WFIF Sports AM: Watchlist for Thanksgiving weekend

Please enjoy this in-depth viewing guide to plan your Thanksgiving weekend sports consumption.

🏈 TURKEY AND FOOTBALL

When you think of Thanksgiving, turkey is probably the first thing that comes to mind, but football must be a close second. And for the first time ever, Black Friday is included in the fun this year.

Thanksgiving Day:

• Lions vs. Packers (+7.5) (12:30 p.m. ET, Fox): Since 1934 (aside from World War II), when the team moved to the Motor City, Detroit has held Thanksgiving Day games annually. The idea was proposed by the new owner as a means of drawing spectators to the Tigers-crazed city.
• Cowboys Commanders (+11) (4:30 p.m., CBS): Since 1966, Dallas has hosted in all but two of those years because general manager Tex Schramm believed it would increase national exposure for his team. They became referred to as "America's Team" ten years later. I suppose it was successful.
• Seahawks vs. 49ers (-7) (8:20 p.m., NBC): In 2006, the NFL added a third Thanksgiving Day game, providing fans with a primetime matchup to end an eleven-hour football and food fest.

The league's inaugural Black Friday game will be streamed by Amazon as part of its $11 billion streaming agreement for "Thursday Night Football." Given that Amazon is the biggest online retailer in the world, you can expect to see plenty of Black Friday deals during the livestream.

• Jets vs. Dolphins (-10) (3 p.m., Prime Video): Given that the Giants are playing on Christmas and that New York is the retail capital of the country, the NFL decided to name the Jets as the inaugural host team.

Sunday:

• Early window: Buccaneers (+2.5) at Colts (1pm, CBS); Patriots (-3) at Giants (1pm, Fox); Jaguars (-1.5) at Texans (1pm, CBS); Panthers (+3.5) at Titans (1pm, Fox); Saints (-1) at Falcons (1pm, Fox); Steelers (-1) at Bengals (1pm, CBS);
• In the afternoon, the following games will air on Fox: Browns (+2.5) vs. Broncos (4:05 p.m.); Rams (-1) vs. Cardinals (4:05 p.m.); Chiefs (-9) vs. Raiders (4:25 p.m.); Bills (+3) vs. Eagles (4:25 p.m.)
• Chargers vs. Ravens (-3.5) tonight (8:20 p.m., NBC)

🏈 COLLEGE FOOTBALL: RIVALRY WEEK

We're approaching Rivalry Week, when college football's regular season comes to an end with a plethora of intriguing matchups highlighted by Saturday's annual "The Game."

No. 3 Michigan vs. No. 2 Ohio State (12 p.m. ET, Fox): The matchup between the unbeaten Buckeyes and Wolverines this year should be even more intense than usual because Michigan is still dealing with the aftermath of their sign-stealing scandal. This rivalry is already the most intense in college football.

• What's at stake: The victor goes to the Big Ten title game, while the loser has to wait and hope that their 11-1 ranking is retained by the College Football Playoff committee.
• Recent history: The Wolverines have won the last two games, including their first victory in Columbus since 2000, after the Buckeyes won eight straight from 2012 to 19.
• A rare underdog: Michigan is favoured by 3.5 points, which is the biggest margin of victory over another Big Ten team (also Michigan) that Ohio State has faced since 2018.

More Rivalry Week: Over the course of the extended weekend, there are over sixty more games, but twelve stand out as the ones you should really watch.

• 120th Egg Bowl: Mississippi State vs. No. 12 Ole Miss (-10) on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.
• This Friday at 7:30 p.m. on ABC, Texas Tech (+12.5) takes on No. 7 Texas in the 73rd Battle for the Chancellor's Spurs.
• The 127th Battle for the Platypus Trophy* pits No. 6 Oregon against No. 16 Oregon State (+13.5) on Friday at 8:30 p.m. on Fox.
• No. 14 LSU vs. Texas A&M (+11) (Sat. 12pm, ESPN): This is the 62nd meeting between two teams that aren't exactly fierce rivals, but should still be a good game.
• The 35th Battle for the Governor's Cup will pit Kentucky (+7) against No. 10 Louisville (Sat., ABC, 12 p.m.).
• Auburn at No. 8 Alabama (-14.5), Saturday at 3:30 p.m. on CBS, is the 88th Iron Bowl.
• Arizona State vs. No. 15 Arizona (-10.5), Saturday at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN, is the 97th Duel in the Desert.
• Minnesota (FS1) vs. Wisconsin (-2): The 133rd** Battle for Paul Bunyan's Axe, Saturday, 3:30 p.m.
• This Saturday at 4 p.m. on Fox, Washington State (+16.5) takes on No. 4 Washington in the 115th, though not the final, Apple Cup.
• Florida at Florida (Sat., 7 p.m., ESPN): No. 5 Florida State (-6.5) in the 67th Florida Cup.
• Georgia Tech vs. No. 1 Georgia (-24.5), Saturday, 7:30 p.m., ABC: Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate returns for its 117th installment. Such a name, with no notes.
• The 113th Carolina-State Game, which unquestionably needs a better moniker, will take place on Saturday at 8 p.m. on the ACC between North Carolina (-2.5) and No. 22 NC State.

