In August, '08, the Green Bay Packers traded the future Hall of Fame Quarterback, Brett Favre, to the New York Jets.  At that time, the Packers' Coach, Mike McCarthy, determined that Favre "didn't have the right mindset to play for the Packers."  McCarthy said Favre couldn't seem to get past  emotional wounds even with the chance to win his starting job back potentially on the table.

What rationale did Packers' Coach McCarthy employ when stating that Favre had to win his starting job back?  Last we looked, Brett Favre has only passed for 63,892 yards, and has won the Most Valuable Player award three times.(1995–97) and led the Packers to seven division championships (1995-1997, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2007, four NFC Championship games (1995, 1996, 1997, and 2007), two NFC Championships (1996 and 1997), and one Super Bowl championship XXXI. His NFL records include: most career touchdown passes, most career passing yards, most career pass completions, most career pass attempts, and most career victories as a starting quarterback.

As of November 15, '08, Brett Favre's New York Jets have a record of 7-3 and are currently standing alone in first place in the AFC East Division.  For the 2007 season, before the arrival of Brett Favre, the New York Jets had a season record of 4-12. 

Favre's previous team, the Green Bay Packers, as of November 15, 2008, possess a losing record of 4-5 and are in third place in the NFC North Division.  However, in 2007, the Packers featuring Favre as starting quarterback, finished the regular season with an impressive 13-3 record.

Apparently, Favre has gotten beyond any wounds inflicted by Mr. McCarthy.  In an overtime thriller on November 13, '08, Brett Favre led the Jets past the New England Patriots 34-31, breaking a tie for the division lead between the teams.  In this decisive game, Favre made his 263rd consecutive regular-season start, an NFL record, and completed 26 out of 33 passes for 258 yards and threw for two touchdowns. 

The question is will Coach McCarthy survive the wounds from trading the legend?

Jennifer J.

Madison, WI

Individual tickets for the 2010 Winter Olympics scheduled for Vancouver, British Columbia were offered for sale on Friday, October 3, 2008.  If you are a resident of the United States, European Union, or Australia, go to www.cosport.com to enter your ticket request.

However, be prepared to spend big bucks.  For example, ticket prices for the opening ceremony range from: $678.00 to $1,294.00 per ticket. Individual tickets for the closing ceremony range from $398.00 to $930.00 per ticket. 

The Ladies' Figure Skating, free program, is far from free with available tickets ranging from $370.00 to $566.00 per ticket.  Want to go to the men's ice hockey gold medal game?  Be ready to spend between $678.00 to $930.00 per ticket. 

There are more affordable events such as: men's freestyle skiing aerial final with individual tickets priced as low as $101.00, ladies' cross country skiing 4x5 km relay with individual tickets priced as low as $34.00, bobsleigh as low as $54.00 per ticket, and $34.00 per ticket for men's and women's biathlon.   

Fans should appreciate the value that Minor League Baseball offers.  We attended the Charleston RiverDogs versus Columbus Catfish doubleheader on August 23, 2008.  On this day, fans participated in the first-ever RiverDogs Fancaster Fan of the Year program. And, the first 1,000 fans in attendance received a free Ken Carrington bobblehead topped by an awesome fireworks display after the nightcap concluded. 

During the doubleheader, we interviewed dozens of fans who said they loved going to RiverDogs games.  There was one word consistently echoed by Charleston fans: "Fun"   

The Charleston RiverDogs Stadium is beautiful.  The staff is friendly.  The enthusiasm of the 5,000 fans in attendance was excellent.  All tickets and concessions are affordable.  Unless you are a vegetarian, the $5 smoked turkey leg is a real treat.

The players are extremely competitive and comprise some of tomorrow's Big league stars.  And, the fans' proximity to the field is far closer than seating at Major League ballparks.  Parking is convenient.  There is plenty of room for fans to move in the concourse of the stadium.  No lines at the bathrooms. 

Congratulations to the New York Yankees for extending their affiliation with the Charleston RiverDogs for four more years.

On Thursday, June 26, 2008, the reigning SuperBowl Champion New York Giants announced that personal seat licenses (PSLs) will be sold to fans to help finance their new $1.6 billion dollar stadium. 

According to Wikipedia, "a personal seat license gives the holder the right to buy season tickets for a certain seat in a stadium. This holder can sell the seat license to someone else if he no longer wishes to purchase season tickets. However, if the seat license holder chooses not to sell the seat licenses and does not renew the season tickets, the holder forfeits the license back to the team. Most seat licenses are valid for as long as the team plays in the current venue.

