BORDER BATTLE

• Liriano is placed on the 15-day disabled list. What, me worry?
• Bump ponders the presence of the Human Delusion Hormone in Quarterbacks on both sides of the border. Let’s just say Favre doesn’t look like the fool here.
• The following sequence of events has virally unravelled (right under our noses): Dr. Z writes column disparaging the greatness of Brett Favre’s career. Packer journalists and bloggers write venomous rebuttals. People of Wisconsin begin march to SI offices with beer and weapons in tow.
• Purplepride.org has lots of pretty pictures of Vikings training camp.

If you weren’t one of the 61,000 fans that filled the stadium for Green Bay’s annual “Family Night” intrasquad scrimmage, nor had access to the locally broadcast, you’re in luck. Someone out there in the legion of Packerdom was kind enough to edit the televised footage down to just the plays (no junk in between) and upload the video clips to YouTube. The links below will take you straight to the playback on YouTube.

Packers Scrimmage part 2 of 3

Packers Scrimmage part 3 of 3

Last week was a great one for a lot of folks of the professional sports ilk. The Minnesota Twins swept the Chicago White Sox, temporarily tying them for second place in the AL Central. Dwight Smith was reunited with his Tampa Bay pal Mike Tomlin after signing with the Vikings. And the Brewers added another agile racing sausage to the stable for their classic seventh inning stretch entertainment. But no one had a week quite like A.J. Hawk.

The burly linebacker from Ohio State must’ve had plenty of bubbly around (or at least the champagne of beers) as he married his fiancee Laura Quinn and signed a 6-year, $37.5 million contract within a matter of days. Laura might even deserve the “Best Week Ever” title for that as the marriage — conducted in a Green Bay law office — was likely snuck in before that contract signature to assure she receive all of the great benefits that are available to NFL wives. But the fact that A.J. Hawk did not have to wait any extra days to get to camp and start hitting people is an intangible that should not be overlooked, and is thus the extra ingredient that solidifies his “Best Week Ever” status.

Marriage. Making millions. Hitting people. It doesn’t get any better for a linebacker.

Over the past few days, the Brewers added a new racing sausage, A.J. Hawk got hitched in a Green Bay law office, and the Twins left Ozzie speechless with a three-game sweep in the Windy City. But that’s all history now and tomorrow brings the beginning of one of our favorite times of the year (the diehard fan’s unofficial start of the NFL season): training camp.

It’s that time of the year where you waste away more time at work than usual reading about sports even though there aren’t even games being played yet, and trading season predictions with friends that are either brutally negative or “drinking the Kool-Aid.”

And the headlines will be more intriguing this year for us as fans, even though neither the Pack or Vikes will get much attention from the national media. Both teams have new head coaches, plenty of new blood, and a few positions that will be decided by heated battles. Packer players will ride to the field on childrens’ bikes. Vikings players will get arrested off the field. Favre is still around. Vikings fans still hate Favre. Packers fans will be optimistic about a turnaround. Vikings fans will foolishly think playoffs. And temperatures will rise until opening kickoff.

It’s all gonna be awesome.

The weekend’s almost here and we have just the medicine to get you through your drudging Thursday afternoon. No it’s not an ice cold ale, but it is a local sports links round-up!

• Apparently all the superstars throw themselves a public party when they land in Mpls. Now, for only $10 you can stand around in the same room as *drumroll*…Mike James!!!
• Thousands of stockholders descended upon Green Bay this week to see how their “investment” was doing. There were no dividends paid this year.
• If you’re frustrated by the Brewers’ inconsistent play, you can always harken back to what happened in a game on this day thirty years ago.

No matter which side of the fence you’re on, it’s a pretty uninspiring time to be a sports fan. The baseball season has all but had the proverbial fork stuck in it. The Brewers still don’t have any pitching. The Twins usually don’t either, and when their two aces do throw, the rest of the team doesn’t bring it at the plate. And no matter how the media spins it, NFL players missing MINICAMP practices is not newsworthy to the sports-viewing public. So what did happen last week that’s actually a tad bit interesting? There’s not a lot, but here’s a round up of some of the best links to MN and WI sports talk from the wide world of blogs.

• One Minnesota sports blogger reminded us that even though the Twins are having a crappy season, they sure know when to cut the strings on players. Check out the story for a complete rundown on former TC-bearers and how much they suck right now.
• Deadspin has some words on this year’s Harris Interactive poll results indicating America’s Favorite athletes. Coming in at #3 is the guy you love/love to hate: Brett Favre. For some reason, they couldn’t buy the credibility of this (along with Bryant and Bonds in the top 10), which is puzzling considering Favre has been in the top 5 of the poll consistently for years. Whatever.
• Finally, we learned the sad news of Onterrio Smith getting cut from the Winnepeg Blue Bombers. Out of Left Field has some thoughts on the news, noting the fact that an NFL pedigree does nothing for you in the CFL today. One has to wonder what Mr. Smith will do with himself now. No one in the NFL will touch him. The CFL said “no, thanks,” and the Arena Football season just ended yesterday. Maybe the Whizzinator folks are looking for a spokesperson.

Still over a month ’til NFL training camp starts. Anyone watching the other football?

The official Brett Favre fanboy network reported alerted sports fans this morning that John Madden’s favorite-son-he-never-had was absent from Green Bay’s Monday morning voluntary workout. Though it was unclear why he was missing from practice, McCarthy and the Packers’ offensive staff have been limiting Favre’s reps so as to not wear him out this offseason. Interestingly enough, the “story” appeared as nothing more than a one-line blurb in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s 6/5/06 Packers Notes, which noted that Favre was instead doing some training in the weight room.

Thank God for ESPN and their keenly-prioritized sports journalism. I’d like to propose another network arm for the sports giant to launch in 2007: ESPN 4: All The Favre News You Can Handle.

This just in: Favre had a Cajun chicken sandwich and iced tea for lunch today.

We’re back in full effect. Sports action has shifted into neutral in our respective states. Must…start…football.

• John Jones: Guy pays his dues, becomes 10th president of the Green Bay Packers. He may end up regretting a vow to continue a presidential tradition of personally taking phone calls from the legion of Green Bay ownership if this season begins like the last one.
• Dwayne Roloson - Former Wild Goalie leaves for the Edmonton Oilers in ‘06, drinks lots of Molson, and receives the glory of playing in front of a television audience of thousands in the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals.
• Joe Mauer - The Twins catcher has hit .458 over his last 14 games and is currently posting a .355 batting average for the season, good for second in the American League. Oh and by the way, Mauer and 2005 Miss USA and former Miss North Carolina Chelsea Cooley have begun dating on a semi-regular basis (straight from the mouth of The Mayor).
• NL Central teams - Their division-mates from Milwaukee just dropped eight straight. Fans will continue to attend games, but tailgate efforts will be doubled.

Jones inherits a money, but high-stress position. Mauer takes the bacon, no question.