So many things happened this weekend, and we’ve been sore during so many of them. That owes, of course, to the first annual RandBall Touch Football Extravaganza, in which Team RandBall played the role of the Gophers while our opponent invoked the spirit of the New England Patriots. Still, a good time was had by all. Thanks to Roughkat, Joker, Rocket, Toonces51 and all the others who chased down defenders to no avail after yet another of our ill-advised interceptions. The soreness hit around 6 p.m. Saturday and intensified Sunday. But as we sat Sunday night, feeling old and thinking about ill-advised throws, we had a moment that made it feel as though we were looking in a mirror. And it made us smile.

Brett Favre, you made us smile. Leading 20-10, coasting on the way to a commanding NFC North lead and a 5-0 start, you invoked the spirit of Bad Brett. Your little flip was picked off by Brian Urlacher; some might say, though, that it was intercepted by the Ghosts of Favre past. Fittingly, sir, your final pass of the evening, a desperation heave into the end zone, was also picked off. You now are tied with George Blanda for most career interceptions. And your team, at least for a night, looked very vulnerable. It all started with that flip, Brett. Usually when the Packers and Bears play, the only logical hope is for both teams to somehow lose. Not Sunday. Thanks for making us smile, even if merely smiling makes us wince in pain.

What else?

*USC lost to Stanford. We’d like to say we were all over this latest shock of the century, but truth be told we didn’t even hear about it until Sunday morning. But a 41-point underdog? That probably tops Appalachian State over Michigan. Agreed?

*To put that in perspective, Gophers fans, Indiana was only favored by 13.5. So a Gophers victory would have only been one-third as impressive. And there was no way that was happening Saturday.

*Let’s stay with the gambling theme: Great moments in point-spread history — leading by 10 with less than a minute to play, the Patriots recover a fumble and return it for a touchdown, thus earning a 34-17 victory over Cleveland and barely covering the 16.5-point spread over the Browns. We’re guessing that fumble paid for a lot of special dances in Vegas last night. Just a hunch.

*Trent Green. We have a lot of questions, such as: Why is a QB with a history of concussions blocking a 300-pound lineman with his head? And: Why did said lineman feel the need to scream at the motionless QB after the play? Just not a good scene overall.

*Old question: What’s wrong with the Chargers? New question: What’s wrong with the Broncos?

*Nice effort: Cubs, Phillies and Angels. Seriously, way to go.

*Just so you know: Yankees’ record against the Twins in playoff series since 2002: 2-0. Yankees’ record in playoff series against everyone else since 2002: 1-5. Maybe that’s why if the record goes to 1-6, Joe Torre is done.

*The Wild. That was for you, Jon.

Mystery link! Let’s have some fun this week.

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