Thank you to Brett Favre.

321 consecutive games.  The man didn't miss a day of work for 19 years.

19 years.  99% of the men who play professional sports, don't have careers that last 19 years, and none of them played in every damn game.

Every day, every game, he answered the bell.

Lou Gehrig's streak lasted from 1925 to 1939.

Cal Ripken's streak lasted from 1982 to 1998.

Brett Favre streak started in 1992 and lasted until 2010, the record for a quarterback, before Favre nearly tripled it, was 116 consecutive starts by Ron Jarworski 30 years ago.

 And as a story on Yahoo points out, both legendary # 4's streaks ended in Detroit.

Above is probably my most favorite photograph of all-times.

April 30, 1939, Detroit.  After the legendary Lou (bleeping) Gehrig asked the legendary skipper Joe McCarthy to take him out of the line-up, sitting in the dugout, watching his teammates warm-up, just gazing, taking it all in, knowing his streak, of 2,130 straight games, covering 15 years, is over. 

December 13, 2010, Detroit.  hmmmm...

So why the hate?

Just because Favre went back and forth the last few years, debating on weather or not to come back or retire?  What if, simply, the man wanted to play football?  Hasn't what he has accomplished allowed him some extra time to make a decision?

My good best baseball buddy, is a 9x Gold Glove winning catcher playing wood bat, ametuer hardball.  And after 20 years of catching, his knees and throwing shoulder is fucked up, and guess what?  It has happened a few times, where, he wasn't sure if he was going to play next year.  And come spring time, it is always time to play.

It is worse to not play.

This Yankee fan would prefer the team doesn’t get Cliff Lee. Don’t get me wrong I wouldn’t be upset or anything I just think the Yanks should go in a different direction. Lee is 31 years old. I can’t see giving him a 7 year contract worth over $140 million. But, I do see where you can get a pitcher for a lot less and is 7 years younger. His name is Felix Hernandez. Yep the same Hernandez I criticized for winning the Cy Young. If Felix posted the same numbers for the Yankees he would have won 25 games. The Bronx Bombers have a very good minor league system and would be able to give the Mariners a package of players without jeopardizing the minor league system of the Yankees. 

What’s with this Hall Of Fame Stuff??? Ronde Barber in a class by himself??? Hockey Night in the NFL??? TCU a Big East Team??? Oh yeah, believe it. All this inside this edition of Rants and Raves.

On December 6^th, the veterans committee, of the Baseball Hall of Fame, will select the next inductees to the Hall of Fame. The late Yankee owner George Steinbrenner and the late Yankee manager Billy Martin are on the Hall of Fame veterans committee ballot. George fired Billy four times and Billy resigned once. As manger, Billy won one World Series and lost one. As owner of greatest franchise in history, Steinbrenner’s Yankees won 7 World Series, 11 American League Pennants and 16 American League East titles. It would be ironic if the two Yankee Icons are inducted together. Also on the veterans ballot are Ron Guidry, Marvin Miller, Vida Blue, Dave Concepcion, Steve Garvey, Tommy John, Al Oliver, Ted Simmons, Pat Gillick and Rusty Staub. You do you think is deserving of this honor?

Speaking of baseball HOF, the Hall of Fame also released the names of this years eligible class. Leading the first year group are Rafael “I never used steroids” Palmeiro and Juan Gonzalez, both are suspected steroid users. Here is the complete ballot: Roberto Alomar, Carlos Baerga, Jeff Bagwell, Harold Baines, Bert Blyleven, Bret Boone, Kevin Brown, John Franco, Juan Gonzalez, Marquis Grissom, Lenny Harris, Bobby Higginson, Charles Johnson, Barry Larkin, Al Leiter, Edgar Martinez, Tino Martinez, Don Mattingly, Fred McGriff, Mark McGwire, Raul Mondesi, Jack Morris, Dale Murphy, John Olerud, Rafael Palmeiro, Dave Parker, Tim Raines, Kirk Rueter, Benito Santiago, Lee Smith, B.J. Surhoff, Alan Trammell, Larry Walker. Candidates remain on the ballot for up to 15 years and must appear on at least 5 percent to remain on the following year. BBWAA members who have been with the organization for at least 10 consecutive years may vote through Dec. 31 and results will be announced Jan. 5. Any winners of the writers' vote and at the Veterans Committee ballot, which will be announced next week at the winter meetings, will be inducted during ceremonies on July 24 in Cooperstown. You do you think is deserving of this honor?

