Christmas is far-and-away my favorite holiday of the year. It has all of the benefits of Thanksgiving (friends, family, food), mixed with birthdays (presents), and then if you’re into ugly-sweater parties, then you can throw in a little bit of Halloween too. If you’re lucky enough to get a nice snow on Christmas morning, as it looks like we’ll have here in 2010, then it’s the perfect day.
You know all of that though. The most overlooked benefit of Christmas: SPORTS. If you’re a basketball and football junkie like myself, then there’s nothing better than lounging around for two or three days and eating a ton of great food while watching people work really hard to put a ball in a basket.
With so much on TV this year (and having seen every Christmas movie 22,348 times), I decided to put together a nice little guide for holiday television viewing, starting with Old School Michael Jordan. Why? Because it’s Michael Jordan!
Friday, December 24th
ESPN Classic – 3:00PM CST: 1993 Eastern Conference Finals, Game 5 – Chicago Bulls vs. New York Knicks
Why: Jordan goes for 29-10-14…Ewing gets 33-9… Series tied at 2-2… Madison Square Garden… Spike Lee… Marv Albert… Horace Grant’s glasses… You can't look at John Starks without immediately thinking "I despise"... Phil Jackson’s mustache… and Jordan.
ESPN - 7:00PM CST: #24 Hawaii vs. Tulsa (Sheraton Hawaii Bowl)
Why: Because it’s football… all of the scenic shots of Hawaii that will make you jealous… Hawaii’s offense is always entertaining, ranking 1st in the country in passing and 9th in scoring…. Tulsa’s offense is ranked 10th (shootout!)… again, its football and you’ve already seen “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “A Christmas Story” 472 times apiece.
Saturday December 25th
WGN – 11:00AM CST: Chicago Bulls at New York Knicks
Why: Bulls – Knicks rivalry is back, baby!... Derrick Rose is a treat to watch… Amare vs. the Noah-less Bulls is scary for Bulls fans… Danilo Gallinari is a three-point machine… Mike D’Antoni’s mustache… Stacey King’s attempt at making “Too big, too strong, too fast, TOO GOOD” a catchphrase for Derrick Rose (and not succeeding)
ABC – 1:30 PM CST: Boston Celtics at Orlando Magic
Why: Boston has won 14 straight… Orlando traded away half their team for Gilbert Arenas, Jason Richardson, and Hedo Turkoglu (and have looked awful since)… Dwight Howard’s head-to-shoulder ratio... the Shaq vs. Howard matchup... the front-running Orlando crowd which will be gone at the 1st sign of a blowout... Stan Van Gundy's appearance.
ABC – 4:00 PM CST: Miami Heat vs. Los Angeles Lakers
Why: Kobe vs. LeBron… two of the NBA’s top three teams… the ongoing LeBron-Wade integration… jokes about Chris Bosh… Ron Artest… the drinking game for every time the broadcast team says “Lebronkobe” or “Kobelebron”… you’ll be too full to move from all the food you’ve eaten all day... jokes about Pau Gasol.
Sunday, December 26th
CBS - 12:00 PM: New York Jets vs. Chicago Bears
Why: The Bears have a chance to clinch the 2-seed in the NFC with a win and a Eagles/Giants loss… the Fox game is either Rams (6-8) vs. 49ers (5-9), Lions (4-10) vs. Dolphins (7-7), or Redskins (5-9) vs. Jaguars (8-6), so your options are LIMITED… the broadcast team will have to “tip-toe” around the Rex Ryan controversy… Devin Hester…. Mark Sanchez’s injury.
CBS- 3:05 PM: Indianapolis Colts vs. Oakland Raiders
Why: Peyton Manning… Oakland’s excellent rushing offense vs. Indianapolis’ bad rush defense… Indy’s season is on the line… Tom Cable is 100% unpredictable… Joseph Addai may return… Oakland’s crazy fans… Reggie Wayne’s quietly monster season (99 receptions, 1247 yards).
Oh yeah, and try and get some quality time in with the folks too, won’t ya? Happy holidays!