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The long sports-filled Thanksgiving weekend is a time when many Americans enjoy gathering with friends and family for good food, good company and hopefully not too much political conversation. Also on the menu — all the NFL and college sports you can handle. Here's a roadmap to one of the biggest sports weekends of the year, with a look at marquee games over the holiday and how to watch. All times are in EST. All odds are by BetMGM Sportsbook. What to watch Thursday —NFL: There is a triple-header lined up for pro football fans. Chicago at Detroit, 12:30 p.m., CBS: Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams and the Bears go against the Lions, who are one of the favorites to reach the Super Bowl in February. Lions favored by 10. New York at Dallas, 4:30 p.m., Fox: The Giants and Cowboys are both suffering through miserable seasons and are now using backup quarterbacks for different reasons. But if Dallas can figure out a way to win , it will still be on the fringe of the playoff race. Cowboys favored by 3 1/2. Miami at Green Bay, 8:20 p.m., NBC/Peacock: The Packers stumbled slightly out of the gate but have won six of their past seven games . They'll need a win against Miami to try to keep pace in the NFC North. Packers favored by 3. —College Football: Memphis at No. 18 Tulane, 7:30 p.m., ESPN. If college football is your jam, this is a good warmup for a big weekend. The Tigers try to ruin the Green Wave’s perfect record in the American Athletic Conference. Tulane is favored by 14. What to watch Friday —NFL: A rare Friday showdown features the league-leading Chiefs. Las Vegas at Kansas City, 3 p.m. Prime Video: The Chiefs and quarterback Patrick Mahomes are 12-point favorites over the Raiders. —College Basketball: Some of the top programs meet in holiday tournaments around the country. Battle 4 Atlantis championship, 5:30 p.m., ESPN: One of the premier early season tournaments, the eight-team field includes No. 3 Gonzaga, No. 14 Indiana and No. 24 Arizona. Rady Children's Invitational, 6 p.m., Fox: It's the championship game for a four-team field that includes No. 13 Purdue and No. 23 Mississippi. —College Football: There is a full slate of college games to dig into. Oregon State at No. 11 Boise State, noon, Fox: The Broncos try to stay in the College Football Playoff hunt when they host the Beavers. Boise State favored by 19 1/2. Oklahoma State at No. 23 Colorado, noon, ABC: The Buffaloes and Coach Prime are still in the hunt for the Big 12 championship game when they host the Cowboys. Colorado favored by 16 1/2. Georgia Tech at No. 6 Georgia, 7:30 p.m., ABC: The Bulldogs are on pace for a spot in the CFP but host what could be a tricky game against rival Georgia Tech. Georgia favored by 19 1/2. —NBA. After taking Thanksgiving off, pro basketball returns. Oklahoma City at Los Angeles Lakers, 10 p.m., ESPN: The Thunder look like one of the best teams in the NBA's Western Conference. They'll host Anthony Davis, LeBron James and the Lakers. What to watch Saturday —College Football. There are more matchups with playoff implications. Michigan at No. 2 Ohio State, noon, Fox: The Wolverines are struggling one season after winning the national title. They could make their fan base a whole lot happier with an upset of the Buckeyes . Ohio State favored by 21. No. 7 Tennessee at Vanderbilt, noon, ABC: The Volunteers are a fairly big favorite and have dominated this series, but the Commodores have been a tough team this season and already have achieved a monumental upset over Alabama . Tennessee favored by 11. No. 16 South Carolina at No. 12 Clemson, noon, ESPN: The Palmetto State rivals are both hanging on the edge of the CFP playoff race. A win — particularly for Clemson — would go a long way toward clinching its spot in the field. Clemson favored by 2 1/2. No. 3 Texas at No. 20 Texas A&M, 7:30 p.m. ABC: The Aggies host their in-state rival for the first time since 2011 after the Longhorns joined the SEC. Texas favored by 5 1/2. Washington at No. 1 Oregon, 7:30 p.m., NBC: The top-ranked Ducks have been one of the nation’s best teams all season. They’ll face the Huskies, who would love a marquee win in coach Jedd Fisch’s first season. Oregon favored by 19 1/2. —NBA: A star-studded clash is part of the league's lineup. Golden State at Phoenix, 9 p.m., NBA TV: Steph Curry and the Warriors are set to face the Suns' Big Three of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. What to watch Sunday —NFL: It's Sunday, that says it all. Pittsburgh at Cincinnati, 1 p.m., CBS: Joe Burrow is having a great season for the Bengals , who are struggling in other areas. They need a win to stay in the playoff race, hosting a Steelers team that's 8-3 and won five of their past six. Bengals favored by 3. Arizona at Minnesota, 1 p.m., Fox: