Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy said Friday that stud QB Brett Favre will be healthy enough to play Dec. 9 against Oakland after Favre sustained injuries to his right elbow and left shoulder in Thursday’s 37-27 loss at Dallas.
I’m happy. No, not because I’m a Packers fan (I’m not). And not because I was worried Favre’s league-record consecutive starts streak would be in jeopardy. I’m happy because we (in theory) won’t have to hear for the next nine days the will-he-or-won’t-he-play speculation on ESPN, FOX NFL Sunday and Northland’s Newscenter 17,000 times until Green Bay’s next game.
Thank you, Mike.

Photo by LM Otero / Associated Press

A number of reports Thursday said teams pining for Twins ace Johan Santana (the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and Mets) have said they aren’t willing to part with certain players.
Boston center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury and pitcher Clay Buchholz, Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano and pitcher Joba Chamberlain, and Mets shortstop Jose Reyes are said players. Which leads me to this question: What?
How can a team shop the best pitcher in baseball and have players who are off limits it? Santana’s current value is so high, not even Derek Jeter should be able to sleep tonight, for he, too, could be swapping his pinstripes for "Twinstripes."
I’d like Johan to stay with Minnesota, but if he has to go, I’d expect at least one immediate-impact position player in return. My interest in the 2008 season was reinvigorated when the Twins dealt Matt Garza and Jason Bartlett to the Rays for Delmon Young. So I hope they can fill some more holes in the field and contend next year.

Photo of New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes by Kathy Kmonicek / McClatchy Newspapers

How was your Thanksgiving? Mine was great, except for the part when one of my favorite baseball players left my favorite team.

It’s not fair to say center fielder Torii Hunter "left" the Minnesota Twins for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim-Orange County-California-West Coast-State that Borders Mexico. The Twins more or less abandoned their star Gold Glover, making little to no attempt to sign the 32-year-old.

Hunter, the best outfielder in the world and a pretty good hitter, signed a five-year deal worth $90 million with the Angels on Thursday. Hunter had at least a half-dozen teams (not including the Twins) pursuing him, but L.A. jumped in Wednesday night by making an offer it said would be on the table for one day only. Now the Pine Bluff, Ark., native will be sharing the sun-soaked California outfield grass with superstar Vladimir Guerrero, Garret Anderson and Gary Matthews Jr.

Hunter said Friday on Dan Barreiro’s KFAN radio show out of Minneapolis that before the 2007 season, he would have taken a three- or four-year extension from the Twins if they would have made an offer, and for far less than the $18 million per year the Angels gave him.

Dude didn’t want to leave, but he’s getting paid.

Major pro athletes are overpaid, there’s no doubt. But when guys like Torii Hunter get deals like this, I don’t mind. He’s a great player. Sure, he’s never going to hit 50 bombs and drive in 140 runs in a season, but he comes across as one of the nicest guys in sports, and I’m proud he was a Minnesota Twin. I always thought he’d be like Kirby Puckett, a guy who stays with one club his entire career. I think Hunter thought that, too. He was the Kirby Puckett of the 21st century, minus the shoving women into bathrooms part.

Hunter had the best season of his career in 2007. And 2008 should be a big year for him, especially hitting with Guerrero and Anderson in the lineup. But I’d be surprised if he goes David Ortiz and turns into a can’t-miss Hall of Fame-quality superstar. So in a way, I can understand why the Twins didn’t want to pay Hunter $14 million to $16 million at age 37. That’s fine, but then why wasn’t he traded last season? Get something for Hunter instead of keeping him and sitting on your hands when he was a free agent.

Minnesota doesn’t need to put itself in fire-sale position just yet. They have former MVP Justin Morneau, former batting champ Joe Mauer, stud pitchers Johan Santana and Francisco Liriano, closer Joe Nathan and outfielders Michael Cuddyer and Craig Monroe. The Twins need to build around what they have and make an effort to contend now. Minnesota should take the money it saved on Hunter and spend it for a player who will help in 2008. Enough of this planning-for-the-future garbage. What’s going to happen then? You get good players in six years, get to the playoffs, then give everyone away again and start over?

I will miss seeing Hunter in a Twins uniform. He said on Barreiro’s show that Twins fans are still No. 1 in his heart, and that if he even got a sniff at the Hall of Fame some day he’d go in as a Twin.

I will always root for Torii Hunter.

Photo by A.J. Olmscheid / Associated Press

Now that free agent Barry Bonds has been indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice, there’s no way a team, not even the New York Yankees, would even think about signing the aged slugger. Right?

If people thought Bonds’ final year in San Francisco was a three-ring circus, imagine what the scene would look like if someone decided to make him their 43-year-old American League designated hitter in 2008.

The Giants gave up their entire season just so Bonds could break Hank Aaron’s home run record. After signing pitcher Barry Zito to an enormous contract, San Francisco’s season was a disappointment. With Bonds out of the way, the Giants can finally start over with a locker room with far fewer reporters and cameras. I can’t see why any team would be willing to take on a headache like that and risk distracting the rest of the team.

Bonds might help at the attendance gate, but I have to believe the cons far outweigh the pros on this one. Baseball GMs: if the Bonds Circus rolls into your town, please say no.

Photo by Andrew Gombert / European Pressphoto Agency

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays officially changed their nickname to the Rays on Thursday. The team unveiled new uniforms and colors to go with the shortened name at a downtown St. Petersburg, Fla., party.

