Quarterback Aaron Rodgers led the Packers offense early on to a 14-o lead in the first half, but was unable to get much going in the second half. Chicago, however, started scoring, earning its first seven points shortly after the start of the fourth quarter.

But an unlikely interception by Nose Tackle B. J. Raji, who returned it for an 18-yard touchdown, kept the Packers very much alive in the second half. Chicago again scored another touchdown, bringing the score to 21-14. The final death knell for Chicago, though, was when Cornerback Sam Shields intercepted the ball with only 46 seconds left in the game. One more knee by Rodgers and the Packers go home with the George Halas Trophy, the trophy awarded to the NFC Champion – and on to win the Super Bowl’s coveted Vince Lombardi Trophy.

As I finish writing this, I am also watching the start of the AFC Championship game to see if the Packers will play against the Pittsburgh Steelers or the New York Jets. Either way, I am really excited for the Packers, the new NFC Champions. I look forward to seeing them play on February 6.

Being a Packers fan, I am obviously hoping they win and go on to win the Super Bowl. They have had some struggles, but the team has really gained momentum in the past few weeks. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers has really grown as a top-tier professional in the three years since taking the starting position. Coach Mike McCarthy is making great calls and changing it up for his players. Linebacker Clay Matthews and Cornerbacks Charles Woodson and Tramon Williams are disrupting the opposing teams’ offenses and causing turnovers. Wide receivers Donald Driver and Greg Jennings are playing at the top of their games. Running back James Starks and Fullback John Kuhn have really taken the running game beyond outstanding. Overall, there are many great players on the team this year that have stepped up to make it a Super Bowl caliber team.

It will not be an easy battle. The Bears also have many great players and have just as good a chance of winning. The media is calling it epic, legendary, and whatever else they can think of. I personally think that it will be generally a great game to watch.

Favre recently underwent surgery to repair a torn biceps tendon, but his legs and ankles continue to bother him. As he stated in the ESPN article, “The things that bothered me, bothered me a little more. It takes longer to recover — if you do recover.” Personally, I don’t blame him.

As much as I am a Brett Favre fan, I am no Vikings fan; I doubt that I ever will be (unless, by some fluke, they play the Patriots in the Super Bowl). I really did not want to see Favre suit up in purple and gold. I am glad that it won’t happen now. But even if he had, I would have supported his decision to continue playing if he felt healthy enough to do so. Unfortunately for him (and, although I hate to say it, fortunately for Packers fans), reality set in.

No matter what colors he wears, Favre is still the greatest quarterback of my era. I wish him luck in his future endeavors. As I probably have stated in the past, thanks for all that you did for both the Packers and the NFL.

The peloton was about a minute behind the leader when it started the climb. Astana played it cool and kept its pace heading into the climb. When it started into the climb, Lance and Alberto paced it well, allowing Alberto to attack up the mountain. Once he started, there was no slowing down – Contador flew up Verbier – all, of course, on his new Trek Madone.

Lance continued his pace, assuring his teammate the yellow jersey. He and teammate Andréas Klöden kept the pace of the chase group in check. All the while, Alberto continued to fly up the mountain, passing other riders and securing his lead.

When Contador crossed the finish line, he was more than half-a-minute ahead of the next person to finish (Andy Schleck). Lance finished about a minute-and-a-half behind Alberto. The rider in the yellow jersey, Rinaldo Nocentini, finished just over two-and-a-half minutes behind; George Hincapie (second as of yesterday) finished over four minutes behind. Lance secured his spot in second overall.

I am happy that Team Astana won its second stage and finally secured the yellow jersey. Contador is an awesome climber, and he has a great team supporting him, including Lance. Unfortunately, Levi Leipheimer left the Tour with a broken wrist a couple of days ago – my thoughts are with him and I hope he has a speedy recovery.

So congratulations to Alberto and to Team Astana for winning today’s stage and the yellow jersey.

There is a lot of great talent on Lance’s team, Team Astana, as well as in the Tour overall. But I’m really rooting for Lance. He’s definitely a true American, and he’s showing that even Americans can handle the pure athleticism of the sport of cycling. I’m sure that this will not be my only post on his progress.

Three of the first 21 stages are now complete in this year’s Tour de France. Team Astana won the today’s Team Time Trial, which just about put Lance in first place. He is now only a fraction of a second from receiving his 84^th Yellow Jersey. Not bad for someone that retired from cycling four years ago (and with 7 consecutive wins). Stage 4 will be quite a battle.

Go Lance and Team Astana!

Thanks to defensive Safety Leroy Butler, the first Lambeau Leap is now the stuff of legend. I think the Lambeau Leap is one of the coolest end zone celebrations in history. When a player jumps into the stands, it brings the fans and players together in a celebration of a great feat. It’s a celebration of the sport with those that love it. Many fans have commented on how much fun it is. So thank you Leroy Butler for inventing one of the greatest moves in football.

