What’s next for Brett Favre? The Green Bay Packers want to know, and they want to know now.

The Packers asked Favre to inform them of his intentions for 2006 by Saturday, when his twice-delayed $3 million roster bonus was due. They asked nicely, even said “pretty please with a cherry on top,” but Favre once again could not reach a decision, and the team moved the triggering clause back to April 15.

So the waiting game continues.

The iconic quarterback said he wants to play again but will return only if the Packers can assemble a winning team. Last year the Packers were 4-12, the only losing season in Favre’s tenure.

“Last season, expectations were high and it was a bad situation,” Favre told The Associated Press. “If we can’t compete at a high level, I can walk away and my legacy will speak for itself.”

Over the course of the offseason, Favre has made one thing clear. If he does decide to play one more season, it will certainly be his final one.

The Packers are willing to give the future Hall of Famer all the time he needs, but at some point the Packers need to stop looking after Brett and start looking after themselves.

Both parties know the break-up is imminent, so why continue to beat around the bush? Isn’t Favre’s continued indecisiveness in essence his answer? Not only that, since Farve is certainly gone after the 2006 season, and the Pack might make the playoffs but have no shot at going to the Super Bowl. Why not start rebuilding sooner rather than later?

There’s no reason for him to come back to Green Bay for another season anyway. One more season with the Packers is not going to add much more to his already heroic legacy. If anything, it might just serve to detract from it. Like last year’s league leading 29 interceptions.

And much to the delight of Bears fans, the longer this charade goes on, the more the Packers get hurt. Packers general manager Ted Thompson said the team would look to add a more experienced quarterback, possibly through a trade, if Favre does retire. Now they’ll have to trade for what they could have picked up from free-agency – quarterbacks like Drew Brees and Aaron Brooks.

Aaron Rodgers, the team’s first-round draft pick last season, is presumed to be in line to take over the starting role if Favre retires. But how fair is it to Rodgers and the new coaching staff to be left in the dark on who the starting quarterback will be?

Nobody, probably Favre included, has much of a handle on what Favre will decide. But I think the Packers best get Rodgers ready as soon as possible. If nothing else, this long, drawn-out saga appears to be almost at its end.

I just hope it ends with what’s best for both Favre and the Packers, and that’s Number Four walking away sooner rather than later and accepting his place in history.

Thoughts and Second Thoughts

n Here’s irony. In a year where parity could allow a fresh face to win a NCAA title and where everyone’s bracket has more holes than a golf course, 11-time champion UCLA might just end up hanging another banner.

n So the clock finally struck midnight on George Mason’s Cinderella run, and although the madness makes the tournament great, the Patriots’ run doesn’t make them the fourth best team in the country. The truest words spoken came from the mouth of Florida coach Billy Donovan.

“If you started the tournament over again, there would be four different teams left.”

It might not be the best way to select a champion, but it’s the American way.

Life and basketball are unpredictable. That’s what makes March great, and it’s only 11 months away.

Dan Berrigan is a senior in Engineering and may be reached at [email protected].