GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Brett Favre was equal parts desperado and virtuoso during his 20-year NFL career that was predicated on taking big risks in the games biggest moments.That style never paid off more handsomely than when he hit Andre Rison with a long TD toss on an audible that kick-started his lone Super Bowl victory. And it never backfired so spectacularly as when he threw careless, late interceptions in two NFC championships.Favres unorthodox style made for one of the most exciting, colorful careers the league has seen.Brett Favres in the top-5 as far as the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game, suggested Hall of Famer John Elway, who led Denver past Favres Packers for the first of his two Super Bowl triumphs in the late 1990s. He was a gunslinger and he wasnt afraid to fail. Thats what made him great.Its what landed him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame as the headliner next weekend of a class that includes Ken Stabler, Dick Stanfel, Ed DeBartolo Jr., Tony Dungy, Kevin Green, Marvin Harrison and Orlando Pace.Those who cringed as Favre threw off his back foot or across his body to well-covered receivers labeled him a riverboat gambler. His coaches, especially Mike Holmgren, walked a fine line trying to curb his gaffes without cropping his greatness.The punctilious Peyton Manning would break many of his NFL records after Favres retirement in 2011, but Favre still has the longest consecutive starts streak as well as records for most completions, attempts -- and interceptions -- while ranking second to Manning in TD throws and passing yards.Former Packers safety LeRoy Butler said Green Bays defense takes the bulk of the blame for the 286 passes picked off during Favres time in Green Bay because we told him, `Be yourself. Well go get the ball back. When he did that, it was easy for his talent to take over.Showing up week after week, year after year, Favre piled up records and accolades. Yet, it was his unparalleled passion that set him apart.I cant say that I was the best passer. I cant say that I was the most mobile. I cant say that I was the toughest. I cant say all that, Favre mused. But what I can say is that I had the most fun. On and off the field, in the locker room and on the bus rides to the stadium, on the flights back.He brought a childs delight to the game, entertaining teammates on the sideline by imitating old-time announcers. Hed bounce up from a big hit, straighten his facemask and seek out the man who hit him to ask why he didnt hit any harder.You could tell he enjoyed playing. He didnt feel the pressure that a lot of other guys feel, Elway said. He wasnt afraid to fail. He wasnt afraid to make a mistake, and thats why he made so many great plays. He also made some bad ones like playmakers all do, but he made a hell of a lot more great plays than he made bad ones.Favre was a world-class prankster who never let frivolity get in the way of work. He just always found a way to lower the pressure and lighten the mood.With his Southern drawl and razor-sharp timing, Favre was part Huck Finn, part Kevin Hart. He was as wide-eyed when he left the league as he was when he entered it.I could not believe that they were paying me to do what I was doing, Favre said. There were guys that came in and seemed so miserable and I just could not figure it out. I always tried to do my best to keep it as lighthearted as possible.That style drove him out of Atlanta, where he showed up late for the team photo in 1991 before throwing just four passes as a rookie, none of which landed in his receivers hands and two of which were picked off.Ron Wolf, enshrined in the Hall of Fame last summer, arrived in Green Bay in 1992 as its new general manager and his first order of business was trading a first-round pick to the Falcons for Favre.In Week 3, Favre replaced an injured Don Majkowski with Green Bay trailing Cincinnati by two TDs and engineered his first comeback, rallying the Packers to a 24-23 win.He never came off the bench again.The following week he began a stretch of 297 consecutive starts, 321 counting playoffs, that didnt end until Dec. 12, 2010, because of a shoulder injury in his final season, his second in Minnesota after a year with the Jets.Through broken thumbs, concussions, torn biceps, twisted ankles, sprained knees and separated shoulders, he played. He even played one of his greatest games with a broken heart after his father, Irv, died of a heart attack in 2003.A decade earlier, Holmgren was under pressure to bench Favre after a 3-4 start in 1994. Instead, he called him into his office and told him, Were joined at the hip. Either were going to the mountaintop together or were going to the trash heap together.They scaled that summit in 1996, when Favre, who overcame an addition to painkillers in the offseason, led the Packers to their first Super Bowl title in nearly three decades, 35-21 over New England.He won his unprecedented third consecutive MVP award the following season, but Green Bay lost 31-24 to Denver in the Super Bowl.His time with the Packers ended poorly. He announced his retirement during a tearful press conference in 2008, only to change his mind and force his way out in a trade to the Jets.Favres storybook romance with Green Bay almost didnt happen at all, though, because he flunked his physical when he arrived from Atlanta. Favre had gotten hurt in the East-West Shrine game his senior season and the devastating diagnosis was avascular necrosis, similar to what ended Bo Jacksons career. When Wolfs medical staff told him they didnt know how long Favre could possibly play, he retorted, Ill take whatever good years he can possibly give us.And suddenly a losing franchise became a winning franchise, Wolf said.Favre said he owes a forever payable debt to Wolf.Boy, Favre said, what a gamble.What a jackpot, too.