What 2 Watch (Nov. 25-27)
This weekend in sports is not full of games but the games that are this weekend are big ones. The Canadian Football world is finishing up this weekend with both championship games this weekend. The 47th Vanier Cup kicks things off on Friday while the 99th Grey Cup ends the Canadian Football weekend. The NFL continues their week after a full slate of games on Thursday as they march towards the playoffs. The NCAA finishes up the regular season this weekend with Rivalry Week in full swing as teams take on their bitter rivals leading to a very unpredictable weekend. Another racing league will finish as the Formula 1 season finishes this weekend with the Brazilian Grand Prix. Meanwhile American Thanksgiving will see a new tradition with the NHL’s 1st annual Thanksgiving Throwdown. The CHL continues to be featured on Friday Night Football with the WHL taking centre stage. There may not be an overload of sports but the games that are on mean a great deal and will all be great to watch.
NHL Hockey: Thanksgiving Showdown
The NHL will try to capitalize on the American Thanksgiving sports weekend with the first ever Thanksgiving Showdown. The game will feature two of the classic American teams in the NHL as the original six will be featured on the first big game on NBC’s main network. The Detroit Red wings and Boston Bruins will face off on Black Friday after a day off in the NHL for Thanksgiving Thursday. Detroit has recovered from a slow start to get a 12-7-1 record making them second in the Central division. The Bruins have a similar story after suffering through a slow start they have launched themselves to a 13-7-0 record and first place in the Northeast. Both of these teams will be looking to continue their strong November with another win as the second month in the season begins to wind down. They will also be featured in a big game for the NHL as they look to take control of the Friday after Thanksgiving, which most Americans take off after Thanksgiving Thursday, as they continue to find ways to engrain themselves in the American Sports world.
When: Friday November 25th
Time: 1:00 pm
Channel: NBC/TSN
47th Vanier Cup
The Big Game is here as the Canadian Football begins to wrap up this Friday with the end of the College Season. Since September the McMaster Marauders and Laval Rouge et Or have been fighting it out for their chance at the big prize. Laval will be making their second appearance in the Vanier Cup in as many years as they hope to defend their Championship. They will also be playing for a record as they currently have 6 Vanier Cups and are tied with the Western Mustangs for most Vanier Cup Championships. With a win the Rouge et Or would go 7-0 in Vanier Cups games and take sole possession with the most Vanier Cups. Standing in their way is the McMaster Marauders who are riding the top offence in the CIS through the OUA and into the Vanier. McMaster has never won a Vanier Cup and will hope to make their record 1-1 in Vanier Cup Finals. The last time the Marauders made the finals was the 3rd Vanier Cup in 1967 when they lost to the Alberta Golden Bears. The Marauders this year will look to change that trend and win in only their second Vanier Cup in team history. Both teams will face off to kick off the end of the Canadian Football Season and start Grey Cup Weekend.
When: Friday November 25th
Time: 9:00 pm
Channel: TSN
CHL Hockey: Medicine Hat Tigers vs. Edmonton
The Friday Night Hockey Tradition will continue this time featuring the WHL as Sportsnet makes their rounds to the WHL. After featuring the OHL and QMJHL the last two weeks Sportsnet will now move on to the next league. It will be a provincial battle between tow Alberta Teams in WHL as Medicine Hat takes on Edmonton. Medicine Hat is looking to get back on top of the Central Division after a great start to the season. The Oil Kings will be looking to continue their climb up the Central Division and beating Medicine Hat will help them greatly. The season series has been all Medicine Hat with a 2-0 record against Edmonton. To get their first win against the Tigers this year the Oil Kings will lean on Griffin Reinhart to stop the Tigers offence. Reinhart is one of the premiere players in the WHL as he is ranked #5 in the top WHL Players eligible for the draft. As in every WHL battle expect a lot of defence and hard-hitting with the WHL known for their toughness.
