July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Holiday weekend prime for sports
Thanksgiving Day has always been about reflecting on the things we are thankful for.
Most also associate it with family gatherings and abundant food — turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes aplenty.
Ever since the Detroit Lions hosted the Chicago Bears on Thanksgiving Day in 1934, it has meant football.
The tradition of the Thanksgiving Day games grew even more when the Dallas Cowboys began hosting a second annual game in 1966. And the NFL has even added a third game in recent years.
But sports and the extended Thanksgiving weekend have grown well beyond the gridiron.
The five days beginning tonight are loaded with sporting events, including college basketball tournaments, NBA games, college football battles with national championship implications, the standard NFL fare and even a little English Premier League Soccer.
With so much going on, it can be difficult to sneak in a game while also traveling, visiting with family and friends, and, of course, eating until the last crumb of pumpkin pie is gone. The rest of this column will try to help solve that problem as, starting with tonight, it focuses on the games a sports fan does not want to miss.
Today
NBA basketball
Indiana Pacers at Charlotte Bobcats
7 p.m. – FSI
So maybe this isn’t a marquee match-up. Charlotte has been among the dregs of the NBA for quite a while. But the way the Pacers are playing to open the season, it’s a mistake to miss watching them any time they take the floor.
Perhaps there were some who thought Indiana pushing the Miami Heat to the brink last season was a fluke. The Pacers quickly proved it was anything but.
With Paul George playing like an MVP candidate, Indiana won its first nine games. It finally stumbled against an always-tough Chicago squad on Nov. 15, but has kept right on rolling since then.
George is continuing to prove he is one of the best players in the league as he ranks fifth in the NBA in points per game at 24.3. He’s also adding 6.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.9 steals per game.
Lance Stephenson is building off of his breakout postseason performance, averaging 13.2 points, six rebounds and 5.4 assists per game. Indianapolis native George Hill, David West and Roy Hibbert are all averaging double-figure points as well, and Hibbert leads the league in blocks at 4.1 per game.
Charlotte is certainly far from being an Eastern Conference contender, but it has gotten off to a better start than expected by playing some stellar defense.
But tuning in to watch this game really has nothing to do with the Bobcats and everything to do with the team that plays its home games at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
It’s a chance to see the Pacers win their fifth straight game and 14th of the season. It’s a chance to appreciate them playing basketball the way it’s supposed to be played, with a focus on tough, gritty defense — they’re giving up a league-low 87.4 points per game — and sharing the ball on offense.
If they keep playing the way they have been, they could have home court advantage in June. And remember, all the success thus far has come with former all-star Danny Granger still on the sidelines.
Thursday
NFL football
Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions
12:30 p.m. – FOX
Over the years, more and more emphasis has been placed on the offensive side of the ball.
Rules have been changed to keep quarterbacks upright and allow receivers to run free.
The theory is that fans like scoring, and a more wide-open passing game leads to more points.
If that theory is, in fact, true, fans should love this game because it sets up as a Thanksgiving Day shootout.
On one side, there are the Detroit Lions, the team that started this whole idea of playing football on this holiday. They rank third in the league in passing yards and are one of seven teams in the league averaging more than 26 points per game.
Detroit has the benefit of lining up the best receiver in the league, Calvin Johnson. Megatron was already a beast before 2012, when he caught 122 passes for a single-season record 1,964 yards. Only one other player (Jerry Rice) had ever broken the 1,800-yard mark.
Green Bay is right behind the Lions at 25.8 points per game and ranks in the top six in the NFL in both passing and rushing yards per game. While the Packers don’t have a superstar pass catcher, they seem to just keep finding receivers who can get the job done.
Even undrafted free agent quarterback Scott Tolzien was averaging more than 300 yards through the air in the first three starts of his career before getting benched Sunday in favor of Matt Flynn.
But more than for the offense, watch this game because it could go a long way toward deciding who wins the NFC North title.
The Packers are 0-3-1 since All-Pro quarterback Aaron Rodgers suffered a shoulder injury.
But if they can win this game, they will still be in the playoff hunt when Rodgers returns to the huddle.
If Detroit wins, it will have the inside track to the division title coming off of a dismal 2012 campaign. The Lions have already beaten Chicago twice, giving them the advantage in a potential tiebreaker, and a victory would put them 1.5 games ahead of the Packers.
Friday
College basketball
Duke vs. Arizona
NIT Season Tip-Off Championship
6 p.m. – ESPN
Of all the many college basketball tournaments — the Maui Invitational, John Wooden Legacy and Old Spice Classic among them — going on this week none has a better chance of producing a classic championship game than the tournament that plays its final four in Madison Square Garden.
If all goes as planned, sixth-ranked Duke will play No. 4 Arizona in the championship game. (This is being written before the semifinal round of the tournament is played, so it’s possible Drexel or Alabama could still crash the party.)
