in engineering, he started practicing with the same squad where his son, current green bay packer joe thomas jr., had played just a few years ago. >> at first everybody took it as a little joke but after a while when he actually was out there working out, coming in the weight room and do the conditioning, we accepted him as one of the regular players. >> reporter: he was serious. >> oh, dead serious. he's brushed off comparisons to rudy. >> wrudy was a smaller guy, wasn't he? >> reporter: but he calls it the happiest moment of his life. >> i reached my goal. >> reporter: a goal now a life lesson. >> just never give up. always stay focused. >> reporter: so what's next? graduation, a new career, and maybe he'll even try wrestling, he says. after all, at 55, he's just getting started. gabe gutierrez, nbc news, orbu >> there was a lot of grim news in this newscast but a great story to end on, and we invite you to submit your own inspiring america stories on our facebook page. >>> that's going to do it for us on a monday night. i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for >> announcer:

in engineering, he started practicing with the same squad where his son, current green bay packer joe thomas jr., had played >> at first everybody kind of took it as a little joke, but after a while when he actually was out there working out, coming in the weight room and do the conditioning, we accepted him as one of the regular players. >> reporter: he was serious. >> oh, dead serious. >> reporter: and since his collegiate debut, he's brushed off comparisons to rudy. >> rudy? >> reporter: yeah. >> he was a little >>> you're watching 12news winner of the rocky mountain 08 -- me award for best evening newscast. >>> after years of pushing and pulling, will a new deal and the casino worse in arizona? the governor is offering to let us southern arizona tribe opera gambling at his condo casino. >> this is a part of the deal with 10 other tribes that extend gambling opportunities. the deal was announced today. we are verifying the deal. >> reporter: the governor and the tribes have tried to block this casino and courts and congress. it appears are going to let the nation have what it wants. a full-s

practicing with the same squad where his son, current green bay packer joe thomas jr., had played just a few years ago. >> at first everybody took it as a little joke, but after a while when he actually was out there working with us, come in the weight room and we do the conditioning, we accept him as one of the regular players. >> reporter: he was serious? >> dead serious. >> reporter: he's brushed off comparisons to rudy. >> rudy? >> reporter: yeah. he? >> reporter: the happiest moment of his life. >> i reached my goal. >> reporter: a goal and now a life lesson. >> never give up. always stay focused. >> reporter: so what's next? graduation, a new career, and maybe he'll even try wrestling, he says. after all, at 55 he's just getting started. gabe gutierrez, nbc news, south carolina. >> what a great story. >> no reason to stop. keep going. >> why stop? to tomorrow, lauryn. >> we have to keep going with this weather and eventually will get the winds calming down after about 5:00 temperatures will be in the upper 40s to near 50 today feeling closer to around 40 degrees with that windchi

cherise: the 55-year-old father of green bay packers linebacker joe thomas, jr., fulfilled his dream saturday. adam: he became the oldest player in division i football. yesterday he hit the field as a , walk on for south carolina state. his son says that he was a little concerned that his dad's body might give out. but running with pride he finished the 32-0 victory with four carries and was awarded the he did gain some yards. cherise: really cool. >> now, jason king and news 9 sports. jason: the patriots are on the field in the bay area taking on chip kelly's 49ers, new england trying to bounce back from last week's loss to seattle, and probably a good team to do it against. the 9ers are just 2-7 going into the weekend. the score has just changed. late in the second quarter. almost half time. tom brady has two touchdown passes. patriots leading 13-10 never have. the unh football team is back in the playoffs for a 13th consecutive season. the announcement was made this morning on espn university, as the field of 24 teams was revealed for the fcs playoffs. at 7-4 overall new hampshire

joe thomas sr. has made history as the oldest person to play in division one football game. the 55-year-old father of green bay packers linebacker joe thomas jrday's senior day win over savannah state, where he took the handoff and ran for a gain of three yards. thomas finished the day with four carries and a total of minus one rushing yard. another sight to see on the collegiate grid iron from saturday, boise state's team retrieving labrador was responsible for fetching the team's tee and returning it to the sidelines. that's a good doggy. >>> nally, it's always important to look both ways, even when navigating an nfl field. ask fox sound engineer bernie who ran into trouble yesterday between the cardinals and vikings, colliding with minnesota players as they ran out of the tunnel on to the field. it looked bad. but he had a couple scratches and broken set of specks. he was able to work the rest of the game. you see his smile there, alex. tough guy. he's a tough guy. >> can you imagine being mowed over by a bunch of nfl players? no, thank you. >>> we're following breaking news from overseas. dozens killed in a suicide bombing in kabul. the l

