Free Republic

Besides being a big day for eating, Thanksgiving is a big day for another American tradition: football-watching. A new working paper, however, makes this ritual a bit more ominous than turkey-stuffing. The study, by the economists David Card at Berkeley and Gordon B. Dahl at the University of California-San Diego, looked at police reports of family violence on Sundays during the professional football season. (An earlier, free version of the study is here.) The researchers were interested in what happened when a home team suffered an upset, which they defined as losses in games that the home team had been...

Top 10: 1: UF 2: 'Bama 3: Texas 4: TCU 5: Cinn 6: Boise State 7: GT 8: Oregon 9: Pitt 10: THE Ohio State University

Maybe the doubters will finally go away. They should. Not one Big East football team was ranked among the Top 25 in preseason polls. Now, as the college football season is concluding two teams are in the Top Ten and one is in the Top Five. During the season there were as many as four teams ranked in the Top 25. Think about the significance of this. Half of the teams in the Big East conference were ranked among the Top 25 in the nation. What other college football conference can make such a claim? The University of Cincinnati is...

After 74 seasons, Northeastern is axing its football program. NU athletic director Peter Roby informed parents of the school’s decision last night via an e-mail, which was obtained by the Herald. Roby simultaneously met with the team on campus to break the news. “The decision was a difficult one, made all the more difficult because of the respect and admiration I have for our coaches and players,” Roby said in the e-mail. “Despite my personal feelings toward them I am convinced that this decision is in the best interest of the university. The past several years have been disappointing for...

CLEVELAND (AP)—Former Seattle and Green Bay coach Mike Holmgren is interested in working for the struggling Cleveland Browns. Holmgren said on his weekly radio show on Seattle’s KJR that he has not yet spoken to Browns owner Randy Lerner, who is looking for a “serious, credible leader” football authority to run his struggling team. However, Holmgren did indicate he would welcome the chance to take on a rebuilding project like the 1-8 Browns. “It takes a tremendous amount of energy, but there is a certain appeal there,” the 61-year-old Holmgren. “There’s something in my personality, too, that taking on those...

Texas began the night 10 – 0. Their path to the Big 12 South is clear with a win against Kansas. But never count your opponent out, especially when the opponent is looking to redeem themselves after a five game loosing streak. “We will see a team in here from Kansas that is excited about playing, trying to right their wrongs from over the past five weeks, and trying to get in a bowl game,” Said Coach Mack Brown. “They have us and then their rivalry game with Missouri the next week, so they have a lot to play for.”

It's always an interesting experience as a Christian critic to attend a film preview in Los Angeles, especially when the film is as enriching and pro-Christian as The Blind Side, which relates the true story of Baltimore Ravens rookie Michael Oher. As a poor teenager living in one of the most dangerous projects of Memphis, Oher's life changes the day Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock) sees him walking on the side of the road at night in the dead of winter in nothing but shorts and a T-shirt. Taking the Good Samaritan example to heart, Bible-believing Leigh Anne brings Michael...

Detainees at a camp in Baghdad, Iraq have found a way to get under the skin of guard troops from Wisconsin. And it has to do with football and a painful chapter for some Green Bay Packers fans who consider Brett Favre a traitor for joining the rival Minnesota Vikings. First Lieutenant Tim Boehnen of New Richmond says the detainees are familiar with Favre and picked up on the troops' discussion about the quarterback's performance with the Vikings. Lt. Col. Tim Donovan says the detainees at Camp Cropper needle the guards about Favre's success as a Viking.

Sporting News fans love to argue over their favorite football announcers. Reporters and editors from Sporting News and SportsBusiness Journal/SportsBusiness Daily do too, and have come together to produce their list of the Top 25 Football Broadcasters. Gary Danielson named top football broadcaster.CBS college football analyst Gary Danielson leads the list, followed by Cris Collinsworth and Al Michaels of NBC's "Sunday Night Football." All active television play-by-play broadcasters and analysts in pro and college football were considered for the list.

