Calvin Johnson

The Rundown: 5 Things to Know About Thanksgiving Football Traditions

The tradition of football and Thanksgiving has been around forever. It’s like the gravy to the turkey. It’s also a great way to sleep off your food coma or to converse with your second cousin who you have nothing in common with. Now you do – sports.  

From our family to yours – Happy Thanksgiving,

The Last Night’s Game Team

PS – Looking for pointers on Thanksgiving table topics that don’t involve politics? Check out our new segment “Sports Curious” today on CBS Ch. 6 at noon CST. You can stream it live here. (Click watch live now).

Five Things to Know About Thanksgiving Football Traditions

  1. Former NFL player, coach, broadcaster and video game namesake (Madden NFL) started the tradition of awarding the “Turkey Leg” back in the 80s. The leg of the turkey was given to the MVP of the game. What if you have more than one MVP? Obviously you need more legs on the turkey. So he started "creating" turkeys with more legs. (He took them off of other turkeys – this isn’t the Frankenstein people).  
  2. The “Turkey Leg” tradition ran until 2002 when it was replaced with the “Galloping Gobbler” trophy which is now given to the best player in the FOX-broadcasted Thanksgiving game.
  3. The Detroit Lions and the Dallas Cowboys have hosted the most home Thanksgiving Day games in the NFL. (BTW – The Cowboys are having a stellar season lead by rookies Dax Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott).
  4. The Jacksonville Jaguars have never played on Thanksgiving Day. 
  5. Canadians also watch football on Thanksgiving. They watch the CFL (Canadian Football League) on their Thanksgiving which is in October. 

Here's the complete Thanksgiving Day schedule. 

NHL (National Hockey League)

  • Knighting ceremony. Las Vegas was granted the rights to an expansion NHL team in June and last night we found out the team's name. Drumroll please....welcome the “Vegas Golden Knights.”

NCAA Basketball (College)

Overtime

  • Olympic gymnastics gold medalist Laurie Hernandez was the favorite heading into season 23 of Dancing with the Stars. In the season finale her twinkle toes did not disappoint. She took home the famed mirror ball trophy as the big winner over IndyCar Driver James Hinchcliffe. (Former NFL player Calvin Johnson came in third place). 

Sideline stat

  • Tuesday night’s MLS (Major League Soccer) Eastern Conference Finals playoff game between the Montreal Impact and Toronto FC was delayed 40 minutes after it was discovered the goal box line was drawn two feet too narrow. If you remember from childhood soccer, the goal box is important because it’s the designated area where the goalie, no other player, can touch the ball with their hands. Who won the game? See here.

Coaches’ corner

  • U.S.A. Men’s National Soccer Team fired head coach Jurgen Klinsmann after five years as head coach. The team hasn’t been playing too well. His team failed to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games and their recent losses in World Cup qualifying leaves them on the verge of not even making it into the 2018 World Cup. Former head coach Bruce Arena was named as the new coach. Arena previously served in the role from 1998-2006.

The Rundown: Weekend Wrap Up - Let's Not Talk Politics

The weekend may be over but let’s celebrate the short week. We’re giving you something else to celebrate – the sports conversation. This way you don’t have to talk about politics at the Thanksgiving dinner table. Don’t ask Grandma what she thought about Hamilton because either way you lose.

But you’re a winner to us,

The Last Night’s Game Team

NCAA Football (College)

  • Never too late. South Carolina State gave a new meaning to senior day. With a three-yard rush Joe Thomas Sr. (55) became the oldest player to ever play in a Division I college football game. Thomas' son, Joe Jr., plays for the Green Bay Packers (NFL). 
  • Don't be upset. After last weekend's upsets, the only team in the top 10 to lose this weekend was Louisville. Don’t expect to see too much of a change when the College Football Playoff rankings are released tomorrow night. 

NFL (National Football League)

  • For the history books. Dallas Cowboys’ rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott broke the rookie rushing record that has stood since 1977. He’s not stopping there since the Cowboys still have six games left to play.
  • South of the border. The Oakland Raiders and Houston Texans will play tonight in Mexico City. Will the exposure for the NFL be worth the physical toll the game may take on the two teams? The game will be played at Azteca Stadium which sits 2,000 feet higher than the Denver Broncos’ Mile High Stadium. Oh and the pollution factor? Athletes who have played there said it’s one of the worst places to play a sporting event because you can’t breathe from the terrible pollution.

Overtime

  • Tonight starts a two night finale for Dancing with the Stars. Out of the four dancers left, three are athletes – James Hinchcliffe (IndyCar driver), Laurie Hernandez (U.S. Olympic gymnast) and Calvin Johnson (former NFL player). The odds have Hernandez as the front runner but some are calling Hinchcliffe the “best male dancer ever on the show.” Put on your sequins and tune in to see.  

