Harper a victim of phony Facebook?

Las Vegan Bryce Harper was the top pick in this year's major league draft, won the Golden Spikes Award as the country's top amateur baseball player and was a guest at this month's All-Star Game.

Not a bad summer for a 17-year-old.

But his status might have climbed to heights usually reserved for rock stars, movie stars and sports stars.

Call it impersonation or identity theft, but Harper might be shadowed by a fake Facebook page.

The Washington Post reported Friday that the Nationals draftee appeared to indicate on a Facebook page this week he might return to play for College of Southern Nevada next year if he doesn't strike a satisfactory deal with Washington.

The post read: "Probably going back to CSN to try to win a National Championship!!! :)"

And later, "Wish I was playing (Team) USA more than anything!!! Summer has been crazy, and thinking about returning to CSN for another year!!! Very possible!"

Sports website Deadspin.com and the Post challenge the validity of the web posts.

Agent Scott Boras, Harper's adviser, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal last weekend that No. 1 overall pick will not begin negotiating a contract with the Nationals until "three or four" days before the Aug. 16 deadline, in accordance with MLB standards.

■ READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL? -- It's over 100 degrees, stores are loaded with back-to-school supplies and it's still July.

Clearly, it's time to get ready for some football.

And an annual rite of late summer is figuring out whether Brett Favre will return to the NFL. Brad Childress, his Minnesota Vikings coach, recently visited Favre at the aging quarterback's Mississippi ranch.

Childress relayed an observation to the St. Paul Pioneer-Press that indicates Favre is ready to return. The three-time NFL Most Valuable Player noted to Childress that an armadillo that had been feasting on his lawn.

"(Favre) has accelerated the car toward the house and he says, 'I'm going to get that SOB. I thought I got rid of him. They eat grubs. Just tear the heck out of the grass,' " Childress said.

"We jump in his truck. He's got two guns in the back seat. We go back down the road to find the thing.

"He's looking over here, over there. We look over and now it's crossed the creek and coming over the road. He grabs his gun and goes, 'Boom, boom, boom.' "

Proof that Favre doesn't need training camp: He went 0-for-3, firing incompletions as if already in postseason form.

■ OCHO WHATEVER -- Terrell Owens swung a deal to acquire his familiar No. 81 from fellow Cincinnati Bengals receiver Antonio Bryant. T.O reportedly paid an "unknown sum of money" to get the number.

That led Owens to declare he will be Ocho-Uno, alongside teammate Chad Ochocinco.

Ocho-Uno works much better than his previous moniker of Ocho-Seis for being 86'd by his last three teams.

COMPILED BY JEFF WOLF
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL