Is Brett Favre getting the itch to play again? The show “NFL Live!” had a report to that effect, but Favre shot it down.

Still, Packers fans aren’t giving up on him. His replacement in Green Bay, perennial back-up Aaron Rodgers, offended the state of Wisconsin with some remarks to Sports Illustrated.

“I don’t feel I need to sell myself to the fans,” Rodgers told the magazine. “They need to get on board now or keep their mouths shut.”

Yeah, well, tell us when your bandwagon is full, OK? Rodgers is already scrambling away from those comments.

“I do care deeply about the fans and I think anybody who has been to training camp sees a lot of times I’m the last one out signing autographs. I care about the fans; I care about their opinions,” Rodgers told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “Everybody wants the fans to care for them and to pull for them and I am no different.

“I think my record, as far as the time I spend with the fans, and more importantly the stuff I do in the community, kind of speaks for itself.”

Unfortunately, Aaron, your thin record as a NFL quarterback also speaks for itself.

MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE

Questions to ponder while Seattle adjusts to life without a NBA franchise:

• And if Memphis, New Orleans and Oklahoma City can have pro basketball games, why can’t St. Louis?
• Do the Islanders believe Doug Weight can turn back his clock to 2002?
• Now that the Blackhawks have signed goaltender Cristobal Huet, what becomes of Nikolai Khabibulin?

MEET THE NEW BOSS, SAME AS THE OLD BOSS

It doesn’t take much to get Yankees co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner to rip his team.

“We’ve got to start hitting,” he said Wednesday, according to the Associated Press. “It’s getting ridiculous. They’ve got to start waking up. They’ve shown in flashes what they can still do.”

He agreed with the assessment he received from general manager Brian Cashman.

“Even when I was worried about the pitching earlier — starting pitching is the most important thing of all — but Brian would keep telling me, ‘Yes, but I worried about the hitting,’” Steinbrenner said. “That was Brian’s biggest concern even as we were reconstructing the pitching. We all know they’re better than that. I don’t know. Maybe a little less outside distractions and a little more concentrating and they’ll start hitting better. I thought they would go on a consistent tear, and it hasn’t happened yet.”

QUIPS ‘R US

Here is what some of America’s leading sports pundits have been writing:

Mark Kriegel, FoxSports.com, on Wimbledon: “So what if Ana Ivanovic and Maria Sharapova are gone? Again, let’s concentrate on the positives. It’s much more productive to celebrate upset victories by the likes of Tamarine Tanasugarn and Agnieszka Radwanska. Come to think of it, how did I ever forget to TiVo that?”

Greg Cote, Miami Herald: “Roger Federer’s herringbone sweater! Maria Sharapova’s ‘tux-inspired’ ensemble! Serena Williams’ belted trench coat! Man, am I tired of hearing and talking about tennis attire! The exception: Rafael Nadal’s Capri pants, which, of course, can never be mocked enough.”

Dan Daly, Washington Times: “Speaking of altercations, 49-year-old Azumah Nelson and 44-year-old Jeff Fenech met in the boxing ring again last Tuesday -16 years after they last fought for the super featherweight title. The bout, won by Fenech on a 10-round decision, was widely denounced by such groups as the Australian Medical Association, the Ghanaian Boxing Association and the Hair Club For Men.’”

AJ Daulerio, Deadspin: “The debate over Barry Bonds‘ Hall Of Fame induction is still a couple years away, but at least Major League Baseball can finally lay claim to the large-headed slugger’s historic, controversial home run ball for posterity. Designer Marc Ecko paid a whopping $752,467 for the ball at an auction last September, branded it with an asterisk in a show of artsy-fartsy protest, and then held it hostage from the Hall to continue his bratty little stand-off. Finally, he relented, and officially donated the ball to the Hall of Fame. However, Bonds has said he would ‘boycott’ the Hall of Fame if it displayed the marked ball. Maybe Hall officials see this as a best of both worlds-type situation. Besides, can Barry boycott anything if he’s in prison?”

Kriegel again: “Chris Evert and Greg Norman tied the knot in a private ceremony in the Bahamas. The groom now has as many marriages as majors. Still, the bride won more grand slams on grass.”

Cote again: “Golf’s U.S. Women’s Open ends Sunday in Edina, Minn., begging the question of which is worse: Watching a women’s golf tournament or being in Edina, Minn.? That reminds me: ‘Hello, officer? I’d like to report a theft. It seems South Korea has stolen the LPGA Tour.’”

Daly again, on the NBA Draft: “Bobcats boss Michael Jordan used the second of his first-rounders to take Alexis Ajinca, a 20-year-old 7-footer from France. And you’re not going to believe this, but ‘Alexis Ajinca,’ translated into English, is ‘Kwame Brown.’”

MEGAPHONE

“I think what I’ve done is just learn to manipulate the line (between right and wrong). I like to push it to the edge, no doubt about it. That’s how I play. That’s how I live. That’s what I’m all about. I’ve learned to do it without hurting the team.”

New Dallas Stars agitator Sean Avery.