I'm thankful...

An overdue giving of thanks, and a nod to the late sports journalist Furman Bisher....

I'm still very thankful for online shopping.

I'm thankful for Omeprazole and the relief it gives me as my reflux worsens with age and coffee consumption.

I'm thankful for no crazy plays at this year's Georgia-Auburn game.

I'm thankful for Coach Mark Richt. The man deserves more credit than he gets as a football coach and as a builder of men. I am thankful that for him, the latter is more important than the former.

I'm thankful that in spite of their success, I am not a Florida State fan.

I'm thankful that Bisher wasn't alive to have written about Jameis Winston. I think he would have vomited all over his typewriter.

I'm thankful for being at Jason Heyward's first game as a Brave and seeing him hit a home run on his first plate appearance. I'll miss seeing him in right field.

I'm thankful that the Celtics are in the Eastern Conference. With only seven teams at .500 or better, they still have a shot at the playoffs. Yes I know, it's only November.

I'm thankful that despite us being a 'Cowboys' family, that I am not very invested in the NFL. Again, Bisher would have had to throw up covering some of the crap coming out of the League over the past few years.

I'm thankful for our nanny. I had no idea how I was going to leave my children to return to work after Natalie had spent four months in the hospital, but she made it amazingly reassuring.

I'm thankful for when I get to snuggle with my children individually. I'm thankful for when I get to snuggle with my husband individually. (I know, where's the Zofran?!)

I am thankful for the couples that have walked through life with us over the past year through small group at MyChurch. It is very true that life change happens in circles, not rows.

I am thankful for organizations like International Justice Mission, Compassion International, and Polaris Project. Violence against the poor, women, and children needs to end.

I am thankful to have gone to the only high school that has been in Camden County, and that because of that it has always been desegregated.

I am thankful and very proud to be a graduate of a historically black college and to have met and known some pretty amazing, smart, funny, and beautiful doctors because of it.

I am thankful for the training I received at Grady Hospital (yes I said it!). There are only a handful of medical schools that can boast of this type of experience.

I am thankful for Kimberly Bishop and the listening, objective ear that she lends to me and the truthful words that she continues to speak.

I am thankful for the faith of Kerriann Martin. No mother should have to go through what she has gone through, but she has consistently done it with grace; and when I say grace, I do mean GRACE.

I am thankful that God still redeems our stories. Beauty from ashes....

I still love football, but I'm beginning to wonder why.

Alright, I'm going to put in my two cents even though I know there are people who disagree and people who don't care. I love football. I marched for eight years because yes I do love music, but I really really love football. But WTF (told you I was gonna have to cuss) are we doing here?

Roethlisberger gets 6 games for rape allegations that were never charged. I know he only had to sit out 4, and that the Milledgeville police seemed to do as good of a job as that of Tallahassee, but he did regardless. Rice gets two games for knocking the $%^& out of his future wife, and Goodell only gives him the ban later to cover his @ss. Winston gets charged for rape, sits out zero games (except later when he yelled out profanities that are so uplifting to women), gets a Heisman and a National Championship. Reggie Bush gets improper benefits, Championship taken away from USC, and his Heisman is negated. Last time I checked, O.J. Simpson still has his. Oh, by the way, on the subject of the Heisman, yesterday they removed the word "integrity" from their mission statement. How convenient. http://www.si.com/college-football/2014/10/10/heisman-trophy-integrity-mission-statement

Treon Harris gets 'suspended' for sexual assault on Sunday, reinstated before Saturday due to the accuser dropping the charges. She's supposedly another student athlete. I'm sure no one pressured her to do that. Kids that do pot get more games than that. And just to prove that I'm not a homer, Hines Wards was arrested for a DUI by Dekalb Police, gets the charges dropped to reckless driving, and doesn't miss any playing time. Yeah, I'm sure alot of black men in the state of Georgia are able to do that. By the way, about 30 people will die today due to someone who is driving impaired.

So here comes Todd Gurley. Am I pissed? Yes. Pissed at the guy who shopped him then turned him in. Pissed that this happens on every major college football campus. And I'm pissed at Gurley for being stupid, you know, acting his age in this situation. He's twenty years old. I never did anything stupid at twenty years old.

I'm pissed that the NCAA says it is for the support of student athletes, but takes advantage of them in everyway at the risk of their livelihood; same thing with NFL being for safety. Anyone talk to Jim McMahon recently? I can't remember, and neither can he. Yes I'm well aware of the fact that athletes should know better. Jim McMahon says now that he would've played baseball instead. Definitely safer. I wonder how much Johnathan Taylor, former outfielder for the Dawgs is gonna make in baseball this year. Oh, yeah, none. He's getting ready to take his Series 65 exam from his electric wheelchair. He's going to make much more money as an investment advisor.

Mark Emmert, the president of the wonderful institution of the NCAA claimed $1.7 million from 2012-2013. Tyler Gaffney went to Stanford; he must be a pretty smart kid, and he was drafted by the New England Patriots. As the running back with the lowest NFL contract, he's supposed to make $303,000 this year. Average NFL running back career is around 3 years. Who has the highest contract? Adrian Peterson. And yes I may be comparing apples to oranges, but Robert Kraft is worth over $2 billion. Roger Goodell is set to get $105 million in 5 years. The average NFL salary is $1.9 million. The average career is 3.3 to 6 years, depending on whether you ask the Players Association or the League.

So back to Todd Gurley; did he let everybody down, especially his own teammates and his coach who is trying to help him become a good man? Absolutely. Is he stupid for getting money for his signature? Yes, because it's against the rules. But I'm definitely one who will ask why is there that rule and should it be there anyways. I'm pretty sure music majors that are given full scholarships can still get paid for gigs played outside of the university. Again, apples to oranges.

But is it really? Difference is that you might get paid $100 for a gig. Cost of a red Georgia Bulldogs Nike No. 3 Limited Football Jersey $134.95. Yeah, so much goes into cost of making that jersey that I'm pretty sure Georgia doesn't make much money from that. And I hope this will make more and more people ask why Mark Emmert gets to make $1.7 million this year while these rules still exist. Oh I forgot, the NCAA passed a rule for athletes from the power conferences to get stipends, so they can get paid. Wonder how much Jameis Winston is gonna make this year. http://q.usatoday.com/2014/08/05/florida-state-pay-jameis-winston-heisman/