Call it a sign of flattery, call it a sign of laziness, but throughout my blogging career I have definitely been influenced by the work of ESPN.com's Bill Simmons, and have written some of my columns in a similar mold. Clearly, I have been nowhere near as good as him, because he is getting paid millions to write one column per week while I am doing this for the love of the game/Dan Walsh. While its true I've borrowed some of his ideas (finding a favorite team, mailbag), I still manage to keep the columns my own, and don't plagarize in any way, for that would be the ultimate sin of a writer. However, I am telling you this up front so that when you see that this week I've turned my edition into a running diary of shorts, you won't say "Hey, stupid Winks ripped off stupid Simmons". I'm saying that for you.

So now we've established the fact that I kept a running diary this week, but I wonder what it could be about? Well, I guess I'm sort of copying everyone else that has written for the Bubbler this week, because for the 93rd straight week I'm going to talk about Brett Favre in a Winks Thinks column (sidenote: Didn't I write a column called "The Final Brett Favre Edition" a few months ago?) I actually wanted to publish this column on Tuesday or Wednesday (you know, to keep things relevant) but I just couldn't bring myself to talk about Favre until now. I'm actually taking the loss better than I thought I would, but looking back at the diary I kept Monday night, it's a wonder I'm still alive right now and not passed out permantely in a garage somewhere.

So, let's take a trip down memory lane all the way to three days ago, in what has to be one of the worst Packer losses of all time. Amazingly, I don't even think it was the worst loss ever like I thought I would. After all that has happened, it was still a lot more agonizing to see Favre cost us playoff victories as a Packer than it is to see him beat us in week four, even if he is with the hated Minnesota Vikings. So lets all start to do the flashback thing they did on Wayne's World and go back in time to Monday Night...

7:00 - My shift is work is finally over, after what seemed to be the longest working day of my life. Now is the time to finally head home, make some pizza rolls, and settle in to watch the game.. Wait... what's that?

7:01 - I have to stay at work late!

7:10 - Whew, I'm able to head home after a brief scare that I might be missing some of the game. Now it's time to fly 85 miles per hour down the highway to make sure I can get home in time for kickoff.

7:24 - I make it home, and my apartment has a good sized capacity showing. My roommates, Bear and Gweeds, are of course in attendance. Also here is my baby brother, B, who has invited like half of his high school class over to check out the game on my HDTV. As long as they don't try to drink my Captain, I'm fine with it.

7:25 - Time for the ESPN crew to make their picks of who is going to win the game. There's like eight guys picking, and I decide to predict their predictions. My guess is that everyone will take the Vikings, except for maybe one guy.

7:27 - Steve Young took the Packers. Everyone else took Minnesota. No surprise there, Stuart Scott always takes the favorite, Cris Carter is one of the biggest homers in the world, and Tom Jackson hates the Packers. I'm just surprised that Berman didn't take the Bills for some reason.

7:34 - Doesn't the game usually start by now? Oh great, a shot of Deanna Favre. There are few people in this world I hate more than Brett Favre, but Deanna Favre is definitely one of them. I just picture her as the most power hungry sports wife there has ever been. At least she didn't introduce Brett Favre during this game like she did during the Packers/Broncos Monday nighter of two years ago, where she basically read his obituary before kickoff. That was weird. Either way, Deanna is in my top five of hatred right up there with her husband, Jay Cutler, Mark Levin, and Carlos Mencia.

7:40 - Kickoff. Nervous. Time to make a drink.

7:43 - Ryan Grant catches a screen pass, which is good for the sidebar meaning of tonight's game. If Grant has a good night, I'll pull off an improbable comeback in fantasy. Monday nights have been very kind to me so far this season as far as fantasy is concerned, so hopefully Grant can deliver.

7:43 - I need something to eat. Let me cook this bag of pizza rolls quick.

7:44 - Donald Driver, looking good. Nice hold there buddy. You better have a good game tonight. And even if you don't, please don't hug Favre joyfully after the game.

7:44 - This Metrodome is loud, and I mean obnoxiously loud. I can only go off of what I'm hearing on television, but this crowd is electric. They are going insane after every play, and because of this my feelings about this game have gotten 20 times as worse. It's almost like a playoff game in that dome. The best example of this kind of thing is in baseball. If you go to any Brewers game during the season, and Milwaukee strikes out the side in the first inning, you'll get a decent applause from the crowd as they head to the dugout. But remember the NLDS Game 3 against the Phillies when Dave Bush dominated the strike zone? Every strike was met with cheers as if it was the winning out during the 7th game of the World Series, and that inning was the loudest collective noise I've ever heard in my life. The Metrodome sounded exactly like that, maybe even louder. Not good.

