GREAT TURKEY DAY LINEUP, K-STATE GETS A LITTLE SWAGGER & THE SANDUSKY MESS JUST GOT A LOT ICKIER
For the first time in many years the Thanksgiving Day football lineup is a dandy. Three NFL games that should be very competitive & a traditional college rivalry that stage it's last game for a while, maybe ever.
Green Bay at Detroit 11:30 AM FOX
This could be the loudest game ever played in Detroit Lions' history. It pits the 10-0 Packers against the 7-3 Lions. This should be a real test for the champs, can they go undefeated? Detroit, just how far back have they come? I'm not getting off a team that has won 16-straight going back to last year, but I do think the Lions are going to give them their toughest test of the season & maybe, just maybe................
Miami at Dallas 3:15 PM CBS
The Cowboys had better come ready to play, real focused like, the Dolphins aren't the pushover their 3-7 record might indicate. They've given up just 7 more points than they've scored & have won their last three games by a combined 66-points. Tony Sporano's guys are playing hard for him & if Dallas pulls their once a month letdown, they'll get beat. Your stat of the day, Tony Romo is 19-2 in the month of November.
San Francisco at Baltimore 7:20 PM NFL Network
Time for the Harbaugh Family Feud, Jim vs. John, 9-1 vs. 7-3. I like the Niners by a slim margin. Jim Harbaugh's record over the past two seasons at Stanford & with the Niners is a remarkable 21-2, this guy can coach. His brother is no slouch, but losing to Seattle, Jacksonville & Tennessee is a real concern & speaks to the teams focus. At least that's the way I see it. Two excellent defenses, two teams who pride themselves in pushing the other guy around. This ought to be a beauty.
Texas at Texas A&M 7:10 PM ESPN
I think the Longhorns are going to get their second goodbye beating from the other team leaving the Big-12. The Mizzou Tigers beat Texas a few weeks ago, holding them without a touchdown, 17-5. Texas just doesn't score enough to stay with the Aggies. Plus this is a huge, major, vitally important game for A&M to win. With the help of their famous "Twelfth Man" I think they will.
I love the swagger the Kansas State football program is exhibiting this season. They are selling T-Shirts commemorating their sweep of all four Texas teams this season. I marvel at the job head coach Bill Snyder has done since he was coaxed out of retirement.
Lotta talk about Urban Meyer going to Ohio State, like it's a done deal. It could be true, but what I'm hearing is Meyer is resisting any agreement because he doesn't want to work with Gene Smith, OSU athletic director. Meyer reportedly has little faith in Smith, he believes he has had way too many NCAA problems, which he has. The other issue is how little accountability Smith has shown with these violations, which is also true, I don't understand how he's kept his job. But if Meyer does take over the Buckeye program, I think in the matter of two years, he'll have OSU back to elite status.
The interest in what could be the last Border War/Showdown for a very long time, isn't what it once was. The 110th renewal of this bitter, bitter rivalry between the Missouri Tigers & Kansas Jayhawks will fall far short of a sellout in Arrowhead Stadium. Mizzou has sold more than their allotment of 30,000 tickets including 6,000 student tickets. But Kansas has sold only 10,000 tickets, just 500 to students. Granted the Jayhawks aren't a very good team, in fact they're not even competitive, but one would think the last game in this series would bring out a lot more KU fans. Really quite disappointing considering this game drew over 80,000 in 2007 & 2008. Last year the game's announced attendance was just over 55,000. That might be what we're going to see on Saturday.
Former Chiefs offensive guard Will Shields was selected as one of fifteen semi-finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He & Bill Parcells were the only candidates selected in their first year of eligibility. I've thought all along the 12-time Pro Bowl performer should be a first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee. Shields played in 223 consecutive games & was the NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year in 2003. Shields has worked tirelessly for a number of charities based in Kansas City & is one of the all-time franchise favorites.
The bad news keeps on comin' for the Buffalo Bills. On Wednesday they placed their leading rusher, Fred Jackson, on injured reserve because of a broken fibula. He was second in the NFL in yards from scrimmage. This pretty much seals Buffalo's fate this season. They're not going to make the playoffs without this key performer. Tough on Jackson as well, he turns 31 before the start of next season & was hoping for a contract upgrade. He would've easily gotten it too, but now, I'm not so sure. Very tough break for an excellent team player who leaves it all out on the field each & every Sunday.
Giants starting left tackle Will Beatty suffered a detached retina & will undergo surgery today. How long he'll be out of the lineup is unknown. The game between the Cleveland Browns & Cincinnati Bengals will be blacked out locally as it fell short of the required percentage of non-premium seat sales. Not so in St. Louis where Bud Light, the official beer of the Rams, bought up all the remaining tickets to give to numerous organizations & as promotional prizes, so thew thrilling matchup between 3-7 Arizona & 2-8 St. Louis will be televised locally. Unable to claim QB Kyle Orton on waivers, beaten to the punch by Kansas City, the Chicago Bears signed veteran signal caller Josh McCown. They said it was to backup Caleb Hanie, but I wonder if he won't be the starter soon.
The Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse case just got ickier on Wednesday when State Police revealed two more potential victims have come forward & both are still minors. One is a Sandusky family member. See what I mean? It's very likely the prosecutor will ask the judge who presided over the arraignment to revoke or at least modify Sandusky's bail. He's currently free on an unsecured $100,000 bond. Very soon, maybe Monday, I expect that to change.
