When going through school, you're asked to write in different styles. Serious, comedic, sarcastic, etc. One of the ways that we practiced that was by emulating our favorite authors and writers.

I'm a huge fan of Bill Simmons (ESPN.com's the Sports Guy), and Rick Riley, of back-of-Sports Illustrated fame. Both Simmons and Riley do running commentary on games that are important to them. It's like a snapshot into the mind of a sports fan.

So I'm going to give that a shot with the Denver-Green Bay Monday Night Football game until half-time.

Just like Simmons and his Bean Town teams, everyone knows I'm a diehard Cheesehead. So be prepared for biased comments. If I don't root for the Pack, my family disowns me and my Brett Favre bobble-head doll gives me dirty looks.

So here we go.

7:15 EST: One hour and fifteen minutes until kickoff, and I'm already dreading the sound of Manning/Brady-palooza (See Carey's blog).

8:00: Turning on the pre-game show, my prediction unfortunately came through. Steve Young is on his soapbox about the Patriots running up the score. Hey, guys, the Pats won. There's another game coming up -- just thought you should know.

8:11: Wow. Tear-jerker profile of Donald Driver. Everyone loves a rags-to-riches, and this is no exception. Even if Driver didn't wear the green and gold, I'd probably still cheer for him. Unless he was a Viking.

8:30: All right, Hank's rocking, Tom Jackson picked the Broncos to win, and I'm ready for some Favre Monday Night magic. Have you ever witnessed another athlete that performed so well on one weekday? I think the closest anyone's ever come was Jordan on Christmas Day, but that's one calendar day. Brett's been amazing EVERY MONDAY he's played on.

8:32: Jaws just made his first Brett-plays-like-a-little-kid comment. Newcomers to football may think Favre just got out of training wheels, not looking at the old folks home.

8:34: Tony Kornheiser just made a valid point about Tiger Woods on Sunday. I'll accept that.

8:41: First penalty on the Broncos, and first comparison between Favre and Cutler. "Absolutely a Favre throw," according to Kornheiser. Ugh.

8:44: The Broncos are driving. I'm nervous. By the mullet of A.J. Hawk, please stop this drive.

8:51: Three and out. Brandon Jackson dropped a for-sure first down. If Brett threw a little softer, would the number of dropped passes decrease, or would the interceptions increase? I would suggest watching Tony Romo for the answer, but with T.O. in the receiving corps, those drop numbers would be skewed.

9:00: Two really dumb penalties on the Packers. The Broncos, who couldn't find the end zone with a police dog, now has First-and-Goal on the 1.

9:01: HA! Cullen Jenkins makes the tackle WAY behind the line of scrimmage. That is a large man, and I wouldn't want to meet him in a backfield. Shoot. Touchdown pass. I revoke my previous HA! Cutler is darn good on the scramble. 7-0, Denver.

9:07: Not to be outdone, Favre threw a 79-yard strike for a touchdown AND James Jones took out a ref on the way to the end zone. One pass. One play. One woozy ref. 7-7 in the first.

9:15: Wow. Can the Pack give any more first downs on penalties? Charles Woodson looks like he did when he was with Oakland. And how is Brandon Stokely burning Al Harris? I want a new secondary. Now.

9:16: First man-crush reference. Now the true commentary can begin.

9:18: End of the first quarter, Packers 7, Broncos/Referees 7, and driving. I'm just saying.

9:24: Broncos fumble on the Green Bay 1. An offensive lineman knocked the ball out of Cutler's hands. Excellent. Favre rifles one in to Donald Lee, getting the Pack out of its own end zone.

9:26: A positive running play AND a defensive penalty against Denver? This could be good.

9:29: This Grant kid for Green Bay is eating up Denver's defense. I have never heard of him, and this is coming from a girl who had the Packer's practice squad memorized during the '96 season. I know part of it is because John Lynch is out with a hand issue; Lynch has been the backbone of every defense he's been a part of. If Lynch isn't out there, Denver has no hope for its defense.

9:35: Third and goal for the Packers, and the Broncos have 12 men on the field. For the second time. Shanahan looks as if he's going to blow like Mt. St. Helena.

9:39: Field goal. Well, it's a lead. Even though Jason Friggin Elam kicks for the Broncos. I don't want to get into a field goal kicking contest with Elam, just like I don't want to get into a sucker-punch contest with the Philadelphia Flyers.

9:42: Deanna Favre is in the booth with Tirico, Jaws and Kornheiser. She's been a source of strength for our family as my mom battled breast cancer. A few weeks after my mom's last radiation treatment, Deanna was doing a book signing in our area. Being my mom, she hugged Deanna, and got a little misty when she talked to her. It's nice to have an athlete's wife be a role model.

9:47: A first down run that produced a first down. This is new territory. And I'm already tired of play by play. I give lots of credit to the guys in the booth, as well as the like of Simmons and Riley. This isn't easy ... especially when you want to watch the game.

9:50: Two minute warning. Kornheiser wants to give his spot in the booth up to Deanna Favre. Would the NFL allow such a player trade?

9:52: Brett's Wrangler Jeans commercial. Brett Favre + Puppies = the best commercial ever. Where can I find these Wrangler Jeans, and do you receive a Brett and a puppy with a purchase of said jeans?

9:57: Chad Clifton just gave the Pack their second false start inside the 5. Third and goal from the nine, and incomplete to Driver again. Another field goal? Who do they think they are? Houston? 13-7, Packers.

10:02: Aaron Kampman just clobbered Jay Cutler with one arm. Less than a minute for Denver to go 90 yards, and as long as it's not John Elway in the pocket, I'm not too worried.

10:05: Packers have :19 seconds to go two-thirds of the field after a Denver punt. Not much has been said about Green Bay's defense, but after the first two Bronco series, Denver's stalled. Just like Green Bay's two-minute drill.

10:07: Half-time. Green Bay 13, Denver 7. An exciting half, and my bobblehead approves. Time to finish watching the game from my couch.

So, in conclusion, the Favre family, puppies and effective running games are good. Penalties, Tony Kornheiser and Petyon/Brady hype are bad. Field goals are somewhere in the middle. And real-time blogging is not my favorite hobby.

Tuesday Update: I was driving home while listening to the end of the game. Unfortunately, the radio broadcast was out of Denver, so on the game-winning play, it sounded like one of the puppies from the Wrangler commercial had run out onto I-70. I, on the other hand, whooped and cheered and almost went off the road. Moving on, a little bit of advice after watching this game: DON'T GET INTO A FIELD GOAL CONTEST WITH JASON ELAM!