Brett Favre has reportedly informed the Vikings that he will not return this season, presumably ending an unparalleled 19-season-career. Favre reportedly told Minnesota coach Brad Childress that his injured ankle is not responding as well to surgery as he had hoped.

The surefire Hall of Famer had one of his best seasons last year, with career bests in completion percentage (68.4), quarterback rating (107.2) and fewest interceptions (7), while throwing for 33 TDs and 4,202 yards to lead the Vikings to an NFC North title.

If reports of his retirement are true, this wouldn't be the first time Favre has called it quits. The 40-year-old signal-caller retired as a Packer after the 2007-08 season and as a Jet after the '08-09 campaign.

So, are you buying the reports that this is in fact the end of Favre's illustrious career? What are the percent chances that the notorious flip-flopper still finds himself behind center in the Vikings' opener at New Orleans on Thursday, September 9?

Share your feelings below.

The question is almost as old as the sport itself. Should I let my son play football? SI.com's Paul Daugherty re-examines the issue in light of the brain damage discovered during Chris Henry's autopsy. Daugherty writes:

In the next several weeks, tens of thousands of kids in this country will suit up and start football practice. The vast majority never will suffer the same fate as Chris Henry. That doesn't mean that the parents who sign their children's permission slips won't be white-knuckling it when their kids play.

The clinical term is chronic traumatic encephalopathy (C.T.E). Doctors know it more commonly as dementia pugilistica: Punch drunk. That's what the study of Henry's brain showed. It can only be discovered by autopsy. Current players could be suffering from it and have no idea.

"There isn't a lot of information out there, especially with someone Henry's age (26),'' said Dr. Francesco Mangano, a neurologist at Children's Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati. "It's usually found many, many years after it happened.''

How shallow is the understanding? Show of hands: How many believed Chris Henry suffered from C.T.E.? How many just thought he was another athlete who had several off-the-field problems, the poster player for an NFL image problem that has kept commissioner Roger Goodell's door revolving?

Could at least some of Henry's off-field behavior issues -- five arrests in 28 months, numerous league suspensions -- be attributed to his injured brain? "Based on the description (of the C.T.E.) yes,'' Dr. Mangano said. "But he had other things going on. It's a very gray area. It's a chicken and egg type thing.''

Where do you stand on this issue? Let us know in the comments below.

 

 

The debate comes up every year around Memorial Day: Should Pat Tillman be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame? Peter King says no and presented his case in a column on SI.com. Here are a few of his reasons:

 

*The Pro Football Hall of Fame is for what men do on the football field.

*In the 90-year history of the NFL, 24 young men who played in the league died serving the U.S. Google Bob Kalsu, the Bills lineman who died in Vietnam. If Tillman goes in, should the other 23 also be enshrined?

*Why should only veterans who died be admitted to Canton? What about those who may have served valiantly as fighter pilots in World War II and came home, or infantrymen who fought in Vietnam, or ... you get the picture.

Do you agree with King, or do you think Tillman is Hall of Famer? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

 

It's official. The New York/New Jersey area will host the 2014 Super Bowl at the new $1.6 billion Meadowlands in East Rutherford, N.J. The NFL owners made the announcement Tuesday.

The decision by the owners sets a precedent, as it will be the first Super Bowl played outdoors in a cold-weather city. This begs the question: Will other cold-weather NFL franchises with outdoor stadiums, like the Broncos, Patriots, Redskins and Packers, now lobby for future Super Bowls?

Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Is the NFL possibly bringing a Super Bowl to the New York area a good idea? With the NFL owners set to vote May 25 on whether New York/New Jersey, Miami or Tampa should be awarded the big game in 2014, two SI.com writers shared their takes.

• Don Banks wrote about how an NY/NJ Super Bowl would affect three different parties: the NFL, the players and the fans.

• Jeff Pearlman has been to cold-weather games and is wholly opposed to the idea of an NY/NJ Super Bowl.

What is your take? Share your thoughts in the comments below.