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Today's Vikings vs. Packers game will probably not be the last NFL game Brett Favre(notes) plays. It should be, though, because at this point, Favre can't do anything for the Vikings franchise other than continue to pilot their dizzying plunge into a foul pit of football sewage. The Vikings played their fiercest rival today in a game they had to win to keep alive their dim playoff hopes. Not only did they lose; they were destroyed. Embarrassed. Torn apart. The contrast between the beaten-down, ineffective Favre and the energetic, playmaking Aaron Rodgers(notes) could not have been more stark. The legend...

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn.(AP) Brett Favre is back in Minnesota, right on schedule. For the second year in a row, the quarterback who spends his summers on the verge of retirement was driven to Vikings headquarters on the Tuesday following the team's first preseason game. Just like last August, news helicopters followed his vehicle from a local airport and dozens of fans and media gathered at the entrance to Winter Park to greet him. "Circus in Winter Park," tight end Visanthe Shiancoe tweeted. Nothing the Vikings haven't seen before.

NFL V.P. of officiating Mike Pereira says. “They’re missed calls,” Pereira said during his “Official Review” segment on NFL Total Access. On a Favre interception against the Saints, Remi Ayodele hit Favre high while Bobby McCray hit him low, and Pereira said McCary should have been flagged for getting Favre in the lower leg. “It is the kind of hit that we want called because, clearly, we’re trying to protect the knees,” Pereira said.

A 40-year-old in pink cleats was good enough to beat the St. Louis Rams. OK, so maybe it wasn’t any 40-year-old. It was Brett Favre, and it doesn’t seem to matter what color his cleats are. Favre threw for 232 yards and a touchdown a day after a milestone birthday, leading the undefeated Minnesota Vikings to a 38-10 rout over the hapless and helpless Rams on Sunday.

Now is probably as good a time as any to do the Fifth Down’s once-weekly Brett Favre post. He appeared on “Joe Buck Live on HBO” earlier tonight. From the Access Vikings blog at The Star Tribune: Asked by Joe Buck if he’s considering playing next year, Brett Favre said “Maybe” and smiled. “I am considering it,” he said. “It makes perfect sense as far as coming back because I ran that offense for 16 years,” he said. “I can teach the offense.” Favre said he had surgery two and a half weeks ago and has talked to Vikings officials...

Is today the day that Brett Farve breaks Dan Marino's TD throwing record? Exciting day! Did he do it already while was was posting this? Post your observations here.

What a game! Browns put it away at Lambeau Field! I predicted four wins for my beloved Browns. Now we have only three to go with fourteen to play! ;-) If you want a Google GMail account, FReepmail me.They're going fast!

Brett Favre, Steve McNair and Serena Williams are among the athletes contributing to relief for Hurricane Katrina victims as pledges roll in from across the country. Major League Baseball, the NBA and the Southeastern Conference will each donate $1 million to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina, with the two professional leagues committing to generate a total of $2 million in aid. MLB and its players' association and the NBA and its teams have each pledged $1 million to the American Red Cross. The National Basketball Players Association has also said it will raise $1 million for disaster relief. "Major...