ANOTHER STUPID FAVRE STORY

You know what I find funny?

Brett Favre went away over two months ago. He's gone. Has barely said a peep publicly.

Yet, his name keeps coming up.

The latest in media idiocy comes from, among others, USA Today. And it's a doozy.

Favre's locker still has his nameplate and that the legendary passer's shoulder pads still rest there on a shelf.

Credit Jason White of "OnMilwaukee.com" with "breaking" this Earth-shattering story.

I have to respectfully disagree with coach Mike McCarthy and the team keeping it intact, as it is was during the Packers' organized team activity practices. Even though the Packers legendary quarterback called it a career in March -- albeit with a few public unretirement ruminations afterward -- his nameplate is still above his locker, and his shoulder pads are still on the shelf.

I think that's wrong. It isn't fair to Aaron Rodgers, who has as tough a follow-up gig as anyone has ever had at quarterback in the NFL. Not only is he following a sure-fire first-ballot Hall of Famer, which has been done before, but Rodgers is following a guy who started 275 consecutive games without missing one with an injury, and he's doing it in a town where Favre is a deity.

Words can't describe how stupid this is. If nothing else, it has forced the Packers to blow the doors off what they'd been quietly working on. And it's a nice gesture.

The Packers took away the Favre nameplate from Brett Favre's locker and replaced it with a standard ‘Packers' nameplate. The Packers had initially planned to keep the locker with Favre's name until further plans, but pulled it this week, coincidentally as the locker drew national coverage. Apparently the team is now considering giving the locker to Favre as a gift. "I think it's been totally blown out of proportion. It's frankly an excellent idea that Ted Thompson and the organization had as far as a gift on a personal note to Brett. It's been discussed with Brett, and we can talk about it at a later date. But its really a construction concern, is the reason why the locker hasn't been taken out of there. So there's nothing more to it. A lot has been made of it. ... Ted, at the board of directors meeting yesterday, talked about the Brett locker situation and told them the plans that he had had as far as what he was going to do with the locker and they gave him a standing ovation. It's a classy move and something that definitely reflects how the Green Bay Packers do business and how they appreciate what Brett Favre has done in his career."

All the guy wants to do is retire. And all the Packers want to do is move on.

Why is this such a difficult thing for the media to understand?

Sadly, someone out there in blog/talk radio/column land will spin this as somehow being Favre's fault. As if the tearful press conference wasn't evidence enough. As if the Packers' repeated attempts to move on weren't enough.

The worst part of this story? Some moron with a press pass asked Rodgers about the locker.

"I have a lot of things to worry about besides whether they keep the locker or not," Rodgers said. "I mean, it's not even on my mind. I got to try to figure out a way to lead this team on my mind — workouts, OTAs — so I'm not worried about that at all."

I'm sure Rodgers has experienced a few sleepless nights, racked with worry over when the Packers will finally get rid of that damn locker. Good thing it got settled now, or it would have ruined any shot he has of succeeding in 2008.