The Cardinals are tied for the top of the NFC West while the Vikings are 9-2 and have been one of the biggest surprises of the season with journeyman Sam Darnold under center. Vikings favored by 3 1/2. Philadelphia at Baltimore, 4:25 p.m., CBS: Two of the league's most electric players will be on the field when Saquon Barkley and the Eagles travel to face Lamar Jackson and the Ravens. Ravens favored by 3. San Francisco at Buffalo, 8:20 p.m. NBC/Peacock: The 49ers try to get back to .500 against the Bills , who have won six straight. Bills favored by 7. —NBA. The best teams in the Eastern Conference meet in a statement game. Boston at Cleveland, 6 p.m., NBA TV: The defending champion Celtics travel to face the Cavs , who won their first 15 games to start the season. —Premier League: English soccer fans have a marquee matchup. Manchester City at Liverpool, 11 a.m., USA Network/Telemundo. The two top teams meet with Manchester City trying to shake off recent struggles. —Auto Racing: The F1 season nears its conclusion. F1 Qatar Grand Prix, 11 a.m., ESPN2 – It's the penultimate race of the season. Max Verstappen already has clinched his fourth consecutive season championship . AP sports: https://apnews.com/sportsBullying Works: World's Largest Retailer Is Ditching Diversity Nonsense
Kildunne wins World Rugby's women's player of the yearCanadiens' Mike Matheson out against Utah with lower-body injury
Elon Musk has announced plans to form a video game studio within X’s (Twitter) AI division. On the social media platform, Dogecoin creator Billy Markus opined about “how game developers and game journalism got so ideologically captured.” In response, Musk said “Too many game studios that are owned by massive corporations. xAI is going to start an AI game studio to make games great again!” Too many game studios that are owned by massive corporations. @xAI is going to start an AI game studio to make games great again! https://t.co/UR4nFODyfd — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 27, 2024 Of course, this comment is immensely hypocritical, as Musk is the world’s richest man who owns some of the world’s most massive corporations. What’s more, whatever issues you might have with games, AI will certainly not replace the many talented developers who are creating great art . (This is all assuming, of course, that the xAI game studio actually happens, which, given Musk’s many lies and failures , certainly isn’t a given.) But what’s especially funny about Musk wanting to step into game development is that he’s already been roasted multiple times for trying to act cool simply by playing games. In 2022, he boastfully shared an Elden Ring build that was objectively terrible , and more recently, he’s tried to proclaim himself as one of the best Diablo IV players in the world . That latter point is especially amusing — either he’s an even more irresponsible leader and parent than we thought and he’s neglecting his many businesses and children for a lot of classic Diablo grinding, or (more realistically) he got others to use his account and boost his rankings for him. Either way, it’s pretty pathetic, but that’s par for the course with Musk. And what started this whole conversation was another classic — and profoundly stupid — battle in the never-ending “culture war.” It started when Asmongold, a YouTuber best known for having a filthy room , cried about Avowed , the latest game from Xbox-owned Obsidian Entertainment, allowing you to choose your pronouns in the character creator. (The horror!) Naturally, this led to the likes of Mark “Grummz” Kern — a disgraced former game developer and failed instigator of ‘GamerGate 2’ — and Musk getting angry on social media about this completely innocuous feature. i find this tweet hilarious because in the screenshots they’re talking about how they will not buy avowed because it has pronouns. and suddenly when the art director responds with “ok fuck you then” they’re clutching their pearls. pic.twitter.com/z9UDVmOOnA — kate bush’s husband (@airbagged) November 27, 2024 In response, Matt Hansen, the art director on Avowed , posted on Bluesky that he was happy to have angered Musk over this. He went on to encourage more Black artists to apply to Obsidian and that they will “always” have his priority as there are “too many crusty old white dudes” in games. Naturally, this led grifter Ian Miles Cheong to make baseless claims that “Microsoft’s gaming division is excluding whites from being hired to work on their video games. Musk then shared Cheong’s ridiculous assertion and tagged Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, claiming “this is illegal.” Of course, even if you think Hansen’s comments were incendiary, the fact of the matter is all of these grifters are blatantly lying about Microsoft and Obsidian over those comments. It’s yet another