Awkward moments ahead for Pack, Favre
Brett Favre’s growing rift with the Green Bay Packers could lead to a few awkward moments for the three-time MVP this weekend.
Favre is scheduled to present former teammate Frank Winters at the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame induction banquet at Lambeau Field on Saturday night. Winters, former Packers defensive tackle Gilbert Brown and video director Al Treml will be enshrined in the Packers’ Hall of Fame.
Should Favre keep his commitment to Winters, his close friend and former center, his return to Lambeau will come a little more than a week after formally requesting to be released from his contract – and only days after expressing his distrust of Packers management and insisting that the team pressured him into making his retirement decision in an interview with Fox News on Monday.
•The Packers have filed tampering charges against the Minnesota Vikings over what team officials believe is inappropriate contact with Favre, a person familiar with the complaint told The Associated Press.
The person, who requested anonymity, said Packers officials believe an examination of telephone records will indicate more than “normal contact” between Favre and Vikings offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, a former Packers assistant.
Gang signs to be monitored
The NFL is stepping up its monitoring of on-field player activities to ensure that no one is flashing the hand signals of street gangs.
The Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday that the league had hired experts to look at game tapes and identify players or team officials who might be using suspected gang signals. Violators would be warned and disciplined if the episodes recurred.
League officials said Tuesday that avoiding gang-related activities has long been stressed.
They said the scrutiny was intensified after the shooting death of Denver cornerback Darrent Williams in 2007 after Williams was involved in a dispute with known gang members.
Papa will replace Gumbel
Bob Papa, the radio play-by-play voice of the New York Giants for the past 13 seasons, will replace Bryant Gumbel as the announcer for the NFL Network’s eight Thursday night games.
Papa will team with Cris Collinsworth to do the games, which had been handled by Gumbel for the first two seasons of live games on the NFL’s television outlet.
McCown has brush with saw
Miami quarterback Josh McCown has decided to quit using chain saws, which should please his team.
A brush with a chain saw two weeks ago left McCown with a cut on the index finger of his throwing hand that required six stitches. But he expects to be ready for the start of training camp next week, said his agent, Mike McCartney.