Trash Talk: Not Exactly Favre-nügen

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[NB: Check the byline, thanks. /~Rayne]

Yes, I am a widow.

I’ve been a golf widow since the first week of April when the grass was greening but still too short to cut, but long enough to bear the weight of golfers.

I am now widowed twice over because said golfer hangs in the clubhouse after 18 holes to watch every sport on all the big screens lining the clubhouse walls.

At least I have a month to plan the golfer’s resurrection after the last golf outing the first week of November.

Damn it. I forgot about deer season. I guess I have two months of planning woodworking and painting projects to keep him busy until the cycle begins again next April.

~ ~ ~

Last weekend when the widow-maker spouse came home from watching post-golf football he was far too happy. He launched into a paean to the Detroit Lions. I pissed him off by replying, “You mean the perpetual losing Lions?”

“But they won!” he sputtered.

Two games does not a season make. I know better than to get my hopes up this early.

Apparently the sputterer is not alone: 2 analysts are already talking playoffs for Detroit Lions

The Lions may be up 14-0 as I type this but I am still not ready to believe.

~ ~ ~

I doubt I will see the sputtering undead golfer before the end of the Tampa Bay-Green Bay game which begins at 4:25 p.m. ET. Plenty of time to figure out what to serve for dinner to a guy who’s fallen deeply into the 19th hole.

Give me Aaron Rogers over Tom Brady and the non-profit, community-owned team versus the corporate team.

I won’t bother to argue the relative merits of either team; in truth the Green Bay Packers are a family favorite because of a family member who lives in Milwaukee area and is a superfan of the Pack. We’re really rooting for them to have a good Sunday.

~ ~ ~

Last but not least, that POS Brett Favre and his bullshit corruption, insisting on redirecting welfare money to university sports. He doesn’t have the morals to fess up to the public and do right by the state of Mississippi.

Remember the college admissions scandal, particularly that surrounding actor Lori Loughlin and her spouse who paid bribes to get their two daughters admitted to the University of Southern California as members of the rowing team though neither student ever rowed? Loughlin and her spouse were arrested, prosecuted, and served time; Loughlin also paid tuition for other students as amends.

But Favre pressed state officials to use Mississippi welfare funds to build a volleyball facility for his daughter to use at his alma mater…and nothing.

Or at least nothing has happened to Favre, while former head of Mississippi Department of Human Services, John Davis, pled guilty to federal and state charges related to misuse of funds including those on behalf of Favre.

It’s not as if there weren’t text messages released which show Favre knew the misallocation was wrong.

One might even come away thinking Favre conspired to launder the money

The capper on all of this has been the ridiculous amount of attention the sports media sector paid to another sports ‘scandal’ this week, when Boston Celtics’ head coach Ime Udoka admitted to engaging in a consensual relationship with an employee working for the same team, resulting in a season-long suspension for Udoka.

Favre’s corruption received much less attention in comparison.

Meanwhile people outside the state ask why Mississippi’s capital city, Jackson, has such tremendous problems with its water system.

Can’t imagine why.

~ ~ ~

Just a head’s up that this thread will be an overflow catch-all this week, assuming we don’t have too many other posts between now and the scheduled House January 6 Committee hearing on the 28th.

You might want to bookmark this for all non-hearing chatter.

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46 replies
    • Rayne says:

      I’ve felt your pain and even now at 24-21 with 3:30 left I can’t be certain I won’t feel it again.

      ADDER: and the smugness – I will have to eat crow and serve his smugness dinner when he wanders home if the Lions maintain their lead through the end of this game. Somehow a Detroit win won’t cover me in glory.

      • Rayne says:

        Holy. Shit. He walked in the door and offered to grill steak for dinner.

        I guess the Vikings kicked the undead golfer’s ass, too, so much so that he didn’t stick around to watch the dueling Bays’ game.

        • earlofhuntingdon says:

          Miracles never cease. Or did Barry Fitzgerald say that to Bing, while enjoying a wee dram?

