Welcome to Saturday Scorecard, where we cheerfully remind you to stock up on aspirin now because there are only four weeks left until the Brewers home opener hangover.

So... did anything important happen this week?

Just kidding. On to the notes.

Fitting ending: In some ways, Brett Favre's retirement press conference Thursday at Lambeau Field resembled many of his more memorable plays as quarterback of the Packers. It was unscripted. It was emotional. It was gutsy. He didn't appear to hold anything back. And, he managed to salvage a shaky situation and create something special.

It was partially his fault, of course, but Favre's first few hours of retirement were anything but graceful. Shortly after the news leaked through Fox Sports reporter Jay Glazer and onto the pothole-pocked information superhighway, rumors circulated that Favre was upset by the Packers' failure to pursue free agent wide receiver Randy Moss and felt the team hadn't made enough of an effort to coax him into returning for another season.

The fact that these rumors came from Favre's agent, Bus Cook, and brother, Scott - coupled with his absence from the initial "official" press conference with general manager Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy -- served to fan the flames. Favre doused them early in his opening statement.

As he fought tears during his remarks, you began to sense that outside forces -- whether plausible (relationship with the front office) or preposterous (the Moss aspect) -- had nothing to do with his decision to ride his tractor into the sunset.

It's easy to forget, given the way Favre played last season, that he agonized about whether to come back in 2007, just as he apparently had in 2006 and some years prior. Though he was in the spotlight for about 70 minutes, speaking emotionally and eloquently, Favre summed up his decision in a single paragraph:

"I've given everything I possibly can give to this organization, to the game of football, and I don't think I've got anything left to give, and that's it. I know I can play, but I don't think I want to."

Conspiracy theorists can scour the grassy knoll for more clues, but odds are strong that the search will come up empty. Brett Favre was the most determined, competitive, driven athlete of his generation. If he wanted to keep playing, he wouldn't have retired. After much soul searching, he discovered that the only thing stronger than his drive to keep playing was his aversion to playing at a substandard level that would diminish the legacy of his immense talents and enormous accomplishments.

The same football intuition, instilled from being a coach's son and honed to a level that will take him to the Hall of Fame, told him it was time to leave the stage.

Random Favre thoughts: It was great that Favre didn't dress up for the press conference. After all those years watching him at the podium in a golf shirt and sweat-stained golf cap, it would have been strange to see him in a suit.

Are there students in journalism school daydreaming about making it big so they can camp by the gate of a superstar athlete's home? Do they offer a course on such stakeouts?

The Packers have shown a lot of class in dealing with former players and employees. You wonder how they will handle the inevitable jersey retirement and tribute to Favre. Perhaps a statue near the ones dedicated to Vince Lombardi and Curly Lambeau would be in order. Just a hunch - Favre will want to stay away in 2008, so his day will end up being held in 2009.

Here is a hint to the Packers -- when you have Favre in for a ceremonial coin toss, make sure it's in September so that it's not cold.

Favre had one of his best games on a miserable Monday night / Halloween game in 1994 at Soldier Field and the Bears chose that night to honor legends Gale Sayers and Dick Butkus in a driving rain/sleet storm. It was awful.

A friend in the TV business got a voicemail from an elderly woman complaining that the media didn't applaud at the end of Favre's press conference. Sorry, ma'am, but it's not the media's job to applaud (or to sign petitions at political events, etc.). Reporters are there to observe and report, not participate. I'm told that there were several dozen Packers employees in the house. They could have applauded. Apparently, they chose not to do so.

A misguided local radio host spent a segment railing on Favre's "charmed" existence as a pro athlete and said something to the effect that Favre would now have to deal with the "real world" like everybody else. Where to begin...? Favre dealt with an out of wedlock child, a sister brought up on criminal charges, drug and alcohol difficulty, marital problems, the destruction of his hometown and family's residence, the death of his father and his wife's breast cancer, all under the microscope bestowed upon a hallowed franchise in the smallest market participating in the most popular professional sport in the country. Yeah, he had it pretty easy.

Bullish on Bucky: Underrated and unappreciated by much of the college basketball community, Wisconsin stands today on the brink of a Big Ten championship. Anybody who doubted that the Badgers would be good after Alando Tucker owes an apology to Bo Ryan, who clearly is one of the best in the business.

Unexplained absence: The state high school tournament is always long on drama. This year, it's short on Milwaukee schools. It's too early to panic about the programs in MPS, but the arguments against stacking so many in the same sectional have some merit.

Making a pitch: Brewers manager Ned Yost already is talking about track records and the value of spring training performance in making roster decisions. Sounds like he may be greasing the skids to tell Carlos Villanueva and/or Manny Parra "Hang in there" when he sends them to Class AAA Nashville at the end of camp.