The Day of Thanks

Hope everyone had a great Turkey Day. It sure didn't feel like Thanksgiving considering it was 80 degrees here in LA during the daytime.

So in the spirit of the holiday, I'll go ahead and list some sports-related things that I'm thankful for, in no particular order.

I'm thankful that...

1. The Arizona State Football team has only one game left in their season. The Sun Devils are 4-7, and I'm not sure how much more of this mediocrity I can take. For the first time since the 1940's, ASU will finish with back-to-back losing seasons. By the way, what are the odds that the first time in 60+ years that that happens just so happens to be my first two years at ASU? Just my luck, right? The Sun Devils play host to the hated University of Arizona Wildcats for the Territorial Cup this Saturday. This will be my first time attending a UA-ASU game as a student, and I'm looking forward to it. Sun Devil Stadium should be pretty electric. A win over the Wildcats will make the season for the Sun Devils.

2. Arizona State Basketball is just getting started. The Sun Devils fought hard in a loss against the #7 Duke Blue Devils last night in New York. ASU is 4-1, and should be able to finish in the top four of the Pac-10 this year since the conference is so weak. Coach Herb Sendek is doing some great things with the ASU Basketball program, and I'm happy to be here while it happens.

3. Pau Gasol is back in the Lakers lineup. The defending champions are 3-0 since his return, and they have won all of those games by double digits. The Lakers are very tough to beat with Gasol in the lineup, and if everyone can stay healthy, (and that is an important if) the Lakers should have no problem getting back to the NBA Finals.

4. All of the sports-related opportunities I've had at ASU. Not a lot of broadcast journalism sophomores around the country can say that they have been an on-air radio personality for their first two years of college, which I'm fortunate to say that. I've been able to do play-by-play and color commentary for Pac-10 sporting events, which is another thing that not a lot of people my age can say. I've had the pleasure of meeting a lot of people in the sports media industry, and I've also had the pleasure of interviewing some high profile people, such as ASU Men's Basketball Head Coach Herb Sendek, and Petros Papadakis of Fox Sports Radio. I'm looking forward to the new opportunities I will have in my last two and a half years of school.

Go Devils! Beat the Cats!