It’s almost Thanksgiving and I’m already saturated with football.
Pro football on Turkey Day means the Detroit Lions play in the morning and the Dallas Cowboys later. The Cowboys are awful and even their cheerleaders are almost ugly. The Lions are Super Bowl contenders after losing every game a few years ago. A superb coach, ferocious like a lion, and a quarterback, Jared Goff, who can go a whole game without an interception. He is boring, but every team but the Chiefs and Bills is wishing he were on their side.
What else is worth watching in the NFL?
I love to see Jerry Jones grimace in the pressbox of his palace. The Cowboys stink and he deserves it.
Aaron Rogers. He looks older than me and he deserves the team he is supposed to lead. He gets a torn achilles in his 60s, yet he returns to play for hapless coaches. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.
Then there is Michigan dude, Jim Harbaugh. He wins a national championship and then dumps the team (or they dump him) to lead the LA Chargers.
Michigan football is pathetic and the Chargers are a contender. They have a wonderful QB, Justin Herbert, and outstanding receivers. Harbaugh is a jerk, but he wins. That is what the NFL is all about. Throw in the F-150 ads and State Farm starring Patrick Mahomes and you have 12 hours of sweet football to bet on.
I am completely exhausted by ads for betting. Betting on games will ultimately destroy pro sports. Give it five years. I hope Elon Musk can eliminate it before a scandal leaves us nothing but flag football and pro bowling — two marvelous sports which will take over the next decade. Keep your 16 lb ebonite ball shiny.
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Now, to what I really wanted to write about when I started — baseball. That is something to be thankful for.
My beloved Chicago Cubs have just acquired a backup catcher and it almost brought tears to my eyes when I read it.
His name is Matt Thaiss and he can barely hit 200. He has Punch and Judy power, but he is special to me because his name is the same as my mother, Thais, who gave me my great passion for the sport and for the Cubs.
She grew up a short walk from Wrigley Field, and her father was a highly knowledgeable fan. We talked baseball anytime we got together. As a matter of fact, it was the only thing we could ever talk about.
My Mom was a kind and loving person and I always felt she was my biggest fan. It is a truly wonderful thing to know that your mother is always rooting for you. She would go to my Little League, Cub Scout softball, and almost all of my basketball games.
She died suddenly in 1990, but I have thought of her virtually every day since.
On this Thanksgiving, when the whole Graff family gets together, we will likely talk about the Cubs over turkey and I will bring up the Cubs new catcher, named the same as my mom, Thais. How perfect that he is also coming from the LA Angels.
Question: What are your favorite sports to watch? Why?
