In theory there shouldn’t be much debate over which teams belong in the final College Football Playoff rankings. Expanding from four teams to 12 teams was supposed to eliminate some of the debate and yet I’ve been debating the rankings with my football colleagues for the last two days.

And you know what? That’s the perfect scenario to practice friendly debates and disagreeing with people. It’s just sports. The conversation might get heated. There could be strong opinions, but at the end of the day it’s just sports. And that sports conversation might help you brush up on the conversation skills you need ahead of family gatherings during Christmas.

If you’re not looking for a debate, here are a few other topics you can use in conversation this week.

Tis the season for shopping and holiday gatherings. I can't help you find the perfect gift, but I can remind you that the gift of time is just as valuable as anything you can buy.

If you're up for spending time in conversation you might find these sports topics of interest to get the ball rolling.

Food and football go hand-in-hand on Thanksgiving. You probably won’t lack for conversation starters around friends and family, but you might want to incorporate some new angles to those conversations with questions like these:

• Which board game would be most entertaining as a televised event?
• On a scale of 1-10 how you rate your ability to throw a spiral?
• What’s the sports memory you’re most grateful for? 

The answer isn’t as important as the ability to connect with the people at your table. Of course, these sports topics might come up too:

I’m not sure how we’ve made it to the middle of November but here I am planning Thanksgiving menus and banking conversation topics for holiday gatherings.

You know you’re going to need more than one or two things to talk about. And you know you’re going to get tired of telling the same stories and answering the same questions from family over and over. That’s why this is the week to bank a few conversations and get ahead in small talk.

These sports topics are relevant this week but they’re still interesting next week and could help you springboard into bigger (and different) conversations with family and friends.

So get ready for the holiday season and get ready to talk sporty this week.

Did you see that Allianz Arena was sold out for Sunday’s NFL game?

That’s the stadium in Munich Germany, BTW.

Did you also hear the NFL will play 8 international games next season? Playing overseas and internationally isn’t a new development. Every major professional sport has games or matches scheduled outside the US.

This is just a reminder that if you’re looking for a topic people are talking about worldwide, sports can fit the bill.

Here are a few sports topics making news this week.

You’re probably not lacking for obvious conversation topics this week, but you might need a respite from the ones that will dominate the news cycle for the next several days.

That’s where sports comes in. A non-partisan topic that can help you steer the conversation toward something a little less serious than other storylines at hand.

Usually, I’m reminding you that you don’t have to stick to sports when using these sports conversation starters, but this week you might just want to focus on sports and these topics making news this week.

I like to have a recipe that works. It’s why my favorite cookbooks have so many dogeared corners marking my go-to meals.

It’s also why I turn to sports as my go-to conversation starter. It works every time because sports opens the door to a number of additional talking points. Did you see the note about how many Uncrustables are consumed by NFL teams? (For the record it’s my go-to snack at halftime too.) The ability to branch out and incorporate other topics is one of the reason sports small talk is a winning recipe every time. Here are a few sports headlines you can use this week:

There’s always more to sports than the game itself. Sports fans often feel a personal connection to their favorite team or player and the way they talk about their favorite team is part of their personal brand. Just a reminder to listen for more than details about the game. There is lots of personal information that comes through in sports conversations that can be useful in building business relationships.

And with that here are a few sports topics you can use to strike up conversations this week:

When it comes to small talk you don’t have to chase the conversation. Just let it come to you. If you want to initiate the interaction go ahead, but you can just as easily be in the passenger seat. Either way it’s helpful if you’re prepared with something to say.

Sports fits the bill for me and it works for a LOT of people you’ll encounter too. It’s why this list of sports conversation starters can be helpful and keep you in the loop with big storylines this week.

In sports you often hear about the dangers of “trying to do too much.” In theory working harder trying harder sounds like a good thing, but it rarely leads to the intended results.

I think you could say the same thing about small talk. Don’t try to do too much. Keep it simple, and come prepared with sports topics like these.