Five thoughts from a very active weekend in sports:

1. The two most recent examples of why betting on sports, and specifically the NFL, is a dangerous proposition: If there were two things about Sunday's NFL games about which we felt fairly certain, it's that the Vikings-Jets game was going to be a low-scoring affair and the Saints were going to blow out the woeful Panthers in New Orleans.

Anyone putting their money where their mouth was, of course, would have been badly burned and lost the mortgage. The over-under line on Vikings-Jets was 40.5, among the lowest of the week's games. Instead, they combined for 54 points (26 by the end of the first quarter). The Panthers were double-digit underdogs in some places coming off their 31-13 loss to the Vikings last week. So, of course, they routed the Saints 41-10.

Just more proof that there's no such thing as a sure thing.

2. Teddy Bridgewater posted a 117.7 passer rating in that win over the Jets, which is impressive. He no doubt got a big boost from his 87-yard OT touchdown pass to Jarius Wright — a brilliant third-down play — but his overall numbers could have been even better if not for a couple of other plays. His only interception of the day came on a desperation heave at the end of the first half. And he didn't get credit for a third touchdown pass because Charles Johnson fumbled just short of the goal line, with Jerome Felton recovering in the end zone.

3. If you're a Gophers football fan and a college football fan in general, you can't have any complaints about how things turned out Sunday. Minnesota gets to play Missouri in the Citrus Bowl on New Year's Day and be part of what will probably be the best day of college football of the year. Meanwhile, the committee got it right in its first crack at picking a final four. TCU and Baylor had strong cases, but Ohio State deserved the final place. And as weak as Florida State has looked at times, an undefeated season is an undefeated season.

4. Los Angeles claimed its record fifth MLS Cup on Sunday, but the 2-1 outcome against New England was nearly reversed, thanks to Minnesota native Teal Bunbury. Bunbury, who is from Prior Lake and played at Shattuck-St. Mary's, hit the crossbar with a shot for New England in the 85th minute with the game tied 1-1.

5. Shabazz Muhammad is averaging 18 points per game in just under 25 minutes in his past five contests for the Timberwolves. Given his production on a struggling team, there is likely a temptation to think he should move into the starting lineup. The view from here, though, is that Muhammad is perfectly suited as a spark off the bench and that the Wolves shouldn't mess with one of the few good things they have going.

MICHAEL RAND