😎 The Last NFL-Less Weekend

Labor Day signals the waning of summer and the beginning of football. [View in browser]( [FOX SPORTS INSIDER WITH MARTIN ROGERS] In today’s FOX Sports Insider with Martin Rogers: Labor Day signals the last weekend without America's true pastime sport ... we make our predictions for NFL rookie awards ... and more! If things were still as they were a quarter-century ago, we’d have had NFL games this holiday weekend, a three-day special to kick off the new season even as much of America broils and swelters through a summer that just won’t chill out. The NFL played on Labor Day weekend — and the actual Monday holiday itself — for years, using it as a frequent campaign curtain-raiser from the time the league expanded to a 16-game schedule in 1978. There were, as with any opening slate, performances that were mighty and memorable and others that were barely noticed at the time, let alone for posterity. Dan Marino threw a 5-touchdown, 473-yard epic for the Miami Dolphins against the New England Patriots in 1994. The thundering feet of Tennessee Titans star Eddie George gouged the then-Oakland Raiders for 216 rushing yards three years later. Eventually, just a few months after we discovered the Y2K bug didn’t wreak catastrophe on civilization, the powers aloft decided to shift the calendar backward, extending the season deeper into the winter rather than encroaching upward toward toastier times. Things were different then, even the NFL’s press releases. The one announcing the change quite quaintly hoped its supporters would spend the additional free weekend at "the beach, in the country or at a barbecue." If such a thing happened today, they’d perhaps suggest more time to sit in air conditioning, play on our phones and binge-watch Netflix. Or, if we’re being really productive, set up our fantasy rosters for the months that follow. In just three days Los Angeles Rams and the Buffalo Bills will perform commencement duties. Everything will be off and running again. Devoted fantasy players will be more likely to recite the relevant numbers of Samaje Perine and Laviska Shenault than their favorite uncle's birthday. For the rest of the story, [click here.]( [STORY IMAGE 1] [IN OTHER WORDS] - NFL rookie award predictions: Not since 2001 have the Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Year both been selected outside the first round. [That could change this year.]( - “Down and dirty”: It wasn't your typical Ohio State win, but Ryan Day is proud of how his team responded against Notre Dame, [Laken Litman writes](. - The Dallas Cowboys have signed 40-year-old nine-time Pro Bowler Jason Peters. David Helman [breaks down what it means]( for the Cowboys this season. For the latest news and updates, [click here.]( [VIEWER'S GUIDE] No. 4 Clemson vs. Georgia Tech (ESPN, 8 p.m. ET) DJ Uiagalelei and the Tigers kick off their season against longtime ACC rivals. San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers (MLBN, 10:10 p.m. ET) Nothing says September baseball like a Giants-Dodgers matchup at Chavez Ravine. For all of today's games and scores, [click here](. [BET OF THE DAY] [BET OF THE DAY] Odds provided by [FOX Bet]( New York Giants (+5.5) vs. Tennessee Titans Pick via FOX Sports Betting Analyst Jason McIntyre: I’m not a trend bettor, but one worth looking at in Week 1: Teams that didn’t make the playoffs last season against teams that did. Like it or not, the prior year’s playoff team tends to be overvalued in the market. When it comes to this matchup, the Titans were the No. 1 seed in the AFC last year. On the flip side, the Giants were one of the league’s biggest dumpster fires, and they fired their coach. I like New York’s new coach, Brian Daboll, and think he will be a tremendous value add to struggling QB Daniel Jones. The Giants will be undervalued with a full arsenal of healthy weapons — like Saquon Barkley and Kenny Golladay — in September. For the latest betting odds, [click here](. [FOLLOW FOX SPORTS] [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( Download FOX Sports App: [Fire TV]( [Roku]( [Google Play]( [App Store]( [Fire TV]( [Roku]( [App Store]( [Google Play]( Also available on these devices: [fireTV | AppleTV | ROKU | Google Chromecast | XBOX ONE | SAMSUNG Smart TV] [fireTV | AppleTV | ROKU | Google Chromecast | XBOX ONE | SAMSUNG Smart TV] Trademark & Copyright Notice: ™ and © 2022 Fox Media LLC and FOX Sports Interactive Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Please do not reply to this message. If you do not wish to receive emails like this in the future, please [unsubscribe](. FOX Sports respects your privacy. Click [here]( to view our Privacy Policy. Fox.com Business & Legal Affairs - Manager Digital Media P.O. Box 900 Beverly Hills, California 90213-0900