"WOLF! WOLF! WOLF!!!!!"

As Ray Charles once sang, "Here we go again". Unless you just got back from Mars, you may have heard that the NFL's all time leader in Interceptions thrown Brett Favre has "retired" for the third time in his career today. If you're like me, at this point your own private B.S. Detector doesn't even react anymore when one of these stories breaks involving Vicodin Boy, because we've been down this road a time or two and we all know that the movie still ends with him suited up ready to play on Week 1. I was relieved with exception to the Boo-Yah's, everyone else is pretty skeptical that this retirement is for real as well - and that includes his teammates evidently.

Now there is one thing that should probably be addressed. Could his ankle still not be healed from the surgery he had this offseason? Absolutely that's possible. He IS 40 years old after all, and the body - especially a body that's been exposed to the hits of the NFL for nearly 20 years isn't going to respond as it usually does after a certain point. Brett Favre's ankle certainly falls in that category. So I understand that people would be tempted to believe that it's not a matter of does Favre want to play, but rather will his ankle let him.

I'm not buying any of that however, and I'll tell you why. Besides the obvious factors of Favre being notoriously and conveniently indecisive especially when it brings him all the extra attention, speculation, limelight, focus, and ass-kissing that only ESPN can provide a diva like him, there's another reason I think is a dead giveaway. The reason is, that if Favre were that serious about hanging it up, wouldn't it stand to reason that either he or the Vikings would call a press conference to announce his farewell from the league? He's still under contract in case you were wondering, which means that the Vikings have to make an an official announcement as to whether or not a player under contract has indeed retired. Plus if his mind was indeed made up that this is it for him, there would have to be some sort of goodbye or sendoff for him wouldn't there? Maybe the press conference is on it's way, maybe it isn't. Maybe Favre is telling the Vikings that his ankle isn't healthy now, but if Week 3 comes around and it starts feeling fine again, maybe he calls up Childress and he's starting by Week 4 - thus preserving his consecutive games played streak?

Only Favre really knows for sure, but mark it down right here : Favre is coming back THIS season. I refuse to believe he isn't until the final snap of Week 17 takes place and he hasn't seen the field yet. Even if that happens though....I still can't rule out that he makes a comeback again in 2011

NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!