Counting My Sports Blessings This Holiday Season

July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.

By Jerad Shaw-

This time of year, it’s common place to think back on the last year and recount what we are thankful for.
In my personal life, friends and family take the top spot on that list. This week though, I want to do something a bit different. I’d like to share with you the things I’m thankful for in the sports world.
I’m thankful for the Chicago Blackhawks and the last two months of quality hockey. There’s not a better leader in sports than Jonathan Toews, and he has continued to show that this season.
Referred to as Captain Serious, Toews has spearheaded two Stanley Cup runs and appears to be poised for a long playoff run this season. Having three goalies to choose from, each of whom have recorded no worse than a .927 save percentage, there’s a lot be thankful for as a fan of the Blackhawks, and I have a feeling the best is yet to come.
I’m thankful for the way the Warsaw Tigers boys basketball team has come out and competed so far this season. In an era of basketball where I have taken the lack of fundamentals to task countless times, this Tigers squad is far from the current status quo.
Hard-nosed team defense and extremely unselfish play has the Tigers out to a 5-1 start and they’re just a minute away from being undefeated. The fact that I can take my 4-year-old son to a game and express to him how good of role models these young men are is just icing on the cake. This is a special group, and one that I’m excited to see peak prior to tourney time.
I’m thankful for the Chicago Cubs going after and landing Jon Lester and bringing in Joe Madden. A baseball team is a puzzle, and the Chicago Cubs’ puzzle is coming together quite nicely.
Theo Epstein has come in and changed the entire culture of a franchise that needed a fresh look. With a host of prospects that are starting to meet expectations, to a handful of veterans to keep the locker room afloat, it’s a perfect storm on the north side for success. They might be two years away, but look for the Loveable Losers to compete for a division championship this upcoming season.
In the end, sports are very low on the list of importance when you look at life. Sports, however, do give us an avenue to come together as families, or at the very least, keep me out of my wife’s hair for a few hours.
I wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and a very blessed 2015![[In-content Ad]]

This time of year, it’s common place to think back on the last year and recount what we are thankful for.
In my personal life, friends and family take the top spot on that list. This week though, I want to do something a bit different. I’d like to share with you the things I’m thankful for in the sports world.
I’m thankful for the Chicago Blackhawks and the last two months of quality hockey. There’s not a better leader in sports than Jonathan Toews, and he has continued to show that this season.
Referred to as Captain Serious, Toews has spearheaded two Stanley Cup runs and appears to be poised for a long playoff run this season. Having three goalies to choose from, each of whom have recorded no worse than a .927 save percentage, there’s a lot be thankful for as a fan of the Blackhawks, and I have a feeling the best is yet to come.
I’m thankful for the way the Warsaw Tigers boys basketball team has come out and competed so far this season. In an era of basketball where I have taken the lack of fundamentals to task countless times, this Tigers squad is far from the current status quo.
Hard-nosed team defense and extremely unselfish play has the Tigers out to a 5-1 start and they’re just a minute away from being undefeated. The fact that I can take my 4-year-old son to a game and express to him how good of role models these young men are is just icing on the cake. This is a special group, and one that I’m excited to see peak prior to tourney time.
I’m thankful for the Chicago Cubs going after and landing Jon Lester and bringing in Joe Madden. A baseball team is a puzzle, and the Chicago Cubs’ puzzle is coming together quite nicely.
Theo Epstein has come in and changed the entire culture of a franchise that needed a fresh look. With a host of prospects that are starting to meet expectations, to a handful of veterans to keep the locker room afloat, it’s a perfect storm on the north side for success. They might be two years away, but look for the Loveable Losers to compete for a division championship this upcoming season.
In the end, sports are very low on the list of importance when you look at life. Sports, however, do give us an avenue to come together as families, or at the very least, keep me out of my wife’s hair for a few hours.
I wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and a very blessed 2015![[In-content Ad]]
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