We’re giving you our Black Friday coupon code a day early.

It’s good for free shipping and 20% off your order at any Team Express site. There is no minimum purchase.

Just enter the coupon code at checkout.

At Baseball Express, enter: JGEBAP5
At Softball Sales: JGEBAP6
At Football America: JGEBAP7

Remember, this coupon code is only good on Friday, Nov. 27.

Related: Head over to the Baseball Express homepage to start shopping.

After a long fall of training and running, we’re sure your shoes are pretty beat up by now.

When you pick a new pair, get one that will have you running in style and in comfort.

Wear a pair of Nike Men’s Shox Turbo running shoes, which you can get for dirt cheap on Friday.

With an outsole of quality carbon rubber and Nike’s Shox cushioning in the heel, the Nike Men’s Shox Turbo running shoes will keep you injury free while you train.

With a lightweight mesh upper portion of the shoe that comes in a variety of slick designs and colors, your training will never be boring.

The Nike Men’s Shox Turbo running shoes usually retail for $114.99. You can buy them now online for $79.98.

Or if you come by our retail stores in San Antonio or Laurel, Md., on Black Friday, you can get them for $49.98! That’s a 57% discount from the original price!

Related: Browse our entire selection of training shoes.

If you’re in the neighborhood, head down to a Team Express retail store this Friday.

Shake off the turkey hangover and visit one of our stores in San Antonio or Laurel, Md., to take advantage of some serious Black Friday deals. You can get a Louisville Slugger Omaha Baseball Bat — which usually retails for $199.99 — for just $49.98 this Friday.

Get an Accupitch Pitch Trainer — normally $199.99 — for just $24.98!

Here is an e-mail flier with some of the details:

Click for bigger

Both stores will be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Visit us in San Antonio:
1003 E. Nakoma Ste 104
San Antonio, TX 78216

Or Laurel:
9375 Washington Blvd.
Laurel, Maryland 20723

Related: Didn’t get the flier? Sign up for e-mail updates at the Team Express homepage.

The holiday season is creeping closer and closer, which means there is less time for shopping.

Get a head start on your gift giving this week.

For 48 hours only — from today through Tuesday — you can get free shipping and 10% off your order at the Team Express stores. There is no minimum purchase.

Just enter the coupon code JGEBAN7 at checkout to save at Baseball Express. Use JGEBAN8 at Softball.com and JGEBAN9 for Football America.

Speaking of discounts, the biggest shopping day of the year is coming up at the end of the week. And we’ve got a heck of a Black Friday coupon to pass along to you.

And we’re going to post it a day early. Keep following us, and we’ll post the coupon code on Thursday.

It’s time to dust off your “O-Who?” t-shirt and rehearse those obscene chants.

It’s rivalry week.

The most-anticipated week of the regular season kicks off this weekend with some of college football’s greatest annual showdowns, and it continues through the following week — with some big games on and after Thanksgiving — through the end of the season.

There are some big games, and here are our favorites:

No. 5 — Stanford vs. Cal

Series record: Stanford leads 55-45-11

Trophy: The Stanford Axe (The answer to yesterday’s trivia question)

Game time: 6:30 p.m. on Saturday (Versus)

Legendary moment: “The Play.” The year was 1982, and Stanford quarterback John Elway led the Cardinal on a last-minute scoring drive to take a 20-19 lead with four seconds to go. In what was to be a formality in the Cardinal’s victory, Stanford squibbed the ensuing kickoff, but Cal advanced the ball upfield, lateraling the ball five times in the process. Cal’s Kevin Moen caught a crease and ran in the game-winning touchdown — through the Stanford band — before bopping a trombonist on the head.

The scoop: There is a lot of tradition surrounding the Cal-Stanford game, from bonfires to theater plays and parodies that are typically performed around this time of year.

At the heart of it is a rivalry between two top-notch schools in California’s Bay Area. There have been a number of close games between the two teams, most notably the one in 1982 that ended with “The Play.”

No. 4 — Harvard vs. Yale

Series record: Yale leads 65-52-8.

Game time: 11 a.m. on Saturday (Versus)

Legendary moment: “Harvard beats Yale, 29-29.” Harvard pieced together a miraculous, 16-point comeback in the last 42 seconds of the 1968 game to force a 29-29 tie with the Bulldogs. The result left Yale 8-0-1 on the season, essentially snapping a 16-game winning streak. In the next day’s edition, Harvard’s Crimson newspaper printed the now-famous headline “Harvard beats Yale, 29-29.”

The scoop: The early days of this rivalry were especially brutal. Back in the late 19th Century, football was essentially a combination of rugby and brawling.

As one observer noted: “Few players wore helmets, and a close observer declared that as Harvard and Yale pummeled each other, “It was the most magnificent sight … every lineman’s face was dripping with blood.””

