What do Tiger Woods, Betsy King, and The Nutcracker have in common? They all make the list of reasons why our Grant Boone is thankful for a special and memorable 2007.

By Grant Boone, Special to PGA.com

First off, I have two things to say to all of you who last year woke up shortly after the Cowboys game ended to take advantage of the Friday-after-Thanksgiving sales:

1. What a bunch of pathetic losers!

2. Watch the elbows this year, I was here first! Okay, so maybe I've been suckered into Black (and Blue) Fridays of yore. Nothing embodies the true meaning of the holidays quite like jockeying for a place in line among a thousand other zombies who're all after a plasma TV the size of a drive-in movie screen that's on sale for $1.79. It's always a bit deflating to get inside and realize there's a catch, like that it's black-and-white or doesn't come with a remote. The "add-ons" run you another $4000 each, after which you'll have to sell your own plasma just to make ends meet. It doesn't matter anyway because they sold the only one they had in stock to the first person in the store, who actually began forming the line on Arbor Day.

By now, of course, we've learned what's really important is the stuff you can't buy, which this year for the first time includes NBA referees! Speaking of basketball (which we weren't until the end of that last sentence), one of my favorite college professors at ACU, Willard Tate, used to coach hoops there. He averaged 17 wins a season for 7 years, but the most important number he taught me was 10. Every morning in Life Learning Skills, he'd tell us to write down 10 good things that had happened to us that day. The 8 a.m. class protested mightily - or at least as mightily as college kids can do anything at that ungodly hour - until he gave them a few suggestions.

"Here's one," Tate would say. "You got up this morning. Here's another: you were healthy enough to walk to the bathroom under your own power. Here's another: you have a bathroom." And so it went.

So with a nod to Coach Tate, here are 10 things - both in and out of the golf world - for which I'm thankful this year:

1. Tiger Woods. Like him or not, there aren't very many generations of fans in any sport who can say they may be watching the best who's ever played that game. Woods gets bonus points seeing as how this particular game has been played for the last half-millennium. You've heard the line that every Tour player today ought to tithe to Arnold Palmer for bringing big bucks to professional golf? Well, everyone currently earning a living covering this sport should do the same to Tiger Woods. Think about it. Had Golf Channel, for example, signed on in 1985 instead of a decade later as it did, can you honestly guarantee it would have still been around by the time Eldrick Woods became Tiger? Tonight after Golf Central, it's an all-new episode of "Playing Lessons From the Pros" as Lon Hinkle reveals the secret behind those whopping 270-yard drives! Then, relive all the drama of the 1990 PGA Championship with the premiere of "Wayne Grady: In His Own Words." The check's in the mail, Tiger.

2. The Nutcracker. Tchaikovsky's timeless tale was never told more beautifully than last weekend at Abilene's Paramount Theatre when my 5-year-old daughter was one of the Tiny Angels in the opening scene of Act II. I also had a role, which mercifully for everyone in attendance didn't mandate my spray painting on a pair of tights. I was an Angel Pilot, dressed in all black and responsible for hoisting each girl in my daughter's row to help them fly. Not a single crash landing.

3. Woody Austin. He gave us the two funniest moments of the season: the accidental reverse half-pike into the lake at the Presidents Cup and the declaration that he outplayed Tiger Woods in the second round of the PGA Championship despite shooting 70 to Tiger's 63. NBC ought to hire Austin as an NFL analyst for games like last week's in Buffalo.

Al Michaels: Another New England score, and the Patriots now lead the Bills, 56-10.

Woody: Yeah, but Buffalo leads in net punting average, so it's really kind of a wash.

4. Lorena Ochoa. When I coach my sons in various sports, I always tell them the best teams should have the best sportsmanship. Golf is fortunate in that its top women's player is one of the finest human beings in the game. Ochoa's faith-shaped character compels her to bless as she's been blessed.

5. a. Not Being Ashley Olsen. Question: Could it get any creepier for the handlebar-thin waif than being hit on by Lance Armstrong during his Tour de Midlife Crisis?

b. Not Being Mary-Kate Olsen. Answer: Yes - knowing he picked your identical twin over you.

6. PGA Tour Playoffs. Easily worth a good month full of columns and a solid go-to punch line throughout the second half of the season.

7. Betsy King. Two impressive feats on foreign soil: in September, she captained the U.S. Solheim Cup team to a win over Europe in Sweden; a month later, King led a team of LPGA representatives on an inspiring relief effort to Rwanda (read here).

8. Cough Buttons. Golf announcers swear by them. (Note: When not used properly, can be susceptible to chokin', freakin' dogs.)

9. Not Being Sergio Garcia's Bit or Loogie. He spit both this year: the latter into the cup during round 3 at Doral; the former at the British Open, which he led by 3 on Sunday before losing a playoff to Padraig Harrington.

10. Holy Matrimony. Friday marks 16 years of wedded bliss with my beloved. How can I possibly express my love for you after all these years, my dear? Okay, I'll set the alarm. And you're okay if it doesn't come with a remote?

Grant Boone is a husband, father, golf broadcaster, and sports journalist based in Abilene, Texas. His column appears on PGA.com each Wednesday and every day during major championships and other big events. He can be contacted at pgagrant@hotmail.com.

The views and opinions expressed here do not reflect those of PGA.com or The PGA of America.