The BCS comes under fire every year for its somewhat arbitrary ranking system. Should what a team does off the field contribute to their success on the field? Should the BCS try to make players better people?

Happy Thanksgiving, folks.  There's nothing more comforting than a big, fat meal with the people you're close to-- for a lot of sports fans, however, the Thanksgiving meal is just a warm up.  The main event is watching football.

The majority of NFL games take place on Sundays, and are televised in the regions where the competing teams are most popular.  Thanksgiving football is unique in that it has largely been hosted by the same teams, in the same cities, year after year.  Before the National Football League existed, Thanksgiving day football games frequently occurred on a local level.  However, by the early 20th century those traditions had faded.  It wasn't until 1934 that the owner of the Portsmouth Spartans decided to move the team to Detroit, transforming the team into the Detroit Lions and using a Thanksgiving game to generate hype for Detroit's new team.  It was a success, and the tradition began.  Other teams wanted to get on board, and the Dallas Cowboys have made a tradition out of Thanksgiving play as well.

Sports have the ability to really bring people together, and in the case of Thanksgiving Football, generate nationwide interest in games hosted by the same city year after year.  The NFL Thanksgiving classic has become a part of my family's holiday ritual, and I know we aren't alone.  Happy football day, everybody.

When I think about Football, I usually think of American Football, the kind of football that involves huge shoulder pads and helmets that make the players look like futuristic robots.  I think of football as a uniquely American game, but the truth is that it's just one of many different variations on old football and rugby games from the British Isles.  The oldest known game of its type seems to be "Cnapan", which was played in the area that is now Wales during the middle ages.  The sport doesn't seem to have been institutionalized at all, and there were no official rules.  Rather, peasants would run around punting and throwing slippery, greased up wooden balls in teams based on localities.

The last time I mentioned Ohio State on PlayCity – it wasn't with much enthusiasm.

But after coming across a Fox Sports article highlighting Penn State and Ohio State, I quickly regained my Buckeye pride.

This Saturday during the Ohio State/Penn State football game, both teams will sport orange uniforms to show solidarity in the fight against kidney cancer.

Ohio State and Penn State football teams are members of Uplifting Athletes, an organization that "enables college football players to raise money and awareness for rare disease charities."

According to the National Cancer Institute, kidney cancer incidence has been increasing at a rate of about 2 percent per year for the past 65 years – the reasons are unclear at this point.  Over 50,000 new cases of kidney cancer have been reported in 2008, and over 13,000 deaths have been reported.  Arguably considered a less known type of cancer, kidney cancer is more common among men than women.  Perhaps this is one reason why PSU and OSU have come together through Uplifting Athletes to bring about awareness.

Speaking as someone with a relative currently living with breast cancer, I'm delighted to see athletes coming together in solidarity to bring about cancer awareness through sport.

Penn State Football Uplifting Athletes

25-year-old Drew Chafetz and business partner Alfredo Axtmayer aren't in the business of making money. Instead, the young social entrepreneurs have chosen to dedicate their time, energy, and social resources to helping kids play.

Their organization, love.futbol, works with impoverished communities across the globe to construct football fields and provide safe, accessible spaces where children can play soccer. Thus far, love.futbol has helped to build three low-cost, sustainable soccer fields in Guatemala. The organization provides funding and resources for each project, but also relies upon volunteer participation, both in organizing projects and in on-site construction work.

"I am immeasurably grateful to the beautiful game and determined to give back. It is a privilege to share the inspiration in my life with children who share my passion yet face great challenges to playing soccer." —Drew Chafetz

Just another great example of youth-led initiatives making a difference and helping us play :)