which lost the final against Spain two years ago and took bronze in 2005.

So I dont know where it actually came from.I just know my great Uncle Lester used to tell it to me.Longtime readers of mine know about my late, great Uncle Lester whom I have written about before, both in this column and in my book. For those unfamiliar, my great Uncle Lester was the family patriarch of my fathers side of the family, overseeing his wife, Cookie (90 years young in February!); three daughters; seven grandkids; 15 great-grandkids; and countless cousins, in-laws and other extended family.He meant the world to me, and when I would get to see him in Denver, he would always say the same thing. Maaaaaatttthewwwww, he would drawl. He had a way of making my name four syllables. Sitting there in his 10-gallon hat, familiar stogie in his right hand, my Uncle Lester made his money in land and oil and always looked the part.Maaaaaattttthewwww, hed drawl, come philosophize with your old Uncle Lester. Thats what he called it. As a self-made man who grew up the son of poor immigrants, he had to start working full time at age 13. As you might imagine from a self-taught man who served our country overseas in World War II and was a self-made millionaire with the same girlfriend -- as he always referred to Aunt Cookie -- for more than 70 years, my uncle had many strong opinions backed up by a wealth of life experience. And when he would philosophize, he would share them with me.I remember one day he saw that I was down and asked why. I complained about what I am sure was some dumb teenage problem that I was positive was the end of the world right then. Yeah, Ive been dramatic my entire life.I asked my uncle what I should do. He didnt answer me directly, but instead just smiled. What? I said. He just smiled, nodded, and then asked me if Id heard the old Yiddish fable about the man in the small house.I hadnt. Uncle Lester nodded, put his stogie down, turned to look at me and started in: Theres a young man in town. Recently married, the man has a small house. And one day, he goes to see the rabbi in town. Everyone in town knew the rabbi was the smartest man in town, the most learned.So the man sits down and says, Rabbi, I have a terrible problem. My house is too small. I am recently married, and we want to start a family. But my house is too small, and I cannot afford a bigger one. Nor can I add to the house as we use the land for our farm, which is how I make my living. I do not know what to do. Can you help me get a bigger house?The rabbi sat and listened intently to the concerns and excuses of the man, saying nothing. And finally, the rabbi spoke.I want you to go home and bring two of your goats into the house to live with you.The man was shocked. But, Rabbi ...The rabbi held up a hand to silence the man. Do as I say. Bring the goats in, and then come back and see me in a week.The man was confused. This made no sense and would not help his issue at all. When he went home, his wife didnt want to do it. But the man said, The rabbi is the smartest person in town. The most learned. We have to do what he says. The wife glumly nodded, so they went out and brought the goats into live with them.A week later, the man went to see the rabbi. He told the rabbi that it had been tough, but he had done what the rabbi had asked. The rabbi nodded.Now I want you to go back home and move your donkey into the house as well.But, Rabbi! the man argued, and again the rabbi held up a hand. Do as I say. Come back and see me in a week.So once again, scratching his head, the man walked and reluctantly did as the rabbi said, bringing the donkey in the house to live with him, his wife and the two goats.A week later he came back to see the rabbi. I have to say, I am very confused, Rabbi. But I have done as you say.The rabbi nodded and said, I want you to go home and also bring your cow to live in the house with you, your wife, your goats and donkey.The man practically exploded. Rabbi! We cant! We can barely move around as it is!Do as I say, and come see me in a week.And so, reluctantly and with great effort, the couple did just that. A week later, the man visited the rabbi.It has been very trying, Rabbi, but we have done as you instructed.The rabbi nodded and said, Now I want you to go home and take all of your animals out of your house. Come see me tomorrow.The man went home and did just that. The next day, he came back to see the rabbi with a huge smile on his face.Rabbi, we have so much room now. We do not need a bigger house or more land. We have everything we need to start a family. Thank you, Rabbi!And with that, my uncle looked up at me. Old Yiddish fable. Old Yiddish fable, and he grinned at me.He had given me the answer to my problem in the way only he could.He told me