James Andrews is a name familiar to many sports fans, although he has never thrown a big-league pitch or taken a snap in an NFL game. Andrews’ importance lies in the fact that he is the surgeon who has been entrusted by countless athletes to keep their careers going. (Check out this 2007 ESPN profile on Andrews.)

But Andrews isn’t a guy you will see quoted very often in the media. Unlike a coach or player, Andrews doesn’t get done doing his job and then go address the media to discuss the results. Not usually, at least. There was an exception recently, however, when even Andrews chimed in on quarterback Brett Favre’s situation. Andrews peformed arthroscopic surgery on the partially torn biceps in Favre’s throwing arm.

“I’m not supposed to say anything but Brett kind of let that cat out of the bag on that HBO show,” Andrews told the Clarion Ledger (Miss.), referencing Favre’s appearance on Joe Buck’s show in June. “I did his shoulder [surgery] a few weeks ago. I visited him in Hattiesburg two weeks ago. He wants to play and he wants to play for the Minnesota Vikings. He wants to end his career on a high note and I hope he can.

“He’s a tough guy, a great guy. I’m pulling for him. He wants to play. He just wants to make sure his shoulder and arm are healthy enough.”

This just served as the latest confirmation that Favre will play for the Vikings this season. As we wrote last week, we don’t know when the announcement might be coming.

If there was a plan to announce Favre’s return this week — and we have no knowledge that was or is the case – it wouldn’t be surprising if it gets pushed back following the tragic death of former NFL quarterback Steve McNair on Saturday. McNair and Favre, both Mississippi natives, were friends and both are represented by agent Bus Cook.

Funeral arrangements for McNair were not expected to be finalized until Monday afternoon at the earliest, according to ESPN, and it seems unlikely Favre is going to want to announce his return to the NFL the same week that his friend is buried.

I’m sure many of you have already seen or heard the sad news that former Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair was shot and killed Saturday in Nashville.

Police said McNair and an unidentified woman were found dead at a downtown condominium. This is a devastating loss for the Titans and the community because McNair was enormously popular and beloved for what he meant to the organization and its fans.

Here is the story from The Tennessean.  

The evidence that Brett Favre will end his retirement to play for the Vikings in 2009 is overwhelming. In fact, the only surprise will be if the quarterback decides his surgically repaired right biceps tendon has not healed sufficiently enough for him to return to the NFL.

There have been reports that Favre already has a contract in place with the Vikings and both Favre and the Vikings have made it clear in public comments that there is great interest on both sides. And then there is this latest nugget: Favre is in the process of attempting to secure a residence in the Twin Cities.

We received a tip last night about Favre settling on a condominium in Edina but that doesn’t appear to be a done deal. At least not yet. There were rumors last week that Favre had either bought or rented a house along Bearpath Golf and Country Club in Eden Prairie. (The smart money says he ends up in Edina.)

But where Favre lives doesn’t really matter. What does matter is that he’s actively looking for a place (or at least someone from the Favre camp is looking), giving a clear indication that he must be encouraged by how his arm is feeling. In the grand scheme of things, this is just the latest piece of evidence that Favre will be playing in Minnesota.

You don’t have to look very hard to find a continued low-level buzz surrounding the Brett Favre situation.

Rumors that Favre had purchased property in Eden Prairie were rampant last week. Then there were the supposed Favre sightings at various locations in the Twin Cities that gave the situation an Elvis-like feel. Pro Football Talk, meanwhile, has done its best to make an educated guess on when Favre will end his retirement and officially join the Vikings.

But the Favre talk actually has cooled to the point where it has been several days since his name appeared in the print edition of the Star Tribune or since ESPN ran a Favre update as its lead to “SportsCenter.”

While many fans are probably extremely pleased by this, Favre and the Vikings might be the two happiest parties. Favre apparently has been able to continue to throw the football and test his surgically repaired right biceps tendon in peace at his Mississippi home. Many members of the Vikings staff have been on vacation, although coach Brad Childress did return this week from a fishing trip in Alaska.

Both sides, of course, have discussed the situation publicly and it’s pretty obvious there is an agreement that Favre is going to make a decision before the Vikings open training camp practices on July 31. Vikings owner Zygi Wilf made it clear shortly before Childress left on his trip that the ball was now in Favre’s court.

The latest bit of speculation from Tom Curran at PFT is that the Favre announcement could come the week of July 12. Childress’ daughter, Cara, is getting married a week from Saturday but it’s unclear if that would mean next week is off limits for Favre to make his decision known. One would think he probably will continue to test the arm.

But if Favre has proven to be predictable in one area, it’s that he’s completely unpredictable. Thus, trying to guess the date of Favre’s announcement that he’s coming back — or the potential surprise that he’s not going to return — is nearly impossible.

By my count, there are 27 days left until the Vikings report to Mankato and 29 days before the first practice. All that appears certain right now is nothing is going to happen over the holiday weekend. I’m fairly confident in saying that. After that, it’s anybody’s guess when the Favre situation will go from its current status of simmering to (once again) red hot.

First of all, Judd and I hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday weekend. Wanted to pass along a quick note that Judd sent me and also posted on his twitter account.

He was able to confirm that former Vikings center Matt Birk, who signed with the Ravens this offseason, will be the guest author of SI.com’s popular Monday Morning Quarterback column while Peter King is on vacation. PFT’s Mike Florio guessed it correctly today.

Retired quarterback Trent Green was the first guest columnist this week.

Vikings defensive tackle Kevin Williams and defensive end Jared Allen earned praise from Rod Woodson of the NFL Network this week. 

Woodson, a former standout defensive back who will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this summer, rated Williams the best current defensive tackle in the NFL and ranked Allen as the league’s No. 2 edge rusher behind Dallas’ DeMarcus Ware. Ware led the NFL with 20 sacks last season and Allen tied for fifth with 14.5.

By the way, the NFL Network also will be showing some Vikings-related content over the July 4th weekend. An episode of the network’s “Missing Rings” episode will feature the 1969 Vikings at 11 p.m. on Sunday. The “Missing Rings” story of the 1998 Vikings will air at 3 a.m. Monday.