Sideline stat

  • There were crashes and cars engulfed in flames and that was just the last few laps. The entire NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) “Chase for the Cup” came down to the final few laps in Miami. Jimmie Johnson won the race and the Sprint Cup Championship giving him seven career championships, tying legends Dale Earnhardt, Sr. and Richard Petty. At the age of 41, Johnson is the youngest of the three to reach this accomplishment. 

Coaches’ corner

  • You had one job. The NFL moved the extra point kick (which happens after a touchdown) from the two-yard line to the 15-yard line at the start of last season to increase the excitement on the seemingly automatic kick. Well the NFL got their wish on Sunday as place-kickers set a record, missing 12 extra points throughout the day.

The Rundown: 5 Things to Know About College Football

Whether you like it or not this weekend is the first full-blown weekend of college football. Hence today’s five things to know about college football.

 

There goes the neighborhood,

The Last Night’s Game Team

 Five Things To Know About College Football

  1. The college football regular season consists of 12 games. There are 10 conferences that encompass most of the 128 of the top programs in college football. These 10 conferences and the four independent teams (don't belong to any league) are eligible for the national championship. The conference names are referred to in a bunch of acronyms - ACC, AAC, Big 10, Big 12, Conference USA, MWC, MAC, Pac 12, Sun Belt and SEC.
  2. The sport of college football is big business with some head coaches making as much if not more than NFL coaches. Sponsorships are a source of revenue and the University of Michigan recently inked a deal with Jordan, a Nike brand. The deal runs through 2027 with an option to go to 2031. If it runs its full course, the school will pocket a minimum of $173 million including $85 million in Nike apparel/products.
  3. The perfect cheer isn’t only reserved for Will Ferrell and Cheri Oteri on Saturday Night Live. Plenty of icons once ran the sidelines. Samuel L. Jackson, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Meryl Streep and three former U.S.A. Presidents all had spirit. We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the marching band. In college you would’ve found Halle Barry, Steven Spielberg, Alan Greenspan and Lionel Richie entertaining you in formation at halftime.  
  4. You can watch a game with 100,000 of your closest friends at the biggest stadiums in college football. That’s a whole lot of foam fingers. 
    1. University of Michigan (the Big House) 107,601
    2. Penn State (Beaver Stadium) 106,572
    3. Ohio State (The Horseshoe) 105,944
  5. The deep-seated passion for college football goes back generations, giving us some incredible rivalries. Rivalries are typically built on proximity and recruiting battles. Three of the biggest and longest lasting rivalries include:
  • Michigan/Ohio State- The neighboring states have a fierce rivalry and two of the biggest stadiums in the country.
  • Army/Navy- This game is the only game played in week 15 of the season and it is built more on tradition and respect than the other rivalries.
  • Oklahoma/Texas- “Red River Rivalry” takes place in the historic Cotton Bowl during the Texas state fair. The Red River separates the two bordering states where apparently the rivalry was born.  

NCAA Football (College)

  • Didn’t bring their A game. ESPN made a huge deal about kicking off the college football season last week with Cal-Hawaii playing in Australia. Like Kevin in Home Alone, it appears they forgot someone. Oh yeah, the guys broadcasting the game. Turns out this isn’t the first time that ESPN didn’t fork out the dough to send the crew. They instead called the game from the ESPN HQ in Connecticut. Queue the controversy. Fans were disappointed with the broadcast’s lack of knowledge about the teams as well as the disconnect in the play-by-play.  

NFL (National Football League)

  • That's no good. Minnesota Vikings starting quarterback Teddy Bridgewater suffered a knee injury and initial reports say he’s out for the season. Hope he wasn’t on your fantasy football team.

Overtime

  • The lineup for the next season of Dancing with the Stars has been announced and there is no shortage of high profile athletes who will be competing for the mirror ball trophy. They include:
    • Laurie Hernandez aka the Human Emoji – U.S.A. Olympic gymnastics gold medalist and member of the “Final Five”
    • Calvin Johnson - recently retired Detroit Lions receiver
    • Ryan Lochte – U.S.A. Olympic swimming gold medalist (who allegedly agreed to do the show before the bathroom fiasco in Rio)
    • James Hinchliffe – An IndyCar driver who was in a crash in May 2015 that almost killed him

The show starts on September 12 on ABC and in case those athletes didn’t entice you to watch, Vanilla Ice and Babyface are also in the lineup.

Sideline stat

  • He may have held an impressive exhibition workout for 28 of 30 MLB teams but former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow has zero MLB (Major League Baseball) contract offers. He does however have offers to play in an independent league and in Venezuela.

Coaches’ corner

  • Former NBA superstar and hall of famer, Shaquille “Shaq” O’Neal found a new coach - adventure and outdoor guru Bear Grylls. The two went into the wild and it was hilarious. The 7’ 1” star rappelled walls with his size 22 feet, slept under the cover of leaves and ate a very interesting dinner. If you didn’t see it, check out this clip for a Wednesday laugh.

 

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