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🏈 TURKEY AND FOOTBALL
Turkey is probably the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Thanksgiving, but football has got to be a close second. And this year, for the first time ever, the fun extends to Black Friday.
Thanksgiving Day:
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Packers (+7.5) at Lions (12:30pm ET, Fox): Detroit has hosted a Thanksgiving Day game every year since 1934 (save during World War II) — their first year in the Motor City — after the new owner conceived of the idea as a way to attract fans in the Tigers-crazed city.
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Commanders (+11) at Cowboys (4:30pm, CBS): Dallas has hosted in all but two years since 1966, when GM Tex Schramm thought it would garner more national publicity for his franchise. A decade later, they came to be known as “America’s Team.” Guess it worked.
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49ers (-7) at Seahawks (8:20pm, NBC): The NFL added a third Thanksgiving Day game in 2006, giving viewers a primetime matchup to cap an 11-hour day of food and football.
Black Friday: Amazon is streaming the league’s first-ever Black Friday game as part of its $11 billion deal to stream “Thursday Night Football.” As you might imagine, given Amazon’s place as the world’s largest online retailer, there will be Black Friday deals aplenty during the livestream.
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Dolphins (-10) at Jets (3pm, Prime Video): The NFL chose the Jets as the inaugural host because New York is the nation’s retail capital, and the Giants are playing on Christmas.
Sunday:
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Early window: Saints (-1) at Falcons (1pm, Fox); Steelers (-1) at Bengals (1pm, CBS); Panthers (+3.5) at Titans (1pm, Fox); Buccaneers (+2.5) at Colts (1pm, CBS); Patriots (-3) at Giants (1pm, Fox); Jaguars (-1.5) at Texans (1pm, CBS)
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Afternoon: Browns (+2.5) at Broncos (4:05pm, Fox); Rams (-1) at Cardinals (4:05pm, Fox); Chiefs (-9) at Raiders (4:25pm, CBS); Bills (+3) at Eagles (4:25pm, CBS)
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Night: Ravens (-3.5) at Chargers (8:20pm, NBC)
Further reading: Week 12 power rankings
🏈 COLLEGE FOOTBALL: RIVALRY WEEK
Rivalry Week is upon us, as college football’s regular season concludes with a with a slate of tantalizing matchups headlined by Saturday’s game of the year, also known simply as “The Game.”
No. 2 Ohio State at No. 3 Michigan (12pm ET, Fox): Already the most bitter rivalry in college football, this year’s game between the undefeated Buckeyes and Wolverines should be even more heated as Michigan continues to deal with the fallout of their sign-stealing scandal.
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What’s at stake: The winner advances to the Big Ten championship game, while the loser must wait and hope the College Football Playoff committee still picks them at 11-1.
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Recent history: The Buckeyes won eight straight from 2012-19, but the Wolverines have won the last two, including their first win in Columbus since 2000.
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A rare underdog: Michigan is favored by 3.5 points, marking the first time since 2018 that Ohio State has been an underdog against another Big Ten team (it was Michigan that time, too).
More Rivalry Week: There are more than 60 additional games over the long weekend, but a dozen of them stick out as the best to tune in for.
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No. 12 Ole Miss (-10) at Mississippi State (Thu. 7:30pm, ESPN): The 120th Egg Bowl.
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Texas Tech (+12.5) at No. 7 Texas (Fri. 7:30pm, ABC): The 73rd Battle for the Chancellor’s Spurs.
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No. 16 Oregon State (+13.5) at No. 6 Oregon (Fri. 8:30pm, Fox): The 127th Battle for the Platypus Trophy*.
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Texas A&M (+11) at No. 14 LSU (Sat. 12pm, ESPN): The 62nd meeting between schools that don’t register as huge rivals, but should deliver a solid game nonetheless.
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Kentucky (+7) at No. 10 Louisville (Sat. 12pm, ABC): The 35th Battle for the Governor’s Cup.
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No. 8 Alabama (-14.5) at Auburn (Sat. 3:30pm, CBS): The 88th Iron Bowl.
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No. 15 Arizona (-10.5) at Arizona State (Sat. 3:30pm, ESPN): The 97th Duel in the Desert.
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Wisconsin (-2) at Minnesota (Sat. 3:30pm, FS1): The 133rd** Battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe.
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Washington State (+16.5) at No. 4 Washington (Sat. 4pm, Fox): The 115th, but not final, Apple Cup.
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No. 5 Florida State (-6.5) at Florida (Sat. 7pm, ESPN): The 67th Florida Cup.
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No. 1 Georgia (-24.5) at Georgia Tech (Sat. 7:30pm, ABC): The 117th edition of Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate. What a name; no notes.
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North Carolina (-2.5) at No. 22 NC State (Sat. 8pm, ACC): The 113th edition of the Carolina-State Game, which definitely needs a better name.
Plus… The new College Football Playoff rankings were released on Tuesday. The most notable change was Washington swapping spots with Florida State, overtaking the Seminoles as the new No. 4.
*The Oregon-Oregon State game was long called the Civil War, but that name was abandoned in 2020 because “it represents a connection to a war fought to perpetuate slavery.” The Platypus Trophy, however, has been around since 1959 — though it did disappear for four decades.
**The most-played matchup in FBS history.
⚽️ MLS PLAYOFFS
Eight teams remain in contention for the MLS Cup, with this weekend’s conference semifinals determining who’ll advance to the final four.
Eastern Conference: The East kicks things off on Saturday.
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No. 2 Orlando vs. No. 3 Columbus (5:30pm ET, Apple): Orlando hopes to advance to their first conference finals against two-time champion Columbus, who last won in 2020.