This month is the centennial of what has all but been forgotten — a moment that could have ended football in America but instead forced the sport down a different, better path. Football was so gruesome at the turn of the century that in 1905, no less than President Roosevelt himself demanded that the sport clean itself up, and the notorious flying wedge was banned. However, by ought-nine, as they said back then, it was still a brutal battle royal. In the season's championship match — what may be called the first "game of the century" — The New York...

SANTA ANA, CA—A former high school and college football star who briefly played with the Tennessee Titans was sentenced this afternoon to 57 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to fraud charges related to a $5 million Ponzi scheme. Reed Kyle Diehl, 31, of Coto de Caza, was sentenced by United States District Judge David O. Carter, who noted the “extraordinary” harm caused by Diehl’s scheme. Diehl pleaded guilty in July to three counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering, admitting that he bilked investors with promises of high rates of returns on investments in loan...

SOUTH BEND, IN - Notre Dame Greets a New Pro-life Bishop While Father Jenkins Continues to Serve on a Pro-abortion Board. Father Jenkins declared that Notre Dame “engaged with” President Obama because “we care so much” about abortion and embryonic stem cell research. We will from time to time examine the nature and degree of this professed concern. We recently recounted Father Jenkins’s refusal to suggest the dropping of the trespass charges against the so-called “Notre Dame 88,” as well as the reasons for skepticism about his action in setting up a task force on life issues. Here, we...

I haven’t seen “The Blind Side” yet, so I won’t say anything about the quality of the film. But based on the trailer and the true story, my wife and I are as excited about this as any film in a long time. It tells the true story of the adoption of Michael Oher by the Tuohy family in Tennessee and how they helped him go from homeless teenager to professional football star....We’re especially excited because we’re big adoption advocates, currently in the middle of our first of many planned adoptions. Also, the Tuohys happen to be conservative Christians like...

They're not a member of any conference and you’ll never be able to follow their standout players to the NFL. Nothing about the Navy football team screams “pay attention to me.”

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to revive a lawsuit on behalf of Native American activists who claimed that the Washington Redskins' team name is so offensive that it does not deserve trademark protection. The court without comment refused to get involved in the long-running dispute. The decision essentially lets stand a lower court ruling that the activists waited too long to bring the challenge.

Top 10: 1: Florida 2: 'Bama 3: Texas 4: TCU 5: Cincinnati 6: Boise State 7: Georgia Tech 8: LSU 9: Pitt 10: THE Ohio State University

All-American Michael Oher went from the streets as a 15-year-old son of a crack addict to potential NFL Rookie of the Year on the love and dedication of an adoptive family that wouldn’t let him fail. The movie that tells their story hits theaters in time for National Adoption Day—and recognition that about 130,000 Michael Ohers are waiting for a family to adopt them Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy adopted as a family motto, "To whom much is given, much is required," they had no idea just how much would be required, nor that they were adopting far more than...

Live thread oppurtunity. Trapped in work, listening to the game on radio in my work vehicle. Any takers......Go Pats

Josh Cribbs walks with late coach's son on his senior night In a dismal year for the Cleveland Browns, wide receiver/returner Josh Cribbs has proved to be one of the only bright spots. Last month he showed he's equally good off the field. The Pro Bowler traveled to Berea, OH to walk onto the field on senior night with the son of one of his former college coaches. Michael Drake, a senior receiver at Stow High School, lost his father, Mike, in 2005 to lymphoma. He had assumed he'd be accompanied by his mother and sister for senior night introductions...

Not sure if the usual folks couldn't start the thread so here's one in case the real real thread doesn't start

Each Sunday, Peyton Alsobrook, a 19-year-old freshman at Auburn University, gets together with his Alpha Tau Omega fraternity brothers to compare notes on the women they take on dates to Saturday football games. Those who seem bored are eliminated from further consideration, he says, along with any who might talk too much during a close game "because they're from up North or something." As the all-important Alabama game approaches, Mr. Alsobrook says he's narrowed his list of potential dates to four. The winner, he says, will get a coveted ticket to the big game and, beyond that, special treatment that...

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When Notre Dame Head Football Coach Charlie Weis showed up for his first day on his new job under the Golden Dome, there was a short letter waiting for him in the middle of his desk. It was from Charlie's predecessor, Ty Willingham. The letter read as follows: Dear Coach Weis, Congratulations on being named as Notre Dame's football coach. It is truly an honor and a privilege to represent this University and coach these outstanding young men. You have a wealth of experience that has prepared you for the challenges you will face, but I suspect that you may...

