"I felt I did everything I possibly could do to get where I need to be," Favre said at his introductory news conference Tuesday. "You're 39, your arm may not feel like it did at 21. But the pieces are in place that you don't have to do that much and I agree with that.

"If they were willing to take that chance, I was, too."

The storm damaged the Superdome and left the future of the New Orleans Saints in doubt. But the Superdome has been repaired, the Saints have stayed and now the city is getting back football's biggest game.

"It's a great day for our community," Saints owner Tom Benson said.

The team recently agreed with the state on a lease to keep the Saints playing at the Superdome through the 2025 season.

You can put 530 square yards of sporting history into your own backyard: An entire Cowboys Texas Stadium end zone. Our exclusive package also includes the VIP treatment for the last regular season Cowboys game in Texas Stadium. Your crew gets pre-game photos in your zone with Jerry Jones, a luxury suite for the game, a once-in-a-lifetime post-game tailgate party (with the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders) on your soon-to-be new backyard, autographed memorabilia from Cowboys legends, and a VIP package to attend the opening of the new stadium in 2009. The Jerry Jones family and Cowboys organization will generously donate the entire purchase price to The Salvation Army. A limited edition of 380 framed 26" x 36" collages with a touchable section of end zone is also available.

The move ends a remarkably ugly split between Green Bay and one of its most beloved players, allows the Packers to move forward with new starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers and gives Favre a fresh start - although not exactly the one he wanted, as Favre's first choice was widely believed to be the Minnesota Vikings.

Favre was scheduled to leave Hattiesburg, Miss., Thursday morning and the Jets said he would be at a 6 p.m. EDT news conference in Cleveland, where New York plays the Browns in a preseason game later Thursday.

According to NFL.com, the Packers will receive a fourth-round draft pick in 2009. The selection would turn into a third-rounder if Favre plays in 50 percent of the plays this season, a second-rounder if he plays in 70 percent and the Jets make the playoffs, or a first-round pick if he plays in 80 percent and the Jets make it to the Super Bowl.

"I am looking forward to seeing Brett Favre in a New York Jets uniform," said Jets chairman and CEO Woody Johnson in a statement issued early Thursday. "He represents a significant addition to this franchise, and reflects our commitment to putting the best possible team on the field."

Favre asked the Packers to release him so he can return to the NFL with another team after apparently being told his latest retirement reversal wasn't welcome news in Green Bay. The team said it would do "what's right" in response to Favre's request, which was first reported by ESPN on Friday.

"Brett earned and exercised the right to retire on his terms," the team's statement said.

"We wanted him to return and welcomed him back on more than one occasion. Brett's press conference and subsequent conversations in the following weeks illustrated his commitment to retirement. The finality of his decision to retire was accepted by the organization. At that point, the Green Bay Packers made the commitment to move forward with our football team."

The New York Giants took the opening kickoff and held the ball for just under 10 minutes before Lawrence Tynes kicked a 32-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead over the unbeaten New England Patriots in the second quarter of the Super Bowl XLII on Sunday.

Giants quarterback Eli Manning converted three third-down passes during the time-consuming drive.

New England cornerback Randall Gay's return was questionable after injuring his left arm early in the first quarter.

Asked which they're more excited about, 40 percent in this ABC News/Washington Post poll cite the Super Bowl, which kicks off this Sunday at 6:17 p.m. But in a near-upset, very nearly as many, 37 percent, say they're more keyed up about Super Tuesday.

Each is unique this year: A New England Patriots victory over the New York Giants would produce the first undefeated record for an NFL team in 36 years. On Super Tuesday, an unprecedented 24 states are holding presidential nominating contests. Both events promise chills, thrills and smackdowns; the presidential candidates may not have the crowd-pleasing benefit of cheerleaders, but their contact sport is played without pads.

Fandom has a lot to do with it: Half of Americans describe themselves as football fans, and 63 percent of fans are more excited about the championship game than about the upcoming primaries. But among the half of Americans who aren't fans, Super Tuesday holds greater interest by more than a 30-point margin, 48-17 percent.

Men (who are likelier to be fans) are more interested in Sunday's game, but by a smaller gap than you might expect, 48 percent to 34 percent. And women are more apt to be excited by Super Tuesday than by the Super Bowl, 40 to 32 percent.

For the second consecutive day, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady wasn't in the locker room or at practice when reporters and cameramen were allowed inside Friday.

During the 45-minute period in the locker room, several cameramen lingered near his locker, but he didn't show up. Nor was he there for the first 12 minutes of practice that the media were allowed to watch.

