Posted by Ryan Wilson

It's been 24 hours since we last spoke about Brett Favre so, naturally, it's time for an update. Days after Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne had to endure "We want Orton!" chants from the hometown fans, head coach Tony Sparano, tongue planted firmly in cheek (we think), was asked about Favre joining the Dolphins.

"I can't rule anything out...I'm giving you the only answer I can give you," Sparano told reporters, per Omar Kelly of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

We know, we know. Sparano could've diffused the situation by just saying "I'm not even going to dignify that with an answer." Instead, he was vague, which sent the media (us included, clearly) into a Favre frenzy and prompted the ol' gunslinger's agent, Bus Cook to later observe, "Brett Favre's retired, that's all I can say. He's like Elvis now. People just won't let go."

For real.

On Friday, Jeff Darlington of the Miami Herald happened to be in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. As long as he was in the area, he figured he might as well ask Favre about his professional football hopes and dreams.

“I haven’t heard anything, and I don’t have any interest,” Favre snapped, quickly retreating into a pickup truck. “No.”

Favre then posed a question that at one time or another has been on the lips of every NFL fan. “You’re from Miami?” Favre asked, when introduced to a reporter from the Miami Herald. “Don’t you have anything better to do?”

Fair question. Then again this is what happens when you make a habit of un-retiring every offseason.

Two sources told Darlington that Favre hasn't been working out at the local high school field, as he had done in the past, but instead "spent a good chuck of time vacationing in Wyoming."

We'd like to think that this will end any "Favre's returning!?" talk but we know better. In the meantime, the Dolphins have signed QB Kevin O'Connell, the Patriots 2008 third-round pick who also spent time with the Lions and the Jets.

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Posted by Josh Katzowitz

Jets QB Erik Ainge has had a big struggle ever since emerging from the University of Tennessee. He’s had plenty of arm and shoulder struggles during his pro career, but even worse than that, Ainge was a drug addict* who battled bi-polar disorder.

*It got so bad for Ainge that he said, compared to him, Charlie Sheen was as hard-core as Miss Daisy.

All of it became too much. That’s why Ainge, who missed all of last season to get help with his addictions, told the Associated Press that he’s retiring from football. Ainge said he’s been sober for nearly a year but that his body just won’t allow him to play (he had surgery to repair a stress fracture in January and he recently tweeted that he had a torn rotator cuff).

“This isn’t the step I wanted, but it’s the hand I’m dealt,” Ainge told the AP. “There’s nothing I’d love more than to come back to New Jersey when the lockout’s over and compete for a job and be around those guys and their families. I miss them as people, but it’s just not in the cards physically right now.

“I don’t know exactly when it happened with my shoulder because I’ve been battling shoulder problems for a long time, but now that I’m not in NFL-playing shape – I’m in good shape, but not NFL shape – my shoulder started really telling me how bad it was. One of the things I’ve been working on in my recovery is acceptance, and to be honest, I need to accept that I want to be able to play baseball with my kids when I’m 35. I don’t want to be limping the rest of my life.”

Ainge insists he loves football, but he loves his body more. He can’t lift a 10-pound weight with his throwing arm, and he knows that fact will hinder him if he were to compete for a job that requires him to, um, throw the ball.

Plus, Ainge would have had a tough time making the Jets roster this season with five quarterbacks (Mark Sanchez, Mark Brunell, Kevin O’Connell, Drew Willy and Greg McElroy) already on the roster.

Ainge, though, says he’ll leave football without any regrets and that the most important thing in his life is staying sober.

“I don’t have to come back and be a Pro Bowler to be a success story,” he said. “If I stay sober and I move on with my life and I’m successful, that’s the success story.”

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Posted by Josh Katzowitz

The Jets released QB Kevin O’Connell today, and with the pronouncement by coach Rex Ryan that third-stringer Kellen Clemens has “a pretty strong chance” to make the roster, I’ll go out on a limb and say Clemens probably will make the team (I’m a risk-taker, what can I say?).

But if you think that made Clemens’ day, you’d be wrong. Read his quotes in the NY Post and that might give you an idea of how Clemens feels he’s been treated so far this year.

For instance, when the team signed veteran Mark Brunell – who, if Hard Knocks is any indication, does seem to be rather awesome (off the field, at least) – it took Clemens close to a week to wrap his head around the notion.

From the Post:

Clemens, a holdover from the Eric Mangini regime, also admitted he is still stinging from what he perceives as unfair treatment by Ryan this month when the coach named Mark Brunell the No. 2 quarterback just days into training camp.

Asked by The Post yesterday if he had gotten a fair shot from Ryan, Clemens said sarcastically: "To be the No. 3? Yes. There wasn't much competition for the No. 2 spot."

Widespread belief around the NFL has the Jets, barring the unlikely event of a trade, cutting Clemens at Saturday's roster deadline because Ryan has soured on him and, more importantly, because of the quarterback's 2010 salary.

Clemens is scheduled to earn almost $1.2 million this season. That's more than All-Pro holdout Darrelle Revis' scheduled $1 million salary, and teams rarely, if ever, keep a No. 3 quarterback at a rate that high.

Now, without O’Connell in the picture, that probably means Clemens will stick around the (New) Meadowlands. Unless, of course, the Jets go with only two QBs.

For the record, Clemens is 11 of 16 for 116 yards with no TDs or INTs during the preseason. Brunell is 5 of 13 for 23 yards and no TDs or INTs.

UPDATE (12:46 p.m.): Just saw a series of Tweets from the Newark Star-Ledger's Jenny Vrentas regarding Clemens. She writes Clemens took a paycut before the season, and that although he drew interest from four other teams in the offseason, "you dance with the girl you came with." Also, Clemens met with Ryan and GM Mike Tannenbaum Monday night to make sure that, if Clemens makes the team, it would be a positive experience.

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According to Rich Cimini of ESPN New York , newly-bankrupt QB Mark Brunell will sign with the Jets on Thursday to push for the right to be Mark Sanchez’s backup.

Though this move has been expected for a while, it’s interesting New York would sign a nearly 40-year-old, 15-season veteran to compete with Kellen Clemens to back up their second-year starting QB. Interesting because recently a few Jets players said they liked Clemens as the backup, because 1) he knows the offense and 2) because Brunell isn’t exactly a young pup.

Clemens has played in 24 games during his four-year career, and though his numbers are less than impressive, he’s not a terrible choice if you need an emergency starter. He’s young, but he’s got good experience in New York’s system. He actually could manage your team to victory. Meanwhile, Brunell – who still has some of his athleticism but whose arm strength has abandoned him – has thrown just 30 passes in the past two seasons. In his past 10 starts, he’s also 3-7.

Assuming Brunell actually signs a contract, it’d be quite a battle to see who actually wins the No. 2 job. Some Jets players – mostly anonymously – already have made clear their preferences.

For the record, QBs Erik Ainge and Kevin O’Connell also are listed on the Jets roster. Until Thursday, at least.

--Josh Katzowitz

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