In 1892, Harvard introduced the “Flying Wedge” formation. The formation was so dangerous and it caused so many injuries that it was promptly banned. No joke — it’s now mostly used by riot police.

It’s said that before the 1908 game, Harvard coach Percy Haughton strangled a bulldog to death in the locker room to motivate his players.

Now that’s a rivalry.

No. 3 — Michigan vs. Ohio State

Series record: Michigan leads 57-42-6.

Game time: 11 a.m. on Saturday (ABC)

Legendary moment: The opening shot of the “Ten Year War.” Former Ohio State assistant Bo Schembechler is hired at Michigan in 1969, and he leads the Wolverines to a 24-12 upset of Woody Hayes and the Buckeyes. Ohio State was intercepted six times in the loss, as Michigan snapped the Buckeyes’ 22-game winning streak.

The scoop: In addition to the bitter animosity between fans of the rival schools, this game is usually a late-season championship of sorts.

For most of the last few decades, the winner of this game has gone on to win the Big Ten and earn an invitation to the Rose Bowl. Michigan has slipped as of lately, but this game is still the biggest of the regular season for a lot of folks in the Midwest.

No. 2 — Texas vs. Oklahoma

Series record: Texas leads 59-40-5.

Trophy: The Golden Hat.

Game time: Texas won 16-13 on Oct. 17.

Legendary moment: There are many to pick from, but the 15-15 tie in 1984 ranks among them. UT entered the game a consensus No. 1, and OU was 2/3. Sooners coach Barry Switzer came to the game wearing a cap that said “Beat Texas,” and he had future UT head coach Mack Brown by his side (as OU’s offensive coordinator). Texas rallied and kicked a last-second field goal to secure a tie.

The scoop: The road to the national championship frequently goes through Dallas.

Five of the last nine UT-OU games has featured one of the participants in the BCS Championship Game. In 60 of the last 65 games, one or both of these teams has been ranked in the Top 25.

No. 1 — Army vs. Navy

Series record: Navy leads 53-49-7.

Trophy: The Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy

Game time: 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 12 (CBS)

Legendary moment: “The Game of the Century.” Top-ranked Army defeats No. 2 Navy 32-13 in the 1945 edition of the game.

The scoop: This is what it’s all about. The modern era of college football may have left the service academies in its dust, but Army-Navy still embodies the true spirit of college sports.

Virtually none of the players in this game will go on to play professional football. Instead, they’ll do something even more important. Graduates will move on to fulfill their service requirements, defending America and her interests at home and abroad.

These two schools may be heated rivals, but when the final whistle blows, they return to being brothers. At the end of every Army-Navy game, both teams stand side by side and sing each other’s alma mater.

Every Thursday, the Team Express blog will take a look at an aspect of sports training — from flexibility to weight training and nutrition — and take you through the basics of getting into tip-top shape. This week, we’re looking at a another basic workout routine.

Last week, we showed you a basic workout routine.

We’ve got another one for you this week. The reason we’re showing you another is for diversity of information.

Take the best stuff from a bunch of sources, and you’ll have the workout that’s best for you.

Here is an excerpt, from About.com:

Below is a list of muscle groups along with sample exercises. If you’re a beginner, you only need to choose 1-2 exercises for each muscle group in the upper body and 3-4 moves for the lower body.

* Chest: bench press, chest press machine, pushups, pec deck machine
* Back: seated row machine, back extensions, lat pulldowns
* Shoulders: overhead press, lateral raise, front raise
* Biceps: bicep curls, hammer curls, concentration curls
* Triceps: tricep extensions, dips, kickbacks
* Lower Body: Squats, lunges, leg press machines, deadlifts, calf raises
* Abdominals: crunches, reverse crunches, oblique twists, pelvic tilts

Read the entire article here.

Related: Browse our selection of training equipment.

The college basketball season officially tipped off yesterday.

High schools around the country have begun their basketball seasons, and rec leagues should be heating up this fall.

Basketball season is here. That means it’s time to dust off those old kicks and hit the hardwood. Or even better, get yourself a new pair of basketball shoes to start the season off right.

We recommend Adidas’ Bounce Commander mid-top shoes.

These basketball shoes feature a lightweight and durable synthetic upper, designed for superb ankle support.

As far as the sole: The Adidas Bounce Commander has a polyurethane insole for durable comfort, Adiprene Plus in the forefoot and a Torsion system for midfoot arch protection and bounce technology in heel to provides optimized energy return and comfort.

We’re not sure exactly what all of that means, but what we do know is that these basketball shoes are comfy, supportive and they can take a beating.

And the flashy red isn’t too bad either.

Related: Browse our entire selection of basketball shoes.

Over Half of National League Silver Slugger Winners Use Marucci Baseball Bats

BATON ROUGE –- The Marucci Company congratulates the 2009 Silver Slugger Award winners.

