Weekend watchdog

When the NFL schedule came out, fans circled the Cowboys-Saints game as the highlight of Thanksgiving football.
Then the Cowboys flopped.
Sure Dallas has won two straight since chopping coach Wade Phillips. But their season is still a turkey.
The show must go on, and the Saints must win to keep pace with Atlanta in the NFC South. FOX has the festivities Thursday afternoon, after CBS opens the day with Tom Brady and the Patriots visiting Detroit.
The day concludes with the Bengals visiting the New York Jets on NFL Network. But people will likely be asleep by then, either due to the turkey dinner or getting ready for Friday's shopping.
The NFL weekend continues Sunday with the Redskins hosting the Vikings at 1 p.m. on FOX. Just six more games until Brett Favre's next retirement.
CBS in Washington will offer Miami at Oakland at 4 p.m., and FOX shows Eagles at Bears in Fishersville and Ravens-Bucs in Washington.
In primetime, the Chargers visit the Colts on NBC Sunday, then Monday ESPN has the NFC West contest between the 49ers and Cardinals.
College football pretty much closes down the regular season through the weekend, starting Thursday with Texas A&M meeting Texas at 8 p.m. on ESPN.
Friday features plenty of great football, as No. 2 Auburn plays No. 11 Alabama on CBS at 2:30 p.m. In primetime, No. 1 Oregon takes on Arizona on ESPN, followed by No. 4 Boise State at Nevada.
ABC has an afternoon doubleheader, starting with the Backyard Brawl between West Virginia and Pittsburgh at noon. Colorado closes out its time in the Big 12 with a visit to Nebraska.
The day starts with a Big East battle between Louisville and Rutgers at 11 a.m. on ESPN2.
Virginia Tech prepares for the ACC championship game by hosting Virginia Saturday at noon as the ACC game of the week.
Saturday's slate starts with Michigan's contest with Ohio State at noon on ABC. In the afternoon, fans will see either Wisconsin-Northwestern or Florida's visit to Florida State (the other game is on ESPN) and in primetime it's Oklahoma against Oklahoma State and Notre Dame heading west to meet USC.
ESPN2 starts Saturday with Michigan State against Penn State, and contests with ACC teams fill up the rest of the day on the Worldwide Leader of Sports. Boston College visits Syracuse at noon on ESPN, then ESPN2 shows N.C. State against Maryland at 3:30 p.m.
In primetime, South Carolina visits Clemson on ESPN2 and it's Georgia Tech-Georgia on ESPN.
CBS closes the SEC regular season with LSU's matchup with Arkansas.
Versus offers two of the top six in action, with No. 3 TCU at New Mexico at 4 p.m., followed by No. 6 Stanford hosting Oregon State. Comcast has the Big 12 contest between Missouri and Kansas Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
MASN shows the Big East game of the week Saturday at noon - Cincinnati vs. Connecticut - then heads west for the WAC contest between Hawaii and New Mexico State.
The NBA has a Thanksgiving doubleheader on TNT, with the Wizards in Atlanta at 8 p.m., followed by Sacramento visiting the L.A. Clippers. The Wizards then host Orlando Saturday on Comcast.
ESPN2 has the Friday twinbill, with the Rockets traveling to Charlotte at 7 p.m. and the Warriors-Grizzlies late.
The Capitals host a pair of 5 p.m. games this weekend - Friday against Tampa Bay and Sunday versus Carolina on Comcast.
It's Feast Week for college basketball over at ESPN. There's four games from the Old Spice Classic Thursday - starting at noon with Boston College vs. Texas A&M - and two more from the 76 Classic at 5 p.m. and 11:30. Friday there's five more tournament games, including the NIT Tipoff.
Saturday, ESPN2 has the Las Vegas Invitational at 10:30 p.m., then Sunday it's finals from the Old Spice Classic at 7 p.m. and 76 Classic at 9 p.m.
MASN has two games from the (not so) Great Alaska Shootout Thursday - Houston Baptist vs. Arizona State at 9 p.m., followed by Weber State against Alaska-Anchorage. There's two more games Friday, starting at 9:30 p.m., then the third place game Saturday night followed by the championship contest at 11:45 p.m.
West Virginia's Mountaineers host VMI Saturday at 7 p.m. on MASN. Comcast has Maryland's game with Elon Friday at 8 p.m. and Sunday goes with Florida against Florida State at 7:30 p.m.
The second UFL season closes with the championship game between Las Vegas and Florida Saturday at noon on Versus.