02-12-2020, 08:32 AM
The menu was pretty light from my first Thanksgiving in the NFL as a rookie with the St. Louis Rams. Instant mashed potatoes -- the kind of stuff that comes in the big red box. Easy to make. I handled that. A precooked turkey. Throw it in the microwave? Yeah, cool. I guess that works. And a case of Icehouse. Longneck bottles, too. You know, dress it up nice for Thanksgiving.Thats it. Dig in.Gross? No doubt. But when four lonely rookies got together back in 2000 -- without family -- it was the best we could do. And we tried to have some sense of normalcy. Dinner, then turn on the Cowboys game, throw in a movie after. More beers. We laughed a lot. But it wasnt the same. Not even close.The pecan pie Mom makes? Nope. Or the sweet potatoes with the marshmallows on top? Nah. And the family, the little kids running around, all the traditions you love about Thanksgiving? Didnt have any of that either.I missed it. My teammates in St. Louis did too.As you get older in the league, you become more accustomed to missing holidays at home. It will never be ideal, but its also part of the gig as a pro. And your family adjusts too.But that first one? Yikes. I had a hard time. It was the first Thanksgiving I ever missed. I played under the old college football schedule of the 90s. At Iowa, we would wrap up the regular season versus the Gophers the weekend before Thanksgiving before heading back to our respective homes for the holiday.But when youre not there, its the small things you miss.?We used to have a family Turkey Bowl every Thanksgiving in Peoria, Illinois, across the street from my aunt and uncles house. Bad playcalling. Jump balls in the end zone. Quarterback scramble drills. Lots of turnovers. And some injuries. I busted up my dads knee once. And the adults capped off the game with Old Styles, mudslides and vodka tonics. Me too when I turned 21.But our celebration back in a Creve Coeur, Missouri, apartment was much different. Yeah, something was off about that turkey. It didnt look right coming out of the microwave. And we forgot gravy. So, we used ranch dressing on the mashed potatoes. The Icehouse? We couldve done better there.Mainly, just wasnt the same as being surrounded by family.Now, the cool thing about the pros is that everyone takes care of each other. Veteran players will open up their homes to the young cats. Some coaches, too. And everyone in the locker room makes sure that the guys have a place to go for the holiday.Practice starts much earlier in the day and players are out of the facility usually around 1 p.m. You try to keep as many traditions intact as possible. From the Cowboys late-afternoon kickoff to turkey around halftime, its a welcome break from the grind. And you need that as a player.But as the current NFL rooks will find out, it doesnt compare to being home.ESPN.com NFL analyst Matt Bowen played seven seasons as a defensive back in the NFL. Mecole Hardman Super Bowl Jersey . The phone hearing is scheduled for 4:30pm et/1:30pm pt. Winchester, who was not penalized for the hit, appeared to make contact with Kellys head early in the first period of Thursdays game in Boston. Chad Henne Super Bowl Jersey .35 million, one-year contract that avoided salary arbitration. Plouffe batted .254 with 14 home runs and 52 RBIs in 477 at-bats last season, his second as a regular in the lineup. http://www.thechiefsshoponline.com/Youth...fs-Jersey/ .com) - The Pittsburgh Penguins placed forward James Neal on injured reserve Tuesday. Damien Wilson Super Bowl Jersey . Pirlo limped out of Sundays 1-0 win over Udinese after just 13 minutes. Juventus says Pirlo underwent tests on Monday which revealed he has "a second-degree lesion to the collateral medial ligament in his right knee. Cameron Erving Super Bowl Jersey . The Celtics closed out their first preseason under Stevens on Wednesday night with a 101-97 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, who rested a lot of their lineup including former Celtics Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. There arent many teams that the St. Louis Cardinals have been able to beat at Busch Stadium this year.One of them is coming to town for the next four games, which might be the boost St. Louis needs as it fights for one of two National League wild-card spots with San Francisco and the New York Mets.The Cardinals welcome the Milwaukee Brewers for the opener of a four-game series Thursday night. St. Louis is 30-37 at home but 5-1 against Milwaukee, including a three-game sweep July 1-3.Although they went 5-4 on a nine-game road trip, the Cardinals (73-65) ended it with a 4-3 loss Wednesday night to Pittsburgh, enabling the surging Mets to tie them for the second wild-card spot. Both teams are a half-game behind the Giants, which blew a ninth inning lead at Colorado Wednesday night and fell 6-5.Had St. Louis delivered a bit better with runners in scoring position in its series finale against the Pirates, it could have overtaken the Giants. But it instead went 3-for-14, failing to add on to its first inning run after the first three hitters singled, hitting into a double play with the bases loaded in the fourth and leaving Yadier Molina stranded in the eighth after his leadoff double.We had chances, lot of chances, but we didnt execute in certain situations and it cost us, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said.Whats more, St. Louis saw its streak of games with a homer end at 25, which tied a National LLeague record set earlier this year by San Diego.ddddddddddddWhile St. Louis lost a game it could have won, the Brewers (62-77) were taking two of three from the Chicago Cubs, including a 2-1 verdict Wednesday night that saw third baseman Jonathan Villar homer twice.Chicagos magic number dropped to nine in the National League Central, but Milwaukee battled in the series as though it was pushing for a postseason berth.That felt like a real baseball game, like one youre on the edge of your seat the whole game, Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. It was a game youre hanging on every pitch, literally.Milwaukee gives the ball to right-hander Junior Guerra (7-3, 2.85 ERA) for the series opener. Guerra, who dropped his only start this year against the Cardinals, just returned from a disabled list stint against Pittsburgh on Saturday, throwing 3 1/3 scoreless innings before leaving after reaching 70 pitches.St. Louis counters with lefty Jaime Garcia (10-11, 4.41), whos dropped his last three starts, although he pitched well for six innings in a 9-1 setback at Cincinnati on Saturday. Garcia is 2-1 in three s