As we mentioned last night, if the Vikings are holding in their back pocket a contract with Brett Favre’s Herbie Hancock on it, they likely are waiting to announce the move at a time that would entail a reduced media reaction. The best day between now and the start of training camp is, in our assessment, Friday, July 3. That’s when plenty of reporters will be on vacation (or, as the case may be, unpaid furloughs). And if the news breaks late in the afternoon of the 3rd, it’s less likely that ESPN will send a fleet of satellite trucks to Minnesota and/or Mississippi as the Fourth of July weekend commences. Then, the press conference would be held on Monday, July 6, likely with a reduced contingency of Minnesota, Green Bay, New York, and national media throwing elbows in the room. The Minneapolis Star Tribune lends some credence to this tentative timetable. Coach Brad Childress is starting a vacation today, and he’ll be back next Monday, June 29. So Favre won’t be holding up his new shirt between now and then. Also, the coach’s daughter gets married July 11. So July 10 is out. So if it’s not July 3, then the targets are the remaining Fridays in July -- the 17th and the 24th. But since the Vikings surely will prefer to have the formal arrival of Favre in the books before the team is finalizing rookie contracts and otherwise preparing for training camp, we’re going to continue to keep our eyes focused on July 3. Meanwhile, Peter King points out that the coach of the high school team where Favre has been working out said recently on Sirius NFL Radio that Favre’s arm looks fine. “He looks good,” Neville Barr said. “He said it was still a little uncomfortable, but I thought he threw the ball well. He had a lot of velocity and zip on it.’' So, yeah. Favre is coming back. And part of our own Fourth of July weekend will be devoted to watching and waiting for the NFL’s version of the Great Pumpkin to make his annual return.
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