Thanksgiving

The annual tradition that falls on the 3rd Thursday of November: watching NFL football during the day whilst cramming Turducken – a turkey stuffed with a duck, which itself is stuffed with a small chicken* – down our throats is upon us once again… along with the almost universal requirement for an industrial strength Alka-Seltzer.

So before we drift off into our tryptophan-induced coma, it’s time to partake in the other tradition of trying to figure out what or whom we are truly thankful for in sports right now.
In football: Let us give thanks for the hyper-hyped Ohio State and Michigan game that actually lived up to it all. (And let’s hope we see a rematch in January). I’d like to thank Bill Parcells for making the jobs for every talking head and ink stained wretch who has to cover the Cowboys on a daily basis the easiest in sports journalism. Here’s a big shout out to NBC's "Football Night In America." They helped me keep to my diet this week when they insisted on showing, during my dinner hour, highlights of Carolina wide receiver Steve Smith puking his guts out into a garbage can. It’s great that Ben Roethlisberger survived his motorcycle crash – but what is probably more impactful is this – if there needed to be any further proof that always wearing a helmet is essential – his performance this season surely will convince more folks to strap one on when they ride. Let’s all be especially glad we are around right now to watch LaDainian Tomlinson play – on the rare occasion when the networks allow it that is. The MVP co-favorite is smashing records and the biased, but perhaps not wrong, folks in San Diego are already declaring him the greatest running back - ever.

In hockey: What used to be the signature joke of the NHL: “I went to a boxing match last night and a hockey game broke out,” appears to be going the way of the dodo. Phoenix Coyote Georges Laraque said this week that due to the rule changes, designated NHL fighters would be extinct in two years. He should know as he used to be one of ‘em. Now – he rarely gets to fight and thus has spent more time actually working on his game. The results are in: he has seven points in his past four games.

In baseball: It nice to know that a 25-year-old, third-year Canadian making $385,000 a year can win the American League MVP trophy over a $20-million dollar man from the New York Yankees. The New York Post headline may have screamed “Jeeted,” but looking at who did what for their respective teams, the first Twin MVP award in nearly 30 years was well deserved. However, what we should all be most thankful for in baseball is this: labor peace. The Onion put it best: “World Series Overshadowed By Thrilling New MLB Labor Agreement”.
In soccer: There is not another World Cup until 2010.

In racing: I’d like to talk about F1, CART and the IRL, but since these racing series spend most of their time shooting themselves in the tires (or in F-1 talk, tyers), few would know what I was prattling on about. Instead, let’s be very thankful the NASCAR season came to a merciful end with the feller whose team was busted for cheating at race number one, ending up winning the Nextel Cup at race number thirty-four. His name if you can remember (after all it was way back on Sunday) is a walking snore named Jimmie Johnson. After decade of seeming to do be able to overcome anything, 2006 was marked by uneventful races, an unsatisfying conclusion and perhaps most shockingly – empty seats. Let’s be thankful that they are going to make changes for 2007.

In golf: Though the PGA season ended months ago -- it was all over after the PGA as far as most fans are concerned -- next year that’s going to change. Inspired by, of all things, the aforementioned NASCAR, 2007 is going to see a chase for a $10-million payoff and the Player of the Year title. This way we’ll get to see Tiger take home even more money. Won’t that be fun.
In basketball: It’s early in the season, but at least there is Steve Nash. Though now more often injured than not, he remains an exciting player, he is the two time MVP and best of all he’s now mullet-less!

Eat well everyone. Cheers, and Happy Thanksgiving!