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NFL Notebook: Favre's return to Green Bay sparks first jab
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The city of Green Bay is renaming Minnesota Avenue in honor of Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers -- for this week, anyway. It's one of four fan-inspired suggestions mayor Jim Schmitt has chosen to help the city take a few lighthearted welcome-back jabs at Brett Favre before a game Sunday against Favre's Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau Field.
Schmitt also announced an essay contest asking eighth-graders to come up with the top 12 reasons to stay in Green Bay. Tomorrow, the mayor and his staff will wear flip-flops and are encouraging fans to do the same. On Saturday, Schmitt will play host to a pep rally featuring waffle fries.
Rodgers wears jersey No. 12, and flip-flops and waffle fries are jabs at Favre's flaky attitude toward retirement.
Kansas City suspended running back Larry Johnson until Nov. 9. The club is on its off week so Johnson will miss one game. He was suspended for conduct detrimental to the club. Johnson used a gay slur twice within a 24-hour period.
Coach Jeff Fisher knows he can't keep the identity of his starting quarterback secret until kickoff Sunday even if he wants to. So he is trying to keep it quiet for another 24 hours. Fisher said he will announce his starter -- either Kerry Collins or Vince Young -- today, trying to carve out another day of competitive advantage for the winless Titans against Jacksonville (3-3). Fisher stuck with Collins as his starter this season. But the Titans are 0-6, and owner Bud Adams reportedly wants to see Young start Sunday. Neither Collins nor Young spoke with reporters, and offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger was not available to three reporters asking to speak to him after practice. The Titans signed John David Booty to the practice squad yesterday, and he worked with the scout team -- duties that had been handled solely by Young since Patrick Ramsey was cut Oct. 3.
Left tackle Walter Jones was put on the injured reserve list, ending the nine-time Pro Bowler's season and perhaps his illustrious career. Jones still has pain that is "not bearable" in his surgically repaired left knee.
Wide receiver Braylon Edwards refused to provide details about a misdemeanor assault charge he faces over accusations he punched a man outside a Cleveland nightclub. Edwards is accused of punching promoter Edward Givens, a friend of NBA star LeBron James, after an argument Oct. 5. Two days later, the Browns traded Edwards to the Jets.
Also, quarterback Mark Sanchez isn't sneaking a snack on the sideline again. He bought 500 hot dogs and 500 hamburgers, along with buns and rolls, through A&P supermarket, and donated them to the Community Soup Kitchen of Morristown, N.J. Sanchez was grilled Sunday after television cameras caught him trying to discreetly put mustard on a hot dog and eat it late in New York's win at Oakland. He apologized after the game, saying he didn't feel well and needed to eat something.
Newly signed kick returner Allen Rossum is out two to four weeks because of a hamstring injury sustained on his first return with Dallas Sunday against Atlanta.
Former strong safety Orlando Thomas continues his battle with Lou Gehrig's Disease. The Associated Press, using the Minnesota Vikings' Web site as a source, incorrectly reported that Thomas died Wednesday night. Thomas, 37, began feeling symptoms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in 2004, and the disease was diagnosed in 2007.
Darvin Wallis, longtime NFL assistant coach with the Browns and Chiefs, died yesterday of an undisclosed cause in Colorado. He was 60. Wallis was an NFL coach for 26 seasons, including 19 with Kansas City as a defensive assistant/quality control coach before retiring in January 2008.
Correction/Clarification: (Published Oct. 30, 2009) The Associated Press, using the Minnesota Vikings' Web site as a source, incorrectly reported that former All-Pro safety Orlando Thomas died the night of Oct. 28, 2009. Mr. Thomas has been battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease, for five years, and continues to struggle with the disease, according to his agent, Mark Bartelstein.
First Published October 29, 2009 12:00 am