Let’s start with Coach K’s team.
The Blue Devils are what they always are under Mike Krzyzeski, a national title contender. Duke’s lone loss in the early going came at a neutral site against No. 2 Kansas, but the Blue Devils have rolled in each of their other games.
Arizona’s record is unblemished as to this point the Wildcats have not been challenged. They’ve won every game by double digits and have their sights set on building off of their Sweet 16 appearance in last season’s NCAA Tournament.
Duke brings the star power, with highly-touted NBA prospect Jabari Parker averaging 23 points per game while playing just 29 minutes. He’s shooting 58 percent from the field and grabbing 8.8 rebounds per game.
Rodney Hood adds another 21.8 points per contest, giving the Blue Devils a dynamic scoring duo.
Arizona strikes more of a balance, with five players averaging between 10 and 17 points led by Nick Johnson (16.8). They put an emphasis on defense, having held every opponent to 62 points or fewer and ranking in the top 15 in the nation in defensive field goal percentage at 40.4.
It’s far too early to be filling out brackets or making NCAA championship picks, but these games — battles away from home against quality opponents — are the kind that reveal whether or not a team has what it takes to compete to cut down the nets.
Saturday
College football
Alabama at Auburn
3:30 p.m. – CBS
If the team up north would get its act together, Saturday’s game between the Buckeyes and Wolverines would be the undisputed choice for this slot year in and year out. But things aren’t going so well in The Big House this season.
So while Ohio State plays a part in the national championship picture, no game Saturday is bigger than the Iron Bowl.
In order for the Buckeyes, who have won 23 consecutive games, to have a chance to play for the national title this season, either No. 1 Alabama or No. 2 Florida State must lose. The Crimson Tide faces perhaps its biggest challenge of the season this week as it visits fourth-ranked Auburn.
The defending national champions, who have won three titles in the last four years, sport the best defense in the nation, allowing just 9.3 points per game. C.J. Mosely leads the effort with 88 tackles this season, including nine for a loss.
Alabama is almost as strong on the offensive side of the ball, averaging nearly 40 points to rank 14th in Division I.
Auburn lost to LSU in September, but has come back to win seven in a row behind the country’s second-best rushing offense (320.3 yards per game). Four different Tiger running backs have gained at least 500 yards this season, including 1,153 for Tre Mason to go along with 17 touchdowns.
Nick Marshall has added nine TDs and is also on pace to clear the 1,000-yard mark.
Auburn has the chance to be the spoiler for its in-state rival, but the Tigers are playing for so much more than that. If they win, they would move ahead of Alabama for first place in the Southeastern Conference’s West Division and would have a chance to play jump into the national title picture if Ohio State or Florida State were to falter.
Sunday
NFL football
Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs
4:25 p.m. – CBS
Normally this slot would be reserved for the Indianapolis Colts. But the Colts’ game against a sub.-500 Tennessee team is just not that interesting, especially given the way they’ve played the last few weeks.
So instead, it’s a former Colt who played his college football at the University of Tennessee who takes Sunday’s center stage.
Peyton Manning once again has the Denver Broncos, whose only losses came on the road at Indianapolis and New England, on track to be the AFC’s No. 1 seed.
Manning hasn’t slowed down much since his seven-touchdown season opener. Two years after some thought his career might be over because of repeated neck surgeries, he leads the league in passing yards per game (338), passer rating (114.5) and touchdowns. If he averages three TD passes per game the rest of the way, he will break the single-season record of 50 set by Tom Brady in 2007.
Denver also has the advantage of a resurgent Knowshon Moreno in the running game, and a rush defense that ranks fifth in the NFL.
Kansas City, with new coach Andy Reid and new quarterback Alex Smith, were the last remaining undefeated team in the league. But since their bye they’ve lost back-to-back games to the Broncos and Chargers.
The Chiefs’ success was based heavily on a stifling defense that was allowing just 12.3 points per game before giving up a total of 68 in the last two weeks. But Kansas City lost past rushers Tamba Hali and Justin Houston to injuries in Sunday’s loss to San Diego.
This game is huge in the AFC West title picture after Denver blew a 24-0 lead Sunday night in an overtime loss to New England.
Kansas City would pull even atop the division with a victory and have a chance to earn a valuable Arrowhead home-field advantage for the Players. A win by Manning and the Broncos would put them right back in control of the race for the No. 1 seed in the conference.
••••••••••
There is plenty to watch throughout the weekend, but if choices must be made, the five games above should be atop the list.
Still, if another option — the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry in college football, one of the variety of college basketball tournaments or even soccer — seem enticing, don’t be shy with the remote.
