Here we are in the middle of summer, enjoying the weather, fireworks and Summerfest. And the sports fans are without major headlines, except for following the Brewers (thank goodness they won on Wednesday).

The NFL is in a lockout with the players and owners not seeing eye-to-eye, the NBA is following the same path. And good ol' Brett Favre, whether you love him or hate him, knows how to grab headlines when the sports news is slow.

Notice, that the nation just came off the heavy cycle of the Casey Anthony trial, and I see this creep in from USA Today:

"NFL.com analyst: Don't rule out a return by former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre."

Reporter Nate Davis quotes NFL Analyst Gil Brant as saying, "I do think Favre would be interested in talking to a team about returning. But I don't see a team out there right now that would bring him back as a starter."

Inside the news business, a story like this is a lazy move to not have to do any real reporting. If you are working any news beat and something hasn't fallen on your lap, you go to the Rolodex and do some check-in calls. When that doesn't drum up anything real, it is time to pontificate on something guaranteed to get readers. A well-placed call to an "analyst" is made.

But, I have to admit, this report may have been more than Davis being lazy. He may have been given a prod by the spin media masters inside the Favre camp. It was this quote that tipped me off:

"Might Favre consider Carolina, which is close to his Mississippi home and would allow him to break in rookie QB Cam Newton, who's also represented by Favre's agent, Bus Cook?"

I've seen this throughout my journalism career, Favre may play the "aww schucks" country bumpkin, and he has even retreated from the spotlight after his recent scandals, but he is far from stupid. He and his crew know how to pull at heart-strings of fans and play the mainstream media for all it is worth.

That got me thinking that this may run even deeper.

You see, this move may have nothing to do with Favre, that it is simply Bus Cook keeping Cam Newton in the headlines by riding the Favre train. He's doing a good job even with the lockout and without the PR muscle of the Panthers.

What do you think? Was this a good media move? Who is this report really about? Use the Talkbacks to respond.