Week 12: Looking back at Thanksgiving

Let's Talk Turkey and Football

Macy's Thanksgiving Parade always marks the
beginning of the Holiday Season for me.
Courtesy of kentmeireisphotography.com.

Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays.  When I was a kid, I would watch the Macy's parade while my mom was hard at work in the kitchen.  Our family would arrive just as Santa Claus was making his way into Herald Square and then we would feast.  The afternoon was spent playing games and watching football.

Since joining the Logsdon family (and therefore pledging my allegiance to the Dallas Cowboys), I have always wanted to attend the Cowboys Thanksgiving Day game.  My husband's family attended a snowy Thanksgiving game in Texas Stadium a few years ago and always talk about going again.  We're making plans for next year since we could host all nine of them in our 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom apartment.  But for this year, we planned on being with friends since we had to work on Friday.  Well, the friends decided to go to the game and got us tickets too!

We had the usual Thanksgiving feast at 10 pm when we made it home from Cowboys Stadium, but my Thanksgiving lunch was the stadium specialty, Ultimate Nachos.  For the mere price of $15, I ate some of the best nachos ever.  And my Dr Pepper tasted so much more delicious out of a holographic 50 year team commemorative cup.

Romo on the big HD screen at Cowboys Stadium

I appreciated the gigantic screen so I was able to see Keith Urban during his halftime concert and to see Miles Austin's smiling face after his 60 yard touchdown.  It was surreal to be in the same building as Nicole Kidman, Tony Romo, and Jerry Jones.  I was one of 95,000 people but still, it was cool to know people were watching a game on TV that I was watching with my own eyes.  I'm excited to return with the family to salute Tom Landry's statue and enjoy pilgrim costumes and ugly turkey hats.

NFL Thanksgiving Facts

Romo modeling the throwback jersey

• The NFL's Thanksgiving Classic has been a regular occurrence since 1920
• The Dallas Cowboys have played on Thanksgiving since 1966
• The Detroit Lions have played on Thanksgiving since 1934
• Teams have worn throwback jerseys since 2001
• The first color broadcast of a Thanksgiving game was in 1965 between the Lions and the Baltimore Colts
• In 1994, 3rd string QB Jason Garrett took over for an injured Troy Aikman and led the Cowboys to a 42-31 victory over Brett Favre's Packers
• The highest scoring Thanksgiving game was in 1986 - Packers 44, Lions 40
• The Lions have won 33 games and lost 36
• The Cowboys have won 27 games and lost 15
• The Bears are next on the list with 16 wins and 13 losses
• Teams that have never played on Thanksgiving: Panthers, Ravens, Jaguars, Texans
• MVPs receive either the Galloping Gobbler Award or the All-Iron Award, depending on the broadcasting network

Latest News and Gossip

Biermann and Zolciak expecting
in early summer.
Courtesy of eonline.com.

Babies: Atlanta Falcons starting defensive end Kroy Biermann is expecting a baby with girlfriend Kim Zolciak of "The Real Housewives of Atlanta."  They have been dating for six months.  The pregnancy was announced via Twitter on Monday and was accompanied with a Life & Style magazine cover.

"While it wasn't planned, God clearly has a bigger and better plan for us," said Zolciak in Life & Style.  Of Biermann, she said, "He makes me a better person."  Zolciak doesn't plan on marriage during pregnancy but said she could imagine tying the knot with Biermann some day.

Seen: While both of Kim Kardashian's ex-NFL boyfriends were with me at Cowboys Stadium on Thanksgiving, she was seen at the movies with Gabriel Aubry.  He is a male model and the father of Halle Berry's daughter.

Chris Henry 1983-2009

Chris Henry lives on through
the gift of life.

On Thanksgiving, before the Lions/Patriots game, CBS showed a video of Chris Henry's mother meeting the organ recipients from her late son.  Chris Henry died last December after a car accident.

Click here to watch the video.

Week 11: Hand cuffs and hang outs

Arrested? No problem.

Did Williams learn he was untouchable at USC?
Courtesy of msnbcmedia.com.

Another NFL player is arrested and charged for driving under the influence of alcohol but still gets to play.  Early Friday morning Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie Mike Williams was found to be under the legal alcohol limit of 0.08 but failed a sobriety test.  Supposedly his coach said he "owes him" one but he is still scheduled to play this week against the 49ers.  There is other evidence still pending.

I have a problem with that.  Why don't players face any consequences with the NFL when they commit crimes?  At least in Texas, a DUI is now a felony.  If I committed a felony, I would have a very difficult time finding a job.  I might have to work at McDonald's for the rest of my life.  Yet players continue to play and earn millions of dollars.

Fans (and dog lovers across the world) were really angry when Michael Vick came back to the NFL after his dog fighting conviction.  But the man went to federal prison, paid back money to the NFL, and is still volunteering time to teach kids how to learn from his bad example.  He earned about a million dollars last season, but that's a lot less than his record breaking contract with the Falcons.

Donte Stallworth, a wide receiver for the Baltimore Ravens, was convicted of DUI and second degree manslaughter in 2009.  He was sentenced to only 30 days in jail, 1,000 hours of community service, and 8 years of probation.  Stallworth was suspended from the NFL for one year and is back on the field.

Now I don't know many criminals, so I also don't know the consequences a regular guy would face in these situations.  I just think pro football players (and any other type of celebrity) should have the same punishments as the rest of us.  No special treatment please.

