In these trying times and shutdowns and small gatherings of eight people or less for Thanksgiving, I guess we still have NFL football on Turkey Day.

In a roundabout way, the franchise that started the tradition was located just up the river in Portsmouth, Ohio and they were called the Spartans. The Spartans moved to Detroit in 1934 and became the Lions. It was their first year in Detroit after a local radio executive, George A. Richards, had purchased the Portsmouth (Ohio) Spartans and moved the team to Detroit. The Spartans were members of the NFL from 1930-33.

The new owner wanted to make an impact in the Motor City, so he decided to play a game on Thanksgiving. The Chicago Bears were picked to play the Lions in the first NFL Thanksgiving game. The 26,000 tickets for the Turkey Day clash in the University of Detroit Stadium, were sold out two weeks in advance of the game. It was estimated that another 25,000 would have attended had there been seats available. Thus, the football-on-Thanksgiving tradition became firmly established in Detroit. With the exception of a six-season gap from 1939-44, the Thanksgiving Day game has been played with no interruptions so far in 2020.

The answer to last week’s trivia question was that Ronald Regan portrayed Notre Dame QB, George Gipp in the Knute Rockne movie. The first to answer were Tom Sims, Peggy Frame, Greg Himes, Junior Griffin along with Joe Goecke, Mallory Denham and Brennan Ivory.

This week’s question: Morehead State Cheerleader squads have won many NCAA National titles. The Eagles have won four national titles in another sport also.

What sport is it?

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This week’s picks: (Last week 13-4, YTD, 140-40, 78%)

Notre Dame over North Carolina: Tough ACC road game for the Irish, but I pick them by three.

Oregon over Oregon State: I pick the Ducks to beat the Beavers by a touchdown in this bitter rivalry game.

Iowa over Nebraska: The Hawkeyes are simply the better team.

TCU over Kansas: The Jayhawks have COVID problems as this one gets out of hand quickly.

Clemson over Pittsburgh: The Tigers may finally get to play a game.

Florida over Kentucky: The SEC gives the ‘Cats no favor as Bama last week and this week a game in the Swamp.

Georgia over South Carolina: The Dogs looked bad last week, but no problem versus the Gamecocks.

Michigan over Penn State: Remember when this was a must-see game?

North Carolina State over Syracuse: The Wolfpack roll in this one.

Indiana over Maryland: This will be a good game, but I pick the Hoosiers at home.

Ohio State over Illinois: The Buckeyes can just name the final score in this mismatch.

Alabama over Auburn: This Iron Bowl will be a close game for three quarters and then the Tide rolls.

Mississippi over Mississippi State: The Rebels can flat out score, and they win the Egg Bowl by 10.

Texas A&M over LSU: The Tigers looked better last week, but better is not enough in this SEC West game.

Boston College over Louisville: This game will be a close game, but I pick the men from Beantown.

Northwestern over Michigan State: I never thought I would ever pick the Wildcats to beat the Spartans.

West Virginia over Oklahoma: My Big Upset pick of the week as I think the Mountaineers can pull off the stunner.