7:46 - Hey, it's the first shot of Favre during the game. Sweet. Get used to that.

7:47 - Pizza rolls are cooked.

7:49 - Packers back in action, looking alright. And Rodgers just fumbled. I'm a little worried about Rodgers right now, this is a big game for him, and I'm worried the pressure is going to get to him. I still think Rodgers is a clutch quarterback, but he's playing his old mentor here. I can totally see Rodgers just putting way too much pressure on himself and struggling tonight.

7:50 - Pizza rolls are gone.

7:53 - Gweeds and I were just talking about how if that was Tom Brady, the whistle would have been blown long before Jared Allen could have got the ball out of Rodgers hands. Did anyone else watch that Patriots/Ravens game on Sunday? Everytime that the Ravens came near Brady, the refs blew their whistles as if Brady was wearing the red quarterback jersey. Watch the Patriots sometime this season. The NFL does not want to see Brady get hurt again, and the whistle is going to get blown as soon as something is within sneezing distance of him.

7:54 - Packers challenge the fumble, and lose of course. Something already doesn't seem right with Mike McCarthy tonight. He and I both knew that that was a fumble, but he challenged out of desperation. It's one thing for me to be an emotional wreck that can already see this one going haywire, I just wish my head coach didn't feel the same way.

7:57 - Vikings running the ball pretty consistently. Favre finally gets into the action with a slant pass and completion. I gotta be honest with you, never has a 13-yard completion made me want to cry so hard. I can already tell is this going to be a long night (and subsequently, a long column).

7:58 - Brandon Chillar, 15 yards for taunting. Way to keep your guys in check emotionally, Packers coaching staff.

8:01 - Right now, after the first ten minutes or so, the Packers just look tentative. I played Gweeds in Madden last weekend, and this is something I notice that happens every time I play one of my buddies. After the first quarter, the score is always something low like 3-0 or 7-3, but then the final score ends up being like 51-48. It's just that I play so conservative during the first quarter, because I'm just so afraid to screw up. If I would just play normal, maybe I could pull in front and seal this one early. But instead, I play close to the vest and have to either win it or lose it in the final moments. That's what it looks like Green Bay is doing right now.

8:02 - And with that, the Vikings are up 7-0 care of a Brett Favre touchdown. You see, here's the biggest thing in this whole Favre mess. If the Vikings went up 7-0 against us on any normal Monday Night game, I would be a nervous wreck anyways. Seeing all that purple and hearing those horns go off just kills me, regardless of what side Favre is on. But the fact that he's actually on the Vikings, and that some people who grew up as Packers fans are now happy to see Favre score against us just doesn't make sense to me. And that fact that me saying this sounds stupid to some people makes even less sense to me. If I could sum up the whole situation of how some people like both Favre and the Vikings into one picture, it would be this:

Look at that thing! It doesn't make any sense! Neither does rooting for Favre! What do I have to do to get this in your head, people! Where does that third prong come from!

8:08 - After the Vikings scored, the girl I have a crush on just texted me. She's actually at the game with her boyfriend, one of the people that likes both Favre and the Packers. In fact, he actually wore a Packers Favre jersey to the game, as well as a Vikings hat. Now, if you're a self-proclaimed Favre fan, wouldn't you wear a Favre Vikings jersey with a Packers hat? Man, this guy makes less sense than that extra prong. Anyways, knowing this, I went on to text to her back, "Anyone that still likes Favre doesn't deserve oxygen." And I wonder why I'm single.

8:09 - Packers got the ball back, and Rodgers nearly threw a pick. The Packers need to score shortly, otherwise this game could go south in a hurry.

8:10 - And just like that, Jermichael Finley, or whatever Ron Jaworski wants to call him, just scored a brilliant touchdown and the game is tied. Finley is a beast, and maybe if I would have started him tonight as well instead of Shockey I'd have a much better chance at winning in fantasy this week. I drafted Finley this season, and I told myself I wasn't going to start him until he had a big game. Well, he had a big game, so I just traded Shockey away and I'm going with Finley for the rest of the season. He better deliver, because right now Ryan Grant hasn't.

