I love fantasy football, but I am also a big fantasy baseball fan. A couple weeks after the Super Bowl, around when spring training begins, fantasy baseball magazines start arriving in the mail, the snow begins to melt, and I’m in baseball mode.

A funny thing is happening this year, however. I seem to be stuck in fantasy football mode.

Maybe it was months of doing this blog. Perhaps it was coming off a season where my teams did so well (relatively). It could it’s been a slightly cooler March in the Intermountain West, though I grew up in the Midwest, so I should be used to that. I simply have not had the wherewithal to listen to fantasy baseball podcasts, study any magazines beyond simply occasionally opening them, or keep up on the latest Hot Stove news every day.

I have to snap out of this, at least for a few days. I have drafts coming up for which I might have to rely on autodrafts, which I dislike. I’ll feel baseball fever soon, but maybe too late for any drafts.

Oh well, it could be worse. At least I wasn’t indifferent toward filling out an NCAA bracket. UCLA over North Carolina in the final.

In what the team’s president described as a “no-brainer,” the Packers will retire Brett Favre’s No. 4 next season.

Of course the Packers were going to do this, but I think they should wait until 2009 to do so. Give his fans some time to miss him, and give him some time to be away from the game. The last thing the Packers and Favre need is for the team to struggle next season, he returns for the ceremony and gets bombarded with questions of “Will you come back, please?” A 2009 jersey retirement will allow for enough time until his Hall of Fame enshrinement (and another celebration) but still allow enough time for Green Bay fans to appreciate what they are missing.

Not that they weren’t the day after he retired.

I want to know why the Raiders shell out such big money for players who are such big risks. The latest possible move by Oakland is trading for cornerback DeAngelo Hall.

Hall is undoubtedly a great player who will help the Raiders, but he’s also one of those malcontents that Oakland seems to attract. Owner Al Davis wants to improve his team, but must he build upon some decades-old bad-boy Raiders image to do so? Seriously, if Hall wasn’t happy with the moves the Falcons made, wait until his new team is 2-6 come November.

I think it’s telling that Randy Moss’ career improved to record-setting levels once he got out of Oakland. Hall might be getting a big raise, but if he wants to play for a successful team, he might have to wait a few years.

Oops, I hadn’t completed my review of the 2007 fantasy season. Since I’m not going to do kickers or defenses), here is the last look at last year:

My preseason rankings followed much of the conventional wisdom on which tight ends would play up to their usual high standard, which would break out for good years and which were merely TE2s in deep leagues. Tight ends usually follow form, so I was somewhat impressed at the number of surprises at the position. Here is my postseason top 15 (and one last reminder, this isn’t a preseason ranking for 2008):

1. Antonio Gates, Chargers
2. Tony Gonzalez, Chiefs
3. Dallas Clark, Colts
4. Jason Witten, Cowboys
5. Chris Cooley, Redskins
6. Kellen Winslow, Browns
7. Heath Miller, Steelers
8. Ben Watson, Patriots
9. Donald Lee, Packers
10. Owen Daniels, Texans
11. Jeremy Shockey, Giants
12. Tony Scheffler, Broncos
13. Desmond Clark, Bears
14. Vernon Davis, 49ers
15. Alge Crumpler, Falcons

Injuries decimated my original list — Todd Heap missed almost the entire season, Shockey’s year was cut short, Crumpler and L.J. Smith missed several games. But flailing offenses also hurt, particularly for Crumpler, Davis and Randy McMichael. There were some impressive surprises, too: Witten, Dallas Clark, Cooley. The top six tight ends were almost interchangeable — you could take any one and be happy with him. That’s unusual that the position has become that deep; enjoy the trend while it lasts.

Still catching up from vacation … Julius Jones is a Seattle Seahawk!

The former Cowboys running back left the two-back system in Dallas where he was losing touchdowns to Marion Barber III for Seattle, where he will step into the on-the-downswing-of-his-career shoes of Shaun Alexander. It’s a good move for Jones — the Seahawks have an established offense, and Jones can amass 1,200 yards and 15 touchdowns if he stays healthy. It’s a big if, and there’s still the matter that Seattle still has Alexander. Will this be another two-headed RB for Jones? Stay tuned, but don’t be surprised if the Seahawks trade Alexander, who I think might have a couple good years left, but apparently not in Seattle.

(On a related note, does the Cowboys letting Jones go elsewhere mean they are going to make a draft run at Darren McFadden?)

In other running back news, the Lions released Kevin Jones last week. Jones has suffered through his own share of injuries, but it’s not like Detroit was so deep at RB to let him go. He’ll land someplace else, and expect the Lions to go after a running back in the draft.