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No. 1 Cincinnati vs. No. 4 Philadelphia (8pm, Apple): Supporters’ Shield winner Cincinnati* looks to continue their best season since joining MLS in 2019, while the Union — last year’s runner-up — are also still seeking their first title.
Western Conference: All four teams in the West, playing on Sunday, have won the title before.
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No. 4 Houston vs. No. 8 Sporting KC (7pm, Apple/FS1): Houston won consecutive MLS Cups in 2006-07, their first years after moving from San Jose, but haven’t won again since; two-time champion KC haven’t won in a decade.
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No. 2 Seattle vs. No. 3 LAFC (9:30pm, Apple): Two-time champion Seattle, coming off their first-ever missed postseason, face reigning champion LAFC.
*Coach of the Year: Pat Noonan was named Coach of the Year on Tuesday after leading Cincinnati to the league’s best record in his second year at the helm.
⚽️ ROAD TO THE COLLEGE CUP
The NCAA Division-I soccer tournaments are nearing the finish line, as the women’s Elite Eight and men’s Sweet 16 are this weekend with the higher seeds hosting and all games streaming on ESPN+.
Women: Winners advance to the College Cup (Final Four), which begins Dec. 1.
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No. 2 Stanford vs. No. 5 Nebraska (Fri. 5pm ET)
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No. 1 Florida State vs. No. 7 Pittsburgh (Fri. 5:30pm)
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No. 1 BYU vs. No. 3 North Carolina (Fri. 8pm)
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No. 1 Clemson vs. No. 2 Penn State (Sat. 1pm)
Men: Winners advance to the Elite Eight, which also begins Dec. 1.
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No. 5 West Virginia vs. Vermont (Sat. 4pm)
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No. 6 SMU vs. Oregon State (Sat. 8pm)
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Loyola Marymount vs. James Madison (Sat. 10pm)
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No. 7 Virginia vs. Indiana (Sun. 1pm)
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No. 1 Marshall vs. No. 16 Stanford (Sun. 1pm)
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No. 2 Notre Dame vs. Western Michigan (Sun. 5pm)
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No. 8 New Hampshire vs. No. 9 Clemson (Sun. 5pm)
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No. 3 North Carolina vs. No. 14 Hofstra (Sun. 5pm)
Further reading: Six stunning upsets from the men’s second round (NCAA)
🎾 DAVIS CUP FINALS: THE WORLD CUP OF TENNIS
The Davis Cup Finals are underway in Málaga, Spain, as eight nations take the court in hopes of being crowned world tennis champions.
Where it stands: Finland upset reigning champion Canada in the first quarterfinal on Tuesday, with three more matchups coming today and tomorrow. The semifinals are on Friday and Saturday, and the finals are on Sunday (10am ET, Tennis).
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Czech Republic vs. Australia (Wed. 10am, Tennis)
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Italy vs. Netherlands (Thu. 4am, Tennis)
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Serbia vs. Great Britain (Thu. 10am, Tennis)
Victories by nation: Five of the seven remaining nations have won at least once.
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🇦🇺 Australia: 28 (most recently in 2003)
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🇬🇧 Great Britain: 10 (2015)
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🇨🇿 Czech Republic: 3 (2013)
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🇷🇸 Serbia*: 1 (2010)
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🇮🇹 Italy: 1 (1976)
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🇳🇱 Netherlands: They reached the semifinals in 2001.
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🇫🇮 Finland: This is their first time reaching the final eight.
*Another win for Djokovic? Novak Djokovic’s incredible year has already featured three Grand Slams and a record-breaking seventh ATP Finals title. Could he add yet another major trophy this weekend?
📺 MORE TO WATCH
If football, soccer or tennis aren’t your thing, the holiday weekend also brings plenty of basketball, hockey, racing… and more soccer.
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🏀 NBA: Bucks at Celtics (Wed. 7:30pm ET, ESPN); Warriors at Suns (Wed. 10pm, ESPN); Heat at Knicks* (Fri. 7:30pm, ESPN); Spurs at Warriors* (Fri. 10pm, ESPN) … Full slate.
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🏀 NCAAM: No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 7 Tennessee (Wed. 2:30pm, ESPN); No. 2 Purdue vs. No. 4 Marquette (Wed. 5pm, ESPN); No. 21 Michigan State at No. 3 Arizona (Thu. 4pm, Fox); No. 17 Alabama vs. Ohio State (Fri. 7pm, CBSSN) … Full slate.
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🏀 NCAAW: No. 19 Tennessee vs. No. 21 Indiana (Thu. 6pm, Fox); No. 3 Colorado vs. No. 10 NC State (Sat. 1pm, ESPN+); No. 19 Tennessee vs. No. 22 Oklahoma (Sat. 1:30pm, Women’s Sports Network) … Full slate.
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🏒NHL: Bruins at Panthers (Wed. 7pm, TNT); Golden Knights at Stars (Wed. 9:30pm, TNT) … Four of the league’s seven best records.
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⚽️ Premier League: Man City vs. Liverpool (Sat. 7:30am, Peacock); Tottenham vs. Aston Villa (Sun. 9am, USA) … Top-five matchups.
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🏁 Q1: Abu Dhabi GP (Sun. 8am, ESPN) … Season finale.
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⚽️ Women’s Champions League: Matchday 2 (Wed-Thu, YouTube) … Eight games.
*NBA in-season tournament: Friday’s 10-game slate is the penultimate day of the in-season tournament’s group stage. Here’s where things stand.
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