Seat licenses have been given various names- the most common term in North America is Personal Seat License and in Europe is a Debenture. The primary reason sporting venues offer PSLs is that the proceeds are used to help pay the debt incurred during the construction of the stadium or arena. Also, many supporters feel that such licenses essentially give fans ownership of the seat. Opponents of PSLs see this as another way to extract money from the sports fans."

For Giants fans, the top amount for a PSL will be $20,000.00 dollars while the lowest amount will cost as much as $1,000 dollars.  One stunned 74-year old fan, who requested his name be withheld, told me that he has had season tickets since 1958.  He said: "I don't even know what to say. This is extortion."  Another fan who has four seats on the lower 45-yard line will have to find $20,000 x four seats or $80,000.00 just to pay for the 4 PSL licenses before one ticket is purchased and before parking, before concessions, and before souvenirs.

Loyal season ticket holders now face huge and unreasonable financial burdens.  Many Giants' fans will have to forfeit seats that they and their families have cherished for decades.  

Most fans make average salaries.  In these very difficult economic times, how can the Giants expect average fans to pay a huge portion or more of their annual income for a personal seat license, not inclusive of tickets?    

If the Giants can't afford to build their new stadium, maybe they should just renovate instead of pushing fans out of their seats?

The New York Giants are not the only professional franchise to employ personal seat licenses in North America.  Other professional North American sports franchises to use PSLs to generate revenue include the:  Baltimore Ravens, Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears, Cincinnatti Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks, St. Louis Rams, Tennessee Titans, Arizona Diamondbacks, San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, California Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, Columbus Blue Jackets, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Toronto Raptors.

B. Johnson

Newark, NJ 

United States

When he was 11 months old, South African Oscar Pistorius was born without fibulas and had the lower part of both legs amputated.  Mr. Pistorius now has two artificial legs equipped with specialized carbon-fiber prosthetic feet.  He runs extremely well.  His personal best time in the 400 meters is 46.56 seconds, which is one second from the qualifying time for Beijing.

In May, '08, the Court of Arbitration for Sport decided the spinter is not bionic and reversed The International Association of Athletics (IAAF) ban against South African sprinter, Oscar Pistorius, re-opening the possibility that Mr. Pistorius may participate in the '08 Summer Olympics.   The IAAF's ban was based on a belief that the prosthetics represented an unfair mechanical advantage against other athletes who had their own legs and feet. 

The reversal of the ban was based, in part, on a more recent study from MIT which indicated that the high-tech feet didn't give Mr. Pistorius a competitive advantage over runners who possess their own limbs, in contradiction with a January, '08 study from the German Sport University which reported that Mr. Pistorius's prosthetics were 30% more efficient than human ankles.  The latter study formed the basis for the IAAF's ban.

A panel at the Court of Arbitration looked at both studies and subsequently ruled in Oscar Pistorius's favor, overturning the IAAF's earlier ban against Mr. Pistorius.  Reports state that Oscar is training very hard, and may be invited to join the South African relay team even he is unable to make the required qualifying time for individual competition.

Rather than barring the man with no legs and feet, the Court of Arbitration's decision is in the spirit of the Olympic Games and good sportsmanship.  I look forward to watching Oscar run for the gold.

S. O'Brien

Liverpool, Merseyside

United Kingdom

On Saturday, May 3, 2008, the winning horse at the 134th Kentucky Derby, Big Brown, was spectacular.  Unfortunately, his victory has been overshadowed by much larger issues surrounding this sport.

At the conclusion of this race, I along with more than 100,000+ spectators witnessed the tragic demise of the second place Derby finisher, Eight Belles.   After breaking both front ankles, Eight Belles, the first fillie to race in the Derby in ten years, was euthanized as we all watched from the stands and millions watched on television.  

Another tragedy that resulted in the death of '06 Kentucky Derby winner, Barbaro, was eerily similar.  During the 2006 Preakness, Barbaro shattered his right rear leg at the beginning of that race, while horrified horse racing fans helplessly observed the undefeated colt in obvious pain. Eight months later, Barbaro was euthanized.

As a horse racing fan, I have learned that there are serious problems with the horse racing industry in the United States.  For example, horses are being bred for speed without concern for their strength and endurance.  And, in the USA, unlike any other country in the world, trainers are permitted to employ "medication" to prepare horses to compete.  Apparently, today, trainers in the United States can legally apply cortisone or other numbing drugs to kill pain caused by injuries to horses so they can race even though, in many cases, injured horses should be scratched from competition.

