Problem: Christopher Columbus discovered the Americas for the Kingdom of Castile and Leon in 1492. By 1580 this had unified with neighbouring kingdoms to form one Spanish kingdom. Private adventurers thereafter entered into contracts with the Spanish Crown to conquer the newly discovered lands in return for tax revenues and the power to rule. In the first decades after the discovery, the Spanish colonised the Caribbean and established a centre of operations on the island of Cuba. They heard rumours of the rich empire of the Aztecs on the mainland to the west and, in 1519, Hernan Cortes set sail with eleven ships to explore the Mexican coast. By August 1521 the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan had fallen to the Spanish. Within three years of the fall of Tenochtitlan the Spanish had conquered a large part of Mexico, extending as far south as the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. The newly conquered territory became New Spain, headed by a viceroy who answered to the Spanish Crown via the Council of the Indies. Cortes despatched Pedro de Alvarado with an army to conquer the Mesoamerican kingdoms of the Guatemalan Sierra Madre and neighbouring Pacific plain; the military phase of the establishment of the Spanish colony of Guatemala lasted from 1524 to 1541. The Captaincy General of Guatemala had its capital at Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala and covered a wide territory that also included the Mexican state of Chiapas as well as El Salvador, Honduras and Costa Rica. The Spanish imposed colonial rule over Yucatan between 1527 and 1546, and over Verapaz from the 16th to the 17th centuries, leaving the area between- essentially Peten and much of Belize- independent long after surrounding peoples had been subjugated.

How many years did the Spanish impose colonial rule over Yucatan?
Answer: 19

Problem: Coming off their home win over the Cowboys, the Vikings flew to Lambeau Field for a Week 7 NFC North Sunday night duel with the Green Bay Packers, as quarterback Brett Favre made his return to take on his former team, in their first meeting on NBC's Sunday Night Football. Minnesota trailed early in the first quarter as Packers running back Brandon Jackson got a 1-yard touchdown run. Afterwards, the Vikings responded as wide receiver Percy Harvin got a 17-yard touchdown run. Green Bay struck back in the second quarter as quarterback Aaron Rodgers completed a 9-yard touchdown pass to tight end Andrew Quarless, yet Minnesota took the lead with running back Adrian Peterson getting a 1-yard touchdown run, followed by kicker Ryan Longwell booting a 28-yard field goal after a bizarre reversal of a touchdown reception by Visanthe Shiancoe. The Packers began the third quarter with Rodgers completing a 14-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Greg Jennings, followed by linebacker Desmond Bishop returning a Favre interception 32 yards for a touchdown. The Vikings would answer with Favre finding wide receiver Randy Moss on a 4-yard touchdown pass. Minnesota tried to rally in the fourth quarter with an apparent 30-yard touchdown pass from Favre to Harvin with 48 seconds left which would have been the game winner, but Harvin had apparently only one foot in bounds, nullifying the touchdown. Favre tried two more times to get into the end zone, but Green Bay's defense held for the win.

How many 1-yard touchdown runs were in the game?
Answer: 2

Problem: Hoping to snap their five-game losing streak, the Chiefs went home for a Week 11 interconference duel with the New Orleans Saints. In the first quarter, Kansas City struck first as QB Tyler Thigpen completed a 6-yard TD pass to WR Dwayne Bowe. The Saints would respond with kicker Garrett Hartley getting a 30-yard field goal. In the second quarter, New Orleans took the lead as RB Deuce McAllister got a 1-yard TD run. The Chiefs would answer with rookie kicker Connor Barth getting a 20-yard field goal. The Saints closed out the half with Hartley making a 23-yard field goal. In the third quarter, New Orleans increased their lead with QB Drew Brees completing a 47-yard TD pass to WR Lance Moore. Kansas City replied with Barth making a 21-yard field goal, yet the Saints answered with RB Pierre Thomas getting a 1-yard TD run. In the fourth quarter, the Chiefs tried to rally as Thigpen hooked up with Bowe again on a 5-yard TD pass. However, New Orleans pulled away with Hartley nailing a 35-yard field goal.

How many yards difference was there between the longest and shortest touchdown receptions?
Answer: 42

Problem: Coming off their overtime road win over the Titans, the Chargers went home for a Week 15 interconference duel with the Detroit Lions. In the first quarter, the 'Bolts struck first with RB LaDainian Tomlinson getting a 6-yard TD run, Kicker Nate Kaeding getting a 22-yard field goal, and Tomlinson getting a 2-yard TD run. In the second quarter, San Diego continued its domination with Kaeding getting a 22-yard field goal and LB Shaun Phillips returning an interception 18 yards for a touchdown. The Lions would get on the board with QB Jon Kitna completing a 9-yard TD pass to WR Brandon Middleton. The Chargers would end the half with QB Philip Rivers completing a 1-yard TD run to TE Brandon Manumaleuna. In the third quarter, San Diego continued its annihilation with RB Darren Sproles getting a 1-yard TD run and Kaeding nailing a 45-yard field goal. Detroit would get its final points of the game as Kitna completed a 17-yard TD pass to WR Shaun McDonald. In the fourth quarter, the Chargers ended its day with Sproles getting an 11-yard TD run. With the win, not only did the Chargers improve to 9-5, but they also clinched their second-straight AFC West title. For Darren Sproles (25 attempts for 122 yards and 2 touchdowns) and LaDainian Tomlinson (15 attempts for 116 yards and 2 touchdowns), they became the first RB duo in franchise history to both get 100 rushing yards in the same game. Also, Tomlinson ended this part of his career with 127 career touchdowns, surpassing Jim Brown for 7th All-Time.

Which player threw the second longest TD pass?
Answer:
Jon Kitna