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Bill Parcells:
Will the Tuna be the turkey? On three days' rest, versus a Dolphins team scrapping for the playoffs ... hey, we'll be watching.
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The Lead Item
Two Words For You:
MORE. THANKS.
The greatest marketing ploy the NFL ever
created (aside from the Super Bowl) was to play
games on Thanksgiving Day. Families together, crisp
weather, captive audiences looking for distraction
until the food is ready.
This season they lucked out: No, not with
having to televise the Lions (think any NFL execs have
ever said, Hey, what if we took the crappy team OFF
Thanksgiving?); showcasing Brett Favre entirely on
his own stage, perhaps for the last time in
his career.
And do you think anyone expected the Cowboys to
be battling for home-field advantage throughout the
NFC playoffs? And yet here we are, with the chance to
watch the league's most "must-see" team -- with the
entire family no less. You can explain to old Uncle
Morty what he's been missing.
And all the other sports finally caught on that
it's one of the great sports-viewing weekends of the
year. There's a lot more being served up all weekend
to be thankful for ...
NFL Week 13 Subplots
AFC Game of the Week: Patriots (9-2)
at Colts (9-2). Divisional playoff preview?
NFC Game of the Week: Eagles (8-3) at Panthers
(8-3). Winner keeps pace for full-playoff home-field
advantage.
Cure for what ails ya: Broncos recover from
shocking loss to Bears with Raiders.
Upset City!: Chiefs at Chargers. Ha: Just
kidding.
Bandwagon Watch: Everyone's new favorite team
(the Bengals) has a winnable one at Pittsburgh; the
Bucs can pull to .500 at Jacksonville.
Hmmm ...
BCS Watch
Before LSU can book a ticket to the Sugar
Bowl, it must jump two hurdles:
Arkansas on Friday: 8-3 Razorbacks are
underrated.
SEC title game: Opponent TBD (You'd think it
would come on the field -- Tenn at Ky, Fla hosts Fla
St, UGA at Ga Tech -- but, more than likely, the BCS
ranking Monday will have a say. Super.)
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IF YOU DON'T HAVE TIME TO READ THE FULL QUICKIE |
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| THANKSGIVING'S THREE HOTTEST STORIES |
1 Titanic NFL battles: NE at Indy (AFC); Phi at Car (NFC)
2 BCS clarity? LSU hosts tough Arkansas; SEC East settled
3 Friday night fights? Lakers, Spurs renew top NBA rivalry |
| THREE STORIES YOU SHOULD JUST LET GO |
1 Keyshawn: The team's moved on without ya, jackass
2 Michigan in Sugar Bowl: Not without MASSIVE upsets
3 That parade float you missed while cooking: Get over it
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Meanwhile: An automatic BCS bowl slot is on the
line when Pitt tries to add insult to Miami's
already-injured season. And it may be your last chance
to see Pitt's Heisman-candidate WR Larry Fitzgerald in the
college regular season, before he bolts for the
NFL.
More Rivalries
You know, I heard the funniest joke about
A&M fans from a Texas guy ... or was that a joke
about UT fans from an Aggie guy? Little do they know
the rest of the nation laughs at both sides.
College Hoops Ramp Up
Get your first taste of Duke's version of
Carmelo, Luol Deng, in a Great Alaska Shootout
first-round game Thursday (11:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2 ... if
the tryptophans haven't gotten you by then.)
Then Friday, the motherlode: Not ready to get
into college hoops yet? Make an exception: Florida vs.
Arizona in Springfield, Mass. (9 p.m., ESPN2) Final
Four brand-names, if not Final Four polish (yet).
Friday Night NBA
Best rivalry in the NBA? No contest:
The only teams to win a title this century -- the
Lakers vs. the Spurs (10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN). Shaq may
or may not be up for it,
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but Glove and Mailman? Meet
Mr. Duncan and start taking notes for the Western
Conference finals.
Family Football
Basic Rules for Extended-Family
Touch-Football Games:
* Split up you and your brothers: Games more
fair; penalties more authentic.
* It's all in the TD celebration: Go ahead, try
the Johnnie Morton "worm"!
* If Uncle Six-Pack mouths off one more time:
Feel free to "accidentally" clock him.
* Let the little tyke score: Encouraging him is
your unathletic family's best shot for raising a
college-football player.
* Ease up, Bear Bryant: It's all in good fun.
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Nebraska vs. Colorado
Of big Thurs/Fri college games (including Sugar contender LSU, BCS wannabe Texas and Eli Manning's Ole Miss), this one's the dud.
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Today on ESPN.com
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| P2: Thanks/No Thanks |
| P2: Turkeys of the Year |
| NFL: Week 13 Preview |
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| Ranking Thanksgiving leftovers: |  Turkey
| The KC Chiefs of the fridge
|  Gravy
| Yes, it's its own food group
|  Stuffing
| If any left over (doubtful)
|  Mashed potatoes
| Mmm ... cold empty carbs ...
|  Cranberry glop
| | Does anyone actually eat it? |
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NFL Week 13 office-pool suggestions: GB, Dal, Ind,
StL, Buf, Cin, Phi, Bal, Hou, Chi, Was, Den, KC, Sea,
TB, Ten ...
Did you thank your Thanksgiving dinner cooks?
Any 15 seconds of fame with a larger effort-to-payoff
ratio than being that Macy's Parade h.s. marching band
from American Samoa? ...
"Low-carb Thanksgiving": What the hell is
that? ...
This weekend marks the first of what will likely be
dozens of viewings this month of "A Christmas Story,"
best holiday movie ever ...
To paraphrase Jets coach Herman Edwards: HELLO?! WE
PLAY TO EAT THE FOOD! But, hey, if Atkins and SoBe
dieters want to leave the best meal of the year on the
table, more for the rest of us ...
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