Bill Shanks: Some thanks from Shanks

It's that time once again, to see what Georgia sports figures are thankful for as we get ready for Thanksgiving.

Georgia football head coach Mark Richt is thankful for unranked teams. If not for them, Georgia might not have a victory this season.

Georgia athletics director Greg McGarity is thankful for the situation at LSU with Les Miles, which gives him an excuse to do the right thing and make a coaching change on his own football team.

Georgia defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruett is thankful for his agent, as he'll likely need him to get another new deal somewhere else real soon.

Georgia offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer is thankful for his last name, or he likely would have a hard time finding a job next season after the disaster he has led this year in Athens.

The UGA fan base is thankful for high school phenom quarterback Jacob Eason, who is the savior of this program regardless who the coach is next season.

Georgia quarterback Greyson Lambert is thankful his season is almost over, while one of his backups, Faton Bauta is thankful his season was over in Jacksonville several weeks ago.

Georgia Tech football head coach Paul Johnson is thankful for the end of the season, since this year has been a nightmare with all the injuries.

Georgia Tech's medical staff is thankful for the end of the football season, for they have been working overtime all season.

Falcons head coach Dan Quinn is thankful he's the new kid on the block, so that team owner Arthur Blank can instead blame Thomas Dimitroff if the Falcons squander a 5-0 start and don't make the playoffs.

Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan is thankful he'll have Thursday off. Maybe he can reflect and remember how to be a winning quarterback again after a rough five weeks.

Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan is thankful for his last name, or he would likely have a hard time finding a job next season after stalling a once-productive offense.

Falcons wide receiver Roddy White is thankful coaches remembered he was on the team last week, since he has been missing in action for some reason all year.

Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman is thankful for real estate agents. He'll need one soon when he's traded away.

Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez is thankful for his contract extension last summer, as he has at least one more year in Atlanta.

Braves president John Schuerholz is thankful for new SunTrust Park, as it gives his front office a time frame to fix things before the new facility opens in 2017.

Braves fans should be thankful for general manager John Coppolella, as he is fixing the mess he inherited a year ago from Frank Wren by focusing on pitching in the rebuilding project.

Georgia's Mark Fox and Georgia Tech's Brian Gregory are thankful their schools' football teams have struggled, perhaps making people more interested in basketball this season.

Mercer basketball head coach Bob Hoffman is thankful for freshmen, who have given his team a fresh new look that should make fans pack Hawkins Arena.

We, the sports fans of middle Georgia, will be thankful for a new calendar year, as we've seen better sports years for teams in Georgia than 2015.

And I am thankful for readers of this column and listeners to my sports talk radio show. May each of you have a grateful and thankful day with your friends and family.

Listen to "The Bill Shanks Show" from 3-6 p.m. weekdays on WPLA Fox Sports 1670 AM in Macon and online at www.foxsports1670.com. Follow Bill at www.twitter.com/BillShanks and email him at thebillshanksshow@yahoo.com.

This story was originally published November 24, 2015 at 7:17 PM with the headline "Bill Shanks: Some thanks from Shanks ."