          My compliments on the title. A pun worth remembering, even in Wolfsburg.

          And, yes, the plot seems to be missing a zealous prosecutor. Has Favre a better than average lobbyist, or is there some other reason he seems to be being treated more lightly than an errant parent trying to get their child an unearned place at USC?

        • Rayne says:

          Favre: White, male, monied, celebrity name in sports

          Udoka: Black, male, some money, celebrity name in sports

          Loughlin: White, female, some money, celebrity name in entertainment

          Wonder if there’s a pattern here…

    • DrDoom says:

      I am a Jets and Knicks fan. The question shared by those sharing those pro sport loyalties is which is the more hopeless franchise. At least baseball offers the possibility of a championship.

  3. nedu says:

    IIRC, traded bottle-caps in for a — trying to remember exactly — was it a 3D photo? Went down to the bottling plant to trade them in? Warm autumn day. Smell of brewer’s yeast and Nestle chocolate in the city. Although, anyhow, however it was… my favorite player at the time was #44. I still remember his number. Watching green and gold on black and white at home.

    Aaron pissed the fuck out of me on COVID vaccination. Kids look up. My cohort still has smallpox vaccination scars on our arms.

  4. Jenny says:

    Thank you Rayne. Brett Favre teaching children greed, corruption and theft. Disgraceful!

    PBS Ken Burns three part series, six hours documentary “U.S. and the Holocaust.”
    https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/us-and-the-holocaust/
    Revealing, riveting, emotionally raw.
    We as a family in the 60’s, returning from holiday in southern Germany, stopped at Dachau the first Nazi concentration camp. I will never forget. Extremely, disturbing. Unfortunately, not much has changed regarding refugees and racism.

    • Rayne says:

      Just so disgusted by the sports media after this last month. They’re not up to handling criminality, only sexual scandal as if they were celebrity gossip pages.

      As for the racism: Mississippi’s Tate Reeves is literally trying to kill Black Mississipians by ensuring money goes anywhere but to infrastructure in Jackson.

      At some point I’ll watch Burns’ latest but I don’t have it in me now, probably not before the election, not while watching red states trying out their own forms of low-level holocaust on women of childbearing age, people of color, LGBTQ+, the poor and disabled.

  5. RacerX says:

    Not into NFL, but I am a huge cycling fan, soo…

    2022 UCI Cycling World road Championships: 4 days ago, 39 y/o Annemiek van Vleuten of the Netherlands broke her elbow and sustained other collateral damage from a crash off the start ramp of the Team Time Trial. Yesterday she beat every other woman in the field with a powerful, last-minute attack on the final stretch. 39 & with a broken elbow—she’s harder than nails!

    In the men’s road race, there was a lot of unexpected early aggression and splits, and the peloton kept splitting up in the resulting selections. So much chasing! Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel, 22 y/o, won the World Champion’s title via teamwork, persistent attacks and dropping Alexey Lutsenko, the only man able to follow his final attack. Remco’s eventual solo break lasted to the line—about 30k. This kid is on fire and has won most of the important races he’s started this year. Belgians have called a lot of racers “the next Eddy Merckx” in the past, but now Eddy himself has agreed.

      • RacerX says:

        The UCI has so many of these arcane little regulations that it’s quite common for fines to be or on-the-road orders issued. That said, Vleuty managed to win the day despite it all, and her team will gladly pay that fine.

        • Rayne says:

          I assume that’s her race attire in the photo accompanying the story and wow, how arbitrary.

          Surprised they didn’t fine her for wearing a wrap on her broken elbow which might have reduced drag.

        • RacerX says:

          heh. You can see why the UCI is the butt of so many jokes.

          I gotta admit, after her TTT crash, I had pivoted to van Vleuten’s teammate Mariana Vos (arguably the GOAT of cycling) for tmy favorite, but kept Vleuty as my save pick because one should never count her out. My wife & I both had tears in our eyes after the finish—what a beautiful win!