joe thomas. he may be the oldest man to ever play division i ball. he is doing it great. his son joe thomas jr. is a linebacker on the packers. the real deal, the senior member of the family, with us right now. joe thomas. how did it feel for you to get that ball on your belly once again just like in high school and take to the line at our age? >> it felt good. and very excited. a little nervous at first. but once i touched the ball, i fell back to old high school days. >> and, joe, you always -- >> brought back memories. >> -- college football right? so what took you so long? >> well, growing up, i spent my -- college at the time. as i got older i felt i needed to do it, at least try it. >> so you built up more than your nerve. i'm looking at your arms and your legs right now. how have you managed to stay in such amazing shape, joe was telling us before we came to the segment that he could beat his son who is a professional football player in a race when he was already 50. he was still beating him. what is it that you do that gives you this strength and vitality at 55 years of age? >> i just always believe in taking care of m

joe thomas sr. became the oldest division one football player ever. his son joe thomas jr. used to play for the school he is with the packers now.ere is his dad being carried off the field by his much younger teammates after they beat savannah state 32-0 last night. they presented him with a game ball after the game. >>> still to come here on abc 7 mornings, an all out dual, the cast of "hamilton" and the president elect after one of the actors delivers a special message to vice president elect mike pence. what mr. trump tweeted this morning about the incident. >>> also facebook ceo mark juk berg has a new pledge to stop the spread of fake news on his social networking site. >>> and taking a look outside, this is the view from our sfo camera. they are having some delays there. on average about 44 minutes because of all those low clouds hanging there. lisa will be along shortly with an accuweather forecast where you live. imagine if the things you bought every day earned you miles to get to the places you really want to go. with the united mileageplus explorer card, you'll get a free checked bag, 2 united club passes... priority

thomas is following in his son's footsteps. he is the father of green bay packers linebacker joe jr.nspiration, "new day" will interview him in the 8:00 hour. >>> raiders and texans play tonight in mexico city for the first time on monday night football. in the history of the envelonfld outside the u.s. on monday night. >> the football dad worked for the team for years hoping for the opportunity. it may be three yards, but it was a long time coming. thanks, coy. >>> in other news, four separate police shootingscross the country in a 24-hour period. we have the latest on all four cases ahead. what es t mp simple salad ever? heart healthy california walnuts. the best simple veggie dish ever? heart healthy california walnuts. the best simple dinner ever? heart healthy california walnuts. great tasting, heart healthy california walnuts. so simple. get the recipes at walnuts.org. ...we turn feelings... at jared... ...into jewelry. jewelry that tells her she's the best thing that's ever happened to you. in a way... ...that goes beyond words. it could be a piece jewelry designers created ju

joe thomas jr. played and that is the son of the green bay packers. >>> 11th ironman in arizona started at 7:00 in the morning. we should hurry and finish. athletes are finishing late this evening. >> courtney griffin was there as the swim we weres were sent into the water. >> reporter: hours of dedication, motivation, and encouragement is what helped get these athletes ready to race in e >> the normal prerace nerves. just trying to relax and stay calm and that is it. >> reporter: this is max cam's first ironman. we asked him about how he trained for it as he was suiting up. >> i started training at the beginning of the year. i've done a couple of races. >> reporter: he is one of biking 112 miles and running 26.2 miles. all of these athletes have until midnight to cross the finish line if they want to be called an iron man. >> there is a lot of visualization for that moment. >> reporter: chris says athletes do whatever they can to cross the finish line in time even if that means crawling to get there. he hopes his training allows a smooth finish. >> i'm nervous and trying to right way. >> reporter: he

joe thomas jr. who is 45 years old. just kidding. that's not bay packers. >> didn't he said he was worried? >> yeah. 55 and still going strong. >> how about that huh? >> a lot of pressure on the offensive line if he were to get hurt. thankfully that didn't happen. >> your busy time. so much going on in the weather world. >> we have been on auto pilot for a month. starting you off with this. who doesn't love a rocket launch? >> i don't. >> pipe down. >> you asked the question. >> look at that. light that candle. into orbit. this is our latest and greatest. took off before 7:00 p.m. going to have four times the resolution and five times the speed. this will give us amazing eyes to the sky. there you see the final separation. 22,000 miles above. and gos stationary satellite and we'll take it and those images in six months by the time the spring severe weather season comes in. this storm a lot of wind with this. 13 states impacted, having wind gusts over 50 miles an hour and the winds going to be cranking today because it's only more energized as it heads into new england. seeing 30 to 40 mile

joe thomas jr. played at south carolina state too. he's now with the green bay packers. the old guys' teammates carried him shoulders. he ended with four carries for minus one yard. never too late. >>> let's get the latest on the big winter storm hitting the northeast this morning. >> yeah. some areas got hit hard. two feet of snow in parts of minnesota, but look at what's going on back through western new york. this is in sinclairville, new york, south-southwest of new york. lake-effect snow bands they when they come down, they can come down hard. we are looking at perhaps one to up two maybe -- maybe two feet of snow. it's still, very, very much unfrozen lakes, the lakes are so warm right now which is helping to trigger this lake-effect snow. winds are also very gusty so even in areas up and down the east coast where we're not looking at snow we're still looking at very chilly windchills. so with highs today making it feel like it's only in the 30s. see up neaear one. >>> a lot of clouds around today. it will be fairly broad with temperatures approaching 70 degrees. sl

