The annual Thanksgiving list; Weekend football picks
A time to give thanks
The tradition lives on. It’s that time again for my annual Thanksgiving column in which I give the things I’m thankful for as we all celebrate with some food, family, and for me a lot of football.
I love Thanksgiving as much as any holiday on the calendar, maybe more. I think of it as just as good as Christmas with all the food, none of the worry over presents and way more football.
So as I sit here on Wednesday afternoon writing before we all celebrate on Thursday, here is a list of some of the things I’m thankful for:
I am thankful for this job that provides me with thrills and excitement as I get to watch all the sports my heart desires and even better, get to write about it. Along those lines, I’m thankful for the folks that have afforded me this opportunity and allow me to continue doing it as it has now been five years since I arrived on the seen in Calhoun.
I am thankful for the family that I am a part of at the Calhoun Times. From Billy and Dianne in advertising to Danika, who takes care of the front desk, phones, classifieds and so much more, to my editor Brandi, who works long hours and always has the best interests of the paper in mind, to Tyler, the new guy who has come right in and helped us out tremendously. I like him alright, even if he is a UGA grad.
I am thankful for the great relationships I’ve developed with all the local high school coaches and athletic directors. They have been incredibly helpful to me, and their willingness to invite me into their programs for as close to no-limit access that you can get makes my job so much easier to do successfully.
I am thankful that cooler heads usually (and hopefully) prevail.
I am thankful for people in the community that encourage me by complimenting the job that I do. On the opposite end of that, I’m thankful for the folks that offer suggestions, constructive criticism and even point out when I get things wrong so I can use that to get better at what I do.
I’m thankful for our readers because without you, we wouldn’t be here.
I am thankful for college basketball season being back. It might be sacrilegious to say in these parts, but I love college basketball almost as much as college football. (It’s still not at the top, but it certainly has closed the gap.)
I’m thankful for my family that has been through so much over the past few years, and we’re still trucking along, probably closer than ever. With that, I’m thankful for my dad’s continued recovery. He has come a long way in the past two years, and he still has a long way to go, but just to have him still here after some very trying times is good enough for me and always will be.
I’m thankful for my mama who is the strongest person I’ve ever been around. She holds things together, especially these days, and I honestly don’t know how she does it.
I’m thankful that I get to go to Georgia Tech football games with my brothers, even though I haven’t been all that happy on the ride back from them the past two seasons.
I’m thankful for a special woman who has been in my life and made it so much better for over a year now, and I look forward to what the future holds with her. Even when she’s wrong, I let her think she’s right most of the time.
I’m thankful for my two nieces who are just as goofy as their uncle and that I love just as much as if they were my own daughters. (Hopefully I can teach them a lot more cool stuff in the future that won’t get them in too much trouble.)
I’m thankful for my first boss in the sports writing business that molded me more than he could ever imagine, and I’m so happy that he’s getting to do something that he loves in a place that he loves even more.
I’m thankful for the two separate group text messages that I’m a part of that allow the contributing members to ponder some of life’s deepest questions, but mostly talk about ridiculous things and a lot of sports mixed in.
I’m thankful for the plentiful restaurant options in Calhoun that allow me to stick to my strict fast-food regiment.
I’m thankful for the person that invented the DVR. I honestly don’t know if my life could go on without it.
I am thankful for the many road trips I get to go on to cover the extremely successful high school programs in this area, but I’m even more thankful for home games.
I’m thankful that the Braves look to be finally coming out of the abyss that they were in the last two seasons. They were my first love in sports, and I really haven’t known what to do over the Summer as they’ve embarked on their rebuilding project.
I’m thankful for head coaches in Atlanta pro sports that I truly believe in. Dan Quinn and Mike Budenholzer are both incredible coaches, and I don’t think they get the credit they deserve. I believe they will show how great they are in the next few years. Maybe Brian Snitker can join that duo on my list soon as well.
More than anything else, I’m thankful for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who died a cruel death to pay for my sins. He is my hope, my deliverer, my father and my salvation.
I want to wish all of you reading this a very happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy this day with your family and friends, and be thankful for everything you have.
Quick weekend football picks
I won’t go into detail like usual since I’m running out of space but here are my quick picks for rivalry weekend in college football and the Falcons.
I have Georgia Tech winning a close one over the Bulldogs, Alabama big over Auburn, Florida State over Florida in a bit of an upset, Vanderbilt over Tennessee to finally put Butch Jones and Volunteer fans out of their misery, Ohio State rolling through Michigan to make the College Football playoff committee’s job even harder and last but not least, Falcons over Arizona in a tight one.