Top 10: 1: Florida 2: 'Bama 3: Texas 4: TCU 5: Cincinnati 6: Boise State 7: Gerogia Tech 8: LSU 9: USC 10: Iowa Computer put 'Bama back up over Texas. TCU leaped over Cincinnati to take the top spot for highest ranked non-BCS team. Despite losing LSU gained a spot. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/ncaa/polls/bcs/

No one knows for sure what the outcome of the game would have been if Kris Brown's field goal attempt would have been good as time expired in Indianapolis on Sunday. But we do know that the game would have been extended to overtime; and the way the Texans’ offense was clicking, chances are, they probably would have found the end zone.

It was an eerily warm November morning when I arrived in South Bend yesterday with my son, Gary, to attend the Notre Dame-Navy battle. "What a beautiful day for a game!" I exclaimed to my son as we listened unsuspectingly to the band's pre-game rendition of the Notre Dame Victory March. Little did we know that we were not about to witness a football game, but a funeral. For not only did the Naval Academy's efficient yet stunning 23-21 victory, their second in three years against the Irish after Notre Dame had defeated them 43 years in a row,...

The likelihood of outrage seems inevitable this year in college football: The BCS controversy, which even President Obama has issued proclamations about, seems ready to explode, since six undefeated teams - two from minor conferences - survive with only three games left in the season. Two conferences, Mountain West and Western Athletic (WAC) are excluded from automatic participation in the BCS, and must compete for one of two wildcard teams, and both still have undefeated teams. But should a team which has gone undefeated and unchallenged take a slot from Alabama or Florida, which are likely to also go undefeated......

Charlie Weis likes his team's chances of earning a Bowl Championship Series berth -- if No. 19 Notre Dame keeps winning. Gator Bowl president Rick Catlett does, too. Catlett said the Gator Bowl would love to have a Fighting Irish team that finishes 10-2, but can't imagine it happening.

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NEW YORK — Maryland and South Carolina will wear uniforms with camouflage designs during their games Nov. 14 to honor military veterans and promote the Wounded Warrior Project. The black with tan camouflage uniforms, designed by Under Armour, will have a Wounded Warrior logo on them. Instead of players' names, the backs of the jerseys will have words such as courage, loyalty, integrity and service. "Ooooh," South Carolina defensive tackle Ladi Ajiboye said Tuesday after seeing the camouflage cleats the Gamecocks will wear. "I could wear these the whole season." The Wounded Warrior Project acts as an advocate for injured...

1 Florida 2 Texas 3 Alabama 4 Iowa 5 Cincinnati 6 TCU 7 Boise State 8 Oregon 9 LSU 10 Georgia Tech

Covered in blood, this is Marlon King's victim minutes after he smashed her in the face. Emily Carr was punched so powerfully by the footballer that she felt she had been hit with a brick. Her nose is permanently disfigured. King, 29, a £35,000-a-week striker for Premier League Wigan Athletic, was jailed on Thursday for lashing out at the 20-year-old student when she spurned his crude advances in a club...

The long awaited match-up between the top two teams in the country turned out to truly be a battle with No. 2 Navarro College coming away with a hard-fought 23-20 victory over No. 1 Blinn College.

Are the Longhorns ready? More specifically are Colt McCoy and his wide receivers ready? Colt seems to think so, “Everybody wants to play and be a part of what we’re doing,” McCoy said. “When you have a little competition…it requires them to come to practice and be prepared every day. If they have a good week of practice, they know you’ll see them get a chance to play more on Saturday. It has helped us and you can see it in our offensive work.” The Cowboys seem to be ready for the challenge too. “I always felt good about playing...

FORT WORTH – A deal to make it easier for visitors in town for the 2011 Super Bowl to get to Cowboys Stadium could be close, a spokesman for Union Pacific Railroad said Thursday. UP has been in talks with Super Bowl host committee officials for months over a rare agreement that would let the region run passenger rail cars along busy freight lines owned by the railroad. Passengers headed to the big game could leave from rail stations in Fort Worth or Dallas, and would be dropped off near downtown Arlington, less than a mile from the stadium. Shuttles...

