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By the time this hits your doorstep or mailbox or coffee table, it will hopefully be a done deal. But as I'm typing this up, it's a fresh news story and a collective sigh of relief for Viking nation.

Brett Favre seems very likely to be making his return to the purple and gold for another run at the NFC North title and another shot at the first Super Bowl in Vikings history.

It's been another summer of waffling, should he or shouldn't he and general confusion. Two weeks ago, Favre said he was retiring. But anyone with an inkling of knowledge on the situation needed to only look back one year to realize he made the same declaration at the same time last year.

Now, almost one year to the date of his arrival at Winter Park, Favre is flying back to Minnesota from Mississippi with his three best friends on the team -- Jared Allen, Ryan Longwell and Steve Hutchinson, who the Vikings sent down on basically a recruiting trip -- and he again reinvigorates a fan base that desperately wants to add a championship to their resume.

With Favre, the Vikings are on the short list of teams who's season will be a disappointment with anything except a Super Bowl championship.

Without Favre, they would've been a team in need of a massive overhaul. They have loads of talent, but some of it is aging, and some of it becoming too high-priced to keep together. It's not the ideal situation for a middle-of-the-road quarterback like Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels. Neither of those guys will ever lead a team to a Super Bowl. They may be valuable as back ups and temporary fill ins, but that isn't what we need right now.

Either way, they have a small window to finally break though and win their first Super Bowl.

Rarely is there this much turnover on a roster that was so good in the previous year. The only notable player the 12-4 Vikes lost was Chester Taylor, and his role is one easily filled by a utility running back.

The only thing missing on the team was a certain salt-and-pepper-haired quarterback, but if Tuesday's developments are any indication, that piece of the puzzle is back in place, and the finished puzzle makes a clean and clear picture: the bright shine of the silver Lombardi Trophy.

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