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Word on the street earlier today was that Brett Favre and the Vikings had, GASP, already signed a contract. It was shocking, spicy, etc., and properly panned by Ryan Wilson: it doesn't really matter whether there's a deal in place or not, because at no point in the next six months will we stop talking about Favre.

Seriously, he can even say "I'm retiring 4eva" and it won't matter, because he's said that before. But, it's at least worth mentioning that Mike Florio's scoop was quickly denied this evening by everyone's favorite sports agent, Bus Cook.

The Brett Favre retirement saga, now consuming its second straight NFL off-season, basically exists for one reason: Favre is incapable of making up his mind about whether or not he wants to play football. So when Favre's agent told the local newspaper in Favre's Mississippi hometown that Favre is retired now but may not be next week, he was both saying nothing new and succinctly expressing the major reason we'll be talking about this for the next couple months.

This seems about right. Brett Favre, who will outlive us all, showed up at Oak Grove High School (Mississippi) yesterday to throw the ole pigskin around. Just like last summer (and the four before that), right before he unretired, made life miserable for Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy, and worked a trade to the Jets.

The Favre rumors change daily, but other than agent Bus Cook, no one "close to the situation" is willing to say much on the record. Which is why somebody at ESPN thought it would be a swell idea to get Oak Grove quarterback James McMahon on the horn to talk about watching Favre throw a football. Video is after the jump.

The rumors of Brett Favre returning to the NFL are just that according to the quarterback's agent Bus Cook. Cook said he doesn't know if Favre has spoken with Vikings coach Brad Childress or anyone else, but to the best of his knowledge, nothing is happening.

"As far as I know, Brett Favre is still retired," Cook said Thursday afternoon. "If he does decide he wants to play, he can still play at a high level."

Cook said he hasn't spoken with any team regarding Favre's possible comeback.

"ESPN wanted to unretire him, now I see Yahoo has something," Cook said. "Could [Favre] change his mind? I don't know."

According to agent Bus Cook, no one has called Brett Favre to talk him into playing in 2009.

That seems plausible. Last spring, approximately 45 minutes* after announcing his retirement, Favre promptly took it back, forced the Packers to trade him to the Jets, where he looked every bit the 39-year-old, 17-year veteran on the downside of a great career.

New York waived Favre off the retired list last week, which could mean nothing. Or, since this is the ole gunslinger we're talking about, everything. Apparently, Wrangler jeans' favorite spokesperson can also hold a grudge. Via the New York Daily News' Gary Myers:

On Monday, in a post about the possibility of Brady Quinn still landing in Denver, I mentioned that, via the Denver Post, an NFL source said it won't happen because "[Jay] Cutler's agent Bus Cook made it clear his client would not play for new Cleveland coach Eric Mangini."

Well, Cook, who also represents Brett Favre (hence the Mangini reference), takes issue with the allegation, telling the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Mary Kay Cabot, "That's not true ... Jay doesn't even know Eric Mangini except for maybe when they met when he was coming out of Vanderbilt.''

Cook adds:

Josh McDaniels held a press conference on Friday afternoon, and expressed no regrets about the way things went down with Jay Cutler. While he said he thought it could have worked out, it was his opinion that Cutler and agent Bus Cook didn't want to make the same commitment to moving forward. Once that became clear, the goal was to trade Cutler and not look back.

McDaniels didn't go out of his way to slam Cutler while answering questions about how the relationship soured. He saved his biggest slam for a question about a downgrade in talent from Cutler to Kyle Orton.

I don't know about you, but when one of my bosses urgently needs me, he either calls or yanks me by the earlobe into his office. We're still waiting for Pat Bowlen to have such contact with Jay Cutler, which shocks me. For a quarter-century, Bowlen has been among the dynamic owners in American sports, a primary reason why the Denver Broncos have been an elite NFL franchise.

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We're a month into the Broncos-Cutler standoff, and here's what we know: Jay Cutler is a sensitive sort, and new head coach Josh McDaniels might be in over his head, at least when it comes to dealing with moody Pro Bowl quarterbacks. Yet through it all, public opinion seems to be firmly behind the organization.

I have no idea how this turns out, and at this point, I don't care; I just want it to end so we can get back to the important stuff: Terrell Owens, Michael Vick and Brett Favre's impending return to the sport he loves so much. But before moving on, I just want to point out that Jeff George, perpetually on the comeback trail, has weighed in on the situation and, shockingly, supports Cutler:

When Jay Cutler and the Broncos go their separate ways -- and by the looks of things, it's happening, the only question is when -- Bill Belichick will be to blame. I don't say that because it's just easier to point the finger at the man who embodies all that is evil (at least for all those who hate the Patriots), but because apparently, he's been instrumental in driving a wedge between Cutler and the Broncos organization*, even if unwittingly (yeah, right).

On Sunday, the Denver Post's Mike Klis wrote that, contrary to previous reports, "the deal that would have sent Cutler elsewhere and New England quarterback Matt Cassel to Denver didn't collapse because Broncos coach [and former Patriots offensive coordinator] Josh McDaniels entered the discussions late."