Zygi Wilf didn't think that the Vikings were going to trade Randy Moss when he was negotiating to buy the team. "When we were negotiating to buy the team, I had an understanding that [former Vikings owner] Red McCombs wouldn't trade anybody, especially Moss," Wilf told the Star Tribune. "But he did trade him."

Brett Favre said before Monday's preseason game that he believes he has a cracked rib. The Vikings quarterback hasn't received an official diagnosis, but has had difficulty with deep breathing. Favre wasn't listed on Minnesota's injury report.

An owner of a sports bar has purchased "The Original Whizzinator" at an auction. Matt Little, the owner of Buster's Sports Bar & Grill in Mankato, won the item for $750. The Whizzinator will displayed in his bar's memorabilia section next to jerseys of Adrian Peterson and Justin Morneau. Former Vikings running back Onterrio Smith was famously caught with the device at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in May 2005.

Brett Favre is expected to play the entire first half of Minnesota's preseason game against Houston on Monday. Favre had just three days to prepare for his first preseason start. "It's the things that people don't see that to me are the most important," he told the Associated Press. "No one wants to see the ball on the ground, calling plays wrong, going the wrong way. Things like that. The other stuff will come. Maybe it all comes this week, I don't know."

Speaking to a large group of reporters after the Vikings practiced on Thursday, Brett Favre discussed the word that caused a mini-controversy just over a week into his tenure with the team. ?I don?t even know what that means, I?ve got no reaction,? Favre said. ?I?m just doing what I can do to hopefully help this team win and just trying to fit in. I?m not worried about that. That?s for you guys to have some fun with. Once again, I have no idea what that means. I?m assuming it?s controversial.? Favre called earning the respect of his teammates ?a work in progress? and did make it clear he wasn?t brought to Minnesota to become the most popular teammate. ?I?m not going to ever sit here and tell you, ?OK, I?ve earned it,?? Favre said. ?You?ll have to ask other people that. To me, you never can be content with where you are. It?s a work in progress, always. Up until the last game, up until the last practice. What you did last week, good or bad, doesn?t really matter this week. Wednesday practice is different each week. You can?t say, ?I had a great game last week so now I can kind of coast.? ?You can?t do that. So it?s always a work in progress. To be here eight, nine days, whatever it has been. I?d be a fool to sit here and tell you that I?ve won everyone over in the locker room. That?s not what I?m trying to do. I was brought in here to help this team win, not to make friends. Even though I feel like that?s an easy thing for me to do. Once again, I will continue to work on that part of it. I think my experience can only go so far on the field but I think it can pay huge dividends off the field and in the locker room on how to adjust. You know what, you?ve got to be yourself and I?m pretty content with my personality. I think it?s able to fit in with just about everyone.?

Reports that there is an "issue," "schism" or "faction" in the Vikings' locker room over who will start at quarterback was news to 13 players, including nine offensive and defensive starters, Wednesday evening. To encourage candor, the Pioneer Press contacted players expected to make the final 53-man roster and offered them anonymity to address how they felt about who should start at quarterback and if they had heard any teammates discussing the "issue" or "schism." Two of the veteran starters spoke on the record. "I'm in the mix, but I haven't heard anyone talk about that," starting tight end Visanthe Shiancoe said. "The locker room is not divided at all. "Everyone is going to have their own opinions, and everyone is not going to like everyone all the time. But we don't have time for that dumb (expletive)." On Monday, during halftime of the New York Jets-Baltimore Ravens game, ESPN reporter Adam Schefter reported that there was an "issue" as some members of the Vikings had wished the team would have abandoned its pursuit of Brett Favre and handed the starting job to incumbent Tarvaris Jackson. Wednesday morning, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk said there was a "faction" of players who still prefer Jackson.

Many Vikings still believe Tarvaris Jackson gives them the best chance to win. "Make no mistake, TJack still has supporters in Vikes locker room. Some players believe he gives Vikes best chance to win. Always something," ESPN's Adam Schefter wrote on his Twitter page Monday night.

Brad Childress is optimistic Brett Favre can remain healthy throughout the 2009 season. "I don't have any reason to believe he won't stay healthy, barring a car accident or some catastrophe," said Childress. Favre has offseason shoulder injury and also has a torn rotator cuff. "The key to me,'' said Childress, "is managing the guy. We'll get him ramped up, we'll get him to be the leader he is, and that doesn't mean he'll be Patton and come in and throw his weight around. But I think it's good to get him in now to learn his teammates and get to know his receivers. That takes some time.''

The Vikings want Brett Favre to develop chemistry with his receivers, but don't want to overwork the quarterback in the process. "[We're] just kind of a ramping up," coach Brad Childress told the Star Tribune on Sunday. "You have a tendency to get on it a little bit harder with coaches around. I think by his own admission, he probably threw 200 balls in the Jets first day of practice and probably set himself back last year. With the fans and the crowd and trying to throw deep, showing off a little bit. So you have to make sure." Minnesota needs to be extra careful following Favre's offseason surgery to repair a biceps tendon and his admission that he has a torn rotator cuff in his passing arm.

Tarvaris Jackson had a perfect passer rating in Friday's preseason game against the Chiefs. "He was able to create a couple of things with his athleticism, and then obviously you saw his arm strength in throwing that ball [64 yards] to Darius Reynaud, so, he might have just relaxed and played," Vikings coach Brad Childress told the Star Tribune of Jackson. Jackson went 12-for-15 for 202 yards and two touchdowns against Kansas City. He's fighting with Sage Rosenfels for the right to backup Brett Favre in Minnesota, that is, if the Vikings don't trade Jackson. "[Jackson and I] talked before the game and I said, 'Look, you're going to play with the [first-team] offensive line and the [first-team] wide receivers, make the most of it.' ... So, he did make the most of it," Childress said. "You know what, we've used a couple of quarterbacks here -- we've used two in every year and sometimes three [I've been here], so, they whack those guys pretty good, and, you want to have good ones."