As reported by the Associated Press on May 6, 2008, "the trainer of Eight Belles, Larry Jones, is certain the filly was never on steroids, and has ordered tests to prove it."     "Jones was adamant that the necropsy will show no use of performance enhancing drugs, and hoped it would uncover any previously undiscovered "soundness issues."

Whether Eight Belles was on steroids or drugs of any kind is irrelevant to the fact that the use of steroids and medication in horse racing may be permissible.  If it is wrong for professional, and amateur athletes, why should "medication" be allowed in horse racing?

Seeing fans and children crying in the stands is not exactly the way the longest continuous running competition in the United States should end.  I would like to know what measures the horse racing community is considering to make the sport safer for its' stars, the horses? 

A. Hoffman

Louisville, KY

As sports fans, I think it is time that we collectively re-focus our attention on amateur competition where participants are pure at heart.  Lets face the facts. Major professional sports in the United States need to get their respective houses in order.

A couple of years ago, I remember watching television and seeing professional basketball players beat up fans who threw a couple of beers on them. Now, the National Basketball Association (NBA) has a referee, Tim Donaghy, who is being investigated by the FBI for allegedly betting on basketball games that he officiated.

On top of the ongoing steroid investigations of Major League Baseball players, we now have National Football League Atlanta Falcons' star quarterback, Michael Vick, being investigated for hosting dogfights at his compound in Surry County, Virginia.

Whether it's the money, the notoriety, the pressure of public scrutiny, it just seems like professional athletes are no longer the best roll models for young people.

What would Vince Lombardi do with Michael Vick?  What would Lou Gehrig say to all those baseball players who are shooting up?  What would Dr. Naismith think of referees who bet on the games they officiate?

This weekend, my family and I plan to cheer for our son as he pitches in his first Little League game.  

M. Sampson

Jacksonville, FL

One of the fringe benefits of writing a column is the mail you receive.  I try to answer every letter as long as the return address is readable.  I thought I'd occasionally share some of them with my readers.

Here's one to begin.  It's from a gentleman in Hackensack, a former political reporter for the old Newark News and Metro Editor for The Record in the 1960s.

His letter is in response to the column I wrote following the Giants Super Bowl win and memories of the Polo Grounds where the football Giants first played.  For many of us the Polo Grounds will always be associated not with the football Giants but with the baseball team and one particularly memorable game played there in 1951 between the Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers.

John hasn't lost the touch.  Here's his letter:

"I was there alone, an 18-year-old kid, sitting in the bleachers but those were the days when, if you were a baseball fan in a New York stadium, you couldn't be alone.  And so, I struck up a temporary friendship with a guy sitting next to me, a Dodger fan.

By the time we got to that final inning, we were betting on the game, practically pitch by pitch.  No money...just 'I bet you he's gonna do this...or I bet you he's gonna do that.'  You know what I mean.  It was the way we talked to each other in those days, and when Bobby Thomson was at bat we were betting anythin we owned."

"The Dodgers, meanwhile, had called the bullpen to tell them to warm up a relief pitcher and Ralph Branca got up.  I had been watching as he threw and having been a catcher in the city's sandlots, I fancied I knew what to look for.

Branca was quick, but he was throwing as straight as a string.  That was the way I figured it.  No movement on the ball.  I thought to myself, "This guy is gonna get slammed."  Then the Giants rallied and the Dodgers called on Branca to put out the fire."

"He ain't gonna do it," I thought.  Turning to my new friend, I said, "I bet you the Giants win.  I bet you the Giants win.  My shoes against yours."

"It's a bet," the guy said.

"Pretty soon after that Bobby smacks.  The ball was still rising straight as an arrow when it slams into history in the lower left field stands.  And as Russ Hodges was shouting 'The Giants win the pennant.  The Giants win the pennant,' over and over on the radio, I was screaming, 'Gimme your shoes.  Gimme your shoes' to the guy next to me.  I don't think I made him do it but we hugged suddenly, understanding the importance of the moment and feeling grateful that we had shared it.

"But I wasn't finished celebrating.  I jumped out of the stands and onto the field.  It was darn near a full story drop but I didn't care.  I jumped anyway and joined literally hundreds of other crazed Giant fans chasing their heroes who were running as hard as they could toward the club-house to escape the mayhem.  However, I managed to intercept Clint Hartung, one of the last Giants on the field.

"Where's Bobby?  Where's Bobby?"  I screamed at him. 

"I don't know," he screamed back.

"I wanna hug him," I shouted back.

"Me too," he yelled.  "Me too," and we grabbed each other, hugged and spun in a circle, right there in center field.  Then he was gone and the moment was over.

"I look for myself whenever I see the film of that moment on TV but I can never find me or Clint, so nobody believes me but I know I was there.