trish: his son, joe thomas, jr., plays in the nfl as a linebacker for the green bay packers and i believe 55-year-old is getting his degree at the state college as well. >>> i will be back with you next week, enjoy! liz, big day! >> huge, huge, trish, have a lovely thanksgiving. it's not how the market opens but how it closes. right out of gate at opening bell, we hit 19,000, we are there right now. in fact, we're at 19,010! the first time we've ever seen that 19,000 level any, move higher whether it be the dow, the s&p, the nasdaq or the russell 2000 that locks in a second day in a row of record closes. the trump rally boosting by 3% the s&p and the dow since election daysa the president-elect gets more questions about what he plan

trish: his son, joe thomas, jr., plays in the nfl as a linebacker for the green bay packers and i believe the 55-year-old is getting his degree at the state college as well. >>> i will be back with you next week, enjoy! liz, big day! >> huge, huge, trish, have a lovely thanksgiving. it's not how the market opens but how it closes. right out of gate at opening bell, we hit 19,000, we are there right now. in fact, we're at 19,010! the first time we've ever seen that 19,000 level any, move higher whether it be the dow, the s&p, the nasdaq or the russell 2000 that locks in a second day in a row of record closes. the trump rally boosting by 3% the s&p and the dow since election daysa the president-elect gets more questions about what he plans to do with massive business interests? no doubt he was peppered with questions about the thorny issue at that meeting with the "new york times" reporters just over an hour ago as donald trump continues to meet with candidates for his new administration and reveals he may have a role for dr. ben carson after all. you're looking live at the trump tower wher

joe thomas jr. who is 45 years old. just kidding. that's not possible. he's a linebacker for the green bay packers. >> didn't he said he was worried? >> yeah. >> how about that huh? >> a lot of pressure on the offensive line if he were to get hurt. thankfully that didn't happen. >> your busy time. so much going on in the weather world. >> we have been on auto pilot for a month. starting you off with this. who doesn't love a rocket launch? >> i don't. >> pipe down. >> you asked the question. >> look at that. light that candle. shoot that weather satellite up into orbit. took off before 7:00 p.m. going to have four times the resolution and five times the speed. this will give us amazing eyes to the sky. there you see the final separation. 22,000 miles above. >> layer up and stay >> in 15 minutes we will show you more of what ron does not like. >> we're going back to that? >> hour-long special tonight. >> there's multiple topics. >> is it called cranky uncle rob? >> not cranky. >> diane, save us from this end of the table. what's cooking? >> we're talking about the royal family this morning and we imagine them to live this perfect lif

thomas enrolled in school and joined the team in 2012 when his son, joe jr., was still on the squad. >> joe jr. now plays linebacker for the green bay packerssenior says this was one of the happiest days of his life. >>> records are meant to be broken. take a look. this is team from australia. they did this at a dam in geneva. it was quite impressive. >> yes, three aussies regained the record for highest basketball shot. they're from the how ridiculous gang. 594 feet high. finding the ring is the first step. that's why i partnered with the diamond experts at zales... to create the vera wang love collection. it's got to be special. modern interpretations of timeless designs... ...bring out the beauty in every bride. it's got to say yes. the vera wang love collection... ...designed for zales, the diamond store. let's just get a sandwich or something. "or something"? you don't just graduate from medical school, "or something." and we don't just pull smoked chicken, bake fresh foccacia and hand-slice avocado. there's nothing "or something" about it. (vo) your love is purely thoughtful, purely natural, purely fancy feast. delicious entrées, craf

joe thomas jr. who is 45 years old. just kidding. that's not possible. he's a linebacker for the green bay packers. >> didn't he say he was a little worried about his dad going in the game? >> yeah. 55 and still going strong. >> how about that huh? >> a lot of pressure on the offensive line if he were to get hurt. thankfully that didn't happen. >> a lot of pressure on your. this is your busy time. so much going on in the weather world. >> we have been on auto pilot for a month. starting you off with this. who doesn't love a rocket launch? >> i don't. >> pipe down. >> you asked the question. >> party pooper. look at that. this is our latest and greatest weather satellite that took off shortly before 7:00 p.m. it will have four times the resolution and five times the speed. it will give us amazing eyes to the sky. 22,000 miles above geo stationary satellite. this storm has been a doozy a lot of wind with this, 13 states impacted by this, winds gusts over 30 miles per hour. we'll see 30 to 40-mile an hour wind gusts warnings and advisories up. critical fire danger for the smoky mountains and parts of