    • P J Evans says:

      Went to the supermarket yesterday morning, and was delayed at one intersection by a large flock of cyclists with a police escort to control traffic for them. A hundred or co cyclists, about ten motorcycle cops, two cop cars and a van, and a support van for the cyclists. Not a race, just a lot of them out for something.

    • D Railleur says:

      Annemiek rocks. A true star and just so tough. It was a thrilling and well deserved win. On the men’s side. No question Evenepoel is a phenom. I am just not a fan. It was perhaps his constant whining and complaining back when he was not winning. I don’t care for presumed winners who then go on to…. win. Keegan Swenson was a great sidebar story. The older mountain bike champ who had raced what, one pro road race. Older, humble, talented, and very likable. Then there is van der Poel. A lighting rod for great fortune and calamity. He is never boring.

    • Rayne says:

      As if that somehow entitles a jock to deprive the poor of welfare dollars so their kid has a new volleyball venue.

        • Rayne says:

          LOL did I say anything about personally rooting for Detroit? Or shit on the Packers?

          I know it’s easy to blow off my post because I’m not the resident sportser here and I put this Trash Talk up because 1) the resident sportser didn’t, and 2) I need a general topic overflow post for this week.

          But Favre needs an ass kicking because he’s a corrupt asshole and probably a racist given who it is who is most likely hurt by his bullshit entitlement. I will shit on that motherfucker over and over. His record on the field against Detroit has not a fucking thing to do with it.

        • Duke says:

          Packer fan until the end. I support the team and not the individual player. Favre is a piece of shite. The more I learn about the man outside of a Green Bay uniform the more I wish he never played for Green Bay. Rogers may be worse than Favre. Who knows what schmuckiness the organization has prevented the public from finding out. I bought a signed Packers jersey of Favre but am very tempted to use it to clean the toilets with it and mail it to him.

        • paulpfixion says:

          Ditto, Pack all the way. I watch every game even though I live on the other side of the world and have to get up in the middle of the night. Favre is an awful human being. If he cared about anyone other than himself not only would the world be a bit better, the Packers would probably have won more Super Bowls–Holmgren would have stayed in GB and would be considered on par with Belichick. Favre is such a pile of shit he signed with Vikings after using the Jets. That, however, is of minor importance in regards to making the world a bit better. Fuck Favre. He’s the kind of guy who sends unwanted dick pics to women trying to do their jobs and steals money from people who don’t have enough to eat and struggle to find shelter. He sucks. He’s gross. His hall of fame plaque should read “This man stole money from hungry children in need in order to finance his own vanity.”

        • RacerX says:

          Yep! This one puts the F-man into the (extremely crowded) “Great athlete, Terrible person” Hall of Fame. Say hi to Pete, Lance, and Deshaun for us, Brett!

  7. Lester Noyes says:

    Speaking of trash – NCAA. Why do so many big college teams get to massacre teams from schools we’ve never heard of for at least half their schedules? (Let me gue$$.) And why do the sports media celebrate those “wins”? (Undefeated!!!) This is something “the internet” should squawk about, make fun of, piss on.

    Do those little colleges get to get to play high school teams for half of THEIR schedules? It’s no fun watching so many blow-outs because there’s nothing else on. (Rural, antenna, 3 stations.)

    How about a campaign for teams to play only other teams that are within 20 ranks of themselves? It would lead to many more games worth watching – and really different rankings.

    • Purple Martin says:

      I don’t know…was kind of fun when FCS (used to be called Div 2) Montana beat 20th-ranked, FBS (used to be called Div 1) Washington in Seattle last year.

      Better yet, let’s consider a Modest Proposal. For decades the NCAA’s money sports have been mostly a corrupt con—old men earning billions while exploiting mostly credulous young men, for the TV money available by televising NFL/NBA prep school games. So, why not get higher education out of the (de facto) professional sports business entirely? That’s not a thing anywhere but the U.S. and neither universities nor professional sports seem the worse for it.

