The greatest moments in NFL on Thanksgiving history

1974: Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach gets sidelined with an injury with the Cowboys trailing, 16-3, in the third quarter. Rookie Clint Longley replaces him, and is not expected to do much while replacing a future Hall of Famer. Instead, he passes for two touchdowns, including a 50-yard touchdown pass to Drew Pearson with just 28 seconds left as Dallas wins, 24-23.

1982: New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor has four sacks, but that was just the setup for his amazing moment. With the score tied, 6-6, in the fourth quarter, Taylor intercepts a Gary Danielson pass at the three and returns it 97-yards for the winning touchdown of a 13-6 victory over the Detroit Lions.

1993: Trailing 14-13 in a snowstorm, the Miami Dolphins line up for a game-winning field goal against the Dallas Cowboys. Pete Stoyanovich's kick is blocked, but Dallas' Leon Lett inexplicably tries to recover the ball. Instead of picking it up, he slides it down the field. With the ball live, Miami recovers it, then Stoyanovich kicks the winning field goal on the next play.

1997: Detroit running back Barry Sanders rushes for 167 yards and three touchdowns in 19 carries as the Lions defeat Chicago 55-20.

1998: Phil Luckett misunderstands Jerome Bettis' coin flip call at the start of overtime and awards the ball to the Lions. The Lions move downfield and kick the winning field goal in a 19-16 victory. The Steelers don't win another game the rest of the season.

-- Houston Mitchell

 

Wednesday's question: Who is your favorite NFL announcing team?

Reporters from around the Tribune family tackle to question of the day, then you get a chance to chime in and tell them why they are wrong.

Joseph Schwerdt, South Florida Sun Sentinel

All the great football announcers were and are minimalists. Ray Scott may be the best ever. Pat Summerall was calm and cool next to blustery John Madden. Dick Enberg, two words: “Oh my!” Verne Lundquist is the best in the business today. Smooth and smart, he doesn’t get in the way of the game. But the best team on an NFL game? It used to be Jack Buck and Hank Stram. Buck’s gravelly play-by-play was pure precision. Stram’s analysis was brilliant. Today it’s the ESPN Monday Night crew. Three in the booth and two sideline reporters? Way too much chatter. But Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski and Jon Gruden have extraordinary chemistry. Tirico is easy on the ears. Jaws and Gruden are the most knowledgeable combo on the air.

Tuesday's question: Will Indianapolis or New Orleans finish 16-0? And if not, who will stop them?

Will either Indianapolis or New Orleans tie New England's 16-0 record? (and if not who will stop them)

Ethan J. Skolnick, South Florida Sun Sentinel

The Patriots better take this into their own hands Monday night, as I expect they will, with an improving secondary doing just enough to frustrate Drew Brees.  Otherwise, it’s hard to envision anyone else beating ‘dem Saints.  Not Washington. Not Tampa Bay. Not Carolina. Not the way the Falcons are defending the pass, or the Cowboys are struggling to score. The Colts should have lost already, winning their past four games by a total of 10 points. And while the schedule doesn’t appear daunting, they’ve failed to finish undefeated with better rosters than their current one. So it shouldn’t be surprising if the Jaguars, remarkably still in the playoff chase, trip them up on a Thursday night, two weeks short of perfection.

Dom Amore, Hartford Courant

Can the NFL, the league that puts such a premium on parity, produce three unbeaten teams in a span of three regular seasons? You know what they say: if it sounds too good to be true …
Less than two years after the Patriots went 16-0, we find two teams unbeaten at the three-quarter mark. Let’s bow to the odds and admit neither the Saints nor Colts will get there. They’re superb teams, no doubt, but it’s just too hard.  The Colts have been doing a high-wire act for a month, winning the last  four games by a total of 10 points, so they’re bound to slip up. The Titans, their next opponent, are different with Vince Young at quarterback. Denver (Dec. 13) is due to win, and playing Jan. 3 at Buffalo won’t be easy.
The Saints have been winning more convincingly, but they run into the wrong team this week. The Patriots are in sync again on offense and playing better defense than Bill Belichick’s fourth-down gamble would indicate. The Saints’ division game at Atlanta Dec. 13 will be dangerous, too. No, it’s just too difficult for an unbeaten team to emerge more than once in a generation.

