GREEN BAY, Wis. � Nick Barnett tried. He really did.

But after reciting the preferred company line on Brett Favre�s upcoming comeback with the Minnesota Vikings � they look forward to playing against any good quarterback, they always enjoy the Vikings rivalry, blah, blah, blah � one of the Green Bay Packers� most playful personalities couldn�t help himself.
�I think he�s a great quarterback, a great guy, a great leader,� Barnett said. �Would I like to hit him? Hell, yeah, I�d like to hit him. All these damn practices out here and they didn�t let us hit him.�
Then the linebacker really hammed it up, looking directly into one of the TV cameras stationed around his locker: �I want to get a nice little shot on you, Brett. I said it. Put it on the bulletin board.�
It looks like Barnett and the Packers will get their chance.
Favre decided Tuesday to end his retirement for the second year in a row, joining the Vikings in a red practice jersey just weeks after Minnesota coach Brad Childress said Favre told him he would stay retired. The latest chapter in Favre�s year-after-year retirement saga didn�t exactly send shock waves through his old stomping grounds of Lambeau Field, given a summer�s worth of rumors linking the former Packers standout with a move to the rival Vikings.
�I�m not surprised by it,� Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. �I don�t think anybody should be surprised by it.�
But McCarthy did his best to avoid being drawn back into an instant replay of last season�s ugly, high-profile divorce between one of the NFL�s flagship franchises and its most beloved player.
�I have no comment about it,� McCarthy said. �We�re a football team that�s looking to improve. If he�s going to play, that�s obviously his choice.�
Packers general manager Ted Thompson also didn�t want any part of the Favre situation, which caused a major distraction during the Packers� training camp a year ago and lingered on well after Favre was traded to the New York Jets.
After dodging a few questions about Favre on Tuesday, Thompson refused to b?
on well after Favre was traded to the New York Jets.
After dodging a few questions about Favre on Tuesday, Thompson refused to bite on a question about whether it�s wise for a team to tie its fortunes to a player with commitment issues so late in training camp.
�You guys just try to get me in trouble,� Thompson said, smiling.
One of Favre�s few close friends still on the team, veteran receiver Donald Driver, wasn�t looking forward to playing the Vikings with the man he has called his �brother from another mother� on the opposite sideline.
�If he�s there, I am willing to face him,� said Driver, who spoke with Favre recently but didn�t reveal details of the conversation. �I don�t have a choice. I don�t have a choice at all. I�ll be ready.�
Other players just shrugged it off.
�I don�t care about that,� cornerback Charles Woodson said. �It�s just another team.�
Favre�s former teammates acknowledged that he could make the Vikings better, but said they didn�t believe the move would put their rivals over the top.
�He�s a Hall of Famer,� Driver said. �But I don�t think it�s going to change who�s on top of the division. That�s our goal is to be on top of the (NFC) North, and we�re not going backward for anyone. I know what we have over here, and that�s a team that�s going to win the NFC North and go to the Super Bowl.�
Barnett said the Packers are shaping up as a strong team behind quarterback Aaron Rodgers, allowing them to mostly ignore Favre.
�Are we concerned with him? Absolutely not,� Barnett said. �We�ll be concerned with him when we see him. ... Who cares? I heard (Michael) Jordan�s coming out of retirement, too.�
Linebacker Aaron Kampman wasn�t providing any bulletin board material Tuesday, but acknowledged that facing Favre in a game will be different from facing him in practice.
�The red jersey will be off,� Kampman said.