that story four decades ago, and yet I can remember it like it was yesterday. Was thinking about it a lot recently, with Thanksgiving upon us.Monday night, I was complaining on Twitter about the Texans complete inability to get the ball to DeAndre Hopkins, about the touchdown taken away, about the poor officiating and all of it, and it was a typical whiny Twitter conversation in which I heard from followers, also frustrated, many of them having just suffered excruciating losses by half a point, half a yard, mere decimals.Its easy to complain. Hey, Im as guilty as the next person, you know? Theres a reason there is such a thing as the Bitter Berry on the podcast.As the holidays get closer, the weather gets colder and the fantasy season gets narrow and close to ending for some ... frustration is sure to boil up. And there is no doubt that there are very real world issues that deserve concern.So as Thanksgiving is upon us, I thought I would share my uncles story and remind you to think of the man and the small house. We often have everything we need, we just have to look at it from a different perspective, you know?I assure you, no matter what your situation is in life, there is someone out there who has it worse. Trust me. Just the fact you can read this on a computer or phone or tablet means you have it better than many folks. You have much, much to be thankful for.I know I certainly do. I miss my uncle terribly, and I think often of my Aunt Cookie and the entire family in Denver. As you read this, Ill be at home with my wife and kids being thankful for that and knowing how blessed I am to be able to come in on Sunday and talk about fake football.I am truly blessed, and if Thanksgiving is about being thankful, allow me to take a moment to tell you how grateful I am that you continue to come on this journey with me, putting up with the bad, celebrating the good and allowing me into your life for a few moments every week.Its not lost on me, and I thank you for it.Lets get to it.All team stats referenced are for the past four weeks, unless otherwise noted. For your convenience, the Thanksgiving section that was published earlier has been removed but can still be seen here. On Thanksgiving, its appropriate to show love and appreciation for Thirsty Kyle Soppe of ESPN Fantasy for his help with the column every week, including this one.Quarterbacks I love in Week 12Russell Wilson, Seahawks: As hot a quarterback as there is in fantasy -- amirite, Ciara? -- Wilson gets another strong matchup here. Averaging more than 300 yards a game in his past three, the Bucs are 25th against the pass and have allowed 20 touchdown passes on the year, which, now that I write it down, seems like a lot. Wilson is completing a league-high 59.3 percent of his deep passes this year, and wouldnt you know it, Tampa has allowed a league-high 42 pass plays of 20-plus yards. Wilson is locked in as a top-five play this week and is worth the price in daily.Marcus Mariota, Titans: At least 295 total yards in three straight games, along with total 10 touchdowns, means he has had more than 20 points in all of those games. He is on the longest streak of multi-passing touchdown games in the NFL, at seven, and after Sunday, itll be eight. The Bears offense will struggle in this one, allowing for Mariota to leverage good field position into scoring opportunities. Mariotas mobility will help against the Chicago Ds strength, its front seven, and with the Bears having allowed eight touchdown passes in their past four, I expect Mariota to finish as a top-10 QB.Others receiving votes: Those Andrew Luck owners who are scrambling -- Get it? Scrambling? Eh, what do you know? -- to find a replacement should look to a guy weve been talking about quite a bit on the podcast the past month: Colin Kaepernick. Over the past three weeks, Kap has the same number of fantasy points as Derek Carr?and?has been the fifth-best fantasy QB. Since making his first start in Week 6, he is a top-10 fantasy QB on a points-per-game basis. The Dolphins D has played better, but it has struggled against mobile quarterbacks, allowing 23 points to Tyrod Taylor and 30 to Marcus Mariota, and the rushing is what keeps Kaps floor high. ... The Browns have allowed multiple touchdown passes in nine of 11 games this season and at least 20 QB points in five of their past seven games, putting Eli Manning on QB2 with upside watch. ... The truly QB desperate can look to Carson Wentz, who has double-digit fantasy points in three of the past four and has a great matchup against a truly banged-up Green Bay secondary that has allowed seven touchdown passes in its past two games.Quarterbacks I hate in Week 12Philip Rivers, Chargers: Rivers is a QB2 who is completing a career-low 62.1 percent of his passes. Hell face