To BF: BFF. (Insert Heart Symbol Here.) National Media Enables Favre.

To BF: BFF.

That’s likely the text message several high-profile national sports reporters have sent to Brett Favre.

No matter where Favre ends up playing quarterback, we know several national sports reporters enabled Favre to call Packer management and coaches liars, cheats, back stabbers, and generally dishonorable men while the reporters never asked Favre for specific examples of those accusations.

If not for Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reporter Bob McGinn’s report Favre had frequent conversations with Vikings coaches after Favre announced his retirement in March, Favre would probably be winging his way to Minnesota to try to help convince Minnesota taxpayers to build a new Vikings stadium.

McGinn may have gotten it wrong that the calls between Favre and Viking coaches were made on a Packer issued and paid for cell phone, but without McGinn’s reporting that the conversations took place, it is likely ESPN would be salivating over a Monday Night Football opener with Favre playing for the Minnesota Vikings against the Packers at Lambeau Field.

Most, if not all, of the national sports reporters who have been texting back and forth with Favre have never, ever asked Favre for specifics on his accusations the Packers are liars and cheats. Or, if they did, they’ve never reported it.

Favre apparently doesn’t text message with reporters based on Wisconsin newspapers. Or, if he does, it is not widely reported. Perhaps Wisconsin newspaper reporters actually require specific examples when a man labels other men as liars and cheats. Perhaps Wisconsin newspaper reporters believe ruining the reputation of an entire organization should not be allowed without some presentation of facts.

If McGinn had not reported questionable contact between Favre and the Vikings, Favre could have easily been traded to the Minnesota Vikings, a trade that would have given extraordinary benefits to the NFL, the Vikings, and NFL broadcasting partners, and terrible consequences to the Packers.

Why did national media continue to pass along Favre’s characterization of the Packers as liars, cheaters, and dishonest men without requiring specifics? We could speculate but we really don't know.

We do know local revenue (that revenue not coming from shared NFL broadcast and ticket revenues) is more important to the Green Bay Packers than any other team. Local revenue is generated by fans who visit the stadium, buy team merchandise, and, in the case of the Packers, buy Packer stock which is virtually without value and is only an outright donation to the team.

The Packers’ local revenue comes from fans who have an annual per capita income of about $40,000, instead of millionaire and billionaire owners who can pump in cash (often derived from stadiums and infrastructure paid for by taxpayers) to pay signing bonuses and other expenses related to generating more income. (The recent Lambeau Field renovation was paid for, in part, by Brown County, Wisconsin, taxpayers and Wisconsin taxpayers.)

In the past few months, several Minnesota newspaper columnists said if the Vikings obtained Favre, the path to a new Vikings stadium would be eased. Thanks to those columnists for being upfront about the issue. They recognized the Vikings allegedly wanted Favre, Favre allegedly wanted to play for the Vikings, and a lot of money would be made for Favre, Favre's agents and financial backers, the Vikings and the Viking owners.

One still has to question the national sports reporters who are “allowed” to share text messages with Favre and threw Favre’s accusations against the Packers into the national spotlight without question or quarrel.

We all know Vince Lombardi sort of missed the mark when he said “ Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.”

It is money that is everything and the only thing.

Except in this case. Despite the powerful forces and money trying to grease the move of Brett Favre to the Vikings, McGinn’s report of Favre/Viking conversations may have stopped what the NFL, its broadcast and corporate partners, and certain NFL players and coaches wanted to happen.

McGinn’s reports of conversations between Favre and the Vikings may have come from a Packer team source.

So what? National media reporters have been using Favre’s accusations against Packer management of lying and cheating without question. They have reported Favre’s accusations against the team so they can remain on Favre’s BFF list.

Sports reporters who continue to report Favre's accusations are not reporters: they are just tools of Favre's non-specific diatribe against the organization. These mouth-pieces only want to be the latest on the ESPN scroll without ever asking Favre for specifics.