Asked if he could say whether Brady would practice Friday, New England coach Bill Belichick said, "Not now. We'll see."

Brady was photographed in New York on Monday wearing a protective boot on his right foot. He took it off later in the day and hasn't been photographed wearing it since. He reportedly has a minor high ankle sprain that isn't expected to keep him out of the Super Bowl against the New York Giants on Feb. 3.

"I'll take the blame and I'll take the criticism here," Romo said. "That's why we're put in these positions."

There were plenty of blonde women in the stands wearing pink Romo jerseys Sunday, but the woman who made them famous wasn't believed to be among them. Her publicist said earlier in the week she was working on a new album and would not be at the game.

On Dec. 16, Simpson proudly displayed her shirt to television cameras during the Cowboys' game against Philadelphia. Romo injured his throwing thumb and had one of his worst games of the season that day. What they didn't know - or didn't care about - was that she'd attended other Cowboys games and he played just fine.

Then came the fuss about Romo's trip to Mexico leading up to the Giants game.

It finally came down to this: the Cowboys had 1:50 left to go 48 yards.

A Brett Favre-esque scrambling shovel pass to Jason Witten got the Cowboys to the 22 with 31 seconds left, then came more mistakes - another false start, a short pass that forced Dallas to use its final timeout and a pair of poor throws, a ball in the end zone that Patrick Crayton seemed to give up on before futilely speeding up and the final play, caught by McQuarters.

Tickets to see the potential milestone are selling for as much as $1,600 a piece on StubHub, and up to $2,500 on eBay.

Yes, $2,500 for a non-playoff game that will be aired on three different networks, a new NFL milestone in and of itself. You could sit home and switch between CBS, NBC, and the NFL network and make your own history -- it's the first three-network simulcast of an NFL game ever -- for free.

The ridiculous asking prices had some Giants players scratching their helmets.

"We don't need fans like that. And that's okay. It's their money. Like [Jeremy] Shockey always said, if they pay their taxes, they can do what they want with their stuff," linebacker Antonio Pierce said.

A 20-person luxury suite is even up for grabs on StubHub. Got $26,114 sitting around? (That's $1,305.70 per person).

Down 24-16 with just over two minutes to go, Trinity's Riley Curry scored to cut the lead to 24-22. After a missed two point conversion attempt, Trinity's defense held Millsaps to a three-and-out without using any timeouts. The Tigers were left with two seconds and 60 yards to go for a score. 15 laterals and 62 seconds later, Trinity crossed the goal line to win the game and take the upper hand in the conference standings. Seven of the 11 players for Trinity touched the ball including, Blake Barmore, Shawn Thompson, Riley Curry, Josh Hooten, Michael Tomlin, Stephen Arnold, and Brandon Maddux.

"Brett is a great winner, but this award recognizes much more than winning," said McDonell. "It recognizes performance off the field equally and celebrates the love of the game. Brett is having an astounding year on every level."

In this week's cover story, SI senior writer Alan Shipnuck talks with Favre about leadership and Favre states, "It's somehow getting 52 other guys to raise their level of play. To get them to believe in what we're trying to do. You do that by setting an example, by doing things the right way. I've always shown up, I've always been prepared, I practice every day. I practice hard. I study. No matter what happens on the field, I never point blame at anybody else. Everything I do comes back to leadership, the example I want to set."

Favre has started 249 consecutive games, the longest streak ever by an NFL quarterback. This season, his 16th in Green Bay, he tied Bart Starr for most seasons in a Packers uniform. He also broke Dan Marino's career records for touchdown passes and pass attempts. With 60,912 passing yards, Farve should soon surpass Marino's career record of 61,361.

Now, think about the most embarrassing moment of your life, then multiply it by a factor of Carr. Lloyd Carr. The Michigan coach is the other side of Appalachian Fever that has struck the country this week.

See the drunk students in Boone. See the goalpost torn down by students and deposited in the driveway of App State chancellor Kenneth Peacock. Salute the aw-shucks Mountaineers coach Jerry Moore. Compare the schools' spending power. App State's football budget is $1.5 million. Michigan is in the middle of a $226 million renovation of its stadium.

We said it was embarrassing. Now see the 62-year-old Michigan coach who has delivered both a national championship and, on Saturday, the competition for arguably the biggest upset in the sport's history.

"I wouldn't want to be on their practice field Tuesday," Moore said.

The aftermath isn't about retribution at Michigan; hopefully it's about sympathy. It's not clear if even a victory over Ohio State this year can save Michigan's season. But one thing is sure 48 hours later: Lloyd Carr will never live this down.