Bravesworld.com | Atlanta Braves News, braves Scores, Game Recaps & Commentary - <div>From the time he traded for Brett Favre, former Green Bay Packers general manager Ron Wolf has always praised the game of the quarterback, who will turn 40 on Oct. 10. </div>Wolf was asked by Fox Sports Radio on Tuesday if he thought "it's a good idea" if Favre returns to play next season. "I feel very strongly that he is still one of the top quarterbacks in the game," Wolf said. "Whether he should play or not, I don't know. He had a rough last quarter of the season, but he's such a competitor that in itself might bring him back." Wolf was asked if the perception that Favre is set in his ways and will not change would work with a new team. "I'm not so sure that perception is correct," Wolf said. "Will that work with a new team? I'm not sure it would work, no." Meanwhile, the new coach of the New York Jets, Rex Ryan, said Wednesday in a news conference that he has not considered the issue of Favre's future. "Anybody would want Brett Favre to be their quarterback," Ryan said. "Not just me, but anybody. All that stuff we'll get into later. I haven't talked to Brett or anything yet. We'll see how he's feeling." Powell joins Braves Jim Powell has been hired to be the play-by-play voice of the Atlanta Braves. Powell, employed by WTMJ Radio, worked for 13 seasons with Bob Uecker on Milwaukee Brewers radio broadcasts. The executive vice president of television and radio operations of Journal Broadcast Group, Steve Wexler, issued a note to his staff on Wednesday. "You may have read or heard some speculation about this, but we can now confirm that Brewers play-by-play announcer Jim Powell is leaving us to join the Atlanta Braves as their lead announcer," Wexler wrote. "Georgia is home for Jim, and this is an outstanding opportunity for him and his family." Journal Broadcast Group owns WTMJ Radio. When reached on his cell phone Wednesday afternoon, Powell declined to comment. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the club is working on pairing Powell with analyst Don Sutton, who has worked for the Washington Nationals the last two seasons. Sutton was a Braves broadcaster for 18 seasons until 2006. The Braves had planned a press conference for Thursday to announce Powell and Sutton as the new Braves radio team, but Sutton's contract with the Nationals remains an issue so the press conference was postponed. Help me here It's hard to understand, as some commentary has suggested, why having President Barack Obama necessarily will prompt famous black athletes like Tiger Woods or LeBron James or Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan to take up more political causes than they have in the past. If these guys wanted to take on certain issues, they would have done it long ago. They don't need permission from Obama, or the example of Obama, to pursue that kind of agenda. Muhammad Ali, Arthur Ashe or Jim Brown didn't wait around for or need anyone's permission. They just did it. Woods spoke at a pre-inauguration rally for Obama. "Woods showing interest in politics on either side of the aisle is a good thing, an important thing, because his potential to make an impact in the world goes well beyond his extraordinary ability to play golf," author John Feinstein told the Golf Channel. "Very few athletes become more important after their playing careers are over than they were at the peak of their skills. Unfortunately, until now he's chosen Michael Jordan as his role model rather than Bill Bradley or Arthur Ashe." Ebbing fear factor In talking about Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, 36, and Arizona Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt, 46, NBC's Cris Collinsworth said teams now look for head coaches who connect with players, not head coaches who scare players. "The day is completely different," Collinsworth said. "It used to be that I feared Forrest Gregg as my head coach. I'll tell you honestly. If he walked down the hallway toward me, I'd turn and walk upstream." Gregg, a Hall of Fame offensive tackle with the Packers, coached the Bengals for four seasons before coming to Green Bay in 1984 to coach another four years. "It's different now," Collinsworth said. "These guys are making a ton of money. There is free agency. There's choice. You get a chance to go to places where you want to go and play. So there is a little bit of recruiting. So when you factor all of those things in, some of these younger head coaches who are charismatic, dynamic-leader kind of guys, are getting opportunities that probably would not have come along for some other people 20 years ago." Call SportsDay at (414) 223-5531 or send e-mail to bwolfley@journalsentinel.com Copyright 2009, Journal Sentinel Inc. All rights reserved. (Note: This notice does not apply to those news items already copyrighted and received through wire services or other media.)