Buffalo lineman Eric Wood injury video

[WARNING: Graphic videos shown here of serious sports injuries aren't for the squeamish.]

Injuries are a part of football. Unfortunately, some injuries are worse than others.

Buffalo Bills guard Eric Wood endured one of those too-gruesome-for-replay moments against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. The 6-foot-4, 300-pound Wood suffered a compound fracture of his left tibia and fibula and will miss the rest of the season.

The injury was reminiscent of Joe Theismann's and Napoleon McCallum's infamous broken-leg injuries. CBS wouldn't show the replay of Wood's injury, but thanks to the Internet, you can see it here.

-- Austin Knoblauch

Are you on Facebook? Become a fan of the Times' Sports Facebook page and have breaking news sent to your Facebook page.

Who wants tickets to a nonexistent football team?

Who says no one in Los Angeles cares about football?

The company that is planning to build a football stadium in the City of Industry says it has received more than 140,000 ticket update requests from the public even though there isn't a football team in town.

Majestic Realty Co. Vice President John Semcken told the Associated Press on Monday that the stadium's website has received more than 105,000 requests for general admission ticket information, 36,000 club seat information requests and 3,200 luxury seat information requests. The stadium, as proposed, would seat 75,000.

I'm sure Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger would be pleased to hear about  the interest surrounding the idea of football in L.A., but isn't it a little too early to be asking for ticket information for a stadium and team that don't exist?

I guess that MLS Cup finale didn't  do much to satisfy the city's 15-year football hunger.

-- Austin Knoblauch

Photo: An artist's rendering of the proposed football stadium in Industry. Credit: Mike Amaya / Meis Architects

Monday's question: What should the NFL do to better protect their players from head trauma?

Reporters from around the Tribune family tackle the question of the day, then you get a chance to chime in and tell them why they are wrong.

Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times

What more can the NFL do about concussions? The league has to seriously examine every possible technological advancement in equipment, of course – hemets, padding, mouthguards – but that’s already being done. The real change needs to be cultural and come at all levels of football. Just as Korey Stringer’s death opened people’s eyes about the importance of proper hydration – no more punishing players by denying them water – everyone involved has to treat concussions with the same sort of concern. From the time they start playing, kids need to know that “getting your bell rung” isn’t the type of injury to shrug off. That said, it’s an uphill battle, because a central focus of the game is A) hitting, and B) not showing weaknesses. That can’t be legislated out of football, nor can you expect every player to self-report every injury or bell-ringing – especially when those people play to put food on the table (and Hummers in the garage.)

No surprise -- Cleveland Browns want LeBron James

It's good to know that, once the Lakers beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA finals next June, LeBron James will have another career to fall back on.

Cleveland Browns Coach Eric Mangini told reporters today he'd welcome James to the team if he ever decided to trade in his headband for a helmet.

"I think he should come on down," Mangini told the Associated Press.

Of course he thinks that -- have you seen how bad the Browns are?

Even quarterback-turned-cheap-shot artist Brady Quinn thinks it's a good idea. "If he wants to try to play a little bit now, we'd be more than willing to pick him up."

However, Browns nose tackle Shaun Rogers isn't so convinced. As perhaps the only member of the team who actually knows something about football, Rogers has doubts about James adjusting to the game.

"I just don't think you can step off a basketball court after not going through this year in and year out and just play football," Rogers said. "From that standpoint, I don't think it's possible."

Maybe James could train by going on "Shaq Vs." and taking on Rogers and anyone else who doubts his gridiron abilities. Come on Shaq, it's time to start challenging football players via Twitter.

-- Austin Knoblauch

Photo: LeBron James flexes after drawing a foul against Golden State on Tuesday. Credit: Mark Duncan / Associated Press

Monday's question of the day: What did you think of Bill Belichick's decision to go for it on fourth and two?

Putting the outcome aside, what did you think of Bill Belichick's decision to go for it on fourth and two late in the Patriots game against the Colts? Reporters from around the Tribune family tackle the question of the day, then you get a chance to chime in and tell them why they are wrong.

Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times

I was in the press box for this game, and we were all surprised when Tom Brady stayed on the field for fourth down and blown away when he actually took the snap, as opposed to trying to draw the Colts offside with a hard count. Bill Belichick has made countless brilliant decisions over the years, and many of them against the grain. But ignoring conventional wisdom to this degree was just being too clever by half. It’s a message to the Patriots defense that, hey, I don’t trust you to get the job done. That’s a gut punch.

NFL scores Week 10

at Carolina 28, Atlanta 19: Matt Ryan must be a baseball fan, since he is bringing the sophomore jinx over to football. 

at Miami 25, Tampa Bay 23: Time to call an immediate moratorium on all “Henne-powered” headlines or references.

at Minnesota 27, Detroit 10: After they lose for 31st time in 33 games, Donald Sterling might start showing interest in buying Lions.

Jacksonville 24, at N.Y. Jets 22: It seems all that “Mark Sanchez is the next Joe Namath” talk turned out to be a bit premature.

Cincinnati 18, at Pittsburgh 12: Pete Carroll calls Carson Palmer after game wanting to know why he didn’t run up the score.

New Orleans 28, at St. Louis 23: Rams mistakenly thought Sunday was “tribute to Dieter Brock” day.

at Tennessee 41, Buffalo 17: Titans trying to rally from way down (0-6) to make the playoffs. In sports, that’s now called a “Zenyatta.”

at Washington 27, Denver 17: It appears most of the good teams got together this week and decided to lose in the interest of parity.

Kansas City 16, at Oakland 10: A confused Al Davis says it’s no shame losing to any Hank Stram-coached team.

at Arizona 31, Seattle 20: Beanie Wells scores twice, then dedicates game to his old friend Cecil the seasick sea serpent.

at Green Bay 17, Dallas 7: It’s safe to say Tony Romo will be one of those quarterbacks who are always one step shy of greatness.
 at San Diego 31, Philadelphia 23: Tomlinson passes Franco Harris in career rushing yards, but Harris still leads in best career facial hair.

New England at Indianapolis: If the Patriots are the evil Empire, would that make Peyton Manning Luke Skywalker or Han Solo?

Open date: N.Y. Giants, Houston

-- Houston Mitchell

Wednesday's question of the day: Does Larry Johnson deserve another chance?

Does former Kansas City running back Larry Johnson deserve another chance, and if so with which team?

Reporters from around the Tribune family tackle the question of the day, then you get a chance to chime in and tell them why they are wrong.

Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times

Does Larry Johnson deserve to play again? Yes. If you’re going to say that everybody who acts like an idiot at one point or another should be denied the right to play, you wouldn’t be able to field one team, let alone 32. The question is, which teams are so desperate to generate some kind of ground attack that they’re willing to take a soon-to-be-30, moody sulker whose skills are clearly on the slide? (Then again, a year ago, the same could be said of Cedric Benson, and now he’s the league’s second-leading rusher.) Maybe a team such as the New England Patriots could squeeze some last drops of value out of him the way they helped reboot the careers of Corey Dillon, Randy Moss and others. If the league were to slam the door on Johnson, it wouldn’t be because of his ridiculous Twitter postings, but because of his string of incidents involving women at Kansas City nightspots. Last season, for instance, one woman accused him of throwing a drink at her, and another said he pushed her head. As bad as those things sound, they don’t warrant kicking him out of the league. But the sentiment of a lot of Chiefs fans should tell you something: He’s somebody else’s problem now.

Ken Murray, Baltimore Sun

Obviously, Michael Vick got a second chance, so Larry Johnson deserves one, too. But not without stipulations. Johnson needs a sensitivity class to start with. He needs to learn that it's the media's job to ask questions. He needs to learn some humility and some respect. Furthermore, he needs to learn to act like a professional, a problem he's had throughout his career, if not his life.

If Vick needed to show remorse, the same should hold true for Johnson, especially since this isn't his first time making these incendiary remarks. He's become the stereotypical self-important, arrogant pro: when things are going well, he can endure his football obligations. When things aren't going well, he dismisses everything, including civility.

Who might take him? The UFL might. His image matches the Raiders. But the team that probably could use him most is the Browns, who have a way-past-his-prime Jamal Lewis to carry the load. Johnson should sit for a while, though.