8:11 - By the way, I would happily lose every fantasy game for the next five years if it meant beating the Vikings tonight.

8:16 - Favre has his first real throw of the night. Looked good.

8:17 - Time for drink number two.

8:25 - I have no idea what I wrote, so...

8:27 - And it doesn't matter, because Rodgers just threw his first pick of the season. Laaaaame.

8:36 - The Vikings are driving all over the Packers right now, and the Packers are doing nothing to stop it. Bear is suggesting for more blitzes, and I whole-heartedly agree. Where is the fierce and dominating defense we saw in the preseason? Why didn't we devise a gameplan to complete rock Favre's world? This is a guy that burned you after 16 years, and you don't want to knock him to the ground just once?

8:39 - Favre just threw another touchdown. Just put suicide hotline on speed dial.

8:41 - I'm telling you, the last thing I ever wanted to see was the Brett Favre touchdown celebration. You know, the one where he does his little high five to himself and then points his fingers in the air with that cocky grin of his. Ugh...

8:42 - I know that I wrote something about this last year, but McDonald's just ran a commercial for their Monopoly giveaway, and I have no idea how I'm going to deal with this. I'm trying to get go back on a health kick, and I'm trying to get my roommates to come with me to Snap Fitness more than a few times a week. But now, instead of going to Snap, we've devised a plan to go to McDonald's a few times a week. Sure, we'll probably gain weight instead of lose weight, but at least we'll win a free double cheeseburger or something.

8:45 - And......... see you next year Will Blackmon.

8:46 - Even though Gruden has been all about Favre tonight (but not as bad as Kornheiser would have been), he just showed a great video of him and Mike McCarthy back from their days at the University of Pittsburgh. Classic stuff.

8:47 - Rodgers was just sacked. Even though the offensive line has been terrible, that sack was not Rodgers fault. I don't know what it is about him this season, but he has been holding on to the ball way too long. Maybe he doesn't trust anybody, or maybe he's just waiting too long for someone to get open. It's a side of Rodgers that we didn't see last year, which has me a bit confused. He's just got to break this habit, plain and simple.

8:52 - Alright, so it's clear that I'm losing hope in this game, but then suddenly, out of nowhere, Clay Matthews strips Adrian Peterson and scored the fumble recovery for the touchdown. I sat there motionless, because I was all but certain that play was getting called back. It wasn't, and for that I regret cheering. Still, it was an amazing play by Matthews, and proof that he's worth what Thompson spent to get on him. No matter what people say, Ted Thompson is a great GM. One of the best in the league. The problem right now is that Derrick Martin is trash and his offensive line sucks. He's built a great 45-man roster, but unfortunately that's not enough. He's got some work to do before this team wins a Super Bowl, but I still have faith.

8:54 - Favre drops back... Quack, Quack, Quack. There's the duck throws I love to see from old Brett.

9:03 - Despite the bad throw, the Vikings are driving, and getting close to the end zone but hold the phone CHARLES WOODSON INTERCEPTION! Oh no, wait wait, the refs called it back because of a phantom holding and the Pack was apparently offsides. What a crap penalty on Woodson though. I mean, are there going to be any flags thrown on Minnesota tonight? Woodson made a great play to pick off Favre, and you're going to throw a flag on that? Defensive players get the raw end of the deal, because of how much the league caters towards offense and fantasy stats. Let these players play, and instead of automatically trying to help the offense, respect a great play made by the defense. If that pick would have counted, things could be a lot different, but instead the Vikings are probably going to score and it's going to be lame.

9:04 - They scored time to sulk for awhile.

9:05 - Drink number three.

9:23 - Just sulked for a good half an hour. Went into my bedroom, tried to calm down. Paid a couple of bills to pass the time. Also talked to my friend Shep, who is my fantasy opponent for the week. We're wondering where Ryan Grant went, his disappearance made our contest a lot less interesting. We also talk about how losing tonight would be the worst experience ever. Also something that came up, we decided that if Peyton Manning would have been on the Patriots, they would have been 16-0 for four straight years. As you can see, the Favre hatred has made us big Peyton Manning fans. That was something I didn't expect to happen as a result of all of this.

9:27 - Vikings have the ball to start the second half. There should have been a holding call on the Vikings, but the refs are apparently forgetting that they have a yellow flag in their pocket every time Minnesota is driving. Oh well.

