Forget the turkey, pigskin and pumpkin pie. If it's Thanksgiving, it's time for the annual National Dog Show Presented by Purina.
Yep, they have the sponsor's name right there in the title, just so you won't miss the product placement.
This year's National Dog Show, again co-hosted by John O'Hurley (Seinfeld), will air at noon Thursday on NBC, with 2,000 award-winning purebred canines representing more than 170 breeds taking the stage at the Kennel Club of Philadelphia.
The breeds will include the world's largest, smallest and most exotic. There also will be three new breeds making debuts.
This will be the 15th year that O'Hurley has co-hosted the event. He'll be joined by David Frei, expert analyst and the former host of Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show on USA Network. NBC touts Frei as "America's foremost authority on the sport."
Wait. Sport? Dog shows are a sport? Maybe when those pudgy handlers have to trot around the ring with their dogs. I'll call that sporting.
The hosting duo will be joined by NBC sportscaster Mary Carillo reporting from the frantic backstage benching area, where the dogs are prepared to compete.
Adding to the sporting theme, Olympic figure skaters Johnny Weir and Tara Lapinski are back with witty commentary and banter.
Longtime fans know that since 2003, 43 AKC-sanctioned breeds have been introduced by the Kennel Club of Philadelphia at the National Dog Show. The three new breeds this year are:
American hairless terrier. "An energetic, intelligent, fun-loving and high-spirited breed that originated from a mixed breed of terriers called feists brought over to North America from Europe in the 18th century."
Sloughi. "Graceful, noble and reserved, the sloughi is a medium-large, short-haired breed with an athletic build. It was developed in North Africa for hunting game. With a melancholy expression, the sloughi has a quiet loyalty to its owner that does not easily waver."
Pumi. "This medium-sized, agile Hungarian herding breed is energetic and has a whimsical expression and a tail that forms a circle over the back. The pumi is a family dog that's great with kids and other dogs and can live in a small home, provided they get enough daily exercise."
This year's fan favorite is sure to be year-old Hellion's Ronin Samurai, a 31-pound mini bull terrier with 14 ribbons already on his resume. He has also been quite the popular model in dog catalogs since he was 4 months old.
Don't feel guilty for sitting back and watching a bunch of dogs showing off -- the dogs are watching us. The American Veterinary Medical Association estimates there are almost 70 million pet dogs in the United States, with 36.5 percent of American households having at least one. The average is 1.6 dogs per household.
(For comparison, the association says there are 74.1 million cats in 30.4 percent of households. Average -- 2.1 per home.)
The dog show will run for two hours, but NBC hopes viewers will come early for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and hang around for the pooches.
MACY'S PARADE
The 90th annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade will air from 9 a.m. to noon Thursday on NBC and repeat from 2 to 5 p.m. As usual, there will be balloons, floats and performers, along with the commentary of Savannah Guthrie, Matt Lauer and Al Roker.
This year's edition will feature Tony Bennett, Aloe Blacc, Brett Eldredge, Christopher Jackson, Sandra Lee, Sarah McLachlan, the cast and Muppets of Sesame Street and Sprout's Chica.
Also on hand will be Olympic gold medalists Michelle Carter, Laurie Hernandez and Claressa Shields, U.S. Paralympic gold medalists Mikey Brannigan and Gianfranco Iannotta, and adorable America's Got Talent winner Grace VanderWaal.
Set to perform along 34th Street will be the Broadway cast members of Cats; Holiday Inn, The New Irving Berlin Musical; among others.
There will also be a sneak preview of NBC's Hairspray Live!
T-DAY FOOTBALL
Dog lover or not, if you can't imagine Thanksgiving without football, then TV has you covered. Here are the games lined up for Thursday and the big one on Friday.
If we time it just right, I envision all of us watching the dog show, then nodding off to the turkey tryptophan somewhere in the first quarter of the Cowboys' game.
Minnesota at Detroit 11:30 a.m. CBS.
Washington at Dallas 3:30 p.m. Fox.
Pittsburgh at Indianapolis 7:30 p.m. NBC.
On the college scene, LSU visits Texas A&M at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN.
Friday: The Razorbacks travel to Missouri for a 1:30 p.m. showdown on CBS.
Style on 11/20/2016