GREEN BAY — The sixth annual Brett Favre Retirement Watch took a new twist Thursday afternoon, when a computer glitch on the Green Bay Packers' Web site resulted in a "breaking news" posting that the veteran quarterback was retiring.

He is not. At least, not yet.

Although the page was live for only a few minutes and wasn't accessible from the main page of the site, many in cyberspace saw it, including the popular blog www.ProFootballTalk.com, which along with www.SportingNews.com later posted a screen capture of the page.

On it, the headline read "Favre to retire," above a photo of Favre with the cutline, "Packers quarterback Brett Favre has announced that he will retire." There was then an empty area with the word "text" it, presumably for the body of the story, along with an announcement that general manager Ted Thompson would be holding a "brief press conference" to talk about Favre's decision and that readers should "stay tuned" to www.Packers.com for transcripts of the press conference as well as video and audio.

"There's nothing to it," Packers public relations director Jeff Blumb said in an email, adding that the posting was simply a mistake, not a precursor to Favre calling it quits after 17 NFL seasons.

Packers Internet coordinator Jeff Harding, added via email: "As most media outlets have done, Packers.com each year prepares its web site to handle the traffic in case Brett Favre does retire. The URL for this "Breaking News" page, which also was used last year when Brett announced his return, was accidently posted as live, when it should have been disabled until needed, if needed at all."

Although team president Mark Murphy said during a Wednesday speaking engagement in Milwaukee that he expects Favre to play in 2008 and the announcement to come before the end of the month — which would be today — there is some sentiment that Favre will make his intentions known sometime next week.

A close friend of Favre's family, Ronnie Herbert, died Wednesday. Herbert was a developmentally disabled man who served as an equipment manager on Favre's youth baseball team and helped out Favre's father, Irvin, as a football manager.

Thompson said Thursday evening that he doesn't know what Favre intends to do.

"I spoke with him a few days ago," Thompson said. "But I don't have any better feel for what he's going to do."