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow AP Pro Football Writer Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: http://twitter.com/arniestapleton Wholesale Jerseys China . It is a cliché dragged out by fans and pundits regularly when discussions take place around which teams are better than others. Wholesale NBA Jerseys . After slipping from the summit during the week, the Gunners overcame struggling Crystal Palace 2-0 on Sunday thanks to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlains second-half brace. http://www.uschinasupplyjerseys.com/ . The injury bothered Bledsoe in the Suns victory over the Clippers on Monday and he sat out the teams home loss to Memphis on Thursday night. Wholesale SOCCER Jerseys . -- Mike Smith never saw his first NHL goal go in. NFL Jerseys China . Neymar curled home a free kick from just outside the area to put the 2014 World Cup host ahead in the 44th minute. Three minutes after the break, a simple through pass from Paulinho freed Oscar and the Chelsea star rounded goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong to extend Brazils lead. PHOENIX -- Ricky Nolasco looked right at home in Dodger blue. The right-hander made a sparkling debut for surging Los Angeles on Tuesday night, limiting Arizona to four hits in seven innings in a 6-1 victory, the Dodgers 14th win in 17 games. "I was pretty pumped up," Nolasco said. "I havent been that locked in in a long time. It worked out great. I was able to make good pitches. I was definitely excited. The energy and adrenaline was going those first few innings, so it was awesome." Nolasco (6-8), acquired Saturday in a trade with the Miami Marlins, also doubled and singled, driving in a run and scoring another. "It just gives you more confidence when youre adding it to (Clayton) Kershaw, (Zack) Greinke and Hyun-Jin (Ryu), three pretty kind of top-notch guys there at the top of the rotation," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "Then to add Ricky, if he can pitch like this, every time you go out there you think youve got a good chance to win." Adrian Gonzalez drove in three runs for Los Angeles but Hanley Ramirez went 0 for 4, snapping his 19-game hitting streak. Ian Kennedy (3-5), facing the Dodgers for the first time since serving a 10-game suspension for his role in a bench-clearing brawl a month ago in Los Angeles, allowed six runs, five earned, and nine hits in 5 2-3 innings. He hit Ramirez with a pitch in the first inning. The Dodgers pulled within 2 1/2 games of the NL West-leading Diamondbacks. Plate umpire Marvin Hudson warned both benches after Dodgers reliever Ronald Belisario hit Miguel Montero in the leg with a pitch in the ninth inning. Belisario had warned after the brawl that "its not over." He repeated that sentiment after the game but insisted he didnt hit Montero on purpose. "Its not over," Belisario said, "but it wasnt on purpose." So its still not over? "No," he said. The Dodgers, who won by the same score in Mondays series opener, have won 11 of their last 13 against NL West opponents, picking up seven games in the standings since they were a season-worst 9 1/2 out on June 22. Nolasco, who fanned five with no walks, shut out Arizona until the seventh, when Aaron Hill doubled off the glove of a diving Yasiel Puig in right field and scored on Martin Prados single. Arizona centre fielder Adam Eaton, making his season debut after being activated from the disabled list, stumbled and dropped Gonzalezs fly ball at the warning track with the bases loaded in the fifth. Kennedy had made his last seven starts on the road, including the June 11 outing in Los Angeles, where he hit Puig and Greinke with high pitcches in a testy game that included a bench-clearing melee.dddddddddddd Of the eight suspensions that followed, Kennedys was the most severe at 10 games, although he missed just one start. The Arizona right-hander made things interesting in the first inning Tuesday when he plunked Ramirez in the shoulder. Nothing intentional, Kennedy said. "Up-and-in changeup slipped out of my hand," he said. Mattingly agreed. "We know that Kennedys not trying to hit Hanley," Mattingly said. "That was a changeup. They were just trying to get in. Thats nothing." Nolascos two-out single to right brought in the games first run in the second. A.J. Ellis and Skip Schumaker singled to start the inning, then Jerry Hairston Jr. grounded into a double play, leaving a runner at third with two outs as the pitcher came to the plate. Andre Ethier led off the Dodgers fourth with a single. With Ethier running on the play, Ellis struck out but Monteros throw to second sailed into centre field and Ethier wound up at third with one out. With the infield playing in to cut off the run, Schumaker bounced one to second, but Hill dropped the ball, ruining any chance for a play at the plate. Schumaker was thrown out at first, but the unearned run scored to make it 2-0. Nolasco opened the fifth with a double to right-centre, then Carl Crawford reached on a bunt single and Puig walked to load the bases with no outs. Gonzalez lofted one to deep centre, where Eaton lost his footing on the warning track and as he fell to the ground the ball popped out of his glove for an error. Two runs scored to make it 4-0. Puig came barrelling around third on the play and attempted to score, but Montero took the relay throw from shortstop Didi Gregorius. Puig shoved Montero as the tag was applied, then the two stared at each other as the young Dodgers star walked toward the dugout. "He plays with a lot of arrogance," Kennedy said. "I dont know if he was trying to run (Montero) over or what." After Kennedy walked two to load the bases in the sixth, Gonzalezs two-run single off Tony Sipp broke it open at 6-0. Gregorius robbed Schumaker with a soaring grab of a line drive to end the Los Angeles seventh. NOTES: Kennedy leads the NL with 10 hit batters. Detroit RHP Doug Fister leads the majors with 13. ... Arizona 3B Eric Chavez was a late scratch with a sore hip. ... Los Angeles pitchers have five hits in the first two games of the series. ... Seeking a sweep, the Dodgers send Ryu (7-3, 2.82 ERA) to the mound and Arizona counters with Tyler Skaggs (2-1, 3.65) in a matchup of left-handers Wednesday night. Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys cheap jerseys Cheap Jersyes Cheap Basketball Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys cheap jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '