Did the threat of HGH testing force Favre out?
- By Keith Hayes
- Published 03/10/2008
- Football
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Rating:
Keith Hayes
Keith Hayes got his love for writing in the 6th grade where he began writing sci-fi stories for classmates and friends, while continuing to write over the years as a personal hobby.
In 1991 after purchasing WebTV, he caught the Internet bug and began writing on various message boards and newsgroups under the pseudonym Mista Sinista. His posts became popular as he covered movie reviews, the New England Patriots, WCW and WWE (formerly WWF) wrestling. Just do a Google search for Mista Sinista or Sinista1 under groups, and you'll discover enough material to read for months.
As his debating talents developed online, he became vocal in his local newspaper, the Enterprise. He began submitting Letters to the Editor, and most of his pieces were printed on a regular basis. He also had similar success with his letters to the early years of Patriots Football Weekly. After generating some buzz and catching the eyes of readers, Keith was contacted to write for wrestling web site Wrestlenutz.com. He was then later contacted to write for a New England Patriots fan website PatriotsFootball.com, which is now known as PatsFans.com.
When covering the Pats, Keith kept his Mista Sinista attitude and reviewed the games with his "tell it like it is" style. The Patriots experience soon took off, and allowed him to meet various players, travel to a Pro Bowl in Hawaii, a Super Bowl in New Orleans, several away games in the Meadowlands, and some great games in Foxboro, where he has been a season ticket holder since 1990.
Today, he covers the New England Patriots for eSports and as a 12th Man correspondent for PatsFans.com. You can read his political and local debates on his hometown site Brockton Forums. But for a real treat, you can also see the twisted side on his moniker web site Sinista1.com, where he has some great spoofs like "Barbie and Ken's True Hollywood Story," and "Celebrity Survivor."
Most recently, Keith has become a co-host on two hit radio shows at WXBR 1460 AM in Brockton (formerly WBET). On Fridays, Keith can be heard during the "On the Mark PI Show," with his host Private Investigator Mark Chauppetta, who has his own reality television show in negotiations, and a role in the upcoming horror film Frightworld where he plays an FBI Agent hunting a serial killer who has killed his wife.
Keith is now following in his host’s footsteps after scoring a part in Walt Disney's upcoming movie "The Game Plan," starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. In the movie, Keith plays a football player on QB Joe Kingman’s (Dwayne's character) Boston Rebels rival team the New York Dukes. Also joining Keith on the show is defense attorney Ken Diesenhof, and Brockton Police Officer Frank "Czman".
On Saturdays, Keith can be heard during "Krashing Into the Bigfield/The Lock Up" from noon to 4 p.m. talking sports with Enterprise writer Kevin Tocci, and aspiring actor Tom Mariano, cousin to "Boston Rob" of "Survivor/Amazing Race" fame. The show also features guests Matt Futrell, Peter Czymbor, Dennis Harris, and is produced by former Indie wrestler Mike Pavia. The South Shore Sports Show is growing, as the first two hours cover sports (professional and local), while the second two hours cover the best talk in professional and Indie wrestling.
On March 4 2008, an NFL warrior called a press conference and made his retirement known. Quarterback Brett Favre spent 16 years with the Green Bay Packers where he won one Super Bowl title, received three MVP Awards, was selected to the Pro-Bowl nine times. Along the way he also broke all types of NFL records during his long career.
However, to some the announcement of his sudden retirement was a surprise to many, including teammates, coaches and the media. One reason why is because Brett had never mentioned he truly wanted to retire.
In the past two years, he always said he was on the fence, but loved the game so much, and that was what always brought him back. This past season, just before the Seattle Seahawks playoff game the question was posed to Favre again. His answer was directed more towards him returning, and his daughters also wanted him to return next season.
So why the change of heart? Why the sudden change of interest from a man some would say symbolizes the "Iron Man" of the NFL?
I'd like to answer that without taking anything away from his past accomplishments, and say that Favre's decision (along with certain others) to retire might have something to do with another aging player who remained in the game and turned his later career into success – Roger Clemens.
Right now MLB pitcher Roger Clemens is fighting for his "life" against the Feds, and all that he's accomplished in his baseball career might be flushed down the toilet if he ends up going to jail for perjury in his scandal with his alleged use of HGH and steroids.
So how does Favre figure into this?
Favre is 38 years old, and last season he had one of his best, putting up better performances than some of his younger counterparts. Some would say it's due to his veteran status. But, the fact of the matter is that Favre remained in the game as a QB well past the league's QB career expectancy. He was still able to run with the young boys, and why? In my opinion, I would have to say HGH.
So what is HGH, and why would guys like Favre or Rodney Harrison take something like this?
HGH stands for Human Growth Hormone, and is used to help older players by boosting their immune systems (less likely to get sick), strengthening bones with calcium retention (lessens the a chance to have a bone broken and quickens bone healing), and increasing muscle mass.
One of the things it has also been known to do is help older players cope with the rigors of the season. In any sport, the body goes through a gauntlet of wear and tear, and for the older guys it's harder for them to get back on track after game day. HGH can help some of these guys through this.
At this time, the NFL tests for steroids (since 1995), but they don't have a test for HGH. However, after the February meetings this off-season, NFLPA's Union Head Gene Upshaw announced that HGH testing was coming in the form of a urine test, though it wasn't known if it was going to be implemented by next season.
Regardless of the fact when the testing would begin, the buzz was created and older players who were using or tried it even once, are probably looking in the mirror. This is where I think Favre might have made his decision, which would be a smart move on his part because I'm sure he's a business-minded person watching what Clemens is going through.
At this time, Roger Clemens' career is tainted, his Hall of Fame chances are at risk, he could be headed to jail and he's losing millions of dollars in possible ad and endorsement money. Favre is involved in a lot of charity and social projects, a shoe-in for the NFL Hall of Fame, and, as a retired player, is due to land tons of endorsements and advertising money. That is something that would be at risk if he continued to stay in the game and take his chances with HGH testing on the horizon.