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Though it’s unclear where this new was first reported (we think it was Sirius NFL Radio), Adam Schefter of NFL Network confirms that the “Minneapolis” (thanks, Greta) Vikings won’t be punished for allegedly tampering with Packers quarterback Brett Favre.
The Packers made the charge last month based on their belief that Favre had excessive communications with Vikings offensive coordinator Darell Bevell, who previously was Favre’s quarterbacks coach in Green Bay.
Favre recently admitted that he talked both to Bevell and to Vikings head coach Brad Childress, but Favre denied that they enticed him to play for the Vikings.
And thus the clusterfudge that is the Packers organization looks foolish yet again in this protracted string of gaffes and embarrassments.
UPDATE: Here’s what the Packers have to say about the situation, “Based on the information that we had, the Packers thought it was appropriate to bring this matter to the league’s attention. We respect the Commissioner’s investigation of this matter and we now consider it closed.”
August 4th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
Any word on the penalties for cellphones that sidestep the salary cap?
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Rating: 3.15 / 5 with 7 rating(s)
August 4th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
I think they hardly look foolish. I think it was more a shot across the bow of the Vikings’ ship, saying “We know what you’re trying to do…Stop it.”
I’m guessing he hasn’t said “boo” to anyone in that franchise since…mission accomplished
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Rating: 2.55 / 5 with 9 rating(s)
August 4th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
What the heck happened with that then…?
What’s going on in the Green Bay front office?
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Rating: 3.85 / 5 with 8 rating(s)
August 4th, 2008 at 4:07 pm
Meanwhile, President Bush spoke to Ted Thompson via telephone this afternoon, saying, ” Teddy, you’re doing a heck of a job.”
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Rating: 3.4 / 5 with 10 rating(s)
August 4th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
Maybe this is the prelude to a trade…
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 7 rating(s)
August 4th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
Well, sure, if you find them guilty and take away a draft pick or two, they’ll have less to trade for Favre. Green Bay would rather lose out on the charge and have those picks available for the Favre trade than just lose them and have less to hope for.
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Rating: 1.65 / 5 with 6 rating(s)
August 4th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
ha ha ha !!!! looks like the first step to favre in purple to me!! ziggy says “first off, lets drop the charge, then we’ll talk”
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Rating: 3.75 / 5 with 10 rating(s)
August 4th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
(In best Nelson Muntz impression ): Ha Ha!
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Rating: 4.5 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
August 4th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
Maybe the Packers should be charged a draft pick for false accusations. Easy for them to throw out ridiculous claims when there are no ramifications whatsoever for them to consider.
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Rating: 3.4 / 5 with 10 rating(s)
August 4th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
The current Packers organization appears to be unravelling. What are they trying to accomplish through all of this? I don’t think they have handled any of this very well… and from an organization that has been such a fine example of what the NFL should be. It’s just one mis-step after another with this Favre business. Regardless of what Favre has done or is doing, they need to take the higher road always. He is one person/player. They had me fooled all along… and now it’s clear to me. This is not the Same organization as it once was, and that is really dissappointing. Not only for the Packers and their fans, but for the entire NFL and it’s following. One more reason to start following College football more closely.
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 12 rating(s)
August 4th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
this is probly because bf initiated it, and the league sure wont swat him.
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Rating: 2.8 / 5 with 5 rating(s)
August 4th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
Suck on that, Ted Thompson!
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Rating: 3.75 / 5 with 10 rating(s)
August 4th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
Surprise, surprise! Way to go media and and the fools that followed the chum…
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Rating: 4.25 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
August 4th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
Is it just me or have the Packers been acting more like the Clippers lately?
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Rating: 3.7 / 5 with 7 rating(s)
August 4th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
Well…that’s one more obstacle out of the way.
I am sure that Tavarius is very pleased with this news…
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Rating: 4.5 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
August 4th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Whatever Mike. If the Packers had this evidence that Brett spoke to both Childress and Bevell, and hadn’t filed tampering charges, they would have been called out as lackeys, ignoring the obvious.
Any other team in the league would have done the same. Regardless of how they obtained the information, Favre and members of the Vikings organization did have conversations, and that would peak the ears of any team retaining the rights of said player.
