Previewing massive NFL Thanksgiving, Black Friday slate; Blue Jays to sign Dylan Cease to record contract

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Happy Thanksgiving, sports fans! Carter Bahns with you on this holiday morning as we gear up for a fantastic slate of marquee NFL matchups and electric college basketball action. Is there anything better than sitting down with a plate full of festive food and watching some of the best teams in the league go to war? I'll be quite thankful for that when I watch the Chiefs-Cowboys game on CBS. Here's a short video to get you hyped for the game. (If you like the Chiefs, the Cowboys, their cheerleaders or Beyoncé, you'll be glad you watched.)

For those of you spending the day with family, we have you covered with an extensive cheat sheet for the trio of NFL games. How do you talk to your relatives about football? JP Acosta built a foolproof script.

One quick programming note before we get started. Today's newsletter covers both Thanksgiving and Black Friday. We'll be back Saturday morning with a special edition to recap the holidays and preview the weekend, so keep an eye on your inbox.

With that, let's dive in.

⚾ Five things to know this Thanksgiving

1. The Blue Jays are set to sign Dylan Cease to the largest contract in franchise history. Hot stove season is in full swing, and Toronto is the latest team to make a splash. The Blue Jays are reportedly in agreement with Cease on a seven-year contract worth $210 million, which marks the largest deal in franchise history by a $60 million margin. The free-agent righty disappointed in his final season with the Padres, posting a 4.55 ERA, but he is among the top arms on the market and will bolster a rotation that came up inches short of a World Series victory this fall.
2. Michigan wins the Players Era Men's Championship crown. No. 7 Michigan rolled No. 12 Gonzaga, 101-61, in the tournament's championship game last night, earning the Wolverines an extra $1 million on top of the first $1 million the school got for participating. Kansas beat No. 17 Tennessee, 81-76, in the third-place game of Las Vegas event.
3. Arsenal beats Bayern Munich to headline a huge Matchday 5 in the UEFA Champions League. Arsenal is the best team in the world, writes James Benge after their 3-1 win over Bayern. The Gunners are the last perfect team standing in the UEFA Champions League, and after snapping Bayern's unbeaten start to the season, they look like the team to beat on the road to international club glory. In other Matchday 5 action, Liverpool stunningly dropped a 4-1 loss at home to PSV, continuing a run of dreadful form for the Reds. Once a preseason darling, they have now lost five of their last seven contests.
4. College football rivalry week begins with Friday's marquee matchups. Three top-25 showdowns make for a loaded Black Friday on the college gridiron. No. 4 Georgia is a two-touchdown favorite over No. 23 Georgia Tech (Brad Crawford and Chris Hummer are both siding with the Bulldogs to win by margin), No. 3 Texas A&M seeks to complete its perfect regular season at No. 16 Texas and No. 20 Arizona State hosts No. 25 Arizona in the Territorial Cup. And if that's not enough drama, all eyes will be on Lane Kiffin when No. 7 Ole Miss hits the road for the Egg Bowl against Mississippi State. Will it be his last game with the Rebels, or will he stay in Oxford? An announcement is expected on Saturday.
5. Two more names come off the college football coaching carousel. Colorado State will press the restart button ahead of its move to the new-look Pac-12. Jim Mora Jr. is on his way to Fort Collins after a successful run at UConn, where he completed a surprising rebuild that featured two nine-win seasons. Meanwhile, in the FCS, Southern University is reportedly poised to hire legendary NFL running back Marshall Faulk. He is currently the running backs coach under Deion Sanders at Colorado.

🏀 Do not miss this: Final spots in NBA Cup knockout stage up for grabs Friday

Only one day of group play action remains as the NBA Cup's knockout stage begins to take shape. The in-season tournament's first round concludes Friday with 11 games, including a pair of nationally televised matchups: Bucks at Knicks and Mavericks at Lakers.

Speaking of the Lakers, Luka Dončić is frustrated with the NBA Cup courts. The superstar said he slipped numerous times in Tuesday's win over the Clippers and pleaded for the league to change the decal-laden flooring because it is "dangerous."

Court concerns aside, here are the teams who have already punched tickets to the knockout stage:

• Raptors (East Group A winner)
• Lakers (West Group B winner)

And here is what's at stake on Friday:

• East B: Magic at Pistons, winner clinches
• East C: Knicks clinch with win; Heat clinch with win and Knicks loss
• East wild card: Cavaliers currently hold the spot, but Knicks, Pistons or Bucks are still possible
• West A: Suns at Thunder, winner clinches
• West C: Spurs at Nuggets, winner clinches
• West wild card: Suns currently hold the spot, but Spurs, Grizzlies or Clippers are still possible

🏈 Previewing NFL Thanksgiving and Black Friday games

Thanksgiving means football. And for the third straight year, Black Friday also means football. The NFL features four games across the two holidays, and it all starts at 1 p.m. when the Lions host the Packers. That's not a typo. For the first time in 43 years, the early Thanksgiving game will not kick off at 12:30 p.m. ET. Congratulations on the extra half hour of sleep this morning, West Coast fans!

