And the saga continues: You didn't think the whole Favre thing would be easy, did you?

First, he was coming back. Then, he absolutely was not. Now, he's coming back if the Vikings' doctors tell him he doesn't need major surgery on his throwing shoulder.

Bottom line seems obvious. Favre wants to play. He wants to "stick it" to the Packers. If he didn't plan on coming back, the Jets would have had no reason to release him.

There are only a few certainties here. For starters, the Packers and Vikings play each other on Oct. 5 in Minneapolis on "Monday Night Football" and on Nov. 1 at Lambeau Field.

Between now and then, this story will take a bunch more twists and turns.

Backs to the wall: The Admirals' mission tonight in Houston is as simple as it gets in sports.

Win or go home.

Milwaukee trails the best-of-seven series, 3-1, and needs a victory to force Game 6 Monday night at the Bradley Center. Aeros goalie Anton Khudobin saved 27 shots in a 2-0 victory in Game 4.

It's not looking good right now. If you want to root the Admirals on, the game tonight will air on TV at Buck Bradley's, 1019 N Old World 3rd St.

Time to play ketchup: Hot dog (7 victories) and Bratwurst (6) are cleaning up in the nightly Sausage Race standings. Italian and Polish have one victory apiece and the Chorizo is winless.

Raw deal: I don't think Bob Melvin and Ned Yost are particularly close, but they would have plenty to talk about these days. Melvin was fired by Arizona this week when his team was 12-17. Yost got the gate from the Brewers when the club was on the brink of its first playoff berth in a generation.

Melvin is a sharp guy, a great communicator and -- let's not forget -- was the National League manager of the year two years ago.

Both Melvin and Yost sheltered players from criticism and many players responded by failing to live up to expectations. Never mind that Melvin wasn't the guy who sent Carlos Quentin and Emilio Bonifacio packing.

Like Yost, Melvin wasn't popular with his home fans. Ownership quivered and he paid the price.

Unfamiliar position: Matt Kenseth won the pole at Darlington Raceway? Really? The guy hasn't won a pole in four years, but he took it with a record lap of 179.51 mph.

Moving on: It's a shame that 7-footer Liam McMorrow won't play for Marquette due to undisclosed medical issues.

"We are very disappointed with the end result this has for Liam athletically, but because of the efforts and time spent over the last several weeks by all involved, we are excited that he is able to finish his academic career at Marquette," coach Buzz Williams said in a statement released by the school.

McMorrow, a native of Toronto, will stay in school to pursue a broadcasting degree. The Golden Eagles will use his scholarship on 7-2, 215-pound freshman center Youssoupha Mbao.

Larry King Lounge: Brewers lefty Mitch Stetter was as efficient as you can be Friday. He threw two pitches and got the victory... The Brewers are 13-4 since April 22, the best record in the majors during that span... Milwaukee starters have thrown 18 quality starts (6 innings or more, 3 earned runs or fewer). That's tops in the majors... The Brewers also have come from behind to win 10 games this season.... Jason Kendall needs seven hits to become the 225th player to reach 2,000 in his career.... Kendall is a big fan of "American Idol," but Casey McGehee still caught the ceremonial first pitch from Danny Gokey.... Gokey's first pitch was high, but his anthem was crisp.... You can tell the Brewers have a young team by the number of young kids playing in the clubhouse after victories.... The quote of the night came from J.J. Hardy. Asked about Hoffman's entrance to "Hell's Bells," the shortstop said "It's becoming our favorite song."... The attendance Friday was 42,025, the Brewers' sixth sellout of the season.