      Also consider, that may already be starting. The Transfer Portal, NIL money, and conference shuffling are just nibbling at the edges—existing college team names/goodwill are valuable intellectual property and there’s no reason their owners shouldn’t monetize them. That means the NCAA (if they even continue to exist) could move their top football and basketball draws to a college professional league, dropping all except a symbolic licensing-of-higher-education relationship.

      So, for the top (30+?) schools with national brands and an avid, nationwide fan base, license the intellectual property and run an independent business that’s engaged in sports . Pay the employee-athletes (far more honest term than student-athlete) a fair wage through negotiated contracts freely entered into by two willing parties (for the publicity value, include discounted or free tuition options in the employee benefits package, payable post-football).

      Keep the school/team names and famous on-campus stadiums. Pay cheerleaders, marching band, mascots—all still students (a part-time job many would like). To get that cheering-stadium backdrop, price tickets lower than the NFL, because the real money is in the TV/streaming media contracts.

      Most university presidents would be thrilled to get rid of the headaches of running an entertainment business, and just take the IP licensing money to support their core mission. And no need to stop there—public school district superintendents would love to to spend money on math programs instead of sports (though elected school boards…probably not so much.)

      That would go far towards establishing an environment in which all school sports are greatly deemphasized, freeing education at all levels to start taking the development of young scholars as seriously as it takes the development of young athletes.

    • tmooretxk says:

      Actually, most of the premier schools only have one or two gimmee games because they are in big conferences and only have a few open dates. And a lot of those mismatches are dictated by state legislatures wanting their preferred second rate programs to get the exposure. Doesn’t excuse them all, but not as blatant as it used to be.

  8. earthworm says:

    de santis’s migrant stunt’s target is where i live.
    how is this not human trafficking? — transporting people who have no clue where they are headed — (regardless of whatever asylum status that group may have had in texas)??
    it’s likely that colonial slavers in west africa in the 17th and 18th centuries used similar deception to acquire human cargo, such as de santis’s colluders used with those they dumped on martha’s vineyard.
    and to counter the image of martha’s vineyard as a “wealthy island,” it has been under the strain of a massive influx of incomers for many years. it has destroyed the community that used to exist here.
    some of this influx is ‘colonial’ in nature, the corporate rich and well-off pandemic refugees.
    some is thousands of undocumented workers, maybe 30,000, mainly from brasil.
    a small island is expected to accommodate all, and mostly does.

    i fervently hope that de santis suffers disaster for his stunt.
    a fine leader he shows himself to be! taking what is actually a problem with global causes and aspects that requires wisdom and vision, and dumping it upon on a small sandpile in the atlantic.

    • Legonaut says:

      But, the libs! They be owned! Mission Accomplished!

      A terrible leader for all, but he’s giving “his” people exactly what they want.

      You want “civility” in American politics? Convince me.

    • Rayne says:

      DeSantis isn’t suffering with his voters because the cruelty is the point with them. They want an autocrat who will make “those people” suffer, and “those people” are BIPOC who are punished for voting, for wanting a solid education; LGTBQ+ folks who want to be able to live in peace with the same rights as the rest of us have, being accepted as normal in their communities; women of childbearing age who should have the same right to privacy to control their bodies and their destinies; and asylum seekers who want to escape violence.

      Sadly, the feds probably won’t do anything before the election since DeathSantis’ crap is intended to affect both FL and TX races like Greg Abbott’s. Yes, let’s not forget about Abbott’s role in this.

  9. Rugger9 says:

    Nothing in the sports world ever annoyed me as much as an entitled twit. Favre is merely the latest example, I remember how Steve Howe (who eventually did a stint with the San Jose Bees) had something like double-digit chances to reform out of drug addiction (or nearly) back in the 70’s. Or, Todd Marinovich in the 80/90’s trading on his dad’s rolodex and USC cred. These are people who’ve been told they’re so special for so long that mere civility doesn’t apply to them.

