Today’s announcement by the NFL that the Packers and Bears will kick off the league’s Sunday night showcase at Lambeau Field shows the power of the team’s fans. Not only did the Packers get the opening Sunday night contest they also will play at Detroit on Thanksgiving Day for the second time in three years. The rest of the national TV schedule has not been announced but I could see the Packers getting at least a road Monday night game and a couple of 3:15s.

Yes, the Bears are certainly part of the draw, and the rivalry is one of the NFL’s best, but bottom line is other than Hester and Urlacher, the Bears don’t have much star power. The Packers aren’t the Patriots but do have Aaron Rodgers, Greg Jennings, Donald Driver, Charles Woodson, A.J. Hawk, and Nick Barnett. Not to mention Lambeau Field, which is why once again the Packers will be at home on opening day. One thing you can always be sure of is the Packers will open at home. Every few years the league has to throw the rest of the league a bone and put the Packers on the road, but normally they are few and far between. That is a credit to the organization for making sure Lambeau Field remains the mecca of NFL fans. You still haven’t been to a game if you haven’t been to a game at Lambeau.

I think the Packers are primed for a turnaround from last year’s 6-10 record and the networks might be thinking the same way. I would like to say a win over the Bears would be the catalyst for a good season, but I thought that would happen last year after the Packers whipped the Vikings on opening day in Rodgers’ first start. We all saw what happened after that. The defense became a sieve and Rodgers went through his growing pains and result was what it was. The fact that the Bears are also part of the opening weekend package for the second straight year like the Packers is pretty funny. What happened to the division champion Vikings? They were no where to be found in the opening announcements. I love it. My guess is they get the maximum three Monday night games and probably a pair of Sunday night games.

The thing is, the Vikings are and always will be third fiddle in the NFC North. The Packers and Bears will always be the better draws. The Vikings haven’t meant a thing since Bud Grant left and his only claim to fame is losing four Super Bowls. Adrian Peterson is their only draw now. At least they do have Peterson, last I heard the league was trying to remove Detroit from the TV schedule completely.

I don’t know about you, but the news today was good for me. I think it shows confidence in the organization as a whole, and as an owner, I will be there that Sunday night supporting my team. I will make my prediction right now, Packers 31, Bears 13.

One has to look hard at the problems the Denver Broncos are having with star quarterback Jay Cutler and wonder if the agent isn’t the problem. The agent, Bus Cook, was also the agent of the greatest soap opera in NFL history last year when he led the Brett Favre comeback. Seems like making everybody feel sorry for your client is a Cook specialty. Like a little kitten, Cook’s clients need to be petted, hugged and kissed. They need to feel the love, but this is the NFL, the Not For Love league.

If Cook couldn’t get the Packers to give in to Brett Favre, what exactly does he expect from playing the same “woe is me” game with Cutler? Obviously now it comes down to more money. Cook doesn’t have a stable of clients like some agents, and while he made a ton off of Favre, he still needs to feed the family. My guess is this game of emotion comes down to more money. One more big bonus for Cook and an extension in Denver for Cutler.

Bottom line is it was clear early on last year that Cook was pushing Favre to come back thinking he could get a trade to a team Favre wanted, in the end all Cook got was a trade to “Siberia,” and those are Favre’s words, not mine. If I’m Favre, I’d have to be wondering am I mad at the wrong guys?

I was glad to hear Packers’ president Mark Murphy say the Packers were still committed to retiring Favre’s number and it will just be a matter of time. In other words, the ball is in Favre’s court. I hope Favre doesn’t wait until Ted Thompson is gone because I think that will be a long time and that is not right to the fans who where down with Favre from the get-go.

Bus Cook needs some love. How can we help?

I have to admit it, I don’t feel like doing the research. Can any of you out there tell me what free agent the Packers passed up or lost out on to last year that made a huge impact in their new team? I’m sure some must have, or this outcry over the lack of moves by the Packers would not be going on. The fact that nobody comes immediately to mind makes me even more curious. Free agency is a farce in the NFL. Pure and simple.

Each and every year you have maybe one player who has forced himself out his current team that warrants big money, beyond that all players available are either backups looking for a starting job or aging veterans looking for one more signing bonus. Every team in the NFL has enough money to keep the players they want to keep, especially with the salary cap no longer in effect after this year, so for 90 percent of the players available, the team they are leaving no longer had use for them or simply didn’t want them.

I certainly can see the Tennessee Titans wanting no part of paying $100 million to a guy who spiked an opponents bare head on purpose during a game. The guy has never played 16 games in a year and is one play away from a suspension every game. Good luck with that Mr. Snyder.

Everybody says Chris Canty is the you-know-what. Sure, I wouldn’t have minded signing him at the right price, but if Jerry Jones thought he was worth the money the Cowboys would have found a way to keep him. This is Jerry Jones after all. It didn’t take the Cowboys long to give big money to Keith Brooking, ah, money that could have kept Canty. The Packers tried, but it appears Canty wouldn’t visit Green Bay which means he didn’t really want to play in Green Bay. So you can’t give money to a guy like that.

Maybe because of the lack of moves he makes he gets a bad rap, but Thompson has hit on more free agency signings than he has missed on. There are no Joe Johnson’s or Cletidus Hunt’s on Thompson’s resume.

What bothers me is that the Packers haven’t already done deals with their own guys like Greg Jennings to start with. Maybe the impending uncapped year has something to do with that but Jennings and I think guys like Daryn Colledge and Jason Spitz could be had at a decent price right now. At least make a move with your own guys to get the ball rolling.

But anyway, just give me a guy or two who was worth the big bucks last year. I know they are out there. But no research allowed, this is a pop quiz. Results will not be held against your semester grade.