Matt Way is the creator and author of Third and Blog, a sports website dedicated to everything sports.

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Thanksgiving always causes you to step back, and be thankful for the important things of life. In that spirit, I thought about the things in sports that I’m thankful for.

Brandon Graham

The leader on the field and in the locker room for the Michigan football team in 2009, Graham has instantly become my favorite Michigan football player ever. Yes, that’s right… ever. Not Charles Woodson. Not Mike Hart. Not my childhood favorites of Jerame Tuman and Remy Hamilton. Brandon Graham is the man. The effort and determination he showed on the field in 2009 was truly admirable. Off the field, he said all the right things. He will leave with a degree and a first round selection, but his love for Michigan will always be there. It’s evident both on the field and off. I just wish they could have gotten him a couple more wins in his four year career. Thank you Brandon, you exceeded any possible expectations we had for you.

Alex Rodriguez
Growing up, A-Rod was one of my favorite baseball players. Frankly, I still like him a lot. I liked him even more knowing that Yankee fans didn’t appreciate how great he truly was. He moved positions quietly, produced on the field, didn’t upstage his teammates, yet Yankees fans insisted that he wasn’t a “true” Yankee. Well, now he has the ring. He may not be a true Yankee, but he’s truly one of the greats in baseball history. People don’t appreciate how great he really is. Thank you, A-Rod.

The Salary Cap
On the topic of the Yankees, their victory in the World Series made me appreciate the salary cap in the other three sports even more. In the NFL, to be successful for long periods of time, you have to have a smart management team like the Patriots or Colts. Brian Cashman, on the other hand, can make 3 bad moves an offseason as long and, as long as he keeps bringing in high-paid talent, some of it is bound to work out. It finally worked out. How much did that championship cost again??

Attending a Football School
Sure, I didn’t miss the constant negativity in Ann Arbor. But, attending Marquette, a basketball school with no football team, fall Saturdays just weren’t the same. If you go to a school that loves football like Michigan, Ohio State, Notre Dame, etc, appreciate it. When you leave, you’ll miss it a lot.

Matt Millen
Thank you Matt, for moving to the broadcast booth. Lions fans everywhere appreciate it.

Ben Wallace
A key cog in the Pistons Championship run, Big Ben is back in Detroit. At times, he’s the only guy on the floor that appears to care. Almost always, he’s the only guy in red and blue that can rebound or defend. He left on bad terms, but he’s won me over again. Pro sports needs more Ben Wallace and less Terrell Owens. Thank you, Ben.

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Matt Way is a law student at Marquette University after graduating from the University of Michigan.  You can read more of his commentary on his blog: Third and Blog

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