the Texans fourth-ranked pass defense in a game that should feature a ton of Melvin Gordon against Houstons 21st-ranked run defense. Hope Im wrong on this one, because I need to use Rivers in two leagues this week, but the Texans have allowed the fifth-fewest fantasy points per game to opposing QBs. Yes, Derek Carr had a nice night against them, but the Raiders got a lot of yards after the catch, with running backs scampering on missed angles and Amari Cooper doing what few humans on the planet can do, so, you know, tough to count on. The Texans are allowing just 11 fantasy points a game to opposing quarterbacks at home this year, and no opposing QB (including Luck, Mariota and Matthew Stafford) has thrown more than one touchdown in?Houston.Andy Dalton, Bengals: The Ravens have allowed just 12 points per game this year to opposing QBs, and The Red Rifle comes in more like an orange pop gun, having failed to throw multiple touchdown passes in three straight games. No A.J. Green, no?Giovani Bernard, no thanks.Running backs I love in Week 12Jay Ajayi, Dolphins: Just because its obvious doesnt mean it isnt true. At home against a 49ers team that has allowed 13 rushing touchdowns to running backs in its past eight games and more than 200 rushing yards in six of its past seven, Ajayi has a legitimate shot to once again be the weeks top fantasy back. Hell be an insanely (and deservedly) popular daily play. Ajayi is top five in the NFL in yards per carry before and?after first contact, and youll never guess what NFL team allows the most yards before contact.Thomas Rawls, Seahawks: Welcome back, Thomas. Ready to carry the workload with everyone this side of Alex Collins banged up, Rawls has four career games with 18 or more carries. He has five touchdowns in those games, scoring in each of them while averaging more than 6 yards a carry. In Weeks 3-6, without a healthy Rawls or C.J. Prosise, the Seahawks No. 1 back was Christine Michael, and he got 18 carries in all of them. Now, Russell Wilson is healthier than he was then, and this offense is less run-oriented, obviously. Wilson is a love, too, but whatevs. Since Week 5, the Bucs have allowed the fourth-highest average yards before contact per carry (3.15). Theres plenty for everyone to eat here against the Bucs 25th-ranked run defense, and Rawls is an easy top-10 play for me.Devontae Booker, Broncos:?With Booker getting more than 81 percent of Denvers running back touches the past three games, the Kapri Bibbs thing never really materialized. Nor did the Booker being a stud thing, but I like his chances of heading in that direction Sunday against a Chiefs team that is 27th against the run. This game feels like a low-scoring slugfest, so I expect volume here for Booker in a prime-time start at home off the bye, putting him solidly in RB2 territory.Rashad Jennings, Giants: On the hate list last week, Jennings shut me up against a tough Bears run defense, and the Giants are finally sticking with him. With at least 18 touches the past two weeks, he has rewarded the teams faith in him by averaging 4.8 yards per carry and racking up 238 total yards. The Browns are giving up 166.4 rush yards per game and have allowed 8 touchdowns over their past 5 games. But why go on? Admit it, I had you at the Browns. Rashads top 15 for me this week.Others receiving votes: Carlos Hyde got 22 touches last week and looks fully healthy. Kaepernicks mobility helps here, so expect another heavy dose of carries against Miamis 30th-ranked run defense. ... Doug Pederson is turning into Mike Shanahan for a new generation, if you consider what he says and then what he actually does with his running backs. That said, Id be surprised to see Ryan Mathews or Darren Sproles get a lot of work, even if active, making Wendell Smallwood (75 percent available) a high-upside RB2 against Green Bays leaky run defense, which has allowed seven touchdowns to running backs in the past four games. ... With Blake Borltes bortling his way to the injury report, and T.J. Yeldon, uh, yeldoning there as well, expect the Jags to lean heavily on Chris Ivory against the Bills 20th- ranked run defense. There are only five teams in the NFL that have allowed more rushing touchdowns this year than the Buffalo Bills.Running backs I hate in Week 12Jordan Howard, Bears: Not a great matchup here against the Titans (remember them?). They have allowed less than 65 rushing yards to running backs in six of their past seven games and are the seventh-best run defense over the past four weeks, and, you know, Matt Barkley is going to start under center for the Bears. Without?Alshon Jeffery?or?Zach Miller to throw to, Chicago can expect a loaded box for Howard and a very inefficient offense, limiting scoring opportunities for him. Howard is just a flex