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This week, I continue a Thanksgiving Day tradition. Here are my ten things around Mizzou sports for which we give thanks today. They're listed in no particular order, other than the way they came into my head.

You can argue until you're blue in the face how impressive the stats are. But you can't deny the kid has an arm not much seen in college football. The throw that stands out in my mind is still a bullet down the sideline to J'Mon Moore between double coverage against Kentucky. I said at the time and still believe half the starting quarterbacks in the NFL can't make that throw. He's not perfect, but he's damn good. And perhaps no Mizzou player has taken more heat from the fanbase in my 14-plus years covering the Tigers. Through it all, he's stayed above board, he's pointed no fingers and taken no shots. In this business, you root for people. I root for Drew Lock. That kid deserves this season.

She isn't the most well-known home town basketball player in the black and gold. But she's the most charismatic. She owned the building at Mizzou Madness. She is all over Twitter cheering for Mizzou teams and players. And, oh, by the way, she's one of the top ten to 20 players in the country.

Mizzou wrestling is about to rev back up. J'Den Cox is gone. And not a single person thinks the TigerStyle brand Smith has built is about to collapse because of it. It's virtually inarguable he is the most successful coach in school history.

We didn't even know what to call it. Can you call a pre-planned speech a rant? And as Odom said on Saturday night in Nashville, the speech was overrated. But it was the seminal moment this season. It's the one everyone will remember. When Odom went off following Mizzou's loss to Auburn, the fans finally saw the personality of the Tigers' head coach. They're 5-and-2 since then. Coincidence or not, it was a turning point.

I don't even know how much of it was his fault, but the Mack Rhoades era (blip?) will not be remembered fondly in Columbia. Nor should it be. Since Sterk came on board, football is going back to a bowl game with facility improvements coming, hoops matters again, baseball is getting upgrades, Kansas (kind of) and Kansas State (for real) are back on the schedule. 2017 was the year of Jim Sterk in Columbia.

So the excitement around the Michael Porter Jr. experience took a little hit since his career on the court lasted all of 100 seconds, but his impact on the program cannot be denied. Season tickets are sold out, there is legitimate high-end talent on the roster and Missouri hoops matters again. A lot of that doesn't happen without Porter Jr. coming back home. In fact, probably none of it does. He will end his career in CoMo having had almost no impact on the court, but an immense impact on the program.

In some tumultous years for Missouri football, Ish Witter has been steady. He's just always been there. He's not flashy. He's not loud. He's never the guy anyone identifies as the star. But the kid does exactly what is asked of him without complaint. He never gets in trouble. He simply does his job and shows others how to do theirs. And now, he's playing the best football of his life in the twilight of his college career.

It's been three years since the Tigers played in a bowl game. It seems so much longer. Markus Golden was the defensive MVP and Maty Mauk was trucking Minnesota defenders the last time the Tigers played in the postseason. They're going back this year. And even better, they aren't going to Shreveport.

Norm Stewart got a statue this year. And you can complain about the lack of a Final Four, you can argue his recruiting slipped, whatever. But Norm is an institution. He's the only person associated with 178 years of Missouri that is universally known by one name. Getting to talk with the old coach after the ceremony a couple of weeks ago, you could tell he's lost the fastball a little bit. The gears turn a little more slowly, the wit might be a tick less sharp. But if you're a Missouri fan and you have a chance to sit and listen to Norm Stewart tell a story, you're doing yourself a disservice if you pass it up.

She's got a good program going. The Tiger women start this season with the highest ranking in program history. She's brought Sophie Cunningham and some other really good talent to Columbia. But those reading this probably appreciate her bloodlines as much as anything right now. Her sister just so happens to be Lisa Porter, who has four children who are awfully good at basketball. It was Pingeton who first approached Jim Sterk and planted the seed that the Porters might want to come back to Columbia when Missouri made a move with its basketball program. So all that stuff we said happened because of MPJ really started with Robin Pingeton. Pingeton joins Stewart (who also played baseball) as the only person to have such a huge impact on two different programs. And, no, I don't think her middle name really starts with an F. If you don't know what that stands for, I'm not gonna tell you.

As always, I want to finish this by thanking you.

Thanks to my staff for working every day, for always being on call. Thanks to Martin Rucker and Joe Walljasper for adding their voices to our little corner of the world. Thanks to Brian Austin for coming back and helping keep me sane and Sean Williams, Jordan Kodner, Keegan Pope, Alex Schiffer, Paul Maharry, Anne Rogers and anyone else I might have missed who has contributed to the site since the last time I wrote this.

But mostly, thanks to the fans and to our subscribers. Thanks for your passion for these silly games that allows our staff to have a job most of you would do for far less than what we get paid. For allowing us a front row seat to see all the things on this list and so many more. For your praise and your criticism and your devotion every single day to this site. It isn't always said, but it is always appreciated.