NY Times: With Favre Around, No More Excuses From Mangini

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Jets get Brett

The decision to retire as a player cannot be easy. Favre came out last March and announced that he just didn’t have it in him anymore; this was two months after his season ended. I feel that once you’ve made the decision to retire, you should be absolutely certain that it is what you truly want. Favre, however, waffled and started hinting at coming back only three months after his announcement. He pulled this off after the Packers started its first training camp, after the Packers (and all the fans) started moving on and announced Aaron Rodgers as the team’s starting quarterback.

However, neither Packers General Manager Ted Thompson nor Head Coach Mike McCarthy made it clear that they wanted Favre to come back. According to Favre, he felt pressured to retire back in March. The team’s MVP, the NFL’s all-time leader in passes, one of the most favored quarterbacks of all time, the man who brought the title back to Titletown, the 2007 Sportsman of the Year, and the leader who led the Packers to its most winning season in ten years was being pushed out. In my mind, the Packers’ front office is playing games. Thompson and McCarthy should have considered Favre in their plans for 2008. Instead, they are working on alienating both the greatest quarterback of all time and the fans that support and own the organization (the Green Bay Packers is a publicly-owned football team).

According to ESPN, Favre faxed his reinstatement papers to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s office. As a result, Packers President Mark Murphy is on his way to discuss the situation face-to-face with Favre himself at his home in Mississippi and to convince him not to report to training camp. Assuming Commissioner Goodell approves, the Packers are faced with three decisions:

1. Allow Favre to suit up.
2. Release him.
3. Trade him.

If Favre suits up, he won’t be completely ready for the beginning of the season. It’s already the end of July, and the pre-season starts in a few weeks. But he could start on day 1 of the regular season if he gets into camp very soon (say this weekend). But that will undermine everything that the coaches and the players have done to this point. Still, many of the players know Favre, know what he’s capable of, and know how to communicate with him. I don’t consider this a bad thing necessarily. Another option is coaching, but I get the sense that Favre does not want to sit on the sidelines.

If the Packers release him, Favre would be allowed to play for another team. It may look bad for the Packers, but it would be more difficult for him to get used to new personnel. Other teams have already started their training camps as well, so their personnel would also have a tough time adjusting to a different quarterback.

If the Packers trade him, they could end up with a better situation, but would still alienate the fans. However, the same issue is true with Favre playing on another team.

With President Mark Murphy now planning to tell Brett Favre not to report to training camp this week (essentially undermining Thompson’s ability to manage the situation), this saga is going to get ugly. But knowing what I’ve read and seen, I still support number 4!

For this Packers fan, it’s going to be a long and ugly year.

Since coming to Green Bay during his second professional season, Brett Favre showed that true heroes still exist. He took a struggling offense and brought it to the top of its game. Along with leadership on the defense (namely the late, great Reggie White), he led the team to its first Super Bowl in almost 30 years and brought the title back to Titletown. As the only three-time winner of the MVP Award, Favre continued to break records, right through his last season.

Only one night after his father’s untimely death in December 2003, Favre played the game of his life against the Oakland Raiders, beating them 41-7, passing for 399 yards and 4 touchdowns. By then, he was already considered an iron man, having started every game since taking the helm in Green Bay in 1992, despite playing through adversity and injuries. Today, he leaves behind a record of 249 starts.

During the 2007 season, he had all of us believing. He lead the Packers to its best record in years (13-3). He was named Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated. He broke the all-time touchdown record at 442, and passed for 61,655 yards. Although the Packers didn’t win homefield advantage by default, they would have memorable events throughout the playoffs.

The night he played against his former coach’s (Mike Holmgren) team (Seattle Seahawks), he rallied the Packers from a 0-14 deficit to beat the Seahawks in the snow. That same weekend, the Dallas Cowboys lost to the New York Giants, giving the Packers homefield advantage for the NFC Championship Game. Unfortunately, the temperature was in the minus teens with the wind chill. After struggling all evening, Favre could barely keep the offense on top. Unfortunately, he would throw his last Packers pass as an interception to a Giants defender in overtime, sealing the team’s season. Despite this loss in the bitter cold, all of us Packers fans still believed in him up until the very end.

So what’s next? Since Favre will no longer return to Green Bay as a player, I still believe we will see him again. He’s a great player and an awesome person. He overcame pain, addiction, heartache, and even stood by his wife Deanna as she struggled with breast cancer. His down-to-earth character makes him such a great figure in the NFL and a wonderful person off the field. Other players may break some or all of his records in the future, but none will ever be worthy enough to be compared to Brett Favre.

This post is dedicated to his family, to his friends, to his teammates, and to all of his fans! Brett Favre, congratulations on a great career, and thanks for the memories!