Every year, my family sits around the table on Thanksgiving and my mother asks everyone what we're thankful for this year. My parents both always comes out with some cliche line about health or family or something else. Blah Blah Blah. When it gets to me, it's all about sports. Here are five things I'll be listing at the table this year.
5. The Bears are in first place
OK, so they're tied with the Vikings. OK, so they're barely good enough to be in last place in the NFC East. OK, so Rex Grossman played a game and a half. Let's look at this season as a glass half full people.
When you look at power rankings somewhere like ESPN or CBS or Fox, you'll see names like Indianapolis, Tampa Bay, and Atlanta climbing the list. If you remember, the Bears beat Indy and should have taken care of Tampa and Atlanta as well.
The Bears are simply doing what they do every year—playing down (or up) to their competition in any given week. There have really only been two games the Bears looked hopeless in (Tennessee and Green Bay), and with a win on Sunday they will be in the driver's seat with a month left. A virtual two game lead on Minnesota and an actual two game lead on Green Bay would be mighty nice in December.
4. Cubs' Division Champion hats, t-shirts, sweatshirts...
I cheered for six months and all I got was this lousy t-shirt?
Maybe I'll be thankful in 2009.
3. Ozzie Guillen's mouth
Wow. If he wasn't covering for a clubhouse full of blow-up dolls in Toronto, the Blizzard of Oz was throwing anyone he could find under the bus. He trashed Javier Vazquez enough in 2008 to get the poor guy an endorsement deal with Waste Management.
Team speed? Don't even ask Ozzie. He'll probably curse you out, or at least you would assume he's cursing (it's hard to understand sometimes).
Ozzie is, however, better than most managers in baseball at getting more from his players than anyone expected.
He took a starting rotation including John Danks and Gavin Floyd and won a division that had been all-but handed to the Detroit Tigers this past winter. He found a way to make Alexei Ramirez an everyday player, which allowed Ramirez to become an everyday Web Gem candidate. And he entertained the masses while doing his job well.
2. Derrick Rose
If you're from Chicago, you hopefully saw this kid before he was ever trying out for the Bulls prior to the draft. Rose is from Simeon Vocation High School right here in the Windy City, where he got plenty of ink from the Tribune and Sun Times in his high school days.
He didn't get lost in Memphis, being an obvious one-and-done situation with the talent he possesses. And now here he is, back home, playing for the Bulls.
And he's playing well. In case you don't watch Bulls games (I can't blame you), Rose is playing at a level that is noticeably hard for the rest of the Bulls to keep up with during games.
There is nothing that indicates he's going to be another boring waste of a first round pick (Joakim Noah, Kirk Hinrich, Luol Deng, Thabo Sefalosha...). This kid is for real, he's 20 years old, and he's a Bull. There's no reason to keep the television off.
1. The Chicago Blackhawks
comments (5) write a comment »
write a new comment
about 1 month ago
I am so thankful that the Hawks are relevant in Chicago again. I'm also thankful that we're finally getting so many young players to root for (Rose, Kane, Toews, Forte, Soto, and even Ramirez)
about 1 month ago
I am thankful that the Bears finally have a good running back!
about 1 month ago
I am most thankful for the great changes to the Chicago Blackhawks organization. (Although, now I'll have to pay more for a ticket, haha.)
about 1 month ago
I am thankful to have such outstanding writers as part of the Cubs community! Nice piece...
about 1 month ago
Number 4: Funny, but so true... I'll never forget the 6 months i sat in front of the TV/Radio watching/listening to that magical 97 win team commentated by either Len&Bob/Pat&Ron, only to see them swept by a team that wasn't even that good in the first half of the season.
I hate Manny.
write a new comment