The Titans are fun

Randy Moss says he's enjoying his new team (the Titans) because they know when to have fun.  Yeah, that's the most important part of a job.  All I know is that my potential employers always wanted me to work hard.

More from me tomorrow

It's difficult to write about the good guys because they rarely make headlines.  There aren't any new relationships or babies either.  I'll try to find some fun news and have a special Monday night post.  Thanks to all the loyal readers.  Don't forget to Follow me!

Week 10: Beautiful Babes & Makin' the Money

"The Michael Vick Project"

Michael Vick and fiance Kijafa.
Courtesy of straightfromthea.com.

I am not a fan of Michael Vick.  That's probably why I blocked out the fact he had a reality show on BET called, "The Michael Vick Project."  The documentary-style show followed Vick after his release from prison while he revisited his past and started to look ahead to the future.

The last episode was filmed during Christmas 2009 and featured a marriage proposal to his girlfriend, Kijafa Frink, who is the mother of his two daughters.  She is a Philadelphia native and has her own jewelry line called PnkElephant.com.

Honestly, I think I will watch the episodes on BET.com so I can understand the guy.  Knowing me, I'll probably start to like him.  He is a talented football player.

From Twitter-land

Ochocinco's new venture.
Courtesy of drofdarb.laxallstars.com.

@OGOchocinco: If you believe everything Ochocinco posts on Twitter, then followers could conclude he is still dating Evelyn Lozada.  It could be serious because Lozada hangs out with his daughter, Jicyra.  Rock Software is creating a mobile game for the iPhone and iPad called Mad Chad.  The idea of the game is to travel around the world collecting Ochocinco's lost belongings.

@DiceCrawford: Candice Crawford, the girlfriend of Tony Romo, is in the running to be one of D Magazine's Ten Most Beautiful Women in Dallas.  The voting has already been concluded but look to see the winners in the December 2010 issue.

Baby News

A wedding picture of the Boller's.
Courtesy of eonline.com.

Oakland Raiders QB, Kyle Boller, and his summer bride, Carrie Prejean, are expecting a baby in May.  They will find out the sex of the baby next week, according to people.com.  

Mrs. Boller is the former Miss California USA who was fired by Donald Trump for not meeting contract obligations.  She faced tough press after stating marriage should be only between a man and a woman after being asked about gay marriage in a pageant.  Boller recently moved to backup QB behind Jason Campbell. 

Week 9: Drama, drama, drama!

The NFL - The Manly Version of One Tree Hill

My favorite drama-loving duo, T.Ocho.

People say that women are so dramatic and love to gossip.  I believe men have their own love of drama and gossip.  My husband has a friend who calls him every day to talk about their group of friends.

That's why I know men don't watch the NFL games for just the action on the field.  Most of the excitement is the drama during the week.  There's drama when a star player is injured - how long will he be gone, who will take his place, will the team be able to win without him?  There's drama with players getting arrested for DUIs, beating their baby mamas, and bringing guns to the club.  My favorite drama is when they start a new relationship with a famous celebrity.

That's why I enjoy the NFL.  I have two favorite teams (Vikings and Cowboys), and I like to know who wins, but my favorite part is the drama.  To be honest, I wasn't aware of all the drama until this season.  It's amazing what the players get away with off the field and how strict the playing rules can be.

There's been a lot of drama with my teams this year.  Favre has been in the spotlight with his injuries and sexting drama, and the Cowboys have all the drama associated with a horrible record and the expectation of playing in the Super Bowl at home.

Top Drama

Favre's sexting drama has died down with occasional, not highly publicized updates.  Sterger is the key to finding out what really happened and she hasn't talked to the NFL yet.  Mark Kriegel of foxsports.com has a great article about the current situation.  Basically, now she's unemployed and needs to get attention and money.

James Harrison, who plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers, keeps receiving fines for hard hits.  As of Nov. 5, he has racked up $100,000 in fines and keeps complaining about it.  He claims the fines are unfair because he wasn't called for a penalty on two of the offending hits.  He is the only repeat offender under the new policy.

Hopefully Randy Moss knows he's on his last chance.

Randy Moss.  This week he was picked up by the Tennessee Titans after being dramatically and mysteriously released from the Vikings after a month with the team.  The owner of the Vikings, Zygi Wilf, let it be known that he thought about firing the head coach and keeping Moss instead.  Head coach Brad Childress let Moss go without consulting the owner, which is a big no-no.

All of this happened after Moss announced that he wouldn't talk to the media for the remainder of the season.  The players are required to answer questions and conduct interviews, but Moss decided only he would ask the questions.  Most people think Childress was ticked because Moss didn't play well against his old team, the Patriots, and said he missed his old teammates.  Sounds like 90210, huh?

Dallas Football Socialites

Erin, the wife of Cowboys punter Mat McBriar.

If you really love my blog, there's a show on VH1 you may enjoy.  "Football Wives" is showing it's third episode tonight at 9:30 EST.  The show is filmed in Dallas and features women in various stages of relationships with former and current NFL players.  There are wives, girlfriends, and an ex-girlfriend.  VH1 won't tell you who Mercedes Nelson dated, but it was Marion Barber of the Cowboys.  I watched the show for ten minutes yesterday and saw four ladies fighting over a game of golf.  Like its predecessor, "Basketball Wives," the show probably won't last long.