This from ESPN.com: David Carr is going to make money to play in the NFL next season. Amazing!

Why is this amazing? I’m amazed a team will pay $1 million for Carr to be its backup quarterback. I’m amazed a team is paying any amount of cash for Carr to be its backup quarterback. I’m amazed hasn’t started a side business with Tim Couch on top-drafted busts, with a reserve spot for Alex Smith.

I’m just surprised the defending Super Bowl champ Giants couldn’t find a more reliable, less expensive option to back up Eli Manning. And though Manning might turn out to be the iron man his brother is, meaning Carr will see the field as much as Jim Sorgi does in Indianapolis, it’s still David Carr, he of the more interceptions than touchdowns and 262 sacks.

Carr’s best days are behind him. This wasn’t a good trade-in.

I’m trying to catch up on all the free agent news I didn’t blog about while on vacation, and one of several things that jumped out was Michael Turner signing with the Falcons.

It must be tough to be the second-stringer behind a legendary running back — quick, name any of Walter Payton’s backups before Neal Anderson — and Turner will now get a chance to be the main man in Atlanta, particularly after the team cut Warrick Dunn. But what becomes of Jerious Norwood? Is this going to be a two-back system, or will Norwood, who seemed to be coming along at the end of last season, be primarily a kick returner again? If it looks like the two will be splitting carries, Turner is no better than an RB3 for fantasy owners. But if Turner is the featured back, he becomes a low-end RB2. In either case, it’s a step up than drafting him as LaDainian Tomlinson insurance.

Since I mentioned Warrick Dunn, the member of the 10,000-yard club signed with the Buccaneers, likely finishing his career with the team with which he started. I doubt he’ll be their top back, as Earnest Graham proved he could handle the role last season, Dunn will provide capable carries when needed. The odd man out seems to be Cadillac Williams — I wonder if Tampa Bay will try to deal their disappointing former Rookie of the Year.

Brett Favre has retired, and from a fantasy perspective, I don’t know if the Packers will be the same.

Aaron Rodgers likely will take over as the Packers’ second starting quarterback in 16 years or so. He might be a sleeper pick, but I don’t envision him as one of the top 20 quarterbacks on a QB draft list.

That reality doesn’t bode well for, Greg Jennings and Donald Lee, coming off career fantasy seasons, or Donald Driver, who topped 1,000 yards receiving — all thanks to Favre’s outstanding year. Without him, all three lose a little fantasy value. And what about Ryan Grant — will he still produce without as effective a passing offense taking some pressure off the run game? Grant was a high second-round pick, and though I think he still has good fantasy days ahead, he may drop to a late second-rounder/early third-rounder. Oh, you can probably forget about Mason Crosby scoring 141 points, too.

Is this too harsh an assessment on Rodgers? Perhaps — look how many Favre backups have been successful with other teams through the years. Rodgers may surprise — after all, no one expected Favre to have as great a 2007 as he did, he was about the 15th QB on most draft boards. But until we see Rodgers in action as a full-time starter, he’s too risky on draft day much beyond a third QB.

I was traveling for a few days and didn’t get to comment on how I guessed wrong on Brett Favre retiring.

So many athletes leave the game after their skills diminished, but Favre got to after proving he could still play at a level higher than perhaps 80 percent of the starting quarterbacks in the NFL. No, he didn’t go out with a Super Bowl victory, but he already had his ring and got the Packers closer than they should have. He was a leader early in his career, and he was a later at the end of his career.

After years of the NFL grind, Favre had enough and walked away on his terms. Legions of Packer fans are sad, but they knew this day would eventually arrive. He’s given Green Bay, and all of Wisconsin, 15 great years. I remember a friend of mine from Green Bay so happy when she heard the Packers re-signed Favre in 1995, after his initial success. The fun was just beginning.

I wonder if Favre will end up with an NFL analyst’s job for one of the networks or someday will get into coaching. Hopefully, he’ll take the Barry Sanders route and stick with the retirement decision — and enjoy next fall off.

At the beginning of the season, All-Pro guard Alan Faneca said he’d leave the Steelers after the season. He kept his word.

Faneca became the highest-paid lineman in history when he agreed to terms with the New York Jets on Saturday. His deal will be worth $40 million over five years, with $21 million of that guaranteed.

Faneca is definitely worth the contract he’s getting, and I’m interested if this will embolden other offensive linemen to hold out for this much money. In the meantime, the Jets just improved, which is what free agent season is all about.