Thank You, Thank You, Thank You

Please allow me for one day not to talk so much about sports, but to talk about life, which is much more important. Sports for the most part have shaped my life and allowed me to meet wonderful, wonderful people.

I hope you will take the time to read this column, it means a lot to myself to write this and is as important as anything I will ever write. It is going to be full of thank yous, which I never can say enough to so many people who have been there for me in my life, in not only the good times, but more importantly the bad times.

Big news, on November 1st, my blog will move to www.CSNNW.com, which is a wonderful website that enhances greatly the work that is done at Comcast Sports Net NW. It is a great opportunity for myself and I want to thank Kevin Berry/David Kamens, for the opportunity. No worries, you will still get a link to the blog on  daily basis and my work with Comcast will continue to be about college basketball and west coast college basketball.

But today, I am not going to tell you about college basketball for one day, but instead tell you about so many wonderful people who have not only supported this blog to get it where it is, but more importantly are just wonderful people and have a huge impact on my life.

Number one always, I want to thank my great family, who made sure I could always be a part of sports, despite limited funds. I would never trade my Mom, Dad or Sister for anyone, period, end of story. Awesome people and so lucky, oh I am fortunate.

My blog would have never gotten off the ground without the technical help of Tim Marsh. I went to college with Tim and he is the model for never asking for anything and always willing to help. Thank you Tim.

The first reader ever of my blog, was my GREAT friend Terry Durham. Thank you Terry, along with my friends Dale Scott and Terry Gierke, it is criminal that all three of these people are not in the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame, for being legendary sports officials. But more important, terrific human beings and readers of this blog. Very funny people as well, who make me laugh often.

In 1991, Tom Christy and Bob Senseman, had the brilliance to hire myself to work with golf course superintendents. One of the best things that ever happened in my life. Out of that came my great friendship not only with them, but with golf course superintendents Russ Vandehey and Gordon Kiyokawa. Gordon, Bob and Russ, are there for me everyday, through thick and thin. Golf courses superintendents are not only the salt of the earth people, but there is a reason why every survey ever taken by golfers, they are voted the most important people at the golf course. You guys I can never thank enough. Beautiful human beings to say the least.

Since 1999, I have had the honor to work with Marv French. Another person that it is criminal he is not in the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame. All he did was found Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club, one of the five best 36 hole golf facilities in the world. Out of working with Marv, I would never have been able to meet Mike Trimboli. Marv and Mike, thank you so much for all you do for me, you are not only legendary sports people, you are even better world class human beings.

And the list goes on, oh it goes on. Jonathan Heins, Jim Moore (great writer, Coug fan), Dr.  Steve Brenner, Ivan Kafoury (radio legend), Mark Sanchez (great journalist), Doug Merlino, Kenny Vance (NBA guru), Cody Harrod, Ken Kuzmaak (brillant basketball evaluator), Dave Haglund (best sports commish in college sports), Chris Maples, Bobby Thompson, Bruce Hubbard, Mike Smithey, John Melonas, Lanny Bennett, Mitch Copp, Gavin Amato, Dr. Dan Beeson (congrats Dan for being inducted into the Phoenix/Talent hall of fame this weekend) Harry Yewens (Texas golf legend) and Rob Closs, thank you so much for being devoted readers of my blog and thank you so much for being friends, who care about giving back to people everyday.

Also a big thank you to basketball coaches, Danny Miles, Andy McClouskey, Kerry Keating and Eric Reveno. With the exception of Andy, I have never met these  gentleman, but I feel like I have, for every time I write something about them, they take their valuable time to thank me. They would not have to do that, it shows something about the quality of individuals they are indeed.

Thank you to media people Tom Hewitt, Ron Callan and Jay Reese for mentioning my blog and having myself on their radio programs. Great professionals and great guys.

I would be totally remiss, if I did not mention my boss at Adventist Medical Center, Kim Earp. Kim runs our cancer unit at the hospital flawlessly. When you work, as I do part time in the cancer unit of a major hospital, it brings you back down to earth quickly. It is  humbling and a great honor to be a small part of a great team of compassionate professionals, who bring it everyday.

Dan Belluomini, you are a treasure. You are the historian of west coast college basketball, no one knows more about college basketball than you do and you have always been a class act. It is an honor to know you.

It is also an honor to know my good friends Mike Lund and Jim Jorgensen, you guys are great and it is not often you can say, you have known someone for 25 years plus and never ever had a cross word or argument. Thank you Jim and Mike for being friends.

Jon Spoelstra and Jack Garrison all I can say is thank you for being great friends and truly being there in the bad times as well as the good. You ask nothing and give everything.

So once again thank you to everyone who reads this blog, friends or not. It has been great fun to write this and I will continue on this site until November 1st, when I move to Comcast and be able to be part of a great website and work with legendary sportswriter Dwight Jaynes, who I have known for 53 years. Ouch.

And thank you Kerry Eggers and Steve Brandon from the Portland Tribune. I knew both of you before you became famous, now you are icons in the Oregon media scene.

Lastly, thank you Cleveland High School (If not for Cleveland, would never have met my friend Jim Clair, Hall of Famer and who reads my blog everyday). Best time of my life and learned so much, as well as thank you Eastmoreland Golf Course, where so much of my life was shaped and I met so many wonderful people and where ironically, my great father died on the 18th green of heart attack. Miss you so much MOM and DAD.

emails to crawscorner@gmail.com or follow on twitter @wchoops

And please do not forget to follow these great blogs

Kevin McCarthy-------- http://parsingthewac.blogspot.com

Jon Reed------www.bigskybball.com

Dan (the Generals Fan) http://washingtongeneralsfan.blogspot.com

You guys are great and thank you for supporting my blog.