
1. Bubba Franks. Yesterday he was the 30-year old, third-string tight end on the New York Jets that you barely heard about through training camp. Today he is the roster's strongest connection to new starting quarterback Brett Favre. The two played together in Green Bay for 8 seasons. Franks hauled in 32 touchdowns during that time, including an eye-popping 9 in 2001. Not only do I think that Franks' presence helped get this trade done but I also think there is no one more excited in Green and White. After all, Favre is Franks' QB, he has never caught a regular season pass from Chad Pennington and can't be too bothered by his unceremonious exit.

2. Fernando Tatis. I must admit that I was not a happy Metropolitan fan when the then-back-up outfielder was kept on the roster leaving Spring Training at the expense of young second baseman Ruben Gotay. I was not happy at all. And the struggles of Luis Castillo only served to reinforce my feelings in the early weeks of the season. However, Tatis' choice of the Superman theme as his primary batting music started to win me over when he began appearing regularly in games after Moises Alou went down with incontinence or osteoporosis or ED or whatever old-people ailments he has. Fast-forward several weeks and Tatis is a full-blown sensation. He had the entire Shea crowd (which wasn't exactly a sell-out) on our feet on Tuesday night chanting TA-TIS, TA-TIS after clubbing his second home run of the night in a Mets one-run victory over the Padres. I don't know where such performances came from. Well, actually they seem to have come straight out of 1999 when hit 34 home runs and racked up 100+ RBI. Of course, his precipitous fall off the baseball map and his power-surge occurring so close to Mark McGwire's ginormous biceps led most everyone to assume that season was a steroid powered aberration. Perhaps not. Or, maybe he's just back on whatever stuff Carlos Delgado has been taking lately.
3. The Minnesota Vikings. I have to believe that the entire front office in Minnesota let out a huge sigh of relief when word hit that the Jets had won the Favre-off with Tampa Bay. It was over. In their own way, the Vikings were also being held hostage by this story. After all, this was the destination everyone knew Favre would opt for
IF he were released by the Vikings. And, until the Jets/Pack trade was consumated it was still possible that the only way to resolve the stand-off would have been for Green Bay to release the gunslinger. The PR hit of effectively forcing him not to play would eventually have become too great if a trade couldn't have been found. So, the Vikings and their young QB Tavaris Jackson were stuck. The Favre-to-Vikes possibility was too well known for them to do anything but take him if the chance arose. So they were also waiting with baited breath as this fiasco drew on and on. And on.

Now, they are not only free from the Favre-gamble but they should be able to get the perfect back-up plan to the shaky Jackson: former Jets QB Chad Pennington. He's made multiple trips to the playoffs, won playoff games and is as good a leader as you're ever going to find in the League. Moreover, he excelled in the exact sort of offense that Vikings run. Instead of Curtis Martin in the backfield it'll be Adrian Peterson (aka The Purple Jesus). Chad's play-action game will work brilliantly off that running game and his biggest weakness, middling arm strength, will be compensated for by all those home games in the dome in Minnesota.

4. Kellen Clemens. At first glance it might not seem like a banner day at the Clemens household but hold up a tick. Think about it. Kellen wasn't ready to take this team over. Or, at least, he hadn't shown in a tangible way that he was ready to take over the Jets from Pennington. He's been throwing picks at an alarming rate (especially when compared to Chad) in camp and was altogether lackluster when he played last season. Another season losing out on the No. 1 QB spot on the depth chart to Chad, whom the organization and the local media have clearly been looking to replace, and it would seem like he would officially cede the QB-of-the-future tag to Eric Ainge, whom the Jets drafted out of Tennessee. However, with Favre as an unimpeachable first-line player there is no controversy for Clemens and it's no failure to be a clipboard holder. He now has an entire extra season and offseason (and perhaps two of each if Favre plays two years) to get his act together and prove he is a legit NFL quarterback. This Favre-trade just gave Clemens his future back by taking all the pressure off the present.
5. Jeff Karstens. In two starts since being traded from the Yankees to the Pirates as part of the "Xavier Nady Deal," which looks like it might later be referred to as the "Jeff Karstens Deal," the right-hander has pitched 15 shutout innings. He went 6 in his Bucs debut against the division-leading Cubs and held them scoreless. In his second outing he out dueled eventual Hall of Famer Randy Johnson and twirled 7.2 perfect innings against the D-backs. He was five outs from pitching a perfect game! After Chris Young broke up the perfecto, Karstens settle for a complete-game, two-hit shutout. Meanwhile, the Yankees just placed pitcher Joba Chamberlain on the Disabled List with a shoulder injury. As they scramble to find starters I wonder if they're regretting shipping off this young fellow.