NOTHIN' BUT NET: Favre chatter nonstop on new Web site

Bringbackbrettfavre.com

By SCOTT BAIR - Staff Writer | Saturday, July 19, 2008 5:09 PM PDT ∞

Early July is an especially slow time for sports news. Baseball is the only game going these days, save occasional respite from one of the minor sports. With the MLB All-Star Game in the rear view and NFL preseason games still a few weeks away, ESPN officially has nothing to talk about.

How will they fill 24 hours of programming without consistent action? Man, nor network, can't survive on golf tournaments and classic Wimbledon finals alone. This forces ESPN to do a few drastic things to fill air time.

The first is to create some inane contests like last year's "Who's Now" to determine the ultimate sports star, or this summer's search for "Titletown USA." Another time-tested strategy is to head on down to Mississippi, poke Brett Favre with a stick and then talk retirement.

That's been happening every year for quite a while, but this time ESPN hit the mother lode. Not only had the lovable Green Bay Packers quarterback already retired, he was contemplating a comeback to a team that no longer wants him.

Somewhere, ESPN football reporter John Clayton was doing cartwheels.

Favre has already been assigned his own ticker symbol on the bottom line and I hear ESPN is considering a new channel expansion in case Favre should sneeze or cough and what that could mean to his playing future.

As annoying as the topic is along the Pacific, it's water cooler conversation everywhere else, including the Internet. Bringbackbrettfavre.com is at the center of this cyberspace storm, allowing fans to discuss ol' No. 4 to their heart's content.

Cool stuff

-- This is primarily a message board site, but the categories are well designed. There's "Bring Him Back," "Show Your Support," "If He's Traded," and, my personal favorite, "Boycott the Packers." That's where the real venom flies, especially from those that share in this publically-owned franchise.

-- There are a few polls here that offer predictable results. Should Favre return to the Packers? Yes, say 78 percent. Should Favre retire? No, say 84 percent. How many of those votes can be linked to John Madden? Probably most of them.

Check at the door

-- There are no bells or whistles here. There's no video and precious little photographs. This site is all comments, all the time.

The grade

If you can't get enough of the latest Favre saga, this is your spot. If you're a casual observer looking for "There's Something About Mary" clips, don't bother stopping by. Give it three out of five mouses.

Scott Bair thinks Brett Favre is good, but believes that he's no Cade McNown. Contact Bair at (760) 739-6642 or sbair@nctimes.com if you think the former UCLA quarterback should come out of retirement, too. We'll start a Web site.