Additionally, on Tuesday, the updated College Football Playoff rankings were made public. The most significant adjustment was when Washington moved up to replace Florida State as the No. 4 ranking, surpassing the Seminoles.

*The Oregon vs. Oregon State game was formerly known as the Civil War, but in 2020, that term was dropped due to its "association with a conflict waged to maintain slavery." On the other hand, the Platypus Trophy has existed since 1959, despite a forty-year hiatus.

⚽️ MLS PLAYOFFS

There are eight clubs left in the running for the MLS Cup, and this weekend's conference semifinals will decide which ones go to the final four.

Eastern Conference: On Saturday, the East will begin play.

• No. 3 Columbus versus No. 2 Orlando (5:30 p.m. ET, Apple): Orlando hopes to defeat two-time champion Columbus, who last won in 2020, and move on to their first conference finals.
• No. 4 Philadelphia vs. No. 1 Cincinnati (8 p.m., Apple): The Union, who finished second last year, are also vying for their first championship, while Cincinnati*, the winners of the Supporters' Shield, hopes to build on their finest campaign since joining MLS in 2019.

Western Conference: The four West teams that will play on Sunday are all past champions.

• No. 8 Sporting KC vs. No. 4 Houston (7 p.m., Apple/FS1): After moving from San Jose, Houston won two straight MLS Cups in 2006–07, but they haven't won since. In contrast, two-time champion KC hasn't won in ten years.
• No. 3 LAFC vs. No. 2 Seattle (9:30 p.m., Apple): Seattle, the defending champion, takes on LAFC, the defending champion, fresh off their first-ever postseason absence.

*Coach of the Year: In his second season as head coach of Cincinnati, Pat Noonan led the team to the best record in the league. He was named Coach of the Year on Tuesday.

⚽️ ROAD TO THE COLLEGE CUP

The men's and women's Elite Eight and Sweet 16 soccer tournaments are coming to an end this weekend, with the higher seeds hosting and all games available to stream on ESPN+.

Women: The College Cup (Final Four), which starts on December 1, is where the winners go.

• No. 5 Nebraska vs. No. 2 Stanford (Friday, 5 p.m. ET)
• Pittsburgh at No. 7 vs. No. 1 Florida State on Friday at 5:30 p.m.
• No. 3 North Carolina vs. No. 1 BYU (Friday, 8 p.m.)
• No. 2 Penn State vs. No. 1 Clemson on Saturday at 1pm

Men: The Elite Eight, which starts on December 1, is where the winners go.

• Vermont vs. West Virginia, No. 5 (Sat., 4pm)
• No. 6 SMU at 8 p.m. against Oregon State
• James Madison vs. Loyola Marymount (Sat. 10pm)
• Indiana vs. No. 7 Virginia (Sun., 1pm)
• No. 16 Stanford vs. No. 1 Marshall (Sun. 1pm)
• Western Michigan vs. No. 2 Notre Dame (Sun. 5pm)
• No. 9 Clemson vs. No. 8 New Hampshire (Sun. 5pm)
• No. 14 Hofstra vs. No. 3 North Carolina (Sun. 5pm)

🎾 DAVIS CUP FINALS: THE WORLD CUP OF TENNIS

Eight countries are competing in the Davis Cup Finals in Málaga, Spain, with the goal of winning the world tennis championship.

As of right now, Finland defeated defending champion Canada in the first quarterfinal on Tuesday. Three more matches are scheduled for today and tomorrow. The finals take place on Sunday (10 a.m. ET, tennis) following the semifinals on Friday and Saturday.

• Australia vs. the Czech Republic (Tuesday, 10am, Tennis)
• Netherlands vs. Italy (Tuesday, 4am, Tennis)
• Great Britain vs. Serbia (Tuesday, 10am, Tennis)

National victories: Of the seven still standing, five have achieved one victory or more.

• Australia: 28 (as of 2003, at the latest)
• United Kingdom: 10 (2015)
• Czechia: 3 (2013)
• Serbia *: 1 (2010)
• Italy: 1 (year 1976).
• Netherlands: In 2001, they advanced to the semifinals.
• Finland: They've never advanced to the final eight before.

*Djokovic wins again? Already this year, Novak Djokovic has achieved three Grand Slams and an unprecedented seventh ATP Finals championship. Is he going to add another significant trophy this weekend?