There’s nothing wrong with sneaking an extra piece of pumpkin pie this weekend, and there’s no problem with taking in an extra game either.[[In-content Ad]]
Most also associate it with family gatherings and abundant food — turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes aplenty.
Ever since the Detroit Lions hosted the Chicago Bears on Thanksgiving Day in 1934, it has meant football.
The tradition of the Thanksgiving Day games grew even more when the Dallas Cowboys began hosting a second annual game in 1966. And the NFL has even added a third game in recent years.
But sports and the extended Thanksgiving weekend have grown well beyond the gridiron.
The five days beginning tonight are loaded with sporting events, including college basketball tournaments, NBA games, college football battles with national championship implications, the standard NFL fare and even a little English Premier League Soccer.
With so much going on, it can be difficult to sneak in a game while also traveling, visiting with family and friends, and, of course, eating until the last crumb of pumpkin pie is gone. The rest of this column will try to help solve that problem as, starting with tonight, it focuses on the games a sports fan does not want to miss.
Today
NBA basketball
Indiana Pacers at Charlotte Bobcats
7 p.m. – FSI
So maybe this isn’t a marquee match-up. Charlotte has been among the dregs of the NBA for quite a while. But the way the Pacers are playing to open the season, it’s a mistake to miss watching them any time they take the floor.
Perhaps there were some who thought Indiana pushing the Miami Heat to the brink last season was a fluke. The Pacers quickly proved it was anything but.
With Paul George playing like an MVP candidate, Indiana won its first nine games. It finally stumbled against an always-tough Chicago squad on Nov. 15, but has kept right on rolling since then.
George is continuing to prove he is one of the best players in the league as he ranks fifth in the NBA in points per game at 24.3. He’s also adding 6.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.9 steals per game.
Lance Stephenson is building off of his breakout postseason performance, averaging 13.2 points, six rebounds and 5.4 assists per game. Indianapolis native George Hill, David West and Roy Hibbert are all averaging double-figure points as well, and Hibbert leads the league in blocks at 4.1 per game.
Charlotte is certainly far from being an Eastern Conference contender, but it has gotten off to a better start than expected by playing some stellar defense.
But tuning in to watch this game really has nothing to do with the Bobcats and everything to do with the team that plays its home games at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
It’s a chance to see the Pacers win their fifth straight game and 14th of the season. It’s a chance to appreciate them playing basketball the way it’s supposed to be played, with a focus on tough, gritty defense — they’re giving up a league-low 87.4 points per game — and sharing the ball on offense.
If they keep playing the way they have been, they could have home court advantage in June. And remember, all the success thus far has come with former all-star Danny Granger still on the sidelines.
Thursday
NFL football
Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions
12:30 p.m. – FOX
Over the years, more and more emphasis has been placed on the offensive side of the ball.
Rules have been changed to keep quarterbacks upright and allow receivers to run free.
The theory is that fans like scoring, and a more wide-open passing game leads to more points.
If that theory is, in fact, true, fans should love this game because it sets up as a Thanksgiving Day shootout.
On one side, there are the Detroit Lions, the team that started this whole idea of playing football on this holiday. They rank third in the league in passing yards and are one of seven teams in the league averaging more than 26 points per game.
Detroit has the benefit of lining up the best receiver in the league, Calvin Johnson. Megatron was already a beast before 2012, when he caught 122 passes for a single-season record 1,964 yards. Only one other player (Jerry Rice) had ever broken the 1,800-yard mark.
Green Bay is right behind the Lions at 25.8 points per game and ranks in the top six in the NFL in both passing and rushing yards per game. While the Packers don’t have a superstar pass catcher, they seem to just keep finding receivers who can get the job done.
Even undrafted free agent quarterback Scott Tolzien was averaging more than 300 yards through the air in the first three starts of his career before getting benched Sunday in favor of Matt Flynn.
But more than for the offense, watch this game because it could go a long way toward deciding who wins the NFC North title.
The Packers are 0-3-1 since All-Pro quarterback Aaron Rodgers suffered a shoulder injury.
But if they can win this game, they will still be in the playoff hunt when Rodgers returns to the huddle.
If Detroit wins, it will have the inside track to the division title coming off of a dismal 2012 campaign. The Lions have already beaten Chicago twice, giving them the advantage in a potential tiebreaker, and a victory would put them 1.5 games ahead of the Packers.
Friday
College basketball
Duke vs. Arizona
NIT Season Tip-Off Championship
6 p.m. – ESPN
Of all the many college basketball tournaments — the Maui Invitational, John Wooden Legacy and Old Spice Classic among them — going on this week none has a better chance of producing a classic championship game than the tournament that plays its final four in Madison Square Garden.
If all goes as planned, sixth-ranked Duke will play No. 4 Arizona in the championship game. (This is being written before the semifinal round of the tournament is played, so it’s possible Drexel or Alabama could still crash the party.)