And years later, I told that story to Thomson and Branca, who had turned up at WCBS-TV for an interview with our sports correspondent on an anniversary of that "shot heard round the world."  Of course, I shook hands with both of them.

"I was there," I said.

"Wasn't everybody?" said the man who had thrown the fateful pitch, a pleasant but skeptical Branca."    

This column is posted with permission of author, Ed Flynn, and was published in the March 28, 2008, edition of the Fort Lee Suburbanite

The BCS National Championship Game pairs the top two BCS-ranked teams against each other.  Those teams which qualify under the BCS are the winners of the six major conferences (Big East, ACC, SEC, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-10) and are guaranteed automatic BCS bowl appearances. Independent teams not affiliated with a conference receive an automatic bid (displacing one of the at-large berths) if they meet certain criteria. There are currently four independents; Army, Navy, Notre Dame and Temple.

The BCS system is clearly broken.because it employs arbitrary and subjective standards to determine the final ranking of Division I-A NCAA football teams.  The true champion of the largest and most popular collegiate sport should be decided on the field, in a head-to-head match up resulting from a national playoff akin to NCAA's national basketball tournament.

For example, in 2004, five teams finished the regular season with one loss, with no unbeaten team, while in the following season, the same number of teams finished the regular season unbeaten.  In support of the imprecision of the BCS, the Associated Press recently prohibited the BCS from using their rankings in the BCS formula, choosing to remove itself from the USA Today coaches poll.

If you believe that the two top teams in the nation are not always clear-cut choices and should be determined on the field in a true competitive playoff format and not by the BCS, please contact:

Myles Brand, President
The National Collegiate Athletic Association
700 W. Washington Street
P.O. Box 6222
Indianapolis, Indiana 46206-6222

The '07 NASCAR Nextel Cup has a new points system this year - but it still doesn't address the real problem: the whole thing doesn't make sense (just like the BCS). A points system with a single champion can't address what NASCAR racing is about: winning and consistency.

The points are too arbitrary - 185 for a win, 10 bonus if they end up in the Chase, 5 for leading a lap...the numbers don't mean anything. Jimmie Johnson won last year's NEXTEL Cup Series with 6,475 points for 36 races. Who can make sense of a number like that? They've created this points formula to address both winning and consistency, when they should really be doing what the FIA does with Formula 1: place equal emphasis on both by having two seperate championships for drivers and teams.

Do you think NASCAR would even blink at the chance for more sponsorship opportunities by creating separate championships? It was the biggest sponsorship deal in sports history when they inked the contract in 2004 for $70 million a year. They could even do three: driver, owner and manufacturer.

F1 scoring is very simple: 1st place driver gets 10 points, 2nd 8 points and then 3rd through 8th get 6 to a single point. At the same time, the constructors get the same point values depending on the where their drivers place. In the 2006 Formula 1 season, Fernando Alonso won with 132 points over 18 races, and Renault beat Ferrari 206 to 201 points in the constructor's championship. These are meaningful numbers that any average fan could figure out.

I understand the racing is different - F1 is a sprint and NASCAR more of a marathon. But NASCAR should revamp their points system so their fan base can understand what's going on - some of us care about more than the wrecks!

At request of author, name withheld

WHY TICKETHOLDERS SHOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO RESELL TICKETS!

Earlier this year, the New York Yankees announced that ticketholders who attempted to resell their tickets online or through ticket brokers will be banned from purchasing playoff tickets and season tickets next year.

Like any other product or service, fans are consumers and should have the right to not use, resell, or give away tickets they purchase in good faith. Should a fan be ill, unavailable to attend a game for any reason, or want to try to make a modest profit, no League or Franchise should interfere to the fans' detriment.

According to the September 23, 2006, New York Post article by Bill Sanderson:

"More than 100 season-tickets holders suspected of reselling their regular-season seats have gotten letters denying them the right to buy playoff tickets and barring them from buying season tickets for next year, the team said yesterday. "We've caught tons of people on eBay, StubHub and other ticket brokers," said Yankees spokesman Mike Marino, who said he sent most of the letters himself. "We're looking to stop StubHub as well as all other scalping," Marino said.

Next season, the Yankees will set up their own StubHub-style ticket reselling operation for its season-ticket holders, Marino said. But until that site is up and running, the team will continue enforcing its resale ban."

If you believe that New York Yankees' management policy deprives fans the freedom to do whatever they want with their tickets, please contact:

Mr. Randy Levine
President New York Yankees
Yankee Stadium
Bronx, NY, 10451
(718) 293-4300

Let us hear from you at: fanquiry@fancaster.com