Favre: I don't mean to bug ya'

Editor's note: One of Vegas Gopher's old friends is RJ, frequent commenter and purveyor of Midwestern tales of parenting and sports at "The Sirvio 5" blog. In the wake of the retirement of Breffarve (pictured left on his wedding day with groom John Madden, sans kneepads), RJ has agreed to grace WHIH with his take on the legacy of the man known throughout Dairyland simply as "No. 4."

"At the request of WHIH, I decided to take a different approach to this retrospective of Breffarve. I could have simply relived highlights and fond memories, spouted out statistics ad nauseum and reveled in the fact that Breffarve dominated the Vikings in recent years after a dubious history against the hated rival, but I thought there was an interesting parallel making an unlikely link between two icons. Enjoy.

Brett Favre and Bono have each had their share of glorious moments and achievement (Super Bowl champion, three-time MVP, certain hall of famer; primary songwriter and frontman for one of the best-selling bands in history, Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee, noted philanthropist and champion for social issues) as well as moments which made even their biggest fans cringe (one-time painkiller addict and alcohol abuser, all-time interceptions leader, questionable decision-making in key plays of games; an over-the-top performance in “Do They Know It’s Christmas?,” an inexplicable photo kissing Liam Gallagher, the goofy “Stuck In A Moment…” video). (Editor's note: This list is incomplete without mention of Bono's mullet, circa the concert at Red Rocks.)

Believe me, I know both sides of the coin being a fan of both icons and their work. Ample ammunition has been supplied over the years to arm their critics. But just as the fans need to be honest to acknowledge the flaws, the critics need to acknowledge and recognize the legendary, one-of-a-kind greatness and bravado they personify, performing in a unique way very few in their respective fields have been able.

Favre and Bono reached points in their respective careers where they appeared to be washed up and no longer relevant (dismal 2005 NFL season; Pop) only to rebound back to prominence and greatness (2007 record-breaking NFL season; All That You Can’t Leave Behind to present).

They both stay true to themselves and truly don’t care what anyone else thinks; they only know one way to do what they do, according to their own convictions. Their courage to take risks is what propelled them to become great.

And at the end of the day, the ledger of highlights outweighs the faults.

These are flawed heroes but all-time greats nonetheless."

What to watch this weekend, hoops edition

It's March, so the inevitable Madness is just around the corner. That means we're about to go neck-deep in conference tournaments as the brackets take shape in the next 10 days.

It's hard to sort out all the smaller conferences -- even I can't keep straight your Atlantic-10s from your Atlantic Suns, your MEACs from your MACs and your Big Wests from your Big Sky Conferences. (Nor can Billy Packer, apparently, since last year during UNLV's electrifying Sweet 16 run he told CBS viewers that the Runnin' Rebels were the champions of the "Big Mountain" Conference.)

However, thanks to my work with the good people at Blue Ribbon, I've been able to keep my finger on the pulse of the mid-major world for the past few years. I used to write the preseason previews for the Horizon League and the Midcontinent Conference, but last year (given my geographical shift) I was handed the keys to the West Coast Conference previews.

You might know them as Gonzaga and the Seven Dwarfs, but there's a lot more here than what meets the eye. Eight small, private schools -- six in California, one each in Oregon and Washington -- that play a pretty good brand of basketball. And there's a good chunk of hoops history on display here, as this conference used to play host to guys like John Stockton (Gonzaga), Steve Nash (Santa Clara), Dennis Johnson (Pepperdine), Bill Russell (San Francisco) and the Hank Gathers-Bo Kimble teams at Loyola-Marymount.

Plus, if you like NBA legacies, scan the rosters of the WCC squads and you'll see why there will be quite a few famous faces in the crowd at the conference tourney this weekend: Luke Sikma of Portland (son of Jack), Austin Daye of Gonzaga (son of Darren) and Mychel Thompson of Pepperdine (son of Mychal) all have seen significant playing time this season as true freshmen.

This is also a great coaches conference. Mid-majors are often proving grounds for coaches looking to make the leap to the bigtime (check out the resumes of guys like Bruce Pearl, Ben Howland, Bill Self, Bo Ryan, Thad Matta and Matt Painter, to name a few), and the WCC has a number of the next wave of hotshots. Mark Few, of course, has turned Gonzaga into a perennial powerhouse and could have his pick of jobs if he ever wanted to leave Spokane. Few's longtime assistant, Bill Grier, has taken San Diego from the cellar to third place in one year. Eric Reveno is in his second year at Portland after handling the recruiting for Stanford, and at Santa Clara, former UCLA assistant Kerry Keating is getting his first shot at running a program after earning a national reputation as a killer recruiter for Howland's Bruins.

Oh, and you want competition? It appears certain that the WCC will be a two-bid conference (a rarity among mid-majors) with regular-season champion Gonzaga and second-place St. Mary's both earning RPI ratings in the low 30s. Last Saturday, the Zags beat St. Mary's to clinch the title in the first game in WCC history (50+ years) that featured two ranked teams.

And don't count out San Diego. Grier's Toreros have already beaten St. Mary's, and he should know how to play Gonzaga if they get that chance. And they're playing the conference tournament on their home court, an advantage they reportedly won't have next year based on reports Wednesday that the WCC postseason tourney is coming to Vegas next year.

