Erin Andrews Is Team McNuggets, Jimmy Butler Brings Back The Sky Hook, Football Viewing During Fall Wedding & More Thanksgiving Eve Fun
And most importantly, let's not dare let a wedding get in the way. Remember, this week - and all of November - is about priorities: football, food and family.
Save the nuptials for post-football season, or whenever it is that they play the Pro Bowl. Or is it the Pro Bowl Games? I don't know. Doesn't matter. Just say "I don't" and not "I do" during fall.
Allow me to elaborate...
Fall Wedding Didn't Prevent Me From Watching Ohio State
Last Saturday I was at the dredded fall wedding. No issues with the bride and groom (they're great) or the food/drinks/venue. 5 stars all around. But, this was, indeed, a wedding that took place on a fall Saturday. Like most of the attendees, I am an Ohio State fan. The wedding ceremony was at 4:30 p.m. Ohio State played Minnesota - whom apparently still has a college football team - at 4.
Not ideal.
Ohio State was favored by more than four touchdowns, so it wasn't like any of us felt the need to watch every snap. But, all of us from the Buckeye state did want to make sure the Scarlet and Gray were running on all cylinders before this weekend's tilt with Connor Stalions' Wolverines.
Which is precisely why we toasted the internet, and not the bride and groom later that evening. See, without the ol' world wide web, and cellphones, we wouldn't have been able to watch any of Saturday's action.
Fall wedding 101: (Photo c/o my iPhone.)
This was the setup my wife's hero of a cousin had, seated directly next to me. This is a must at any and all fall weddings. Volume down, action up. Most importantly, make sure you're seated at least three rows back and in the middle of the aisle. Let the wives pay attention to the bouqette and cummerbunds while we quietly feast on football until the open bar welcomes us back.
Or, just encourage your friends and families to avoid getting married during football season.
3 NFL Games But Sadly, No Barry Sanders Or Randy Moss
Speaking of the pigskin, as is the norm, 3 NFL games will be played tomorrow. It's an NFC-heavy slate with the Turkey Day mainstays, Detroit hosting Green Bay and Dallas welcoming Washington. The evening has the 49ers visiting Seattle.
That's a surprisingly good trio of games, especially considering the Lions no longer suck. Anyway, I'm looking forward to wagering on all the games while coordinating my first, second and third meals with kickoff of each.
*If you hate your money, side with me and take the over (47) in Green Bay/Detroit, Washington (+10.5) and San Francisco (-7), then prepare yourself a stiff drink. Numbers c/o PointsBet.
My only wish is that we could go back to Thanksgiving's past to watch Barry Sanders and Randy Moss earn their John Madden turkey leg awards.
Barry's the best I ever saw do it. I was too young to really remember Walter Payton playing, and his highlights are incredible - but Barry is my GOAT.
As far as receivers go, there's only one that I know of who pays with straight cash, homie. And he had himself a pretty good Thanksgiving way back when.
Three catches, three touchdowns from Randy Moss. Not bad, right?
Terrible Towels Have Had Better Weeks
I'm a DUDE Wipes guy, but if you're away from your home base this holiday and need to clear some room without any available wipes, I suggest using a terrible towel.
In case you missed it, after the Browns used a 5th round, previously third-string quarterback to beat Pittsburgh, Cleveland defensive back Mike Ford helped himself to a Steeler fan's terrible towel. What the Steeler fan likely didn't know is that their towel was quite literally about to become the butt of the joke.
Love it. Finally a good spot for those ugly yellow rags.
And don't be mad Steeler fans. Cleveland wiping the floor with your team Sunday allowed the Black and Gold to push out offensive coordinator Matt Canada, who's been rather offensive as a play caller.
Michael Vick Wanted To Be Peyton Manning
Two guys that had no problem running an offense were Michael Vick and Peyton Manning. Not only were they great on the field, but the quarterback's lit it up as video game characters in Madden. Anyone 30 and above remembers the "Vick rule."
