Retiring #4

The number, that is. Not the guy, who is still retired, no matter how much sports punditry around the nation wants to speculate otherwise.

Favre's No. 4 to be retired on Sept. 8

As if a season opener, summer weather and a chance to squash the Minnesota Vikings weren't enough, the Green Bay Packers are adding to the Sept. 8 game the event everyone has been waiting for — retiring Brett Favre's No. 4.

The Packers on Thursday announced the decision to retire Favre's number during the 2008 home opener.

That is, they'll retire the number during the home opener. They didn't announce the decision during the home opener.

I really thought they'd wait until late in the season (if the Packers were doing poorly) or until next season (if they were doing well). Harlan must not have gotten my memo.

In other sports news:

Other NFL cities want titletown moniker

Other cities with sports teams want to claim a moniker the city of Green Bay has used for decades.

Titletown USA has long been part of Green Bay's fabric. It's part of the city's logo, it's used on the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce website and more than a dozen local businesses use the Titletown name.

ESPN has launched a contest to determine where Titletown is located. Next month, ESPN will narrow the nominations to 20 finalists, including Green Bay. Online fan voting will determine the location of Titletown.

Packers president Mark Murphy says he's confident Green Bay will remain Titletown USA.

If the UW could sue a little Iowa college over the “Motion W” logo, surely we can sue anybody who tries to use “Titletown.”

Or maybe we better just make sure and win the online voting. I understand they're not real hard to game.