Five Things a Chicago Fan Can Be Thankful For In 2008

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

Where do I begin? Rocky Wirtz gets home games on local television in high definition, brings back Pat Foley, signs a big-name free agent to solidify the defense, gets the legends of the franchise involved with the future, and then tops it off with a nationally televised New Year's Day game at Wrigley Field?

All the marketing John MacDonough can create doesn't mean a thing if the product on the ice doesn't measure up, though. And it has. These young Hawks are playing well enough to deserve a sold-out United Center every night.

Brian Campbell has backed up his free agent billing and the future of the franchise continues to look brighter with Patrick Kane, Captain Jonathan Toews, and rookie Kris Versteeg all playing exceptionally well.

Entering the season, many observers thought the Hawks would fight for a playoff spot and then compete in a first-round loss. Now, analysts and fans alike are looking deeper into the postseason and expecting great things.

While I would have liked to have seen the Denis Savard situation handled with a little more transparency and professionalism, the rest of the 2008-09 season has been special on Madison Street.

Maybe in 2009 we'll be thankful for Wayne Messmer back on the ice...?