Thanks

Thanksgiving Day. A day to give thanks. I think I will do just that today.

It’s a sports column, so…

Thank you, L.A. Kings hockey, for a lifetime of great memories, AND for that unbelievable experience of those two Stanley Cup runs. It is one thing to be impressed by the greatness that produces championships. It is another thing for the teams you like to be successful. But it is a feeling of indescribable bliss for a fan when the team you LOVE, who you always hoped would do well, to exceed all of your wildest expectations and to produce the ultimate in accomplishments, right there before your eyes.

Thank you, NFL, for putting those football games on Thanksgiving Day, especially to the Detroit Lions organization for starting it, and the Dallas Cowboys for joining in and really ingraining the idea into American audiences. A lot of the great memories of family, friends and food on many of those Thanksgiving days of the past seem to go hand in hand with those games being on in the background.

Thank you, Hollywood, for such great sports movies as “Caddyshack,” “Hoosiers,” “Breaking Away,” “Bull Durham,” “Rocky I’ (not so sure about the others), “Field of Dreams,” “Remember the Titans,” “Heaven Can Wait,” “Slap Shot,” “Chariots of Fire,” “Miracle on Ice,” “Seabiscuit,” “Rudy,” “Jerry McFuire,” “The Natural,” and probably some others I forgot to mention, for making me think, feel, laugh, and appreciate life just a little bit better. For motivating me, thrilling me, and taking me to the cinematic mountaintop of life experience emotions.

Thank you, Lambeau leapers, baseball teams that celebrate at home plate after walk-off home runs, hockey teams that race onto the ice and celebrate after overtime wins, little league teams, collegiate teams, everyone that celebrates their sports’ triumphs, for their unabashed joy of sports that DOES translate through the TV screens to fans in the audience and DOES help them vicariously celebrate those same triumphs themselves.

Thank you, Auburn football team, for the game against Alabama last year. That game, that ending, those fans storming onto the field and hanging out there for what seemed like hours, was one of the most surreal, indelible images I have ever seen in college football.

Thank you, European and U.S. golf teams for all the great Ryder Cup moments, even you Ian Poulter.

Thank you Odell Beckham Jr. and David Tyree for making catches that are so great they completely defy logic.

Thank you, Magic Johnson, Dr. J, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Le Bron James and a few others, for helping to turn the NBA into a thrill ride of sports fun and excitement to watch.

Thank you, athletes like Russell Wilson and Clayton Kershaw, for utilizing your fame and money and stardom for good purposes for society and your community and people in need, when you could just as easily be spending all of your time, fame and money on your own, vain desires. The world is a better place with guys like you in it.

And thanks to my wife, my family and my friends for all of their support throughout the years.

Happy thanksgiving, everybody.