CANTON, Ohio -- Brett Favres love of football never wavered. Not even in the toughest hours of a 20-year career that led him to induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this weekend.Just before Christmas 2003, Favres father, Irv, passed away. The Packers were scheduled for a Monday night visit to Oakland. Despite reported uncertainty if Favre would play, his appearance against the Raiders never really was in doubt.And that victory in Oakland was about more than winning one for dad. For Favre, it was about redemption.My dad was my high school football coach. He was the head football coach, and he coached me and my two brothers, Favre said during his emotion-packed induction speech Saturday night. But I never had a car growing up. I always rode to and from school with my father in his truck, so he was always the last to leave the building because he had to turn the lights off, lock up, and then we made our way home.So it was the last high school football game of my high school career, and although I dont remember how I had played before, and I dont remember how I played in the last game, what I do remember is sitting outside the coachs office, say, on a Wednesday, waiting for my father to come out so we could leave. It was dark. And I overheard my father talking to the three other coaches -- and I assume I didnt play as well the previous week only because of what he said -- and he said: `I can assure you one thing about my son, he will play better. He will redeem himself. I know my son. He has it in him.Until his Hall of Fame speech, Favre never told anyone he overheard Irvs comments. He used them as fuel, though.I thought to myself, thats a pretty good compliment, you know? My chest kind of swelled up, he said. But I never forgot that statement and that comment that he made to those other coaches. And I want you to know, Dad, I spent the rest of my career trying to redeem myself.Favre halted his speech to compose himself as the fans in a stadium packed with Cheeseheads cheered encouragingly.But I spent the rest of my career trying to redeem myself and make him proud, and I hope I succeeded, Favre added to a deafening reception.That high school scene was nearly two decades before Irv Favres death. And on that Monday night when Favre threw for four touchdowns and 399 yards in a 41-7 romp at the Black Hole, a new objective entered his mind.It came on the flight back to Green Bay on a chartered plane with his wife, Deanna, at his side. She told him how Irv said to her that he couldnt wait for the day Brett would be enshrined at Canton so he could introduce his son.And up until that moment I had never thought about the Hall of Fame, and I mean no disrespect to the Hall of Fame, Favre said. I had dreamed of playing in the NFL, believe me, way more than I thought about my schoolwork. I thought about being Archie Manning, running around, throwing underhand passes. I thought about being my childhood favorite, Roger Staubach and throwing it to Preston Pearson or Drew Pearson, and handing it off to Tony Dorsett. Being Kenny Stabler coming out of tunnel. I had thought of those things so many times, but I never thought of the Hall of Fame until that moment.So a new goal had entered into my mind then and there, and I said to myself: `I will make it to the Hall of Fame. That I would make it to the Hall of Fame so I could acknowledge the fact of how important he was.Again, Favre stopped his induction speech, overcome by his emotions.This is tougher than any third-and-15, I can assure you, he said before returning to describing his chase for redemption. So I could acknowledge the importance of him and my career and my life, which he was a tremendous part of my life. He taught me toughness. Boy, did he teach me toughness. Trust me, there was no room for crybabies in our house.He taught me teamwork, and by all means no player was ever more important than the team.So then and there in that moment on that plane I was determined for selfish reasons to get to this point to acknowledge how important he was. I would not be here before you today without my father.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Wholesale Air Max Australia . However, he did make them miss him a little less. 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Those players were Dallas Stars 2012 first-rounder Radek Faksa, Winnipeg Jets 2013 fourth-rounder Jan Kostalek and Phoenix Coyotes 2012 seventh-rounder Marek Langhamer. ARLINGTON, Texas -- Carlos Gomez was a struggling outfielder when released by another AL West team just over a month ago. Now he is helping the AL-leading Texas Rangers close in on home-field advantage throughout the postseason.Gomez hit a towering, tiebreaking three-run homer in the eighth inning Wednesday night, giving the Rangers their MLB-best 49th come-from-behind win, 8-5 over the Milwaukee Brewers.We believe in Carlos. We believed in him so much that we brought him not just as an experiment or anything like that, manager Jeff Banister said. Hes showing you exactly just how he can impact the game, and hes put in the work.The 418-foot homer to left was his 13th this season, the second long three-run homer in as many nights -- he had a 444-foot drive on Tuesday. That makes eight homers and 24 RBI in 31 games since joining the Rangers last month after being released by Houston.You see it the last two weeks, see the work Ive been doing, said Gomez, a two-time All-Star with Milwaukee. Work a lot, sooner or later you see a good result.Jeremy Jeffress (1-0), who came to Texas from Milwaukee in an Aug. 1 trade with Jonathan Lucroy, worked the final two innings in relief of Cole Hamels. Jeffress won five days after being reinstated by Major League Baseball from the restricted list following a drunken driving arrest last month and then a three-week stint in an inpatient rehab clinic.AL West champion Texas (94-65) has a 1 1/2-game lead over Boston for the best record in the American League after the Red Sox lost earlier Wednesday even while clinching the AL East title. Former Rangers first baseman Mark Teixeira hit a game-ending grand slam to give the New York Yankees a 5-3 win over the Red Sox, who led 3-0 in the ninth.Lucroy reached to start the eighth on a two-base error when the ball ricocheted off the glove of center fielder Hernan Perez.That one was like a knuckleball. It went left to right, and at the last minute moved to the left again, said Perez, playing only his fifth game in center field this season.Delino DeShields came on as a pinch-runner, and after Mitch Moreland walked against Corey Knebel (1-4), he scored the tying run when Elvis Andrus greeted reliever Tyler Thornburg with a single to center.ddddddddddddRougned Odor also homered for the Rangers, his 32nd a two-run shot in the first that snapped an 0-for-22 slide and put Texas up 3-2.Look, hes going to hit. The swing is there, hes one of our main guys, Banister said. But some feel-good for him.SHORT HOPSBrewers second baseman Jonathan Villar hit Cole Hamels first pitch of the game into the stands for his 19th homer, and the Brewers scored in each of the first three innings to build a 5-3 lead. ... The Rangers got their 41st win from a reliever, matching the major league record set by the Dodgers in 1953.HAMELS CONSISTENCYHamels, the All-Star lefty expected to start the Rangers playoff opener Oct. 6, allowed five runs (three earned) over seven innings with six strikeouts and no walks. Hamels has thrown 202 2/3 innings, exceeding 200 innings pitched in the regular season for the eighth time in his career, and the seventh year in a row -- which will be the longest active streak in the majors since Chicago White Sox right-hander James Shields (nine) and Seattles Felix Hernandez (eight) will not extend their streaks this season. Hamels has exactly 200 strikeouts , his fifth 200-strikeout season.TRAINERS ROOMRangers: Shin-Soo Choo (fractured left forearm) will return to Texas on Thursday and could play this weekend to determine if hes ready for the playoffs. He played seven innings in right field and made six plate appearances in an instructional league game Wednesday, his third day in a row playing in Arizona. He was 2 for 5 with a two-run homer and a walk.UP NEXTBrewers: Lefty Brent Suter, a Harvard graduate, starts Friday in the series opener at California. Since allowing four runs in 4 1/3 innings in an emergency start Aug. 19, Suter has pitched 12 1/3 scoreless innings over 12 relief appearances.Rangers: After Texas final day off of the regular season, Yu Darvish (6-5) makes his final start before the playoffs Friday in the opener of a three-game weekend series against Tampa Bay. ' ' '