Easily one of the worst franchises in pro sports when it comes to win-loss record, stadium and fan support the past decade, the 10-year-old Rays trotted out some former players to model their new unis with members of the current squad. Hall of Famer Wade Boggs and slugger Fred McGriff were on hand and in uniform. If they aren’t careful, they might be asked to come to spring training with the rest of the team.

To make sure the crowd in attendance left completely depressed, actor Kevin Costner and his band, Modern West, performed to close out the night.

PICTURED: Rays ace Scott Kazmir. Photo by Edmund D. Fountain / Associated Press

Dallas Stars center Mike Modano passed defenseman Phil Housley with a pair of goals Wednesday night to become the NHL’s all-time U.S.-born scoring leader.

Modano, from Livonia, Mich., has 1,233 career points in 1,253 regular-season games. At age 37, he has played 242 fewer games than Housley, a St. Paul native who retired following the 2002-03 season at age 39.

This has to be one of the former Minnesota North Star’s crowning achievements, right behind marrying Willa Ford and winning the Stanley Cup (in that order).

I was surprised to learn, especially as an NHL fan, Modano is just 35th on the NHL’s career scoring list. Blame Canada.

Photo by Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press

For spending 80 hours a week on the job, NFL coaches could afford to use some of that time to read the rulebook.

I’ve never read the official rules of the NFL, but even I know what plays are eligible for instant-replay challenges.

One example comes from the Minnesota Vikings’ 23-16 loss to Green Bay on Sept. 30. Trailing late in the game, the Vikings appeared to be on their way to scoring a game-changing touchdown on a fumble recovery.

A Packers receiver caught the ball and ran a few steps before getting stripped. Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway recovered the football and had a clear path to the end zone. However, the play was clearly blown dead by the referees’ whistles and called an incomplete pass shortly after it hit the ground.

The refs got the call wrong in my book, but every avid NFL fan knows a play cannot be challenged once it’s blown dead by an official’s whistle.

Minnesota coach Brad Childress threw his red challenge flag to the turf, and FOX analyst Brian Baldinger was shouting something like, "They should challenge that. They have to," only to hear everyone get informed by a ref that the play was not allowed to be challenged.

This happens at least once a week somewhere in an NFL game. And it has been happening since the challenge system was put into play. Why is it that the guy on the couch knows what’s going on, but the people who get paid to work in and cover the NFL are clueless?

In no other professional sport do you see coaches and broadcasters confused on a weekly basis regarding calls and rules.

PICTURED: St. Louis Rams coach Scott Linehan. Photo by McClatchy Newspapers

To: Carl Pohlad, Minnesota Twins owner

Dear Mr. Pohlad,

Please re-sign Torii Hunter. I don’t want to see him in another uniform.

I know Denard Span is supposed to be good, but he can spend a few more years in Triple-A Rochester. If he wants to play with the big club, he can always take Lew Ford’s place.

Is Torii worth $15-plus million a year? No. No one is. But at 32, he has some great years ahead of him. Go ahead, give him a five-year deal. Sure he’ll be closing in on 38 by the end of his contract, but who cares? Don’t forget you have a gajillion dollars. Don’t give me any of this small-market business.

While you’ve got the checkbook out, add a few more zeros and years to that Johan Santana contract.

I know you love Nick Punto at third base. So do I. But wouldn’t Alex Rodriguez look great in the hot corner? He could play shortstop, too, where Jason Bartlett led the league in errors last season.

Barry Bonds doesn’t have a team. I realize Barry and I haven’t seen eye to eye in the past, but your squad is in dire need of a DH, and I think he could hit in the Dome.

Please, Carl. I hope this letter finds you well.

Even as a married man, I have no problem saying this: I love Adrian Peterson.
The Minnesota Vikings rookie running back set the NFL record for most rushing yards in a game with 296 against the San Diego Chargers on Sunday at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
He had three touchdowns, and the Vikings won.
Minnesota (3-5) has had little to cheer about this NFL season except for Peterson, who became the only rookie in league history to rush for more than 200 yards twice in a season.
Quarterbacks Tarvaris Jackson, Kelly Holcomb and Brooks Bollinger have all struggled at some point this season, which leads me to ask this: Do the Vikings even need a QB?
Why don’t the Vikings line up three guys in the backfield: running backs Peterson and Chester Taylor, and fullback Tony Richardson. Center Matt Birk can just directly snap it to one of those three (mostly Peterson). Maybe the competition committee could petition to allow the popular playground self-hike, so there’s no delay getting the ball in A.D.’s hands. That way, we won’t have to worry about Jackson getting hurt, Holcomb getting sacked because he has little to no protection, or Bollinger having the ball in his hands at all.
I’m confident Peterson could throw the ball if he had to. I wonder if he can coach.
Photo by Tom Olmscheid / Associated Press

Barry Bonds would boycott the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., including his possible Hall of Fame induction ceremony, if the Hall displays his 756th career home run ball with an asterisk on it.

The guy who bought the ball, fashion designer Mark Ecko, allowed people to vote on the ball’s fate. The winning vote was to brand the ball with an asterisk and give it to the Hall of Fame.

Bonds said if the asterisked ball goes on display in Cooperstown, he won’t be making any visits.

“I don’t think you can put an asterisk in the
game of baseball, and I don’t think that the Hall of Fame can accept an asterisk,” he said. “You cannot give people the freedom, the right to alter history.
You can’t do it. There’s no such thing as an asterisk in baseball.”

Oh really, Barry? You had the freedom to beef up on steroids and altered history by breaking the most hallowed record in sports — Hank Aaron’s home run mark. There’s no such thing as an asterisk in baseball, but you’ve made sure there’s an ass-terisk in the game.