Just days after the retired quarterback reportedly told Packers general manager Ted Thompson that he would report to the team's training camp, Favre stayed away when camp opened Sunday.

In an interview with SI.com on the eve of camp starting, Favre said he acquiesced to Thompson's request for not wanting him to be a distraction to the team as it attempted to resolve what has become a messy situation between the league's only three-time MVP and the Packers.

Favre's decision to keep his distance from the Packers at his Mississippi home came after head coach Mike McCarthy all but slammed the door on having Green Bay's 16-year starter rejoin the club.

"Aaron Rodgers is the starting quarterback for the Green Bay Packers," McCarthy said Saturday. "That has been stated over and over again. I hope we can finally understand that.

"We're 100 percent committed to Aaron."

--Since Brett Favre is itching to resume playing this season, Packers president Mark Murphy acknowledged plans to retire the famed quarterback's jersey number at the Sept. 8 season opener could be scrapped.

"We have not made a decision yet on whether to cancel it," Murphy said July 24. "But, we're coming up to a point where we're going to have to make a decision pretty quickly."

Favre, who is on the reserve-retired list, hadn't applied for reinstatement with the NFL when the Packers reported for training camp July 27. Favre must be reinstated before he can get back on the field, whether it's in Green Bay, which seems unlikely, or elsewhere as he desires should the Packers trade or release him.

The Packers' opponent in the opener at Lambeau Field is NFC North rival Minnesota, one of the teams speculated as a destination for Favre.

Murphy said the Packers would honor Favre for his 16 years of service to the club by retiring his number in the future if the ceremony doesn't happen this year.

--Perhaps another clue that Brett Favre's days in Green Bay are over is his scheduled appearance for a motivational business seminar Aug. 13 at an arena across the street from Lambeau Field.

A disclaimer in small print is included with the published advertisement, which reads, "Due to possible NFL commitments, Brett Favre may appear live via satellite for this event."

--The Packers are looking to relocate training camp a matter of a few hundred yards at their practice facilities near Lambeau Field.

Jason Wied, vice president of administration/general counsel, said at the publicly owned team's July 24 shareholders meeting that the club has a plan to move training camp from Clarke Hinkle Field to Ray Nitschke Field.

Management wants to ensure safety for spectators during training camp. Clarke Hinkle Field is in front of the team's indoor practice site, The Don Hutson Center, and adjacent to a busy roadway that divides the practice facilities and Lambeau Field.

Ray Nitschke Field, which the team uses for its outdoor practices during the regular season, is on the back end of the Hutson Center.

Wied said plans for the transformation of training camp, which could happen as early as next year, would include rebuilding Nitschke Field so it's closer to the indoor facility and installing large numbers of bleachers for camp.

--Longtime G Marco Rivera is retiring as a Packer. Rivera recently notified the team of his intentions after his 11-year NFL career ended with Dallas following the 2006 season.

Rivera played his first nine years with the Packers, including seven straight seasons as a starter from 1998 to 2004, before he signed with the Cowboys in free agency in 2005.

Rivera was selected to the Pro Bowl three times in his tenure with Green Bay.

"To retire as a Packer in my book is the greatest thing you can say as a football player in the NFL," Rivera said. "It's an honor and a privilege to retire and become a member of the Packers alumni with all the great players I played with and those that came before me."

QUOTE TO NOTE: "There's a lot of kids up there (in Green Bay), a lot of fans, and people like circuses. So, it will be fun. But, I can assure you within a couple of days, once we start practicing and playing football, the product on the field is what will be talked about, (not) the stuff off the field." -- RT Mark Tauscher, in Milwaukee taking batting practice before a Brewers game July 25, on speculation that retired QB Brett Favre would report for the first day of training-camp practices July 28.

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