Welcome to Thursday’s Morning Mashup. For the latest news, start at our WEEI.com home page or click here for the top stories from our news wire.

WHAT’S HAPPENING LOCALLY THURSDAY:
NHL: Flyers at Bruins, 7 p.m. (Versus)

AROUND THE WEB:

♦ On Tuesday, Brett Favre did a radio interview in Atlanta and said he was surprised that it took his replacement in Green Bay, Aaron Rodgers, three years to win a Super Bowl title considering how talented the Packers have been since Favre’s departure. NBC football analyst Rodney Harrison responded by calling Favre “classless” and “immature.” Added Harrison of Favre: “Everything he’s accomplished in his career is now diminished. … He’s about himself. He’s about nothing else but himself.”

♦ John Calipari and Rick Pitino are coaching neighbors in Kentucky, but Calipari is doing his best to pretend that his old friend doesn’t exist. Among the recent slights is a comment Calipari made this week about how other states have multiple programs that split loyalties, but Kentucky rules the Bluegrass State. Said Calipari: “There’s no other state — none — as connected to their basketball program as this one. Because those other states have other programs. Michigan has Michigan State. California, UCLA has all those. North Carolina has Duke. It’s Kentucky, throughout this whole state, and that’s what makes this unique.”

♦ The case of Leo Nunez, the Marlins closer who was pitching under an assumed name, might just be the first of many. According a sports activist in the Dominican Republic, as many as 30 other Dominican natives now playing in the majors and minors are using assumed names to conceal their true ages, and there are more impostors from Venezuela, Panama and Nicaragua.

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On Oct. 6, 1906, which Red Sox player homered in his final at-bat, as he committed suicide before the following season, shortly after he was named manager?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “He’s the best coach in football, and if it comes down to us, he’s going to win it. I don’t have a problem saying that. I’m not in that class. But I’m going to compete and give him everything I have and we’ll do that as a staff as well. We know it’s going to take everything we’ve got and we’ll see if that’s good enough.” — Rex Ryan, on Sunday’s matchup vs. Bill Belichick and the Patriots

STAT OF THE DAY: 0-for-8 — Phillies slugger Ryan Howard‘s batting totals during the two NLDS games in his hometown of St. Louis, including five strikeouts

‘NET RESULTS: For the second game in a row, a squirrel takes the field at the Phillies-Cardinals game in St. Louis. This time, the squirrel heads right past home plate as a pitch is being thrown.

UNC-Asheville soccer players play a real-life game of Angry Birds with trick shots.

TRIVIA ANSWER: Chick Stahl

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Kevin Cronin of REO Speedwagon turns 60 Thursday.

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