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers, safety Darren Sharper of the New Orleans Saints and kick returner-wide receiver Johnny Knox of the Chicago Bears are the NFC Offensive, Defensive and Special Teams Players of the Month for October, the NFL announced today.

It took a while, but Jonathan Nelson finally discovered the secret to getting on the field for No. 22 Oklahoma: peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. A string of injuries had held Nelson back since he arrived on campus in 2006, but the last hurdle he had to clear before earning some playing time was convincing secondary coach Bobby Jack Wright that he had put enough meat on his slight frame to play safety. That's where the PB&J came in. Strength and conditioning coach Jerry Schmidt put Nelson on a diet requiring him to eat several peanut butter and jelly sandwiches...

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WASHINGTON -- Mr. Conyers intends to focus this hearing specifically on brain injuries -- and on their ramifications in college and high school football as well.

If the Redskins keep running their team as they are, we're going to have to do a Washington-only offshoot of Shutdown Corner, dealing with nothing but the exploits of Danny "Commodus" Snyder's Declining Roman Empire. There are a lot of great stories in the NFL this year, and it's not our intent to ignore or shortchange them, but geez ... how do you not whack hanging sliders like these over the wall? Dan Steinberg of the indispensable D.C. Sports Bog put up a post today based on signs he picked out of various garbage cans outside FedEx Field. The signs...

Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez took a little break from Sunday's game against the Raiders to enjoy a delicious Oakland hot dog. During the final minutes of the game, CBS cameras caught the USC alum chowing down. "I wasn't feeling very good and didn't eat much before the game, so I was feeling a little queasy," Sanchez told the Associated Press. "Toward the end of the game, I probably should have eaten one of those bars or something, but someone offered (a hot dog), so I grabbed it and tried to be discreet about it, but obviously not discreet enough. So...

Can anyone at ESPN keep a job? The network suspended Bob Griese today for a racist remark he made about NASCAR driver Juan Pablo Montoya. While he was calling Saturday's Minnesota-Ohio State game, Griese made a crack about Montoya saying he was "out having a taco." Montoya is Colombian. ESPN is yanking Griese off the air for one week, and a rep for the network says Griese "understands the comment was inappropriate." Yesterday ESPN fired baseball analyst Steve Phillips after news broke of his sex scandal with a production assistant.

The 49ers had pulled to within three and were driving with 1:38 remaining in the game....

Even with no time on the clock the top-ranked Blinn Buccaneers scored points in their homecoming game against Cisco College to log their eighth win of the season and set up a showdown with No. 2 Navarro next Saturday in Corsicana. The Bucs scored seven touchdowns in the first half and five in the second half to win 84-13 at Spencer Stadium.

Last play of the game, 4th down!!! Hawks win!!! 8-0 BAYBEE!!!!

WASHINGTON — The Washington Redskins front office capped a week of high drama Friday with an unexpected vote of confidence in coach Jim Zorn. "Jim Zorn is the head coach of the Washington Redskins and will be for the rest of this season, and hopefully into the future," executive vice president of football operations Vinny Cerrato said on his radio show on ESPN980.

On Sept. 5, while Florida feasted on Charleston Southern and Texas opened with Louisiana-Monroe, the Oklahoma Sooners played a strong BYU team on a neutral field. That’s when Sam Bradford sprained his shoulder while being sacked, an injury that derailed OU’s title hopes. A week later, while Florida annihilated Troy and Texas blew out Wyoming, Southern California played at Ohio State.

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Angelo, look at the way your son's eyes darken now. Look how he balls up his fists and uncrosses his legs, as if he's uncomfortable, as if he suddenly remembered someplace he needs to be. Look how the smile on his face—the smile that punctuates all the stories he tells, like the one about Bear Bryant wanting a lane of traffic cleared for his team (the Pennsylvania governor said no), or the time at a coaches' convention that Dan Devine mentioned an unnamed loudmouth coach at Oklahoma, and Barry Switzer shouted, "Switzer!" and raised his hand—look how that grandfatherly smile...