The Packers had lose, lose, lose options in this mess. Brett holds them hostage every year, and all the Packers have wanted was to be able to go about the business of running an NFL franchise, with or without Favre…and gasp, on their timetable, not his. Favre will leave the game of football as gracefully as he sometimes played it…and this mess is the result. I challenge any other franchise to do better in the same circumstances.
Keep piling on…the Packers organization will only use it as fuel for success. Your Vikes will have to wait until next year for a division title.
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Rating: 2.7 / 5 with 17 rating(s)
August 4th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Favre talking to Bevell, OK. But talking to Childress, give me a break! This is like saying O.J. Simpson is innocent of all charges.
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Rating: 2.7 / 5 with 16 rating(s)
August 4th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
So, can the Vikes get compensation from the Packers for a false accusation? And said compensation better not be Favre.
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Rating: 3.2 / 5 with 11 rating(s)
August 4th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
The anti-Packer stuff you’ve been writing lately Florio is getting excessive. The Packers thought they had a case, they presented it, and lost. No big deal. I don’t think anyone looks foolish. I didn’t peg Florio for a Lord Favre butt kisser but apparently I was wrong!
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Rating: 2.7 / 5 with 13 rating(s)
August 4th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
Somewhere, Mike Nolan is pushing pins into a Goodell voodoo likeness.
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Rating: 3.6 / 5 with 5 rating(s)
August 4th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
congrats, you have officially become yet another one-sided, biased media tabloid who also have their heads completely fixated up the backside of the formerly respected but now arrogant, bipolar primadonna. may your wife never do to you what favre has done to this organization in the past month just so he can have 1 more ounce of glory at the expense of the other 79 roster players that have actually been working hard all offseason with the intention of moving on without him. kudos to ted thompson and mike mccarthy for failing to fight this disgraceful battle in the media, which profootballtalk fell for 100 percent. unluck vicodin man, who only had the media since he put himself in the position he was in and had no way out except to make others look worse than him for his own stupid mistakes (he even blamed the franchise for him retiring prematurely, are you serious?!?!? and you fell for it, are you serious?!?!) he’s classless and this site has become just another espn. by the way, you have completely failed to mention that the “bribe” you keep mentioning is the exact same agreement that wayne gretzky, nolan ryan, john elway, dan marino and hammerin’ hank aaron (yes, the great hank aaron) signed with their clubs. it’s very common but why would you care? when you have a single slanted agenda, why would you include details that legitimize facts. good job, florio. adios for good.
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Rating: 2.8 / 5 with 13 rating(s)
August 4th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
Stay Classy Green Bay.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 9 rating(s)
August 4th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
Sure thing, commish - no tampering. Uh huh - what about the s=cellphones though - clean, clear salary cap violation.
Put those cellphones in New England and they would take away another #1.
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Rating: 1.55 / 5 with 7 rating(s)
August 4th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
It seems that the closer the Packers and Favre get to patching things up, and moving forward, the more vitriol the organization is going to get(especially from PFT who’d only gain from more drama, and who has no shame in fueling it.)
I predict both the Packers and Favre will only face more ridicule from PFT as they move forward(hopefully peacefully and successfully), both being called out for damaging their image and joined legacies, and selling out both their credibility.
And it will all be done with the beautiful, nuanced, passive-aggressive style we’ve come to love from PFT.
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Rating: 3.5 / 5 with 8 rating(s)
August 4th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
as for the packers front office losing credibility, the only thing they’re guilty of is trying to move on when a legend actually retires (and doesn’t, and does, and doesn’t). heaven forbid they tried to not a miss a beat from last season because someone calls it quits. this is all favre and only favre. the front office has done a tremendous job the past 3 years and favre inserts is egotism into a smooth running operation and it’s the front office’s fault. what a joke. sure would have been nice if favre had actually accepted the starting gig back when they offered it to him after he, ahem, retired. but that would have been too classy of a move on favre’s part. instead, he has to turn them down so he can make them bow at his feet later in the summer when they had to really move on. this front office has more class than favre’s family will ever have in their collective trailers.
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Rating: 2.6 / 5 with 12 rating(s)