Jody Victor : American football is a major part of Thanksgiving in our home - how about yours? Professional games are traditionally played on Thanksgiving Day; until recently, these were the only games played during the week apart from Sunday or Monday night. The National Football League has played games on Thanksgiving every year since its creation; the tradition is referred to as the Thanksgiving Classic. The Detroit Lions have hosted a game every Thanksgiving Day since 1934, with the exception of 1939-1944 (due to World War II). The Dallas Cowboys have hosted every Thanksgiving Day since 1966, with the exception of 1975 and 1977 when the then-St. Louis Cardinals hosted (the Cowboys and Cardinals faced each other, in Dallas, in 1976). Since 2006 three games are played on Thanksgiving Day, with the third not having a set host team. The American Football League also had a Thanksgiving Classic since its founding in 1960, with its 8 founding teams rotating one game each year (two games after the AFL-NFL merger).

For many college football teams, the regular season ends on Thanksgiving weekend, and a team's final game is often against a regional or historic rival. Most of these college games are played either on Friday or Saturday immediately after Thanksgiving, but usually a single college game is played on Thanksgiving itself. The most well known Thanksgiving holiday weekend games include:

* Ole Miss Rebels vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs (the Egg Bowl)

* BYU Cougars vs. Utah Utes (the Holy War)

* LSU Tigers vs. Arkansas Razorbacks (the Battle for the Golden Boot)

* Georgia Bulldogs vs. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate)

* Colorado Buffaloes vs. Nebraska Cornhuskers

* Texas Longhorns vs. Texas A&M Aggies (the Lone Star Showdown)

* Florida Gators vs. Florida State Seminoles (the Sunshine Showdown)

* Pittsburgh Panthers vs. West Virginia Mountaineers (the Backyard Brawl)

* Grambling State University Tigers vs. Southern University Jaguars (the Bayou Classic)

* Alabama State University vs. Tuskegee University (the Turkey Day Classic)

* Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. USC Trojans (The Notre Dame-USC rivalry game has taken place in almost every season since 1926, with the home team alternating from year to year. When USC hosts, the game takes place on Thanksgiving weekend: when Notre Dame hosts, the game typically occurs sometime in October.)

Jody Victor

Jody Victor : November seems to be a month of celebrations and historical events. But while many of them have a specific date, there are those that occur on a specific day during the month. Here's a few of interest.

First Tuesday - In Australia, the Melbourne Cup horse race is held annually on the first Tuesday in November.

Tuesday After the First Monday - In the United States, elections are held on the Tuesday after the first Monday of November. They therefore fall between November 2 and November 8. In even numbered years, members of the House of Representatives are elected to two-year terms, and about one third of the U.S. Senate are elected to six-year terms. The President of the United States is elected in years divisible by four. Most U.S. states, counties, and municipalities have some part of their election cycle coincident with this date.

Third Wednesday - GIS Day is held the 3rd Wednesday of November during Geography Awareness Week.

Third Thursday - The Great American Smokeout sponsored by the American Cance Society occurs on the third Thursday of November, one week before Thanksgiving. Smokers are encouraged to quit smoking for these 24 hours, in hopes that they will quit forever.

Fourth Thursday in the USA - Americans celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday on the fourth Thursday of November.

The Day After Thanksgiving in the USA - A famous day for shopping known as "Black Friday."

Monday Immediately Following Thanksgiving Day in the USA - Cyber Monday - the beginning of the online Christmas shopping season.

Note : We are very excited about our upcoming release of our new Sports Nutrition product XS Gold. We anticipate the same great success we have experienced with our other XS  products.

Jody Victor

Jody Victor: Here are some special dates in November for social, historial and religious events.

* All Saints' Day (formerly All Hallows Day) , a Christian holy day, is celebrated on November 1, the day after Halloween. In Sweden the All Saints' official holiday takes place on the first Saturday of November.

* In Ireland, November 1 is regarded as the first day of Winter.

* November 1 is called November Day (La Samhna) in Celtic tradition and is thus named in the Irish Calendar, where the month is called Mi na Samhna.

* In the pagan wheel of the year, November begins at or near Samhain in the northern hemisphere and Beltaine in the southern hemisphere.

* In the Roman Catholic calendar, November 2 is All Souls Day. It is known in Mexico as el Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), and the whole month of November is especially dedicated to praying for the dead.

* Britain and New Zealand celebrate Guy Fawkes Night, the anniversary of the failed Gunpowder Plot, on November 5.

* In Indonesia, November 10 is known as National Heroes Day.

* St. Martin's feast day (Martinmas) on November 11 was formerly considered the start of winter in some places in Europe.

* Remembrance Day is celebrated on November 11 in the Commonwealth of Nations and various European countries (including France and Belgium) to commemorate World War I and other wars. It is known as Veterans' Day in the United States.

* In India, Children's Day is celebrated on November 14, the birthdate of first Indian Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.

* The Leonids meteor shower reaches its peak around November 17.

* Discovery of Puerto Rico by Christopher Columbus on November 19, 1493.

* Dia de la Revolucion, or Revolution Day, is celebrated in Mexico on November 20.

* On November 24th each year, Lachit Divas is celebrated statewide in Assam, India, to commemorate the heroism of the great general Lachit Borphukan and the victory of the Assamese army over the Mughal army at the battle of Saraighat in 1671.

* The United States and Peurto Rico observe Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday in November.

* For Western Christians, Advent usually begins on a Sunday during the last week of November.

* Scotland celebrates St. Andrews Day, its official national day, on November 30th. Since 2006 it has been an official bank holiday.

We are very excited about the upcoming relaese of our new Sports Nutrition Product XS Gold. We anticipate the same great success we have experienced with our other XS products.

Jody Victor