extra inning scares and produce a much more enticing game if it would just stop worrying so much about making its players and fans happy. In the end, those same players and fans may thank their respective manager for managing the game the way it should be, to win.

The Final Season at the hallowed grounds of Yankee Stadium. The venue which saw Babe Ruth introduce the game into the casual fan's life during the Roaring Twenties. The Stadium, as it is called by its loyalists, held the class of Lou Gerhig, the charisma of Joe Dimaggio, the talent of Mickey Mantle, the persona of Reggie Jackson, and the intangibility of Derek Jeter. All of this only making it fitting that the Home Run Derby, held at that very historic landmark in its 85th and final season, would exhibit what baseball should be all about, dedication and hard work.

Throughout the past decade, as we know all too well, performance enhancing drugs have flooded the game and produced inflated power stats and illegitimate statistical data on a mathematical level. On an emotional level, the use of such enhancers has laid a cloud of suspicion and overall anguish upon baseball and its power driven events such as the Derby. Perhaps on a night when baseball fans witnessed the continued resurrection of Josh Hamilton's career and most importantly his life right before their eyes, we may be turning the page on the dark and ominous steroid era.

It would be impossible not to be captivated by Hamilton's life story. A number one draft choice of the then Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 1999, Hamilton had five tool talent and a contagious off the field personality to accompany it. Undoubtedly, this seemed like the perfect combination for a superstar in the making. However, Hamilton got into problems with an alcohol addiction and this led into much deeper issues with drugs such as heroine and cocaine. Hamilton was out of baseball entirely and essentially homeless for a while. The once young and promising athlete was waking up at all times of the night and was experiencing horrendous nightmares which led the revived slugger to attempt to get his life back in order. With the help of religion and his family's support, centered around his grandmother's faith in Hamilton as a person, he became drug free on October 5th of 2005 and has been that way ever since.

What makes Hamilton's story so remarkable is the fact that not only did he quit an indescribably difficult addiction, he returned to playing professional baseball and playing it at the highest level. Think of it this way, a member of today's society is celebrated for breaking a nicotine addiction, and rightfully so, but the addiction that Hamilton has had to break is monumentally greater than that. On top of that hardship, Hamilton had to get himself prepared to play baseball again and showed the relentless dedication towards doing that. The Rangers outfielder had left baseball for three years, got on and off drugs and alcohol, and returned to baseball, becoming arguably the best hitter in the game. All the while, other players were getting at bats and were experiencing the baseball life, which would only go to improve their chances for greater future success. Yet, Hamilton is head and shoulders above many of those guys and he was deprived of those luxuries, given of course, that it was a self-created problem in the first place.

Watching Hamilton in tonight's Home Run Derby, in which he had 28 first round home runs, a record for the competition and 20 more than any other contestant this year in that particular round, one couldn't help but to be humbled. Knowing of the troubles that Hamilton has struggled through makes us realize that when life seems too hard, there are examples such as Hamilton to look towards. Trying to contemplate what the contending AL MVP could have done statistically in his career had he not lost all those years would be astronomical in and of itself. Nonetheless, the well-spoken Hamilton wouldn't give that a second thought, he's perfectly satisfied with what he's done to get to this point, and where he's going from here.