play for me this week, based solely on volume.Latavius Murray, Raiders:?Murray has been held to less than 60 rushing yards in seven of his eight games this year, but you havent cared, because he has been scoring touchdowns. In fact, 48 percent -- or, you know, almost half of Murrays fantasy points this season -- have come in the red zone. Well, the Panthers rank third-best in the NFL in red zone defensive efficiency and are the second-best rushing defense overall. They havent allowed a RB rushing touchdown since Week 4 and have given up just three all season. I expect this game to be all about Derek Carr and his receivers, leaving Murray as merely a flex play.Wide receivers I love in Week 12Doug Baldwin, Seahawks: Apparently I am on Seattle this week. Great matchup as mentioned in the Wilson write-up: Baldwin leads Seattle in targets over the past three weeks with at least 80 yards or a score in three straight games (including the crazy three-touchdown game), he is on the rise alongside Russell Wilson and the entire Seahawks offense.Demaryius Thomas, Broncos: With at least 10 targets in five straight games, at least five catches in nine straight and, as Mike Clay notes in his terrific WR/CB matchup article, DT lines up wide to Trevor Siemians left on 45 percent of his pass routes. Its there that (struggling corner Phillip) Gaines has lined up 93 percent of the time this season. Thomas still sees some Marcus Peters, but Im rolling him out there as a top-10 play. Worth noting: Since their Week 5 bye, the Chiefs have faced four fantasy-relevant WRs who stand at least 6 feet, 3 inches tall (Thomas is 6-3):?Michael Thomas, Allen Robinson, Kelvin Benjamin, and Mike Evans. Each of them went for at least 6 for 76.Julian Edelman, Patriots: Since Tom Bradys return in Week 5, Julian Edelman has seen 61 targets in six games, identical to Julio Jones. At least 99 yards or a touchdown in three straight, plus?Rob Gronkowskis expected absence should only increase Edelmans usage against the Jets struggling 19th-ranked secondary. Top-10 play for me in standard.Others receiving votes: Jordan Matthews has seen 10 or more targets in four straight games and, as you may have heard, the Packers secondary is, um, struggling. ... Sterling Shepard has scored in three straight games and, with Joe Haden expected to shadow Odell Beckham Jr., you could certainly see some extra love going Shepards way (Odell will still be heavily targeted of course). ... Steve Smith Sr. has scores in back-to-back games, at least eight catches in three of his past six and gets a Bengals team that has given up 45 receptions for 496 yards and three touchdowns to opposing wideouts in just the past three games. ... I see you,?DeVante Parker, with your back-to-back games of double-digit fantasy points and a matchup with a 49ers squad that is top three in the NFL in terms of most deep completions allowed, deep touchdowns surrendered and highest completion percentage against on deep balls.Wide receivers I hate in Week 12Brandon Marshall, Jets: Single-digit fantasy points in five straight, hes killing fantasy teams. So if you own him and are still reading this because you are still alive in your league, congrats on overcoming that early-round land mine. Yeesh. He has gone five straight without more than 70 yards, the first time hes done that since 2010 with the Dolphins. Hes caught just 48.9 percent of his targets this year, sixth worst among qualified wideouts. Yeah, hes been BRU-TAL. With expected shadow coverage from?Malcolm Butler?and, shall we say, inconsistent QB play from Ryan Fitzpatrick (hey, its the holidays, Im being kind), Marshall is nothing more than a risky WR3. I have him in two leagues and he is nowhere near my starting lineup in either.Tyrell Williams, Chargers: Im super nervous about Williams for all the reasons I listed in the Rivers passage. Denver shut him down twice this year with a total of four catches for 32 yards, and while I am not saying Houston is Denver in the secondary, the Texans are really good, and with Travis Benjamin back, I expect Williams target share to go down a little here as well. Hell see a lot of underrated corner A.J. Bouye, making him a WR3 for me rather than the high-end WR2 he has been more recently.Brandon LaFell and Tyler Boyd, Bengals: Lets see how this offense looks without A.J. Green before we risk anyone in the passing game not named Tyler Eifert, cool?Tight ends I love in Week 12Zach Ertz, Eagles: Averaging 8.7 targets a game over his past three, and the Packers defensive struggles extend to tight ends, where they give up the sixth-most fantasy points to the position. Top-seven play for me.C.J. Fiedorowicz, Texans: He has recorded five or more catches in four of his past five, and the Chargers are second in terms of number