I awoke this morning, and I had to make sure there wasn't fire and brimstone hailing down from the sky. I've been following sports my entire life, and I have never seen what I have seen this week. Red Sox fans openly rooting for the New York Yankees.

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It's good to be Randy Edsall these days. Not only is the U-Conn football coach getting his team ready for the Fiesta Bowl, there are also reports that the University of Miami has him on the short list for their vacant head coaching job. There's little dispute at this point about Edsall's coaching abilities, his resume certainly speaks for itself. I can recall a time, not so long ago in face, when U-Conn football was an asterisk on the local sports scene. The program has come long way from that point to a BCS bowl game.

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Make room for the Horned Frogs. They're making the jump to the Big East. On Monday, Texas Christian University will accept an invitation to join the conference in all sports.

Money is of course the biggest player in the move. TCU doesn't seem like a perfect fit for a conference called the Big East, but like anything there are positives and negatives.

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America loves it's sports, but not all sports. They have to meet certain criteria. First, there has to be the potential for high scores. Americans love scoring (yes, read into that however you like). Second, violence ALWAYS helps. If you don't believe me, look at the rise in popularity of MMA. And finally, we love speed. Again, look at NASCAR. When you take these three factors into account, it's no wonder football replaced baseball as this country's most popular sport.

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Tonight, the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics tip-off the 2010-2011 NBA season in Boston.

For those of you who may have been living in a cave, the Miami Heat are boasting a much improved line-up, with the additions of LeBron James and Chris Bosh in the off-season. Ever since LeBron's much debated and self-serving "The Decision" special on ESPN, the sports world has been waiting to see the newest NBA power trio on the court.

Now, I for one think the media hype around LeBron and his new teammates is just SLIGHTLY overblown. I mean, these guys haven't won a single game yet, and only Dwayne Wade has a championship ring. Perhaps it is fitting that they open the season in Boston, where the Celtics are the defending Conference champions, and have added a big name free agent of their own in Shaquille O'Neal.

But the Heat's biggest opponent may be the expectations that have been set for them. Anything short of a title will be a disappointment, and every team is going to bring their A-game each night to test this team to the limit. There's no doubt this team will be among the league's best, but every loss is going to be dissected over and over, and the media will follow this team like no NBA team before them.

In the end, the NBA will be the one who wins. The Heat will bring more journalists to games, sell more tickets, and increase the popularity of the sport worldwide. The Heat will cash in, but so will the other teams who will sell out games as fans try to catch a glimpse of the new super-team. Maybe the Heat will win it all. Maybe they struggle to make the playoffs. Either way, they've done their job for the league. They got me to write about them, and you to read about them.

The Whale is coming back to Connecticut. Well, sort of.

This past week, the Hartford Wolfpack announced plans to change the team name to the Connecticut Whale, and former Whalers owner Howard Baldwin has signed a deal that will make him a partner in the minor league team. The team will still be an affiliate of the New York Rangers.

Now, there's always been hope that Hartford will get another NHL franchise, and many hope this will be a first step. Let me be the first to officially burst that bubble and say it isn't going to happen. Sorry, Connecticut is never going to see another major sports franchise again (and no, the WNBA is not a major sports franchise). Here's why.

First, no professional team wants to play at the XL Center. The building is outdated, and unless Hartford builds a new arena, no team is going to relocate to a 35 year old building. While the building's lease is up in 2013, there is still no official word if the arena will be renovated or a new one will be built. Until there is something modern to attract a team, this will be a minor league state.

Second, we have two major sports markets within a 2-hour drive of the state. Any professional teams who consider coming to Hartford or anywhere in Connecticut understand they are going to have to deal with some major teams with a ton of money. Why come to Connecticut and try to cut a piece of a market that is already over-saturated, when they're other markets with far less competition?

Finally, this state doesn't support it's sports teams! Case in point, the UConn Womens' Basketball Team. They are currently in the midst of the most amazing run of basketball in history, and stand to break the UCLA record for most consecutive wins. Yet, their games are never sold out, because the fans have gotten bored with a team that does nothing but win. Really?? Attendance was dropping for years at the Whalers' games, and only when there was a threat of the team leaving did fans rally to try and save the them.

The biggest reason people want the Whaler's back is simple: it's retro. People see the die-hard Whalers' fans wearing hats and jerseys, and think it would be cool to have the team back. But they forget, those die-hard fans still wearing the gear were the ones there year in and out. They didn't need to be told the team was going in order to buy a ticket, because they were already at the game.

So what do you think? Is Connecticut ready for a professional sports team?

After nearly 20 blogs, I have decided to hang up the old keyboard. I want to thank the readers who have read my blogs, and showed support. On second thought, maybe there's still something left in this blogger. I feel like maybe I've got a view good blogs left in me. But then again, my wrists hurt from years of typing, and I don't want to blog if I can't type at 100%. Nah, screw it, I'm back in.

Yes, this is a Brett Favre blog. This guy has jerked around football fans for the past 6 years, and now rumors of his THIRD retirement have surfaced. And now comes reports that the Vikings are offering more money in an effort to keep Favre around for another year, and reports of his retirement may have been premature (GASP).

Say what you will about LeBron murdering a fan base on national television. Farve is a serial killer of fan bases. Green Bay, New York, and now Minnesota have all fallen victim to Favre's game. He holds ESPN hostage each summer with the news of retirement. And each time, we have to hear the stories of Favre's legend. The consecutive games started streak. The Monday Night Football performance in the wake of his father's death. The Super Bowl ring. His three MVP awards. And the time he fell the entire California redwood forest when he threw a laser beam pass to Babe, his blue ox. Wait, the last one was Paul Bunyan? My bad.

Let's face facts, Favre is not the greatest ever. He holds many of his records be default. When you play that many games in a row, you're bound to rack up some record along the way. Is he top 10 all-time? Yes. Greatest ever? I would take Montana, Peyton Manning, John Elway, and Dan Marino over Favre any day. (Yes, I know Patriots fans will protest Tom Brady not being mentioned, but anyone could be a great quarterback when your coach knows exactly what the other defense is calling)

Alright Connecticut, who else is tired of Favre's annual retirement talks?

Regardless of your team affiliation, this has been a sad week for all of baseball. On Sunday, "the Voice of God", Bob Sheppard passed away at the age of 99, and just this morning "The Boss" George Steinbrenner passed away at 80. Both men left unforgettable marks on the national pastime.

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