FanHouse Zygi Wilf

The final tally on Brett Favre's one year with the New York Jets now reads nine wins, 22 interceptions, one broken playoff dream and $12,100,000. A $100K add-on came Wednesday when the NFL fined the Jets and general manager Mike Tannenbaum for not listing the aging Wrangler model on their injury report after Favre tore his bicep last season.

For anyone who missed this episode of As The Favre Moans, here's a recap: The quarterback claimed last week that he told the Jets to bench him because of his injury, triggering a NFL investigation because his name wasn't on injury reports for a bunch of games he ended up playing in anyway.

For Andy Reid, it could be a move that cements his reputation in Philadelphia. Meanwhile, Brad Childress is trying to change the perception about his career as a head coach in Minnesota.

In case you haven't heard, Brett Favre has signed with the Minnesota Vikings.

While it doesn't seem that Favre will see the second year of his reported two-year deal with the Vikings, you never know. What is certain is that Favre just isn't making a desperate plea for more cash. Reports that have surfaced about his contract make it clear that Favre didn't angle for money over anything else. They also show the financial strains that are currently on the Vikings organization.

It's been a few weeks, so it was inevitable that Brett Favre's name would surface again in connection with the Minnesota Vikings.

Wouldn't you think franchise owner Zygi Wilf would feel sufficiently snubbed after the perpetually capricious quarterback turned down Minnesota's bended-knee proposal days before training camp began last month? Even after Favre's agent, Bus Cook, told FanHouse Monday that this renewed dalliance is news to him, doesn't it seem like it's time to, gulp, accept the Sage Rosenfels Era in Minnesota?

Logically, yes. But after spending some time in Vikings' camp in Mankato, Minn., I came away with a sense that the door will remain open for Favre, Minnesota's longtime NFC North nemesis, for multiple reasons:

With the Vikings just hours away from the deadline to sell their remaining tickets for tomorrow's Wild Card game against the Philadelphia Eagles, the organization decided this was the best time to push for a new stadium.

Though the economy is crunching the country, Vikings owner Zygi Wilf decided that what Minnesota needs is a $954 million state-of-the-art stadium for his team. Wilf and his Vice President of Stadium Development, Lester Bagley, think that a new stadium will be a huge economic boost and keep jobs in the Twin Cities. He and Wilf also believe that Minnesota should use some most of their economic stimulus package on the new stadium.

The Minnesota legislature isn't putting this request very high on their list of priorities. The state is in a budget crisis and can't flip the over $600 million bill that Wilf wants them to pick up. Because of this, the threats are starting to fly.

"It's reality check time," Bagley said. "If we want an NFL franchise in this state, we have to resolve the stadium issue. Time is running out. If nothing gets done, then maybe the Wilfs throw in the towel."

The lease at the Metrodome expires in 2011 so the Vikings could go elsewhere with very few strings attached.

As we get ready for the Wildcard Weekend matchup of the Vikings and Eagles, Dan Zinksi from The Viking Age and Derek from Iggles Blog were nice enough to offer some insights on their teams for this week's Behind Enemy Lines feature.

Sportz Assassin: How do both of you feel about how your teams are playing heading into the playoffs?

Dan Zinksi (Viking Age): I would've been happier if the Vikes hadn't needed a 10-point comeback against the Giants' second-stringers to win their last game. I think they're shaky. I think Tarvaris Jackson's performance was a bit of a mirage, since a lot of it came against some bad pass defenses. I get nervous every time Adrian Peterson touches the ball now, because he keeps fumbling. I don't think they're exactly going into the playoffs with momentum.

Derek (Iggles Blog): I'd feel a lot better if the Eagles had won that "must win" game against the Redskins two weeks ago. These guys are clearly playing some good football right now, but I still think they're short a couple of guys needed to make a Super Bowl run.

It's commonly understood that in locker rooms of professional athletic teams, there are, very often, naked men. That's because they change there; it's no surprise.

So, when you're a cameraman for FOX and you head into the locker room on a live feed to listen to the owner Zygi Wilf give the Minnesota Vikings an inspirational speech about Brad Childress' son leaving for the military, do yourself a favor: look around, scan the room, and if any players are not wrapped in towels or have their junk hanging out in any manner, don't turn the camera on.

The photo that you will see after the jump is a screenshot taken during a live television broadcast of the above mentioned situation actually happening. It is safe for work though, because Tom Ziller, working over at the Sporting Blog, was kind enough to blue out said junk.

This is not what you would call "good news" for the boys at FOX, and you have to imagine that if CBS is going to get attacked for showing some sideboob in the middle of the Super Bowl, there will be repeated mention of the, um, sidejunk. Which I think is an OK thing to say. Hopefully.

Either way, if you're really interested in seeing the uncensored version of this (and I'm not sure why you would be), you're going to have to do it without our help. That's right -- no sidejunk shown here at FanHouse.

As we get ready for this week's matchup between the Vikings and Panthers, I exchanged e-mails with Dan Zinski from The Viking Age blog. Dan was nice enough to offer some insights on Minnesota for this week's Behind Enemy Lines feature.

Brad Childress, consider yourself warned. Owner Zygi Wilf expects big things this year.

"We're going into our fourth year [of ownership], but certainly I think everybody on our team expects great things this year," Wilf said. "We're certainly going to be fighting for the division, and I think we have the team and the confidence to do it. I know that we have the potential to be the best, but we'll wait for the season to unfold to show our true colors."

You can't blame Wilf for raising the expectations on his third-year coach. This is a team built to Childress' specifications, and the team's overall talent level is the best that it's been since the Robert Smith, Randy Moss and Chris Carter Vikings of the late 1990s and 2000. Add in the acquisitions of Bernard Berrian and Jared Allen this offseason and everything seems to be set for the Vikings to get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2004.

But there obviously still are plenty of questions as well. We'll have to see if Jared Allen will fix the team's pass defense problems of the last couple of years, and we'll all see if Tarvaris Jackson will earn the amazing amount of respect Childress has given him by not bringing in competition for him, ether in 2007 or this year.

Childress seemingly has been on the hot seat since the day he took the job, but it's good to see that Wilf isn't sitting back and willing to tolerate mediocrity. If the Vikings make the playoffs this year, everything's good. But if not, there should be legitimate questions as to whether Childress is the right man for the job.

The Minnesota Vikings did not have enough money on hand to pay free agent defensive end Jared Allen's $15.5 million signing bonus when they agreed to a contract with him this week, and owner Zygi Wilf had to issue a capital call to come up with the cash.

That news, first reported by the Star-Tribune, demonstrates that revenues are relatively low for the Vikings, and that Wilf and his investment partners sometimes have to pump the franchise up with their own cash. That doesn't mean the Vikings are a money-losing operation, but it does mean that they're not as flush as most NFL teams.

And it's a reminder of how much faith the Vikings are putting in Allen. It's more than just the draft picks they're trading away for him, it's the financial ramifications of making him one of the league's highest-paid players. If he's anything less than a superstar, he's a failure.