9:30 - Favre literally just had eight seconds in the pocket, and the Packers didnt even touch him. Eight seconds doesn't sound like a lot, but in terms of an NFL pash rush, it is. Seriously, let's count it out.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

Six.

Seven.

Eight.

Favre had that much time on a single play, that's unheard of in the NFL. Of course, he completed the pass, how could he not have. Seriously though, eight seconds? Even in playground football you're only given a five apple-rush, and that seems too long. Eight seconds? Where is this so called aggressive 3-4, Dommy Boy?

9:30 - The Vikings just scored again. They are up 28-14. 1-800-784-2433 anyone? (aka 1-800-SUICIDE).

9:41 - You know what? I know that the NFL is wearing pink for *** cancer awareness and all, which is great, but I just love the color scheme the pink provides. I never thought I'd say this, but pink is a great color for the NFL. It just looks good. The Packers and Vikings both wear it well, but I think the best teams with pink were the Raiders (always love pink on blank) and the Jaguars (pink with teal green was the ultimate winner). I guess that's a bit weird of me, but the pink just looked so sharp I don't even care. Apparently, the players liked it too, because Carson Palmer said that he was able to find Chad 85 in the end zone because of the brightness of the pink gloves. I hope they do this every year, 50% precent for the cause, 50% for the aesthetics.

9:43 - Meanwhile, the Packers are putting together a really great drive here.

9:44 - First and goal.

9:45 - Second and goal.

9:46 - Third and goal, my boy Finley runs a terrible route and can't get in the end zone on a play action pass EVERYONE saw coming.

9:49 - Fourth and goal, and Donald Lee drops it in the end zone. What in Carmen Sandiego is going on with the receivers this season? Why can nobody catch a ball? This was almost Mark Clayton bad, and Lee has no excuse for not catching that pass. That was probably the most poorly executed four plays from the goal line I've ever seen, by the way.

9:53 - Well, at least the Vikings have the ball at their own one. Maybe we can stop them here.

9:55 - It's 3rd and Long. I would bet any amount of money Favre throws a five yard pass, the receiver jukes a guy, and then gets the first down by one yard or so.

9:55 - Unfortunately, I'm spot on with my predictions tonight, first down Vikings.

9:56 - Well, on another positive the Packers are for the most part shutting down Adrian Peterson. It looks like that was the game plan, to control Peterson and make Favre beat you. It makes sense on paper, but in a game like this you have to know that Favre is going to come blazing at you. I would have made sure to shut Favre down, knock him down every chance possible, and worried about the run second. I guess hindsight is 20/20, but in a game where the Pack did shut down Favre they are currently down 28-14.

9:57 - That leads me to this question. Favre is playing well tonight, there's no denying that. Sure, he would crumble behind the Packers offensive line and Al Harris isn't really playing the best defense, but for the most part Favre looks solid. My question is this: If Favre can still play at a competitive level, then why the hell did he retire in March of 2008 crying saying that he had nothing left to give? I mean, even if this guy wins a Super Bowl this season (which he won't, as Favre always crumbles down the stretch), then why did he leave us after 2008? You gotta remember, Favre left us first before any of this other stuff all happened. Clearly, it was all a ploy to get out of training camp the next season, which was a terrible decision considering we already had our future in A-Rodg. No matter what happened, all of this started with Favre, and for people to have grown up loving the Packers, loving Favre because he was a Packer, and then pledging his allegiance towards him even after he become a Minnesota Viking makes no sense to me. Seriously, it hurts thinking about how people try to justify themselves in this matter. It's one thing to still like the guy for what he did in a Packer uniform but hate him for being a Viking, that would be borderline acceptable. But to love him still, so much to the point where you're driven to *** off on Facebook about your love for him over the Packers, even though you grew up a Packer fan, makes absolutely no sense. Absolutely no sense. Again...

THIS MAKES NO SENSE!

10:00 - You should know, I'm pretty much going into meltdown mode.

10:02 - Just texted to my dad, "This sucks. I hate this, I want to cry. I'll never love again."

10:03 - Just ripped Brett Favre's picture off of the only mention of Favre in my apartment, a poster from Super Bowl XXXI.

10:04 - Just shredded the picture of Favre into the garbage can.

10:05 - Just ripped down the rest of the poster.

10:06 - Just died a little inside.

