Giving thanks

As 'Turkey Time' approaches, I thought that it would be a good idea to glance over the sports world and give thanks to those who deserve it.\nThank you Major League Baseball; you actually realized that it might be a bad idea to upset the fans, and avoided a strike. \nThank you, Marc Bulger for going 5-0 as a starter and proving once again that any ol' scrub can successfully quarterback the St. Louis Rams and win. Maybe now, finally, people will realize that Kurt Warner was never anything special, and perhaps the success has to do with a terrific offensive surrounding.\nThank you, Yahoo Sports, for the free fantasy leagues that eat up hours of our days. You let us mindlessly decide issues as important as picking up a running back to replace the useless Jerome Bettis or actually find reason to root for Brent Mayne when the Royals are playing Detroit.\nThank you, Dallas Cowboys and New York Knicks for being miserable. I don't think you realize how many fans are loving every minute of this.\nThank you, Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon, for bantering for 30 minutes every day about every imaginable sports topic on ESPN's "Pardon the Interruption." Most sports talk shows have serious tones and lag on the same issues forever -- but PTI illustrates that sports is just entertainment and a way to enjoy ourselves, and that is relayed on the show beautifully.\nThank you, Charlotte Hornets fans, for not caving in to an unthoughtful, greedy owner. Your perseverance is admired by taxpayers around the country who do not see why cities continue to throw money at millionaires. It may have stung to lose the Hornets (sorry, couldn't resist the pun there), but it paid off, as the NBA has already set you up with another team whose owners will hopefully realize that they cannot push the fans around.\nThank you, Reggie Miller, for being such an outstanding role model for so many people. Over the course of your career, you have stayed with one team, volunteered to play for Team USA three times, and have repeatedly amazed us with clutch performances that are were truly remarkable. Recently, you were recognized by USA Today for your commitment to off the field charitable work. You donated over $200,000 to a New York City fire department that lost eight crew members on September 11th, but the Knicks fans will still boo you every time you play in The Garden. Now, on the injured list, you are a role model to your teammates -- you dress up respectably for every game and are the team's greatest (and tallest) cheerleader, showing just how much you care about the Indiana Pacers. \nThank you, Brett Favre, for being the gutsy, clutch quarterback that fans got used to seeing in the 80s and 90s. Now that Super Bowls are being won based on the coach's ability to manage the entire team, outstanding quarterbacks like you are not as coveted as they once were. Watching you play is exciting, though, because at the times when the playbooks have to be thrown out, and the bottom line is scoring, you're the best there is -- period.\nThank you NCAA basketball, for having the right post-season setup. As obvious as it seems to have a playoff, some people apparently just don't get it. March Madness is both exciting and fair, and without it, our Hoosiers would have been nowhere near the championship game.\nAs often as athletes and sports organizations are scrutinized, these fine folks have made our lives at least a little bit better, in one way or another.