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Detroit Lions running back Rudi Johnson says Tatum Bell, who was released to make room for the former Bengal, took two of his bags containing boxers, cash and credit cards.

The Lions have the incident on tape. Bell says he grabbed the bags by mistake, thinking they were another former teammate’s belongings.

Johnson, according to ESPN.com, doesn’t believe Bell’s version of the events.

Strange situation. Johnson doesn’t plan to involve the authorities. A female friend of the former teammate’s returned the bags - sans the contents - to the Lions’ practice facility.

Lions coach Rod Marinelli, who might be close to returning the Lions to competence, declined to comment on the situation for ESPN. Probably wise. They might be onto something good this season - they’re probably a step or two short of the playoffs yet, but they could push or even nudge slightly past .500 this year. And if youngsters like Calvin Johnson and Kevin Smith fulfill their potential, the Lions might make the news for more than luggage theft.

The Gun sent Zoneblitz this clip from ESPN.com just as the All-Favre, All-the-Time network showed video of Brett Favre being introduced, yes, it’s true, at City Hall.

It would seem that the Jets’ new toy would have better things to do like, umm, study his new playbook. But Mayor Michael Bloomberg in fact took time to introduce Favre during an apparently well attended press conference and gave him a couple of cheesecakes, among other gifts.

Favre laughed but looked slightly uncomfortable in front of the crowd while holding a Broadway Avenue street sign. He unveiled his Jets number four jersey and then, hopefully, went right to work.

“I’m happy to be here, I really am,” Favre told the crowd. “I wish the Packers well and I really wish the Jets well. … It’s much different. And it’s very exciting.”

To borrow a phrase from the late Chris Farley’s Saturday Night Live days, “Well, La De Frickin’ Da!”

A couple days after it came out that Brett Favre would be allowed to compete with Aaron Rodgers for the Green Bay Packers’ starting quarterback position, FoxSports.com’s Jay Glazer is now reporting that there will not be an open competition.

It’s only fitting that this bizarre saga continue to unfold with reports that Favre will get a chance to compete for the job … or not.

This situation couldn’t get any stranger if the Packers brought in a former White House press secretary to help them with crisis communications.

Errrrr…

Favre Fiasco. Favre Fatigue. Favre F-k Up (of Off).  Whatever you want to call it, Roger Goodell wants the Favre situation done.  By Monday.

But why is it any of his business to make such a declaration?  And why hasn’t he approved a players request for re-instatement for almost a full week?

We were all impressed when Goodell stepped in as commissioner, and started to try to crack down on possibly the only blemish that Paul Tagliabue left him with–the “degradation of the NFL society” we could call it, as several bad boy incidents started to paint the NFL in a bad light.

And I’ve been impressed by his willingness to come out against the ridiculous NFL Rookie pay scale that exists.

But I think by not acting on a players request to be reinstated within a reasonable time frame, and now declaring that he wants the situation resolved by Monday, he’s heading down a slippery path.  If the delay wasn’t in the Packers favor (any delay to the situation hurts whoever ends up with Favre), I would suggest that they file tamporing charges against him.  Of course, since he is the judge, jury and executioner, that wouldn’t get very far.

As to the Favre fiasco, rumors are that the $20-million, 10 year “marketing agreement” offer to Favre may be pushed to an even higher amount through negotiations this weekend. 

Frankly, I still can’t believe that the NFL will allow this type of a deal to happen, without some sort of salary cap implications.  I realize he’s a “retired” player, but as commenter Sir Whoopass pointed out last week, what’s to prevent Jerry Jones from starting to pay players from other teams to not play if the Packers are allowed to pay their own player not to?

Like the Poison Pill negotiating tactic (which to my knowledge wasn’t ever officially banned, but hasn’t been used since the Vikings nabbed Steve Hutchinson, and the Seahawks “retaliated” by signing Nate Burleson), this needs to be nipped in the bud early.

Too bad the NFL doesn’t have a commissioner who is willing to step in on situations like these…

In October 2000, the NBA discovered that the Minnesota Timberwolves had entered into secret contracts that allowed them to circumvent salary cap rules. While teams in all sports stretch the rules, the Wolves and Smith exacerbated this particular situation by putting their agreements down on paper.

NBA Commissioner David Stern at the time handed out one of the most severe spankings a professional sports franchise has ever received. He voided Smith’s contract with the Wolves, fined the team $3.5 million and took away their first-round picks for the next five seasons - a move the organization from which the organization is still recovering.

One must wonder after reading ESPN’s snippet of a Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel Packers Insider story if the Minnesota Vikings might soon be in for the NFL’s version of the Wolves’ punishment. The paper reports that the tampering charges the Green Bay Packers filed against the Vikings are based on phone records showing that Brett Favre had numerous conversations with both his friend, Darrell Bevell, the team’s offensive coordinator, but also head coach Brad Childress.

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