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I was quite surprised to see that I had not made an entry in my blog for nearly two weeks. I guess that tells you what I think about the current state of things in sports. There isn't even anything to get me very fired up about. Or maybe I've just been lax in putting my thoughts on the screen. So I am remedying that today.

A few thoughts:

- I was excited to see that Billy Packer has parted ways with CBS and will no longer be calling the Final Four. I have known nothing but Billy Packer in the Final Four for as long as I have watched March Madness. To hear a new voice, and one that is not as condescending and elitist as Billy Packer will be refreshing. People watch March Madness for the excitement of watching the unexpected like Davidson making it to the Elite Eight or George Mason's run a couple years ago. Packer is decidedly against these events. He has repeatedly stated over the years that he felt that conference champs should not be guaranteed a spot if a more worthy big name team doesn't get in. He was contrary to everything that CBS itself promoted as being the best part of tourney. About time they finally cut the cord and made the separation. Here's to Clark Kellogg!

- Brett Favre. Not sure I should approach this one. I wrote a blog a while back discussing athletes that hang around for too long when Ric Flair retired from wrestling. Brett needs to take that advice. Get out and stay out. He was great. He will go to the Hall of Fame. Is he better than Aaron Rodgers as a starter in 2008? Probably. Should he come back? Definitely not. Green Bay fans that want him back are lusting for the old days. He's not that guy anymore. He should take a page from Barry Sanders and Jim Brown and accept when it is time to walk away. Go out with everyone thinking your still great not with people wondering what the hell you're doing.

- Can I just say that I am rooting for the Tampa Bay Rays. Here is a team with good young talent, great pitchers, and are exciting to watch. I hope they are able to pull themselves out of the tailspin they are after the All-Star break and make the wild card (with the Red Sox winning the AL East of course!)

- NHL free agent frenzy is over and once again salaries reached new heights of insanity. What I think will be interesting is how some of these long deals that some of the younger stars signed last year and this year (Vincent Lecavalier being the latest) will affect salaries in the future. Basically, these players are now locked into deals for years to come with no real knowledge on how the market will rise or fall over the coming years. One would think that the current economic downturn in the country has to hit professional sports at some point as people have less money to shell out to go to games, buy merchandise, and pay for $7 Dixie cup beers. In addition, thought ratings improved this year for the NHL, without some serious improvement TV revenue may not be enough to keep up with the higher payrolls. Teams like the Islanders, Penguins, and Lightning may find themselves with salaries that are dragging their teams down in future seasons. Maybe not but it something that could prove quite interesting 6 or 7 years from now.

That's all I've got for now. I will try to put some more fingers to keyboard in the coming months are football camps open and college campus' around the country starting getting ready for the fall season.