Here is the four-game slate, with links to previews and predictions for each game:

• Packers at Lions, Thursday at 1 p.m. on Fox
• Chiefs at Cowboys, Thursday at 4:30 p.m. on CBS/Paramount+
• Bengals at Ravens, Thursday at 8:20 p.m. on NBC
• Bears at Eagles, Friday at 3 p.m. on Prime Video

And here are the biggest storylines from the weekday games:

• Need to know: Joe Burrow, officially activated from injured reserve, makes his long-awaited return for the Bengals on Thanksgiving.
• Upset alert: The Chiefs (-3), Ravens (-7) and Eagles (-7) are all in danger of losing straight-up, according to Tyler Sullivan.
• Best bets: Will Brinson likes the Lions (-2.5) to cover the spread against the Packers. He's also taking the Under 52.5 in Chiefs vs. Cowboys and the Over 51.5 in Bengals vs. Ravens.

👍👎 The best (and not-so-best) of the rest

• In NFL injury news, Baker Mayfield could play for the Buccaneers Sunday against the Cardinals despite the strain in his non-throwing shoulder. Drake London, however, is doubtful to suit up for the Falcons, and the Patriots placed rookie left tackle Will Campbell on injured reserve.
• Brian Kelly will receive his full $54 million buyout from LSU. The school sent him a formal letter of termination that states he was fired without cause and that it will pay the buyout if he fulfills his obligation to find a new job.
• The Angels and Anthony Rendon are in talks to buy out the final year of his contract. The oft-injured third baseman is reportedly expected to retire if they reach a deal.
• Frank Ragnow is set to unretire, giving the Lions' offensive line a jolt just in time for the playoff push.
• Nebraska is bracing for Dylan Raiola to explore a departure through the transfer portal.
• Anthony Davis brushed off the threat of a trade from the Mavericks.
• Diego Pavia made a strong argument as to why he deserves the Heisman Trophy.
• ULM is reportedly expected to name SJ Tuohy, of "The Blind Side" fame, as athletic director.
• The NCAA is considering changes to the college basketball transfer portal. The oversight committees proposed shrinking the men's and women's transfer windows to 15 days and moving them to the end of the Final Four. Coaching changes would also trigger 15-day transfer windows.
• Check out where Joe Burrow returns in our NFL QB Power Rankings. And take a look at the new No. 1 signal-caller on the college side.
• After their 6-1 start to the season, the Bulls took the biggest drop in our NBA Power Rankings, down seven spots.
• The Islanders' general manager change is paying off. They are substantial risers in our latest NHL Power Rankings.

📺 What we're watching Thursday and Friday

Thursday

🏀 Battle 4 Atlantis: No. 24 Vanderbilt vs. VCU (M), Noon on ESPN
🏈 Packers at Lions, 1 p.m. on Fox
🏀 Rady Children's Invitational: No. 10 Florida vs. TCU (M), 3 p.m. on FS1
🏈 Chiefs at Cowboys, 4:30 p.m. on CBS/Paramount+
🏀 Fort Myers Tip-Off: No. 16 North Carolina vs. No. 11 Michigan State (M), 4:30 p.m. on Fox
🏀 ESPN Events Invitational: No. 9 BYU vs. Miami (M), 5 p.m. on ESPN
🏈 Navy at Memphis, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 CBS Sports Thanksgiving Classic: No. 4 Duke vs. No. 22 Arkansas (M), 8 p.m. on CBS/Paramount+
🏀 Players Era Festival championship: No. 2 South Carolina vs. No. 4 Texas (W), 8 p.m. on truTV
🏈 Bengals at Ravens, 8:20 p.m. on NBC
🏀 CBS Sports Thanksgiving Classic: Northwestern vs. Oklahoma State (M), 10:30 p.m. on Big Ten Network
🏀 Players Era Festival (third place game): Duke vs. No. 3 UCLA (W), 10:30 p.m. on truTV

Friday

⛳ The Skins Game, 9 a.m. on Prime Video
🏈 No. 7 Ole Miss at Mississippi State, 12 p.m. on ABC
🏈 Iowa at Nebraska, 12 p.m. on CBS/Paramount+
🏈 No. 13 Utah at Kansas, 12 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 Eastern Illinois at No. 1 Purdue (M), 12 p.m. on Big Ten Network
🏀 No. 13 Illinois vs. No. 5 UConn (M), 12:30 p.m. on Fox
🏒 Rangers at Bruins, 1 p.m. on TNT
🏀 Battle 4 Atlantis championship, 1 p.m. on ESPN2
🏈 Bears at Eagles, 3 p.m. on Prime Video
🏀 ESPN Events Invitational championship, 3 p.m. on ESPN2
🏈 No. 4 Georgia at No. 23 Georgia Tech, 3:30 p.m. on ABC
🏈 Boise State at Utah State, 4 p.m. on CBS/Paramount+
🏀 Rady Children's Invitational championship, 5:30 p.m. on Fox
🏀 Acrisure Holiday Classic championship, 4:30 p.m. on truTV
🏒 Penguins at Blue Jackets, 7 p.m. on NHL Network
⚽ Women's international friendly: United States vs. Italy, 7 p.m. on TNT
🏀 NBA Cup group play: Bucks at Knicks, 7:30 p.m. on Prime Video
🏈 No. 3 Texas A&M at No. 16 Texas, 7:30 p.m. on ABC
🏈 No. 2 Indiana at Purdue, 7:30 p.m. on NBC
🏈 No. 25 Arizona at No. 20 Arizona State, 9 p.m. on Fox
🏀 NBA Cup group play: Mavericks at Lakers, 10 p.m. on Prime Video