So today the Track will bow our well-coiffed heads and give thanks for the many blessings the professional jocks have bestowed upon our fair city.

Then we'll dig right in to the heaping portions of rumor, hearsay, scandal and innuendo served up by the gobblers in this town in 2008!

So pull up a chair and check out the plentiful platters of delicious dish - with a side of snark - that graced the Track table over the past 11 months:

** We are thankful that New England Patriots QB/QT Tom Brady has finally returned home to Boston. Tommy, who bypassed his usual vigorous preseason workout to bond with baby Jack and globe-trot with glam galpal Gisele Bundchen, went down in a heap during the first game of the season with a torn ACL. But instead of availing himself of the world-class docs in Massachusetts, No. 12 chose Cali surgeon-to-the-stars Neal S. ElAttrache. The result? Infections, more operations and a painful recovery. Ouch! Tom has, thankfully, returned to Gillette Stadium to rehab that hinky left knee. And from time to time, he can be found sucking face with Gi in the window of a local boite or taking her pint-sized pooch, Vida, out to pee.

** And we're grateful that Brady's back-up, Matt Cassel, who for years has been the Patriots' version of the Maytag repair man, proved he has the mettle to save Patriots Nation from a season of mourning. After a dismal September start against the Miami Dolphins, Cassel threw for 415 yards in a 48-28 gutting of the Fish on Sunday. It was his second straight game of 400 or more passing yards. Tom who???

** Although the bruised and battered Red Sox couldn't keep the Tampa Bay Rays at Bay during the American League playoffs, there were a few hardball blessings. First off, there's the aforementioned Dustin Pedroia, a little man with a big Golden Glove. Kevin Youkilis stepped up bigtime when third baseman Mike Lowell went down. Hurtin' Big Papi lost his October mojo, but pitcher Jon Lester kept hope alive. Still, here at the Track Shack, we kinda have to admit we miss Manny being Manny . . .

** The Boston Bruins, after many years of being the ugly stepsisters of the Hub's sports scene, thankfully have appeared to turn the ship around. Is a Stanley Cup, not seen in these parts since 1972, too much to hope for?

** Our favorite Cambridge homeboys, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, are all grown up and are more likely to belly up to a baby carriage than a bar these days. But we're grateful that Matt, a father of three, continues to make blockbuster hits - and still finds time for his good-doobie deeds in the Third World. And Ben, who is readying for Baby No. 2 with wifey Jennifer Garner this winter, is scheduled to script, direct and star in ``The Town,'' a flick about a Charlestown bank robber. And he, too, finds time to work on behalf of refugees in the Congo. We do so love our Hollywood Moonbats.

** And speaking of moonbats, President-elect Barack Obama and his family are being touted by the left-wing nuts as the Second Coming of Camelot in the White House. But we'd be grateful if he'd keep the celebrities out of the Lincoln Bedroom.

Now, a moment of thanks for:

** Loose lips that sink ships.

** Walls with ears.

** And people in glass houses who still throw stones.

** Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek, who filed for divorce from wife, Karen, which sent 'Tek's season into the crapper. And those rumors about the catcher cozying up to NESN chick Heidi Watney probably didn't help either. Still, we'll be grateful if the Sox manage to keep the captain.

** And speaking of NESN, we are ever so thankful that ousted anchor Hazel Mae found work at MLB.com. The video vixen is too good to be off the Track's radar screen!

** Larry Bird didn't walk through the door and win the Celtics another NBA championship. But thank you-know-who (with an assist from Red Auerbach???) that Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce did! The Big Three, along with a bench full of hungry hoopsters, brought that ol' time Celtics-Lakers rivalry back to the Garden this year.

** A round of applause, please, for text messaging, e-mail, cell phones, IMs, private Facebook pages and the ol' standby - confidential voice mail. And here's a holla for gabby doormen, limo drivers, cops, bartenders, waiters and housekeepers.

** Thanks, Hollywood, for making Boston a veritable shooting gallery for stargazing. Mel Gibson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Bruce Willis, Ricky Gervais, Kate Hudson, Anne Hathaway, Jennifer Garner, Matthew McConaughey and many, many more set up shop in the Hub to take advantage of the generous tax breaks. And there's lots more in store for 2009!

** Big props to Sen. Ted Kennedy, who won't let a brain tumor get in the way of his Senate business.

** A big Thanksgiving thanks to Kenneth R. Fishkin, Greg Hill, L.B., Spaz, EBJ, PR, Ian Barrett and the lovely Erin Hayes.

** Here's a shout-out to Julie, Jim, Dana and the rest of the fun bunch in Club L11 at Fenway. The fun just doesn't stop during Baseball season!

** A big round of applause, please, for Big Night Entertainment - owners of Shrine at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods and The Estate. The Kane Brothers have brought in Hollywood hotties such as Paris Hilton, Lauren Conrad, Audrina Patridge, Lauren ``Lo'' Bosworth, Brody Jenner, Douglas Reinhart, Aubrey O'Day, Samantha Ronson and Lindsay Lohan. We love the glitz and glam!

** And how, we ask you, can we ever forget the naughty nabobs in the Naked City? You keep us going on those dark, dishless days.

** Thanks to the Track's own special teams player, the ever-so-talented, tireless Simone Press. And, of course, the rest of our co- workers, our long-suffering families and pals. You know who you are.

** And finally, we give thanks for turkey, stuffing, mile-high apple pie and Prilosec.

As our favorite sartorial sportsman Randy Moss would say, ``Happy Thanksgiving, yo!''