When: Friday November 25th
Time: 9:00 pm
Channel: Sportsnet One
NCAA Football: #2 Alabama Crimson Tide vs. #24 Auburn Tigers
Rivalry Week has begun and one of the biggest games all weekend will be the Iron Bowl between two state rivals. With less than 200 miles between the two schools the rivalry was natural and has been kicked up with the success of both programs. Dating back to 1893 this rivalry game has become one of the many classics in College Football and will be played for the 75th time. This year the rivalry will be pumped up one more notch after an incident last year. After last year’s Iron Bowl the Auburn Faithful left the stadium to the Oaks at the entrance of the school to celebrate the win. They began throwing toilet paper on the Oaks in a long-standing tradition win or lose for the Tiger fans. Then weeks later the Oaks began to die seemingly for no reason. It was later found out that an Alabama fan was so angry at the comeback win by Auburn that he injected a poison into the soil killing the trees. The man was arrested and the rivalry was kicked up another notch. This will be the first meeting between the two teams since the tree poisoning and will provide enough of a storyline for the game. There is also the fact that Alabama is currently sitting in a perfect spot to play in the National Championship Game and there is nothing the Tigers would like more than to eliminate them from contention this week. The Iron Bowl will enter it’s 76th version and will be just as intense as ever before which means it is not a game you want to miss.
When: Saturday November 26th
Time: 3:30 pm
Channel: CBS
Formula 1: Brazilian Grand Prix
The Formula 1 season is nearing its end with one race left and everything figured out in the standings. Sebastien Vettel is the champion of the 2011 season and will miss out on his opportunity to break a record for most wins. After not finishing last race Vettel missed his chance to break Michael Schumacher’s record for most wins in a season. He will still try to win the race to tie the record as he looks to finish off another successful season. The Brazilian Grand Prix will be the end of the 2011 season as teams look to get one more race under their belt before they leave for the winter to find out what they can do next year. This race will mean little but pride as every racer will look to take the last win of the season in order to finish on a positive note. Some racers will also be looking for a win to impress potential suitors for teams if their contracts are up. The season will finish in the same manner as usual with everything figured out but at the end of the race the hope for 2012 season begins.
When: Sunday November 27th
Time: 10:55 am
Channel: TSN
NFL Football: Chicago Bears vs. Oakland Raiders
The Chicago Bears will take on the Oakland Raiders in the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend in an interesting matchup. The Bears will try to continue their success over the last 5 weeks and continue to make a strong run at the NFC north title. The Bears have won the last five games they have played behind much better play by their line and the running game led by Matt Forte. They will be without one key member though as quarterback Jay Cutler will be out of the game thanks to a broken thumb. This means Caleb Hainey will take over the offence as he looks to keep the strong play going. Meanwhile the Oakland Raiders have been a good team winning games but not dominating anyone. They still have a shot at the AFC West Title and will be looking to win their third straight and begin to take hold of the division. This game will be an interesting one especially as Caleb Hainey will be watched closely to see if he can continue the success of the last 5 games.
When: Sunday November 27th
Time: 4:05 pm
Channel: Fox
99th Grey Cup
The Canadian Football Weekend will end on Sunday with the 99th Grey Cup in Vancouver, British Columbia. This will be a great matchup of East versus West with both teams leaning on the defence to win games. The B.C. Lions will be playing at home at newly renovated B.C. Place as they look to take advantage of homefield. The Lions have gotten here after winning 10 of their last 11 games after a poor start to the season. They have done this thanks to their strong defensive play and their young QB who has been able to take over the team and guide them to the big game. Meanwhile the Winnipeg Blue Bombers have been great all year and were able to unseat the Beasts of the East in the Montreal Alouettes to win first place and earn a spot in the Grey Cup. The Bombers have also done this through their strong defence who rank the top in the league in sacks and were coined as Swaggerville. They will also be looking to CFL veteran Buck Pierce who will be returning to the city that he began his career in. The Lions and Bombers will face off for the big prize in what promises to be a big defensive struggle but may end up being a shootout as is the case with games built as a defensive struggle.
When: Sunday November 27th
Time: 6:30 pm
Channel: TSN
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