Richards

For as long as most of us can remember, the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions have played games on Thanksgiving Day. But why?

Let’s start with the Lions. They have played every Thanksgiving since 1934, with the exception of 1939-44, despite the fact they haven’t been a good team most of those years. The Lions played their first season in Detroit in 1934 (before that, they were the Portsmouth Spartans). They struggled their first year in Detroit, as most sports fans there loved baseball’s Detroit Tigers and didn’t come out in droves to watch the Lions. So Lions owner George A. Richards had an idea: Why not play on Thanksgiving?

Richards also owned radio station WJR, which was one of the biggest stations in the country at that time. Richards had a lot of clout in the broadcasting world, and convinced NBC to air the game nationwide. The NFL champion Chicago Bears came to town, and the Lions sold out the 26,000-seat University of Detroit field for the first time. Richards kept the tradition going the next two years, and the NFL kept scheduling them on Thanksgiving when they resumed playing on that date after World War II ended. Richards sold the team in 1940 and died in 1951, but the tradition he started continues today when the Lions play the Green Bay Packers.

The Cowboys first played on Thanksgiving in 1966. They came into the league in 1960 and, as hard as it is to believe now, struggled to draw fans because they were pretty bad those first few years. General manager Tex Schramm basically begged the NFL to schedule them for a Thanksgiving game in 1966, thinking it might get them a popularity boost in Dallas and also nationwide since the game would be televised.

It worked. A Dallas-record 80,259 tickets were sold as the Cowboys defeated the Cleveland Browns 26-14. Some Cowboys fans point to that game as the beginning of Dallas becoming “America’s team.” They have missed playing on Thanksgiving only in 1975 and 1977, when NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle opted for the St. Louis Cardinals instead.

The games with the Cardinals proved to be losers in the ratings, so Rozelle asked the Cowboys if they would play again in 1978.

“It was a dud in St. Louis,” Schramm told the Chicago Tribune in 1998. “Pete asked if we’d take it back. I said only if we get it permanently. It’s something you have to build as a tradition. He said, ‘It’s yours forever.’ ”

Dallas takes on the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday.

Denise Richards’ estranged husband Aaron Phypers must continue to keep his distance from the actor and reality TV star as they move forward in their acrimonious divorce.

A Los Angeles judge on Friday granted the former “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star’s request to make her temporary restraining order against Phypers permanent. Richards was granted a five-year restraining order that restricts Phypers from buying or owning guns, contacting her or abusing her, among other restrictions, according to People. The order will expire Nov. 7, 2030.

Legal representatives for Richards and Phypers did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday.

The judgment comes after months of contentious hearings that uncovered scathing allegations about their relationship including accusations of infidelity, drug addiction and abuse.

Businessman Phypers, 53, filed to divorce Richards, 54, in July after six years of marriage. He cited irreconcilable differences and requested spousal support. According to court documents, Phypers said he has earned no money since closing down a business last year and estimates “Starship Troopers” actor Richards makes more than $250,000 a month from several business ventures including brand deals, TV and OnlyFans content. Phypers has asked to keep their assets and debts as separate property, including his power tools, motorcycle and sports car, legal documents showed.

Richards and Phypers began dating in 2017 and married in September 2018 in a private ceremony in Malibu. They share no children, though Richards has three: two daughters she shares with ex-husband Charlie Sheen and a teenage daughter she adopted as an infant. Phypers was previously married to “Desperate Housewives” star Nicollette Sheridan from 2015 to 2018.

Weeks after Phypers filed for divorce, Richards fired back and offered a damning account of their marriage. She accused her estranged spouse of abuse, death threats and possession of unregistered weapons in a request for a temporary restraining order that was granted by the Los Angeles County Superior Court in July. Phypers, who denied the allegations, at the time was ordered to stay 100 yards away from Richards and her car, workplace and home, and was told he could not possess firearms or body armor.

“Wild Things” actor Richards referred to abuse that allegedly occurred during their marriage, including between July 4 and July 14, after she had moved out of the family home and into three townhouses that she uses separately as a studio, an office and her residence.

Since July, the pair have fiercely traded barbs in public statements and legal documents. Phypers accused Richards of cheating on him with another man and of scaring his parents when she arrived at their Calabasas home in early August to retrieve her dogs, among other allegations. In court documents, Richards accused Phypers and his family of refusing to vacate that Calabasas abode after allegedly failing repeatedly to pay rent for the property. She also accused the Canadian and his family of trashing the home.

Amid their legal battle, Phypers was arrested in October after a heated courthouse hearing. Law enforcement took Phypers into custody and charged him with two felony counts of injuring a spouse and two felony counts of dissuading a witness by force or threat, according to TMZ. He was swiftly released after posting $200,000 bond.

Times assistant editor Christie D’Zurilla contributed to this report.