    Once in a great while I’d play against some hotshot rep-sider in a tournament and while giving him the attentions he deserved I’d get a ‘do you know who I am’ whine. I’d remind him that he’s the guy wearing the wrong color jersey and that’s all I cared about. What always amused me was how many of his teammates thanked me later. You’re welcome.

    If the GQP were really the Law-n-order party, Favre would be prosecuted. However, like Rittenhouse and ‘Coach’ Kennedy he’s now a media darling who must be kept on a pedestal as a hero regardless of anything else he does. At least I won’t see any more Copperfit commercials.

    • TSawyer says:

      The Mississippi story only begins at the big name corruption. The real story is the state policies that have kept participation in welfare programs like TANF at among the lowest in the nation. The federal government has provided money for public assistance with more discretion for state lawmakers since Bill Clinton ended welfare as we know it. Mississippi lawmakers have not had the political will to allocate that money to real programs, so grifters and opportunists just steal it

  10. Ddub says:

    The penultimate week of the National Women’s Soccer League, the NWSL sorted out the near rans mostly. The counted out NC Courage with their amazing Brazilian front line are win or tie and they’re in. If they falter the Chicago Red Stars with Mallory Pugh are in the wings.
    On Fire: OL Reign, KC Current, NC Courage, Portland Thorns
    Backing in: SD Wave, Houston Dash.
    A great competitive season that saw a 2 team expansion of Cali teams’ SD Wave and the more known Angel City to bring the League to 12. 6 make the playoffs, best 2 have byes, and then a prime time final on CBS on the 29th of October!!

    • Rayne says:

      Prime time final on CBS? Huh. I’m rather surprised by that. I’ll have to put a reminder on my calendar to catch it.

      • Ddub says:

        I became a fan after WC2019. Lots of bumps. Now it’s getting better, fast. Teams were only eliminated from the playoffs last week, so it is a very competitive league.
        I got the Paramount+ 5 buck plan. I am in no way affiliated with CBS. At times they piss me off like most the media and sports conglomerates but in praise they have gone in in a big way on Soccer:
        Champion’s League
        Women’s Super League – England
        European Women’s WC2023 Qualifiers
        NWSL
        Other Men’s Leagues
        If you are a Soccer fan, Women’s Soccer (WOSO) fan, it’s the place to be, oh and also the NWSL page on Twitch, which has free games with chats, and also serves overseas markets.

  12. wetzel says:

    A man and a friend are playing golf one day. One of the guys is about to chip onto the green when he sees a long funeral procession on the road next to the course. He stops in mid-swing, takes off his golf cap, closes his eyes, and bows down in prayer. His friend says: “Wow! That is the most thoughtful and touching thing I have ever seen. You are truly a kind man.” The other man replies, “Yeah, well, we were married 35 years.”

  13. Tom-1812 says:

    I lost interest in sports back in 1967 when the NHL expanded from the original six teams, so I never even heard of Brett Favre until about ten years ago when I popped a biceps tendon in my right arm loading bundles of hardwood flooring into the back of my car.

    My doctor referred me to a specialist who seemed to be worried I was going to ask for surgery to re-attach the tendon. He told me about some guy named Brett Favre who he claimed had actually had one of his biceps tendons surgically detached so that he could throw a football better. I never did find out whether that was true or not and agreed with the doctor that surgery might just make a bad situation worse.

    Then about six years later I was once again loading bundles of hardwood flooring into the back of my car and this time popped the biceps tendon in my left arm. Again, the specialist advised against surgery and I agreed, as long as he was willing to assure me he’d never heard of anyone, not even Brett Favre, popping both upper biceps tendons.

  14. gmoke says:

    I guess we’ll never be able to watch “There’s Something About Mary” in the same way since Brett Favre is held up as a “nice guy” exemplar in that film, as per his reputation at the time it was made.

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