So, if the seeds play out accordingly, the semifinals on Sunday night (ESPN 2) will feature Santa Clara vs. Gonzaga and San Diego vs. St. Mary's. The Gaels (that's St. Mary's, from the East Bay hamlet of Moraga, Calif.) would dearly love another shot at Gonzaga in the title game (Monday night, ESPN) after splitting their two regular-season tilts, but getting past San Diego on its home floor will be no small feat.

So if you're looking for some great mid-major hoops action to prepare you for the big boys' conference tourneys and the release of the brackets on March 16, check out the West Coast Conference this weekend. Maybe even Billy Packer will be watching.

The Boss (hearts) Neko

OK, so I stole this link from Simmons, and I'm on record that I'm not necessarily the world's No. 1 Springsteen fan, but I had to post this interview with the Boss because there's a cool feature at the top of the page where you can scroll through what's on his iPod right now.

I like it -- in fact, I think every blogger should have this capability on his or her web site, because I'm one of those guys who heads straight for the CD cabinet when I go to a friend's house for the first time. I firmly believe you can learn more about somebody from what they listen to and what they read than from any other endeavor.

And what did I learn about the Boss from scrolling through his iPod? Predictably, he's got a lot of classic American music on there -- Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams, Dylan, Chuck Berry, et al -- but among the newer artists on the list, he's got no fewer than five (5) Neko Case tunes! Sure, they're all from The Tigers Have Spoken, so it's clear somebody needs to get him a copy of Furnace Room Lullaby and/or Fox Confessor Brings the Flood pronto. But it's good to see that the man's got taste.

I rest my case

Turns out, Barack Obama has to focus on Hillary Clinton before he turns his attention to John McCain, because apparently fear still buys votes.

The Strib has an interesting look at what lies ahead on the road to the Democratic nomination, in light of Hillary's wins in Texas and Ohio on Tuesday. The headline says it all: "Wins could ratify bitter attack ads." In my mind, here's the money quote:

In Ohio and Texas, a majority of voters also thought Clinton attacked Obama unfairly, the exit polls found.

"That ad makes me angry," said one Ohio voter, Josh Stoneburner, a dog groomer. "We've been dealing with that kind of politics long enough. I don't want to be scared into voting. Enough fear-mongering."

And yet, Clinton's "3 a.m." ad seemed to do the trick. It'll keep her in the race, and it'll probably lead to more mudslinging before the Pennsylvania primary next month. Is it any wonder people are sick of politics in this country?

Political jujitsu

I realize I'm a little late to the game on this link, but this is a great example of why I think Barack Obama represents the Democrats' -- and the country's -- best hope in November.

About not wearing an American flag lapel pin, Obama said Republicans have no lock on patriotism.

"A party that presided over a war in which our troops did not get the body armor they needed, or were sending troops over who were untrained because of poor planning, or are not fulfilling the veterans' benefits that these troops need when they come home, or are undermining our Constitution with warrantless wiretaps that are unnecessary?

"That is a debate I am very happy to have. We'll see what the American people think is the true definition of patriotism."

I know Obama has been ridiculed for his talk of "change" -- that he's all rhetoric and bluster and woefully short on the details. Of course, this is bunk -- there are plenty of policy papers and statements and proposals on his website, but they don't fit into a 10-second soundbite so the average American hasn't taken the time to read them. (Note: I am an average American.)

But the change that's so exciting to me is that perhaps finally we've found a politician who knows how to strike back at the mudslinging from the right-wing hate machine, by pointing out the ridiculous nature of the attacks instead of scurrying like a church mouse to defend himself from these scurrilous attacks.

The 2004 campaign should have been a slam-dunk win for the Democrats, but John Kerry and his advisors fell right into the trap set for them by Karl Rove and the Fox News crowd. Here was a decorated war hero who both served his country admirably and understood the danger of fighting an ill-planned and poorly executed war. But instead of riding roughshod over the draft-dodging chickenhawks in the Bush administration, Kerry scrambled to refute the Swift Boat attacks, something he should have been able to do within two days of the first ad by pointing out the differences in the service records of the Democrat and Republican on the ballot.

Now we've got Obama, who doesn't even have a military record on which to run, providing the blueprint to quash the slime flung at him from these faux patriots. And the reason I said he is the country's best hope is not because I am a Democrat, or because I am an Obama supporter (I'd just as willingly back Hillary if I thought she were capable of doing the same, but she's proven that she isn't).

Obama's campaign represents the country's best hope for a better future because this kind of crap has to stop. Questioning another American's patriotism is the lowest kind of dirty trick, because it appeals to some deep insecurities in the American populace, the kind of appeal that only serves to divide our country further. Obama is on record countless times showing his love for this country, and no lapel pin or posture during the national anthem can prove otherwise.

The sooner we can stop these cynical attacks from drooling right-wing sycophants, the sooner we can start talking about the issues that affect the bottom line and quality of life for all Americans. Of course, that's exactly what most Republicans don't want, because they know when it comes down to the issues, most Americans realize it's time for a change.

And, FYI, I'm just as down on ridiculous attacks on McCain or other Republicans from left-wing nutjobs. I just don't think they rise to this level in the frequency of those on Democrats from the right. If you disagree, feel free to try to set me straight.