NEW YORK (Reuters) – The National Football League is as much a part of the Thanksgiving tradition in the United States as roasted Turkey and cranberry sauce.

With hundreds of millions of people at home for the annual feast, American football has been played on the holiday for their captive audience since the 1890s.

By Julian Linden

(Reuters) – Houston quarterback Matt Schaub passed for 527 yards, equaling the second-highest single-game total in National Football League history, as the Texans fought their way back from the brink of defeat on Sunday.

Aaron Rodgers and Matt Ryan also got it right when they really needed to as the Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Falcons both fought their way back to register comeback wins and stay on track for the playoffs.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Spending vasts amount of money is no guarantee for instant success, as the Miami Marlins discovered. Now, the team’s owners are under fire for a proposal to trade their most expensive players to Toronto.

Major League Baseball executives on Wednesday were still poring over terms agreed by the two sides before approving a swap that would shift high-priced players including Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle from the Marlins to the Blue Jays and slice some $160 million off Miami’s payroll.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The healing powers of sport are a contentious issue, with the line between uniting and dividing a thin one easily crossed, as the organizers of the New York Marathon learned on Friday.

The marathon was canceled because the public demanded it. Race officials had misjudged the mood of a city recovering from the devastation caused by superstorm Sandy and suddenly athletes from other sports were second guessing themselves.

By Julian Linden

(Reuters) – If sentiment plays any part, Game on Dude could be a sure bet to win Saturday’s $5 million Breeders’ Classic at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California.

The five-year-old gelding came desperately close to winning America’s richest horse race last year, only to be run down by Drosselmeyer in the shadows of the post.

By Julian Linden

(Reuters) – Game On Dude has been installed as the overwhelming favourite to win Saturday’s $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic, the feature event in the annual two-day racing carnival that gets underway at Santa Anita Park on Friday.

Game On Dude finished an agonizingly close second in last year’s one-and-a-quarter mile classic at Churchill Downs in Kentucky and has been elevated to the 9-5 favourite to make amends this week in North America’s richest horserace.

By Julian Linden

(Reuters) – Game On Dude has been installed as the overwhelming favorite to win Saturday’s $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic, the feature event in the annual two-day racing carnival that gets underway at Santa Anita Park on Friday.

Game On Dude finished an agonizingly close second in last year’s one-and-a-quarter mile classic at Churchill Downs in Kentucky and has been elevated to the 9-5 favorite to make amends this week in North America’s richest horserace.

By Julian Linden

(Reuters) – The Atlanta Falcons extended their unbeaten start to the National Football League season to seven games with victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

Showing no signs of complacency despite being the only undefeated team as the regular season approaches the halfway mark, the Falcons coasted to a comfortable 30-17 win with quarterback Matt Ryan passing for 262 yards and three touchdowns.

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Reuters) – The New York Giants crushed the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday in an ominous sign of their intentions to defend their Super Bowl title.

The Giants (4-2) made light work of the 49ers (4-2), the team that beat in last year’s NFC Conference final, to win 26-3, while last season’s AFC champions, the New England Patriots, suffered a surprise loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Reuters) – There was no miracle comeback for the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday as they were thrashed 35-9 by a New York Jets team that are showing flashes of their top form from seasons past.

A week after drawing praise for engineering a game-winning drive during the final minute for an upset win over the Green Bay Packers, Colts rookie quarterback Andrew Luck was unable to duplicate the feat against a fired-up Jets team.