“It’s quite the statement when over half of the National League Silver Slugger winners swing Marucci,” said Jack Marucci, the company’s founder. “When we started designing bats in my backyard, we couldn’t have dreamed of having so many big time players swinging our lumber.”

Players swinging Marucci baseball bats who won the Silver Slugger include: Albert Pujols, Chase Utley, Ryan Zimmerman, Hanley Ramirez, Aaron Hill, Mark Teixeira, and Brian McCann. During the 2009 World Series, Chase Utley used his custom made Marucci bat to tie Reggie Jackson’s 1977 World Series home run record with five home runs.

As of 2009, nearly 300 MLB players including 15 All-Stars and 17 players of the 2009 World Series swing Marucci.

The Marucci Company, located in Baton Rouge, started handcrafting wood baseball bats in 2003 for a handful of players, carefully inspecting each one to ensure every bat is made from the best wood and is game ready.

Related: View our selection of Marucci baseball bats.

Gotta love the twist at the end.

Related: Browse our selection of football first aid and sports medicine.

College football rolls on this weekend, and here are some of the craziest mascots out there!

5. Demon Deacon

When he’s on his motorcycle, Wake Forest’s Demon Deacon reminds us a little of Meatloaf’s scene in the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

He looks half like a Sesame Street character, half like a Batman villain.

The nickname came into being in 1923 and the Deacon was born 18 years later when a Wake graduate purchased a tux and a top hat and became the school’s first mascot.

4. Captain Cane

At first glance, we weren’t too sure exactly what Tulsa’s mascot Captain Cane is supposed to be.

He looks like a marshmallow. He looks like a beehive. But he also looks like a football player with a bunch of bandages on his head.

Actually, he’s a hurricane wearing football pads. Coulda fooled us.

The Hurricane mascot has matched Tulsa’s recent tradition of a stellar air-raid offense. The pass-happy team has built a reputation for causing some damage to opposing defenses.

It was recently announced that Captain Cane is due for a makeover, so we’ll be happy to see if the future Tulsa mascot looks less goofy.

3. The UC-Santa Cruz Banana Slug

Way back when UC-Santa Cruz joined the NCAA, the school’s chancellor set the school’s mascot as the “Sea Lions.” Students weren’t too happy and passed a referendum to change the official school mascot to the Banana Slug.

The chancellor refused to honor the referendum and instead left it up to a vote of the university’s athletes. And they chose Banana Slug.

Nowadays, UC-Santa Cruz has a laid-back banana slug with a California attitude.

2. The Wichita State WuShock

In case you’re trying to figure out what this guy is — we were thinking he was a tree stump — he’s an anthropomorphic shock of wheat.

WuShock was the creation of students at Wichita State. Early football games at Wichita State were played on a wheat field, and football fans quickly became known as “Wheaties.”

In 1904 a student coined the university’s mascot name as the Wheatshockers, now shortened to the Shockers. WuShock was born in 1948, and he has undergone several redesigns to look tougher and meaner since then.

It worked. He scares the bejeebus out of us.

1. The Stanford Tree

The Tree is the “unofficial” mascot at Stanford. The school’s true mascot is the Cardinal. Not the bird — the color.

Obviously, that makes things a little tricky as far as figuring out a human mascot. So the band devised the tree in the mid-80s as an unofficial school mascot.

It’s easy to say that a Tree doesn’t exactly strike fear in opponents hearts. But you wouldn’t be entirely correct.

Fact is, the Tree has been on a bit of a mean streak lately. From Wikipedia:

During an ESPN-televised timeout during a February 1995 basketball game at Maples Pavilion, the Stanford Tree and Cal’s mascot Oski got into a fistfight in front of the Stanford student section. The Oski costume’s headpiece was forcefully removed by the Tree during the scuffle, an act of special significance because Cal has taken great pains to keep its Oski costume wearers’ identities secret since the 1940s.

A spate of recent troubles has brought the Tree even more notoriety in college-sports circles. In February 2006, then-Tree Erin Lashnits was suspended until the end of her term as the Tree after her blood-alcohol level was found to be 0.157 (almost twice the legal driving limit in California) during a men’s basketball game between Stanford and Cal. UC Berkeley police observed her drinking from a flask during the game and cited her for public drunkenness after she failed a breathalyzer test.

Then, on March 20, 2006, replacement-Tree Tommy Leep was ejected during the Stanford women’s basketball team’s NCAA tournament game against Florida State University for “dancing in an undesignated area,” following an earlier scuffle with tournament security, from whom he had attempted to escape by hurling himself across the basketball court on a rolling chair. The Stanford Athletic Department then banned him from performing for the rest of the NCAA tournament.

Honorable Mention: The Evergreen Geoduck (crazy mascot, no football program).