Quick, somebody send Jim Gray on location to interview the Spaniards who have taken over the world of sports. At least that part of it — World Cup, Wimbledon, Tour de France — that few of us care about.
We don't want Gray, of the recent LeBron infomercial, driving a rental around Chad Greenway the back roads of Mississippi in search of his latest effort in contrived journalism.
Today is August. That means football is back and it's time to pay attention again. Which brings us back to Favre.
He's had six months to decide if he wants to subject his body to the rigors of professional football. This is the same man who for two decades has proved to be among the best at making split-second decisions at the line of scrimmage after sizing up the defense.
This is the man among the upper rank all time at deciding on second Antoine Winfield and third options when his primary target is covered. His mind has been trained to a finely tuned trigger for immediate decision making.
At least while on a football field.
This much, too, about Favre's latest two-step with the NFL. If his recent observation merely is subterfuge for delaying his entry into training camp, why bother? Favre could arrive on the Mississippi River by Jet Ski the night of the Vikings' first exhibition game and be welcomed by the governor and a Norwegian color guard.
If it was a throwaway line to media members trying to perform their job, try something else.
Favre's absence is not exactly dividing the locker room like Albert Haynesworth's sabbatical with the Redskins. He has earned a degree of special consideration, and the Vikings surely are amenable, understanding that they are a Super Bowl contender with him and a wild-card contender without him.
But drop the nonsense that not even you can comprehend which way you are leaning. Give fans at least a shred of respect.
Otherwise they are left to wonder if it takes you a month to determine whether Brett Favre or not to ask your wife to dance. At least six weeks to fully comprehend whether the back 40 needs mowing. A full summer to pick between Coke and Pepsi.
Pity the poor slob standing behind Favre at a voting machine. Or the server waiting patiently as he scans a menu.
Fans and sportswriters never will fully fathom what it is like to subject Adrian Peterson the human body to the pounding it takes throughout an NFL season. In Favre's case, a body that already has taken that extreme beating in 19 other years.
Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier says cornerback Cedric Griffin definitely will miss the season opener against New Orleans while he recovers from offseason knee surgery.
Griffin tore the ACL in his left knee in the NFC title game against the Saints in January. Most expected that Griffin would miss at least the start of the season and Frazier confirmed that on Monday.
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