I'd like to wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving Day. Be careful driving out there, don't get behind the wheel if you've had more than a couple of drinks, it's just too dangerous to you & anyone else on the roadways. I want to give special thanks to all of our men & women serving over seas, far from their loved ones on this holiday. Have a great day everybody!
Green Bay at Detroit 11:30 AM FOX
This could be the loudest game ever played in Detroit Lions' history. It pits the 10-0 Packers against the 7-3 Lions. This should be a real test for the champs, can they go undefeated? Detroit, just how far back have they come? I'm not getting off a team that has won 16-straight going back to last year, but I do think the Lions are going to give them their toughest test of the season & maybe, just maybe................
Miami at Dallas 3:15 PM CBS
The Cowboys had better come ready to play, real focused like, the Dolphins aren't the pushover their 3-7 record might indicate. They've given up just 7 more points than they've scored & have won their last three games by a combined 66-points. Tony Sporano's guys are playing hard for him & if Dallas pulls their once a month letdown, they'll get beat. Your stat of the day, Tony Romo is 19-2 in the month of November.
San Francisco at Baltimore 7:20 PM NFL Network
Time for the Harbaugh Family Feud, Jim vs. John, 9-1 vs. 7-3. I like the Niners by a slim margin. Jim Harbaugh's record over the past two seasons at Stanford & with the Niners is a remarkable 21-2, this guy can coach. His brother is no slouch, but losing to Seattle, Jacksonville & Tennessee is a real concern & speaks to the teams focus. At least that's the way I see it. Two excellent defenses, two teams who pride themselves in pushing the other guy around. This ought to be a beauty.
Texas at Texas A&M 7:10 PM ESPN
I think the Longhorns are going to get their second goodbye beating from the other team leaving the Big-12. The Mizzou Tigers beat Texas a few weeks ago, holding them without a touchdown, 17-5. Texas just doesn't score enough to stay with the Aggies. Plus this is a huge, major, vitally important game for A&M to win. With the help of their famous "Twelfth Man" I think they will.
I love the swagger the Kansas State football program is exhibiting this season. They are selling T-Shirts commemorating their sweep of all four Texas teams this season. I marvel at the job head coach Bill Snyder has done since he was coaxed out of retirement.
Lotta talk about Urban Meyer going to Ohio State, like it's a done deal. It could be true, but what I'm hearing is Meyer is resisting any agreement because he doesn't want to work with Gene Smith, OSU athletic director. Meyer reportedly has little faith in Smith, he believes he has had way too many NCAA problems, which he has. The other issue is how little accountability Smith has shown with these violations, which is also true, I don't understand how he's kept his job. But if Meyer does take over the Buckeye program, I think in the matter of two years, he'll have OSU back to elite status.
The interest in what could be the last Border War/Showdown for a very long time, isn't what it once was. The 110th renewal of this bitter, bitter rivalry between the Missouri Tigers & Kansas Jayhawks will fall far short of a sellout in Arrowhead Stadium. Mizzou has sold more than their allotment of 30,000 tickets including 6,000 student tickets. But Kansas has sold only 10,000 tickets, just 500 to students. Granted the Jayhawks aren't a very good team, in fact they're not even competitive, but one would think the last game in this series would bring out a lot more KU fans. Really quite disappointing considering this game drew over 80,000 in 2007 & 2008. Last year the game's announced attendance was just over 55,000. That might be what we're going to see on Saturday.
Former Chiefs offensive guard Will Shields was selected as one of fifteen semi-finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He & Bill Parcells were the only candidates selected in their first year of eligibility. I've thought all along the 12-time Pro Bowl performer should be a first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee. Shields played in 223 consecutive games & was the NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year in 2003. Shields has worked tirelessly for a number of charities based in Kansas City & is one of the all-time franchise favorites.
The bad news keeps on comin' for the Buffalo Bills. On Wednesday they placed their leading rusher, Fred Jackson, on injured reserve because of a broken fibula. He was second in the NFL in yards from scrimmage. This pretty much seals Buffalo's fate this season. They're not going to make the playoffs without this key performer. Tough on Jackson as well, he turns 31 before the start of next season & was hoping for a contract upgrade. He would've easily gotten it too, but now, I'm not so sure. Very tough break for an excellent team player who leaves it all out on the field each & every Sunday.
Giants starting left tackle Will Beatty suffered a detached retina & will undergo surgery today. How long he'll be out of the lineup is unknown. The game between the Cleveland Browns & Cincinnati Bengals will be blacked out locally as it fell short of the required percentage of non-premium seat sales. Not so in St. Louis where Bud Light, the official beer of the Rams, bought up all the remaining tickets to give to numerous organizations & as promotional prizes, so thew thrilling matchup between 3-7 Arizona & 2-8 St. Louis will be televised locally. Unable to claim QB Kyle Orton on waivers, beaten to the punch by Kansas City, the Chicago Bears signed veteran signal caller Josh McCown. They said it was to backup Caleb Hanie, but I wonder if he won't be the starter soon.
The Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse case just got ickier on Wednesday when State Police revealed two more potential victims have come forward & both are still minors. One is a Sandusky family member. See what I mean? It's very likely the prosecutor will ask the judge who presided over the arraignment to revoke or at least modify Sandusky's bail. He's currently free on an unsecured $100,000 bond. Very soon, maybe Monday, I expect that to change.
I'd like to wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving Day. Be careful driving out there, don't get behind the wheel if you've had more than a couple of drinks, it's just too dangerous to you & anyone else on the roadways. I want to give special thanks to all of our men & women serving over seas, far from their loved ones on this holiday. Have a great day everybody!
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