example of Musk — a person with over 200 million followers — amplifying misinformation on his platform. And above all else, none of these clowns have even played Avowed . As someone who actually went to Obsidian recently to both play a few hours of the game and talk to several developers (including Hansen, who was delightful), I can tell you it’s a very promising fantasy action-RPG. ( Other previews have echoed this , and for completely non-ideological reasons!) But of course, those gosh-darned pronouns are so scary and dangerous to these grown men that they’ll write off an entire artistic work because of them. For anyone who isn’t a hate-filled manchild, though, you can look forward to Avowed when it launches on Xbox Series X/S and PC (plus Game Pass) on February 18th. Image credit: Shutterstock
A ceasefire between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah in Lebanon appears to be holding after t he two sides struck a deal brokered by the United States and France. But Israel warned local residents not to return to the border area yet or approach its troops. The agreement, a rare diplomatic feat in a region racked by conflict for months, ended the deadliest confrontation between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group in years, but Israel is still fighting the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Cars and vans piled high with mattresses, suitcases and even furniture streamed through the heavily bombed southern port city of Tyre heading south, where hundreds of thousands of people had been forced to flee their homes by the violence. The ceasefire promises to end a conflict across the Israeli-Lebanese border that has killed thousands of people since it was ignited by the Gaza war last year. Israel and Hezbollah have agreed to a ceasefire. Here's what it means for the Middle East However, the Israeli army's Arabic spokesperson cautioned southern Lebanon residents against moving south of the Litani river from 5pm local to 7am, noting that Israeli forces were still present in the area. Israeli chief of the general staff Herzi Halevi said Israel's enforcement of the ceasefire would be very determined. "Hezbollah operatives who approach our troops, the border area, and the villages within the area we have marked will be struck ... we are preparing, getting ready for the possibility that this (ceasefire) approach won't succeed," he said. Lebanon's army, entrusted with ensuring the ceasefire lasts, said it had begun deploying additional troops south of the Litani, into a region heavily bombarded by Israel in its battle against Hezbollah. The river runs about 30 km north of Israel's border. Israel's attacks have also struck eastern cities and towns in the southern suburbs of Beirut — where Hezbollah has its headquarters — and Israeli troops have pushed around 6 km into Lebanon in a series of ground incursions launched in September. What are the terms of the ceasfire? Under the ceasefire terms, Israeli forces can remain in Lebanon for 60 days and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had instructed the military not to allow residents back to villages near the border, after four Hezbollah operatives were detained in the area. The Lebanese army urged returning residents not to approach areas where Israeli forces were present for their own safety. Diplomatic efforts will now turn to shattered Gaza, where Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas, which led the October 7 attacks on Israeli communities. However, there were no hopes of peace returning any time soon to the Palestinian enclave. Israel has said its military aim in Lebanon had been to ensure the safe return of about 60,000 Israelis who fled from their communities along the northern border when Hezbollah started firing rockets at them in support of Hamas in Gaza. In Lebanon, some cars flew national flags, others honked, and one woman could be seen flashing the victory sign with her fingers as people started to return to homes they had fled. Many of the villages the people were likely returning to have been destroyed. Hussam Arrout, a father of four, said he was itching to return to his home. "The Israelis haven't withdrawn in full, they're still on the edge. So we decided to wait until the army announces that we can go in. Then we'll turn the cars on immediately and go to the village," he said. Worldly, fragmented and resilient: How suffering shaped modern Lebanon The US says it is pushing for a ceasefire in Gaza Announcing the ceasefire, US President Joe Biden spoke at the White House shortly after Israel's security cabinet approved the agreement in a 10-1 vote. "This is designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities," Biden said. "What is left of Hezbollah and other terrorist organisations will not be allowed to threaten the security of Israel again." Australia and the US are among nations that regard Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation. Others, including the European Union, list only its military wing as a terrorist organisation. However, Hezbollah itself makes no distinction between its political and military wings. Israel will gradually withdraw its forces as Lebanon's army takes control of territory near its border with Israel to ensure that Hezbollah does not rebuild its infrastructure there after a costly war, Biden said. He said his administration was also pushing for an elusive ceasefire in Gaza. Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters that the group "appreciates" Lebanon's right to reach an agreement which protects its people, and hopes for a deal to end the Gaza war. But many Gaza residents said they felt abandoned. "We hope that all Arab and Western countries, and all people with merciful hearts and consciences...implement a truce here because we are tired," said displaced Gazan Malak Abu Laila. Then and now: Images show how Gaza has been destroyed, as hospital strike condemned Iran said it reserves the right to react to Israeli strikes on its territory last month but was also mindful of other developments in the region and hoped the Lebanon truce could lead to a permanent ceasefire. The Israeli military said on Wednesday Israeli forces fired at several vehicles with suspects to prevent them from reaching a no-go zone in Lebanese territory and the suspects moved away. Defense Minister Israel Katz said he instructed the military to "act firmly and without compromise" should it happen again. Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said that the group would retain the right to defend itself if Israel attacked.The connections are clear between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers, longtime NFC South rivals. The teams get together for a meeting on Sunday in Charlotte and showed recent signs they can play with any team. "It's an NFC South battle," Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles said. "All of them are going to be hard, none of them (are) going to be easy. ... They're playing pretty good football. They missed some games here and there, but they're playing very good football. It's going to be a tough battle." Few introductions are needed on Sunday, as first-year Panthers coach Dave Canales came to Carolina after serving as Buccaneers offensive coordinator a season ago. Canales' prized pupil last season, Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield was with the Panthers for part of the 2022 campaign. "There's some familiarity," Canales said of his connection to the Buccaneers. "Knowing coach Bowles, he's got a really sophisticated system and he attacks each team with a specific game plan. There's some principles that carry over. I know that he's going to have some things up his sleeve." The Buccaneers (5-6) playing a division opponent for the first time since an Oct. 27 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. The goal will be notching back-to-back wins for the first time since the first two weeks of the season. Four different ball-carriers, including Mayfield, found the end zone on the ground during a 30-7 drubbing of the New York Giants last Sunday. Mayfield also completed 24 of 30 passes for 294 yards. "For me, the biggest thing was blocking and tackling," Bowles said of what his team did well last weekend. "We cleaned up the fundamental and technique part of it." Star wideout Mike Evans was back in action for Tampa Bay following a three-game absence due to a hamstring injury. He finished with five receptions for 68 yards against the Giants and now gets a crack at a Carolina team allowing a league-high 30.9 points per game this season. However, the Panthers have tightened up their play as of late, winning two games in a row before hanging with the two-time defending champion Kansas City Chiefs in a 30-27 setback last Sunday. The outing against Kansas City may have been the most efficient performance of Panthers quarterback Bryce Young's two-year career. Young completed 21 of 35 passes for 263 yards and one score without throwing a pick. "It's not all Bryce, it's the whole unit," Canales said. "It's a collective effort, but he certainly needs to be the voice and driver of that." Wide receiver Jalen Coker (quadriceps), tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders (neck) and safety Lonnie Johnson (personal) were all missing from practice on Wednesday for Carolina. Defensive end LaBryan Ray is dealing with a hand issue and was among those limited. Safety Jordan Whitehead (pectoral) was one of four Buccaneers to miss practice on Wednesday. Evans practiced in full. Carolina and Tampa Bay might as well get used to each other, as the two teams will collide again in Week 17. --Field Level Media
