And what exactly is the hold-up?  Apparently Brett is still not sure about his arm, which has reportedly been sore.  Or maybe Brett just wants extra time to say goodbye to his lawn mowers.  That’s always emotional.

There’s only one thing I know for sure:  trying to guess what’s going on in Brett Favre’s head is never a great move.

In a convergence of potential future NFL North combatants, Favre mingled in the crowd with one Jay Cutler, newly-minted Chicago Bears quarterback and savior.  Remember that, before (certain delusional) Vikings fans zeroed in on Favre as the man to lift the burden of eternal failure from their shoulders, it was Cutler who was rumored to be on his way to Minnesota.  But, for some reason, Brad Childress decided he didn’t like the cut of Cutler’s jib, or whatever, and passed on him in favor of the broken-down old Wranglers pitchman.

Of course the occasion had nothing to do with Favre or Cutler (unlike the rest of this off-season, which has been mostly about them), but was all about remembering Steve McNair, as gritty and gutty a competitor who ever strapped on a helmet.  His murder by his disturbed mistress will have to go down as one of the most shocking stories in NFL history.  Right up there with Packers icon Brett Favre becoming  a Minnesota Viking.

Today’s decision, which effectively exempts two players from the NFL-NFLPA collectively bargained program, further illustrates the critical importance of a uniform policy for all teams in the league and why this matter should be governed exclusively by federal law. The Court’s interim decision regarding the suspensions has no immediate practical impact since the suspensions will not take effect until the beginning of the regular season in September. In the meantime, our appeal to the United States Court of Appeals, which argues that the players’ state claims are barred by the Collective Bargaining Agreement, should be resolved before the start of the season.

In other words, we should know by Week 1 whether Pat and Kevin will have to serve their four game suspension.  It would suck righteously if the thing somehow dragged into the season, leaving a dark cloud hanging over the Williams Wall and the entire team.  I almost wish they’d just served the damn thing last season and been done with it.  But then we might not have made the playoffs, I guess.

Another report from the other day said the Vikings have begun tweaking their playbook for Favre.  Also, a whole corner of the locker room is being walled off and soundproofed so Brett can have his private time with the Almighty.  Yeah, Brett talks with God a lot.  Reggie White introduced them and they’ve been great buddies ever since.

Tony, polite guy that he is, answered the fool question, saying, “For him, he loves the game of football. He enjoys playing it. If you’re good enough to do it, and obviously he is, otherwise there wouldn’t be teams going after him.”Romo added, “[The Vikings] have tapes so they’re going to watch. They obviously think he did something right last year. They’ll be a very dangerous team if they get him, definitely.”

And the Cowboys would be a dangerous team if they had a quarterback who didn’t wilt at the first hint of pressure.

Sorry, but the only thing more tiresome than Favremania is the endless media fascination with Romo and his sex life and his feuds with his wide receivers.  And it’s all because he plays for the Cowboys.  There’s a law some place that a certain percentage of sports media coverage has to be dedicated to the Cowboys, Yankees and Lakers, with the small sliver remaining being split between the rest of the teams.  I’m sure Romo’s a nice guy, but I don’t care what he thinks.

Fran Tarkenton - now that’s the guy I listen to.

I am only reporting this because, after a couple weeks of relative inactivity, I have decided it is time to get back in the full swing, or at least as near to the full swing as one can be in this rather dead period of the off-season.  Unfortunately, this involves once again blogging the Favre-talk.  I had ceased doing it because I was sick of it and think most of you are probably sick of it.  Thankfully, I believe the farce will be coming to an end soon.  Favre will be signed, and then we can start thinking about real stuff like training camp, Antoine Winfield’s potential hold-out and Percy Harvin’s next mysterious viral infection.

I didn’t expect to be in July without a deal.  Personally, I’m a little disappointed. They consider me a core player, but they’re not showing me that.

The Vikings had been negotiating an extension with Winfield, whose contract expires after the 2009 season, but those talks broke down months ago and there has been no new movement reported since.  Winfield has reacted to the situation by skipping out on all off-season activities so far, including mandatory minicamp (he said he was attending a funeral).

Now Winfield has suggested that more reactions could be in the offing.  “If they want me here, they should be able to get a deal done,” he said.  “There shouldn’t be a problem.  If they don’t, then they need to say that and let’s work toward a resolution that works out good for everyone.”

The fact that the team began negotiating with Winfield then broke it off would seem to suggest that they do want him back.  Then again, situations sometimes change.  It could be that the Vikings have earmarked the money they would’ve paid Antoine for some other purpose - paying an aging former Pro Bowl quarterback for instance - and Antoine is just SOL.

The rankings are based on numerous factors including “Affordability,” “Coaching,” “Fan Relations,” “Players” and “Stadium Experience.”  Predictably, the Purple do not fare well in stadium experience, ranking 117th; nor does ESPN think much of the coaching staff, ranking it 111th.  The Vikes are seen as having plenty of talent though, ranking 54th in players, and they also do well in a category called “Bang for the Buck”
(which I’m assuming isn’t dirty, even though it sort of sounds like it), placing 46th.

And what does all this mean?  The Vikings have a crap stadium, crap coaches and pretty good players.  Thanks ESPN the Magazine for offering up these marvelous insights.

According to NFL.com, Harvin showed up on Sunday with the rest of the 256 draft picks who were scheduled to attend, but soon notified the medical staff of his problem and was dismissed.  This will all sound familiar to Vikings fans, who remember that Harvin, while in the airport ready to leave for Minnesota for rookie minicamp in May, came down with a virus and ended up in the hospital taking intravenous fluids.

There have thus far been no further details on what is ailing Percy this time, but really, does it matter?  All we need to know as football fans is that Percy Harvin is either incredibly susceptible to every bug going around or just doesn’t like showing up for stuff.  I can relate to that latter possibility, having missed many a boring day of fifth grade by coming down with a stomach ache that was, funny, all better by nine o’clock.

Let’s hope that, when it comes time to strap it on, Percy is able to keep his lunch down, otherwise someone will have to lay in a supply of puke-drying sawdust.  There might be some left around the Metrodome from when Robert Smith was on the team.

And, if you would, take another minute to subscribe to the Viking Age feed.  It’s very handy.