At the apparent end of his career as a football quarterback (perhaps) and a near-certain future selection for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Favre will not turn 39 until Oct. 10.

Torres, who is 41, is just embarking on what may become her most impressive accomplishment as a competitive swimmer. She will go to the Summer Olympics next month in China as the oldest-ever member of the U.S. swimming team. In the 50-meter freestyle, she'll be among the favorites to win a medal.

In the this-and-that world of athletics competition, there's almost always an apples-and-oranges comparison to be drawn.

Torres probably has never been knocked around by 280-pound defensive linemen, some of whom are paid millions of dollars for the specific task of making life miserable for opposing quarterbacks.

By the same token, Favre has never been pregnant. Torres has. Not only that, the birth of daughter Tessa occurred three days after Mom turned 39. It doesn't end there. This past November, Torres underwent right-shoulder surgery for the removal of a bone spur that was contributing to a rotator-cuff problem.

This is one durable, remarkable woman, and for NBC, she's very likely going to be a gold mine even if it turns out that she's not a gold medalist. For many years now, the Olympics have been almost as much about human-interest stories as medals totals and actual performances. On that front, Torres could be impossible to upstage in Beijing.

"It's not even close. She's by far and away the best story of the summer and of the Summer Games for television purposes," said sports director Penn Holderness of WNCN, the TV network's affiliate in the Triangle. "I could see a run of all-Dara, all-the-time. And you know what? It would still be well-received. That won't be the way it plays out, of course. There'll be too many other good stories. One of those, for our station, will be Cullen Jones, the great swimmer from N.C. State. I'm convinced he'll have an impact on swimming that will last for years. But the Torres story is what you almost dream about in our business."

They've hooked me, and in the deep end of the pool. Whether she wins or loses, I cannot wait to see how she does against the 20- and 30-somethings. Neither can those within the swimming establishment.

"Oh, it's going to be a blast -- just a complete blast," said Elizabeth Keefe, a Charlotte native and one of the adult swim-class instructors for Raleigh's Candler Swim Club. "What she [Torres] is doing for adult swim is so cool, and so important. Because of her, there are going to be a lot of moms who get inspired enough to get in the water and teach their kids to swim for the fun of it."

Keefe said she was "totally wowed" by what Torres has done.

Join the club, Elizabeth. By the way, she's 21.