Written by Brian McPeek

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Happy Thanksgiving Cleveland fans!  Nothing like Turkey Day ... a day that revolves around watching football and eating all day.  And it officially marks the start of the holiday season.  To get us in the mood bright and early here at TCF, Brian McPeek has penned a column telling us some of the things he's thankful for as a Cleveland sports fan.  Have a happy and safe holiday everyone! I was advised by the proprietor of this here joint that, based on early indications, this site was lacking the time-honored "I'm Thankful For...." column to run on Thanksgiving Day. You know, the one that the Plain Dealer columnists fight to the death over so that the winner can forego the creative process that is required to turn out an actual, original piece of work. 

But if the Clevelandfan.com is ever going to be considered mainstream (God forbid) these types of columns must be written. And who better to pen a mindless, cliché-driven column than yours truly?  

So without further adieu, these are the things, as a sports fan and as a part-time writer, that I am thankful for: 

• Plain Dealer Columnists- Their high level of suckitude makes this site a destination for true sports fans looking for something other than wistful stories about growing up in Texas listening to A&M games on the radio and covering the ‘76ers 40 years ago.
  
  
• Charlie Frye- His amazing level of incompetence against the Steelers on Opening Day was so egregious and blatantly obvious that it led to him being traded two days later. Therefore, Charlie Frye, in absentia, is largely responsible for the Browns offensive awakening and the resurrection of the franchise. You can't ask much more from a 3^rd round draft pick.  
   
• Derek Anderson- I'm thankful that DA is as clever as a fox. He completely and purposely laid down in the preseason and was actually worse than Frye. It was a cunning (and somewhat daring) move given that Frye would go on to become the first QB ever to start his team's home opener and be traded within 48 hours. DA was then able to hold off a rookie and a noodle-armed backup and establish himself as a potential MVP. Brilliant. That's the kind of forward thinking you need from your field general.
  
  
• Helmets, shoulder pads, chest pads and rib pads- Without all of this padding the Browns backs and receivers could be decapitated or impaled with a 96mph DA dump off. And nothing slows down action on the field like a decapitation.  
  
  
• The University of Michigan- Not because of their 25 Rhodes Scholars or because of famous alumni like Gerald Ford or James Earle Jones. No, it's because of the undying pleasure their football team has brought me over the last 4 straight years and in 6 of the last 7 years overall. Those 25 Rhodes Scholars may have contributed to meaningless improvements in medicine and aeronautics, but it's truly Mike Hart and Chad Henne that have improved my quality of life.
  
• The New York Yankees- The 21^st century New York Yankees are professional baseball's equivalent of Wile. E. Coyote. They buy all the latest and most expensive gadgets and products from ACME and yet still, more often than not, find themselves falling off the cliff, heading right back to ACME for something new to buy. I'm thankful they're just that dumb. Because if they had any clarity of thought, along with their bankroll, they might never lose.
  
  
• The Internet- This novelty might just stick. I'm still thinking its probably some sort of fad but I have to admit that I enjoy being able to read the message boards here at TheClevelandFan, research facts for an article I'm writing (occasionally), watch YouTube videos of Brian Billick's reaction to the Phil Dawson field goal fiasco, all while playing low limit NL poker on line. If it dispensed alcohol and raised my children I could seriously see myself settling down with it for the next 40 years of my life.
  
  
• My Wife and Family- Pretty much for putting up with crap like the last paragraph. And for thousands of other reasons I won't get into lest this begin to resemble a Plain Dealer article. 
   
• Mark Shapiro- I am thrilled that Shapiro is the GM of the Cleveland Indians. Not so much for the outstanding job he's done under the constraints imposed upon him here in Cleveland (and he has done an outstanding job). I'm actually happy he has the job because he prevents the hundreds of message board users who believe they are more than qualified to run the Indians and every other sports organization from actually ascending to that position.

Truth be told, I do wish Shapiro would start making some of the deals the message board users recommend. It seems ridiculous and just downright bull-headed to not just go out and acquire Miguel Cabrera for Tom Mastny and Andy Marte. 

• Professional Sports- I give thanks on a daily basis for the NFL, MLB and the NBA. Because, when all is said and done, they keep the streets safer for law abiding citizens. It's nice to know exactly where people like Pacman Jones, Tank Johnson, Barry Bonds, Tim Hardaway, Allen Iverson, Scott Sauerbeck, Chris Henry, Michael Vick, Scott Erickson, Kyle Turley, Bill Romanowski and Ray Lewis are scheduled to be playing or practicing on any given day. So you can avoid that area like it was radioactive. 
   
• Larry Hughes, Eric Snow and Donyell Marshall- I happen to be of the opinion that LeBron James is the best player in the NBA today. He is not a product of the hype machine nor is his game or his standing in the league elevated by or dependent on playing with a superb team. Watching one game with Hughes, Snow and Marshall on the floor with LBJ validates all of these points.
  
  
• Jim Tressel- Coach Tressel just gets it. His one job objective every year is to beat Michigan. And damned if he hasn't done it with regularity. And rather than Michigan being out-coached by some burly, frothing and spitting, fire and brimstone field general, they keep getting run over by some natty looking guy in a sweater vest and designer, tinted reading glasses who seems better suited to be supervising the library. 
   
• Tom Hamilton- I want Tom Hamilton to do the play-by-play of my funeral and burial. From the moment they put me in the hearse I want him screaming ("There's a drive...") right up to the time they put my casket in the ground ("...and...Gooooone!!!"). No one will likely notice, but I'll probably still have goose-bumps lying there listening.
  
  
• TheClevelandFan.com- What a venue and resource for Cleveland sports fans. Not only did Rich Swerbinsky give the gift of an intelligent sports site to Clevelanders (and countless Cleveland expatriates) but he also provided opportunities and forums for a talented and knowledgeable group of writers like Hiko, Erik Cassano, Gary Benz, Scott Swerbinsky, Chris Sykes, Mike Furlan, Paul Cousineau, Mike Piper, Mansfield Lucas, John Hnat, Steve Buffum, Tony Lastoria and all the others who were too smart to work for what the "mainstream media" wanted to pay.  
  
  
  For that I'm both thankful and grateful.
  
  Happy Holidays to you and yours.