Essentially, the Falcons were off limits when playing against friends because Vick was just too good.
Oddly enough, despite his virtual dominance, Vick told Manning that he didn't play with himself (hey now!) - on Madden. Rather, he used Manning as his signal caller.
He shared as much during Monday night's ManningCast.
"Peyton, I actually played as you," Vick told Manning on Monday. He went on to explain that the game's "quarterback vision" favored Manning and he always wanted to be a pocket passer, so he opted to roll with Peyton.
That leads me to ask you, the audience, who was the more unstoppable video game player:
Madden Michael Vick or Tecmo Bowl Bo Jackson?
I've gotta go with Bo, but it's awfully close.
Let me know your pick via email: anthony.farris@outkick.com or on X - formerly Twitter - @OhioAF.
Erin Andrews Is A McNugget Girl, Who Knew?
And dammit, she just might be America's sweetheart.
Andrews is talented, a certified smokeshow and accomplished. And now she tells us she's not one of those uppity girls opting for a diet salad or wheatgrass smoothie. Nope. EA wants some damn McNuggets and fries!
Erin Andrews isn't afraid of a little bit of grease and carbs! (Photo by Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
"I like a 10-piece chicken nuggets with the sweet and sour sauce, a large fry and a Sprite," Andrews revealed on her "Calm Down" podcast. "The Sprite, I only have two sips of because I can't drink a whole Sprite. It hurts my stomach. But I do love a sip of a soda through the McDonald's straw."
Who doesn't?
How About A "Stealing Signs" Beer With Those McNuggets
Since Andrews wants to nix the majority of the Sprite, I have a suggestion for her. It's something that Nightcaps readers no doubt will enjoy more and it pairs perfectly with this weekend's festivities.
That would be a Stealing Signs, double dry hopped, Hazy Pale Ale, courtesy of Cleveland, OH-based Saucy Brew Works. The beer will be available within the next few days, ahead of the 119th meeting between Ohio State and Michigan. As OutKick's David Hookstead detailed, this brew has a 6.5 ABV, so it's got some bite.
No idea how this tastes. And personally, aside from Pumpkin and Christmas Ale's (in season, of course), I'm not an IPA guy. But the can and the name get an A+ for creativity. So give me the nuggets and fries, hold the Sprite, and toss me a sixer of Stealing Sings.
Whattaya say, Erin?
Jimmy Butler, I'll Drink To That
I know one thing, IPA or not, we need to raise our glasses and toast Miami's Jimmy Butler. The 6x All-Star has no problem being different. He showed up to this season's Media Day with "emo" hair, publicly called out California's' sky-high gas prices and volunteered to play basketball campers, or their parents, 1-on-1 for the low, low price of $699. And that was all within the last three and a half months.
Now, he's taking his skills for entertainment back to the court, busting out the near-extinct "sky hook."
In a Monday meeting between Butler's Heat and the Bulls, Jimmy drove the lane and scored two of his 16 points by way of the sky hook. We've seen jump hooks and baby hooks sparingly over the last 20-30 years, but rarely have we seen a traditional sky hook until Butler's on Monday.
Butler even yelled "sky hook" as the shot left his hand.
Love everything about it. We need more sky hooks, drop-steps and bank shots in all levels of hoops.
Time To Bounce!
Ok, we've reached that point of Thanksgiving Eve where we're virtually fast forwarding roughly 10 hours East Coast time and playing Semisonic's "Closing Time" to signal that it's time to go home from the bar.
So find that high school fling, slam one more shooter and make some magic.
And if you think this column is a bit shorter this week - it probably is. Because let's be real, as Amber mentioned yesterday, no one's really working today, so I can only keep your attention for so long.
Happy Thanksgiving. We'll see you next week, enjoy the best of the rest!
*Nightcaps publishes at roughly 4pm Monday through Friday.
Follow along on X: @OhioAF