of QB pressures this year. And when the pressure comes, over 43 percent of the team receptions go to tight ends, which only makes sense, and only one team targets the tight end more than Houston. Hes a high-floor but low-end TE1 who is still available in 62 percent of leagues.Others receiving votes: Will Tye has gotten at least five targets in three straight games, scored last week and now gets a Browns squad that gives up the most fantasy points to opposing tight ends. ... Vance McDonald now has scores in two of the past three, at least six targets in four straight and the Dolphins are in the upper half of most fantasy points allowed to tight ends. You could do worse for your streaming needs in deeper leagues.Tight ends I hate in Week 12Coby Fleener, Saints: The Rams have allowed just 2.6 fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends the past five games. Fleener has under 50 in five straight and less than five targets a game over his past seven. Brutal. He is tight ends answer to Brandon Marshall.Jared Cook, Packers: Dont let last week suck you in. He is not good at football. The Eagles have allowed the third-fewest points to tight ends (they havent faced many good ones, but once again, Jared Cook is not good) and opposing tight ends have scored five or fewer points in seven of their 10 games this year. Weve seen this before: Cook has a big game and falls back to Earth. I get it -- on the field with Aaron Rodgers, anything can happen, but if he goes off, it wont be for me.Defenses I love in Week 12New York Giants D/ST: You know ... Cleveland. The Browns allow the second-most sacks per game. G-Men are still available in about 20 percent of leagues.Tennessee Titans D/ST: You know ... Matt Barkley. As our player card notes, the Titans are sixth in the NFL in blitz rate and Barkley has struggled against, well, everything. No?Alshon Jeffery?or Zach Miller for this offense either; this could get ugly. Titans D is available in 75 percent of leagues.Others receiving votes: The opposing defense has scored at least six points in six of the past seven 49ers games, making the Miami Dolphins D you picked up last week viable again this week. ... The San Diego Chargers have double-digit fantasy points in two of the past three, are coming off a bye, and, you know ... Brock.Defenses I hate in Week 12Carolina Panthers D/ST: Averaging just 2.5 points per game on the road this year, I dont love Carolina (especially with Luke Kuechly not playing) on the road at Oakland this week, where opposing defenses average less than three points a game. Behind Derek Carr and his receiving corps, the Raiders have allowed the second-fewest fantasy points to opposing defenses.Philadelphia Eagles D/ST: The struggles of the Packers defense have kept Aaron chucking it all night long, and thats the last thing you want if you own Phillys defense. No thanks.Matthew Berry, The Talented Mr. Roto, will always have room for you and your goats. He is the creator of RotoPass.com, a paid spokesman for DraftKings.com and one of the owners of the Fantasy Life app. Brian Bowen Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. Reggie Miller Jersey . With Parker having a quiet game for once, Nicolas Batum and Boris Diaw provided the scoring as France won its first major basketball title by beating Lithuania 80-66 on Sunday. It was a victory that ended a decade of frustration for Parker and a talented French generation, which lost the final against Spain two years ago and took bronze in 2005. https://www.cheappacers.com/ . Patrice Bergeron and Daniel Paille scored 20 seconds apart a few minutes after Stamkos was taken off the ice on a stretcher with a broken right leg, and the Bruins beat the Lightning 3-0 on Monday afternoon. Aaron Holiday Jersey . Woodson said during a radio interview Thursday that the Knicks Carmelo Anthony doesnt get the same calls as other superstars. Antonio Davis Jersey .Y. -- Leading 3-0 with only 11:25 left, the Colorado Avalanche committed a seemingly meaningless penalty to give the New York Islanders a power play. NEW ORLEANS -- The Detroit Lions will be without wide receiver?Marvin Jones?against the New Orleans Saints.Jones, who had been battling a thigh injury all week and was limited in practice, was officially deemed inactive Sunday. Jones is the Lions primary deep threat and their leading receiver with 730 yards.With Jones out, expect Andre Roberts to slide into the starting lineup on the outside with Anquan Boldin continuing to be used in the slot.dddddddddddd The Lions also called up TJ Jones from the practice squad, and hell serve as the teams No. 4 receiver.Detroit will also rely heavily on running back Theo Riddick and tight end Eric Ebron to make plays as the Lions try to keep pace with the top offense in the NFL. ' ' '