Quote of the Day
“During this time of the year, I am constantly being reminded of the things in my life that I am most thankful for. Baseball is one of them. Baseball has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, and for the rest of my life I will be thankful for the opportunities and experiences it has given me. Time is precious.
I’m incredibly grateful for all the years I spent playing the game I love, but now it is time for me to spend it with the people who I’m most thankful for. Thank you to all of you who have been there for me throughout the years. It’s been an unbelievable ride.”
Brandon Crawford, who retired this week after 14 years in the major leagues

Thursday’s quiz
Hall of Fame QB Johnny Unitas played 18 years in the NFL, the first 17 for the Baltimore Colts; what team did Unitas play for in his last season?

Wednesday’s quiz
Detroit Lions beat the Vikings 16-13 in 2016, the last time Detroit won on Thanksgiving Day.

Tuesday’s quiz
Peyton Manning was the Broncos’ QB, the last time they made the playoffs, in 2015.

****************************************

Thursday’s Den: Happy Thanksgiving…….​

— Other than March, this might be the best week of the year for college basketball; ton of games on TV from all over the country, with games on very late at night. Good stuff.

— Auburn 90, Memphis 76
Auburn wins Maui Classic, scoring 86 ppg in three games.
Auburn is 7-0 already, with four top 40 wins.
Auburn shot 72% inside the arc.

— Alabama 95, Rutgers 90
Alabama was 10-25 on the arc, Rutgers 2-13
Bailey/Harper combined for 59 points for Rutgers; they’re both freshmen.
Alabama survived being minus-11 (20-9) in turnovers.

— Dayton 85, UConn 67
Defending national champ Huskies went 0-3 at the Maui Classic.
UConn is 4-3; four teams they beat are all ranked #321 or lower.

— West Virginia 86, Gonzaga 78 OT
Zags led by 5 with 0:25 left in regulation.
Senior G Small scored 31 points, had 7 rebounds for WVU
Gonzaga star Nembhard was 1-10 from the floor.

— Michigan State 94, North Carolina 91 OT
Spartans led by 14 late in first half.
UNC is 1-3 vs top 100 teams; they trailed by 21 in the one win.
Spartans are 6-2 despite shooting 22.4% on the arc (#361)

— Oregon 78, San Diego State 68
Ducks were 18-26 on foul line, Aztecs 4-8
Oregon out-rebounded San Diego State, 41-24.
Ducks are 7-0, with three top 100 wins.

— There were 12 teams that won Wednesday that trailed at one time by 10+ points.

— Wednesday night college basketball upsets:
West Virginia (+14.5) 86, Gonzaga 78 OT
Western Michigan (+9) 73, Youngstown State 62
Dayton (+7.5) 85, UConn 67
Appalachian State (+7) 66, Sam Houston State 63
Sacramento State (+6.5) 63, Air Force 61
Georgia State (+4.5) 74, Tulsa 71
Michigan State (+4.5) 94, North Carolina 91 OT

— Famous birthdays, November 28:
Paul Warfield, 82
Ed Harris, 74
S. Epatha Merkerson, 72
Preston Dennard, 69
Judd Nelson, 65
Jon Stewart, 62
Walt Weiss, 61
Johnny Newman, 61
John Burkett, 60
Matt Williams, 59
Leandro Barbosa, 42
Andrew Bogut, 40

— Louisville 89, Indiana 61
Cardinals are 4-1; experience team #10, continuity team #352
Last three years, Louisville was 25-71, 11-49 in ACC games.
Bringing in a boatload of transfers is making a big difference.

— Texas A&M 77, Creighton 73
Aggies scored 27 points in 1st half, 50 in 2nd half.
Creighton was 13-37 on the arc, 10-23 inside arc.
Bluejays are 0-3 vs top 100 teams, scoring 63 ppg.

— Sacramento State 63, Air Force 61
Hornets trailed by 17 late in first half.
Sac State shot 9-21 on arc (42.9%), 13-35 (37.1%) inside arc.

— Oklahoma 79, Providence 77
Senior G Elvis scored 26 points, had one assist- his job is to score.
Sooners shot 60% inside thew arc.
This was the first top 200 game for both teams.

— Michigan 78, Xavier 53
Wolverines shot 11-22 on the arc.
Michigan is 6-1, with the #15 eFG% in country.
New coach May is really good; he led FAU to Final 4 two years ago.

— Samford 84, Utah Valley 76
Samford starts 3 seniors; they trailed by 13 with 10:42 left to play.
Samford forced 23 turnovers (+10); they shot 55.8% inside arc.
Utah Valley started three sophs, two juniors. Experience matters.

— If you watch a basketball game on TV with no sound on, it is interesting to see how much contact the refs allow; watching the second half of Dayton-UConn as I type this, the officials are letting the guys play. You see lot of contact, without lot of fouls called.