Let’s start with Coach K’s team.
The Blue Devils are what they always are under Mike Krzyzeski, a national title contender. Duke’s lone loss in the early going came at a neutral site against No. 2 Kansas, but the Blue Devils have rolled in each of their other games.
Arizona’s record is unblemished as to this point the Wildcats have not been challenged. They’ve won every game by double digits and have their sights set on building off of their Sweet 16 appearance in last season’s NCAA Tournament.
Duke brings the star power, with highly-touted NBA prospect Jabari Parker averaging 23 points per game while playing just 29 minutes. He’s shooting 58 percent from the field and grabbing 8.8 rebounds per game.
Rodney Hood adds another 21.8 points per contest, giving the Blue Devils a dynamic scoring duo.
Arizona strikes more of a balance, with five players averaging between 10 and 17 points led by Nick Johnson (16.8). They put an emphasis on defense, having held every opponent to 62 points or fewer and ranking in the top 15 in the nation in defensive field goal percentage at 40.4.
It’s far too early to be filling out brackets or making NCAA championship picks, but these games — battles away from home against quality opponents — are the kind that reveal whether or not a team has what it takes to compete to cut down the nets.
Saturday
College football
Alabama at Auburn
3:30 p.m. – CBS
If the team up north would get its act together, Saturday’s game between the Buckeyes and Wolverines would be the undisputed choice for this slot year in and year out. But things aren’t going so well in The Big House this season.
So while Ohio State plays a part in the national championship picture, no game Saturday is bigger than the Iron Bowl.
In order for the Buckeyes, who have won 23 consecutive games, to have a chance to play for the national title this season, either No. 1 Alabama or No. 2 Florida State must lose. The Crimson Tide faces perhaps its biggest challenge of the season this week as it visits fourth-ranked Auburn.
The defending national champions, who have won three titles in the last four years, sport the best defense in the nation, allowing just 9.3 points per game. C.J. Mosely leads the effort with 88 tackles this season, including nine for a loss.
Alabama is almost as strong on the offensive side of the ball, averaging nearly 40 points to rank 14th in Division I.
Auburn lost to LSU in September, but has come back to win seven in a row behind the country’s second-best rushing offense (320.3 yards per game). Four different Tiger running backs have gained at least 500 yards this season, including 1,153 for Tre Mason to go along with 17 touchdowns.
Nick Marshall has added nine TDs and is also on pace to clear the 1,000-yard mark.
Auburn has the chance to be the spoiler for its in-state rival, but the Tigers are playing for so much more than that. If they win, they would move ahead of Alabama for first place in the Southeastern Conference’s West Division and would have a chance to play jump into the national title picture if Ohio State or Florida State were to falter.
Sunday
NFL football
Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs
4:25 p.m. – CBS
Normally this slot would be reserved for the Indianapolis Colts. But the Colts’ game against a sub.-500 Tennessee team is just not that interesting, especially given the way they’ve played the last few weeks.
So instead, it’s a former Colt who played his college football at the University of Tennessee who takes Sunday’s center stage.
Peyton Manning once again has the Denver Broncos, whose only losses came on the road at Indianapolis and New England, on track to be the AFC’s No. 1 seed.
Manning hasn’t slowed down much since his seven-touchdown season opener. Two years after some thought his career might be over because of repeated neck surgeries, he leads the league in passing yards per game (338), passer rating (114.5) and touchdowns. If he averages three TD passes per game the rest of the way, he will break the single-season record of 50 set by Tom Brady in 2007.
Denver also has the advantage of a resurgent Knowshon Moreno in the running game, and a rush defense that ranks fifth in the NFL.
Kansas City, with new coach Andy Reid and new quarterback Alex Smith, were the last remaining undefeated team in the league. But since their bye they’ve lost back-to-back games to the Broncos and Chargers.
The Chiefs’ success was based heavily on a stifling defense that was allowing just 12.3 points per game before giving up a total of 68 in the last two weeks. But Kansas City lost past rushers Tamba Hali and Justin Houston to injuries in Sunday’s loss to San Diego.
This game is huge in the AFC West title picture after Denver blew a 24-0 lead Sunday night in an overtime loss to New England.
Kansas City would pull even atop the division with a victory and have a chance to earn a valuable Arrowhead home-field advantage for the Players. A win by Manning and the Broncos would put them right back in control of the race for the No. 1 seed in the conference.
••••••••••
There is plenty to watch throughout the weekend, but if choices must be made, the five games above should be atop the list.
Still, if another option — the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry in college football, one of the variety of college basketball tournaments or even soccer — seem enticing, don’t be shy with the remote.
There’s nothing wrong with sneaking an extra piece of pumpkin pie this weekend, and there’s no problem with taking in an extra game either.[[In-content Ad]]
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