From the time he traded for Brett Favre, former Green Bay Packers general manager Ron Wolf has always praised the game of the quarterback, who will turn 40 on Oct. 10.

Wolf was asked by Fox Sports Radio on Tuesday if he thought "it's a good idea" if Favre returns to play next season.

"I feel very strongly that he is still one of the top quarterbacks in the game," Wolf said. "Whether he should play or not, I don't know. He had a rough last quarter of the season, but he's such a competitor that in itself might bring him back."

Wolf was asked if the perception that Favre is set in his ways and will not change would work with a new team.

"I'm not so sure that perception is correct," Wolf said. "Will that work with a new team? I'm not sure it would work, no."

Meanwhile, the new coach of the New York Jets, Rex Ryan, said Wednesday in a news conference that he has not considered the issue of Favre's future.

"Anybody would want Brett Favre to be their quarterback," Ryan said. "Not just me, but anybody. All that stuff we'll get into later. I haven't talked to Brett or anything yet. We'll see how he's feeling."

Powell joins Braves

Jim Powell has been hired to be the play-by-play voice of the Atlanta Braves.

Powell, employed by WTMJ Radio, worked for 13 seasons with Bob Uecker on Milwaukee Brewers radio broadcasts.

The executive vice president of television and radio operations of Journal Broadcast Group, Steve Wexler, issued a note to his staff on Wednesday.

"You may have read or heard some speculation about this, but we can now confirm that Brewers play-by-play announcer Jim Powell is leaving us to join the Atlanta Braves as their lead announcer," Wexler wrote. "Georgia is home for Jim, and this is an outstanding opportunity for him and his family."

Journal Broadcast Group owns WTMJ Radio.

When reached on his cell phone Wednesday afternoon, Powell declined to comment.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the club is working on pairing Powell with analyst Don Sutton, who has worked for the Washington Nationals the last two seasons. Sutton was a Braves broadcaster for 18 seasons until 2006.

The Braves had planned a press conference for Thursday to announce Powell and Sutton as the new Braves radio team, but Sutton's contract with the Nationals remains an issue so the press conference was postponed.

Help me here

It's hard to understand, as some commentary has suggested, why having President Barack Obama necessarily will prompt famous black athletes like Tiger Woods or LeBron James or Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan to take up more political causes than they have in the past.

If these guys wanted to take on certain issues, they would have done it long ago. They don't need permission from Obama, or the example of Obama, to pursue that kind of agenda.

Muhammad Ali, Arthur Ashe or Jim Brown didn't wait around for or need anyone's permission. They just did it.

Woods spoke at a pre-inauguration rally for Obama.

"Woods showing interest in politics on either side of the aisle is a good thing, an important thing, because his potential to make an impact in the world goes well beyond his extraordinary ability to play golf," author John Feinstein told the Golf Channel. "Very few athletes become more important after their playing careers are over than they were at the peak of their skills. Unfortunately, until now he's chosen Michael Jordan as his role model rather than Bill Bradley or Arthur Ashe."

Ebbing fear factor

In talking about Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, 36, and Arizona Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt, 46, NBC's Cris Collinsworth said teams now look for head coaches who connect with players, not head coaches who scare players.

"The day is completely different," Collinsworth said. "It used to be that I feared Forrest Gregg as my head coach. I'll tell you honestly. If he walked down the hallway toward me, I'd turn and walk upstream."

Gregg, a Hall of Fame offensive tackle with the Packers, coached the Bengals for four seasons before coming to Green Bay in 1984 to coach another four years.

"It's different now," Collinsworth said. "These guys are making a ton of money. There is free agency. There's choice. You get a chance to go to places where you want to go and play. So there is a little bit of recruiting. So when you factor all of those things in, some of these younger head coaches who are charismatic, dynamic-leader kind of guys, are getting opportunities that probably would not have come along for some other people 20 years ago."

Call SportsDay at (414) 223-5531 or send e-mail to bwolfley@journalsentinel.com