The NFL Hall of Fame has released the list of 26 semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall Of Fame. First time eligible players Curtis Martin, Jerome Bettis, Willie Roaf, Deion Sanders and Marshall Faulk lead this class. Also semifinalists are Tim Brown, Cris Carter, Don Coryell, Roger Craig, Terrell Davis, Edward DeBartolo, Dermontti Dawson, Richard Dent, Chris Doleman, Kevin Greene, Ray Guy, Charles Haley, Lester Hayes, Cortez Kennedy, Art Model, Andre Reed, Ed Sabol, Shannon Sharpe, Paul Tagliabue, Aeneas Williams and George Young. The 15 finalists will be announced in January. Then, the Class of 2011 will be determined at the selection committee’s annual meeting on February 5, 2011 the day before Super Bowl XLV in Arlington, Texas.

In a statistic not too many have seem to notice, Ronde Barber is the first cornerback in NFL history with at least 40 interceptions and 25 sacks.

How many people can say they went to a football game and a hockey game broke out? Well that’s what happened when Houston WR Andre Johnson and Tennessee cornerback Cortland Finnegan got into a fistfight that got both players ejected in the fourth quarter Sunday. I can of like the fighting in football. It lets the players vent. I think they should allow one fight per half to vent. The NHL lets it happen, why can’t the NFL??

As I wrote awhile back, TCU would be a good addition to the Big East. Well now its going to happen as TCU accepted a bid to the Big East Conference, which will take effect July 1, 2012. It makes sense for TCU and the Big East. Dallas/Fort Worth is the nations fifth largest media market. It also gives the Big East access into the fertile recruiting area of Texas, while it allows TCU to get an automatic bid into a bowl game. it’s a win/win situation.

To all my Jewish friends I want to wish you a

Pictures By: Andre Johnson and Cortland Finnegan - andreitea.com, TCU Logo - TCU Website, Big East Logo - Suathletics.syr.edu, Rhonde Barber - JoeBucsFan.com, Baseball Hall Of Fame Logo - annexnate.mlblogs.com, NFL Hall Of Fame Logo - clevelandleader.com 

Let's face facts folks, there is no love lost between the New York Yankees and Derek Jeter at this stage in the game.

There are questions abound about where Jeter thinks he will be able to get the kind of money to compete with the Yankees's 3-year, $45 million offer that the Captain is scoffing at or why the Yankees are truly trying to play hardball with one of their greatest players. Are they trying to prove that no one player is greater than the Yankee machine?

But here's another angle that perhaps the Yankees should consider; the Cliff Lee Angle.

It's no secret that the Yankees are or will be making a huge push to land Cliff Lee this winter. They've had him on their radar since before he was traded to Philadelphia a year and a half ago. They knew that free agency was right around the corner and made certain that they wouldn't part with prospects at this year's deadline knowing that they would have the largest pot to pull from in terms of salary. All they had to do was wait another 4 months and tug on the cash leash a little bit.

Unfortunately, that mind set has already thrown a wrench in the works when Cliff's wife Kristen complained of fan abuse during playoff games at Yankee Stadium. She made it known that she thought she and other wives were treated rudely and then dropped the hint that she liked having Cliff close to home in Texas.

That brings us back around to Jeter. Put yourself into Cliff Lee's shoes. Before your eyes, you are witnessing an icon in the city being treated like just another free agent winding down his career and getting a three-year deal as a consolation prize. How does that look to you that your prospective employer will tell you when you're no longer a part of the long-term plan?

Certainly, Lee's biggest consideration is going to come down to the money, but let's look at this for face value. In Lee's eyes, this has to appear like the Yankees have two strike against them already and if I were him, I would use this as leverage in order to drive up their offer. Only Texas is in active pursuit of you against New York, and they can also give you enough money to be satisfied, albeit not Yankee money, but still, a quality deal.

It comes down to money, loyalty, and comfortability with the surroundings. As I see it, the Yankees need to show loyalty to both sides of the equation to get the Lee deal done. Otherwise, they need to turn their attention to another matter.

Other Hot Stove Heaters:

- Rumors last week mentioned that the Pittsburgh Pirates had contacted Scott Boras about Adrian Beltre and that the A's had supposedly offered him a $64 million deal. Let's be honest with ourselves, we've all seen how Scott Boras works. With the Yankees out of the picture on Beltre, the agent can't play the Yankee card against the Red Sox, so he needs to drum up interest somewhere. That said, these rumors are a little far fetched, as neither team has the financial flexibility or spending history to make a run at a free agent with the asking price of a Beltre.

- The Cubs have a first base void to fill and are looking into Carlos Pena. This is an interesting move for a club that struggles to get hits at times. Yes, he'll be a power upgrade over last year's model Derrek Lee , but he also his below the Mendoza line last season, showing that he has trouble putting the ball into play.

- The Rangers made a push for Victor Martinez before he signed with Detroit last week. Now, they have their sites set on Paul Konerko to upgrade their first base production.. Konerko would be a great fit in the Texas heat, but any move or pursuit is likely handicapped by the status of Cliff Lee. It is doubtful that Texas can commit to both players financially, but a new ownership group may try to make decisions like that to show the fan base that they are committed to improving on their 2010 season.