10:11 - Now I just went off on a tangent about how stupid it is to like sports. Yeah, sports have given me a lot of great moments in my life, but rooting for teams has also lead to a lot of pain. I mean, this is just a terrible moment that is occuring right now, and I don't understand why we set ourselves up for such downfall. This game is actually so bad that it's leading me to reconsider even liking sports. If I had to pick the top ten worst moments of my life, at least eight of them would be either Packers, Bucks, or Brewers losses. It just doesn't make any sense to me why I care so much about something I have no control of, especially when I'm burned this bad. I might never love sports again.

10:15 - Me and B just had a conversation about which UFL team we were going to root for. So it's pretty clear I've already changed my mind about abandoning sports. We picked the Florida Tuskers, by the way.

10:20 - Rodgers just fumbled in the end zone. Brilliant. McCarthy brings out the challenge flag again, as he'd rather have it be a saftey than he would have the Vikings with a first and goal. Actually, a smart move. By the way, Jared Allen is dominating us. Once again, Jared, wearing the number 69 stopped being funny in middle school, please stop being a d-bag and pick a new number. Outside of loser Vikings fans and redneck Chiefs fans, the real world doesn't like you. Please call 1-888-784-2433 at your earliest convience.

10:21 - It's called a safety, and even though it was a good move, this one looks to be over. Gweeds has just set up the PS2 on our small TV and is playing Madden 2005. From here, it looks like he's the Chargers and he's playing against the Packers. "I want to hurt Favre," he says. Well played.

10:23 - Just as I give up on this game, Jordy Nelson catches a TD after a great drive by Aaron Rodgers. Now I feel like we have a chance. After this game, people are going to of course go all crazy for Favre, but they are also going to talk good about Rodgers. Rodgers is doing the same thing he did against the Cowboys two years ago when Favre got hurt, excelling when there is no pressure to fail. He knows this game is over, so now he's playing better than he has all game. So is the rest of the offensive line, for that matter. Play like this earlier in the game, and maybe things are different.

10:24 - Two-point conversion missed. Now I know for sure this game is over.

10:30 - Sidney Rice catches the onside kick. Now this game is definitely over.

10:35 - Okay, the Packers are getting the ball back. Maybe it's not over?

10:46 - For the second week time this season already, the Packers have to go with the strategy of kicking a field goal to then recover an onside kick to then score a touchdown to win the game. Kicking the field goal is smart, it puts the Packers down just 30-23. But the fact that we've had to do this twice already is making this feel an awful lot like last year, and that is a terrible feeling.

10:50 - Mason Crosby is absolutely kicking some perfect onside kicks, but apparently Sidney Rice is the best onside kick returner in the history of the game. Game is over.

10:52 - In other news, I stopped counting what drink I was on a long time ago.

10:55 - Foolish of me to say that the game was over, because the Vikings do have Brett Favre. Minnesota can easily run the clock out, but Favre decides to go for the dagger and throws a terrible pass which will give the Packers the ball back with some time. Do they have a shot after all?

11:00 - Nope, Packers can't capitalize, and the game is over. Cameras ascend to Favre as if Jesus has made his triumphant return to Earth. Driver did go and hug Favre, come on! Kampman went to talk to Favre too, which is funny because Kampman seemed afraid to touch Brett all night. And there is Rodgers, going up to Favre to say whatever BS they said to each other. I really didn't want those two to talk, because you now darn well that if the Packers would have won, Favre would have been into that tunnel so fast.

11:03 - So that's it. Favre got what he wanted, my heart is broken. I actually don't feel as terrible as I thought I did, even though this does really, really suck. I think though that this could be a good thing. This game unleashed Favre as a Viking, and now is when you're really going to see him screw things up, as this article suggests (great read). Hopefully the Packers use the bye week to fix things, rebound against the Lions and Browns, and then take care of business once Favre returns to Lambeau (unless he's "hurt" that week, something tells me Favre already won his Super Bowl, and is content with whatever happens the rest of this season).

See you November 1st, Brett....

I was going to pick Death Cab For Cutie's "Meet Me on the Equinox" for my song, but I'm a little bitter that this song was used in a Twilight movie. It's one thing to be as big of a d-bag as Robert Pattinson, but I can't tell you how many guys I've seen out at the bars that either dress like him or wear their hair like him. Whatever. Hope it helps you sleep at night. Anyway, here's one I saw while typing this up late at night, it's The Lovely Feathers with "Lowiza".

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