From CBS Sports:

“That’s a Wednesday night post from Tammi Carr — the mother of a 5-year-old little boy named Chad Carr. And though there’s a good chance you’ve never heard of Chad, I’m certain you know his grandfather, Lloyd Carr, the legendary former Michigan football coach.

Sad story coming.

Chad was diagnosed with a rare and inoperable form of brain cancer in September 2014. He was initially given about nine months to live. Courageously, he beat that projection. But things have taken a bad turn recently. Chad can no longer walk. His breathing has worsened. His speech is sporadic. Doctors think the end is near. So Tammi and her husband, former Michigan quarterback Jason Carr, started Chad on hospice care this week.

At this point, frankly, there is little anybody can do. But that didn’t stop the Michigan men’s basketball staff and the Ohio State men’s basketball staff from coming together Wednesday night to try to lift Chad’s spirits in even the smallest way. Representatives from both schools — it was OSU coach Thad Matta’s wife, Barbara, who came up with the idea, I’m told — arranged to have Chad’s home decorated with Christmas lights, proving that even rivals can put aside their differences when their differences don’t really matter in the real world.”

Whew boy. It’s a dusty friday here at Bottlegate. 

How big of an absolute shame is it that these stories take a back seat to garbage like Greg Hardy and the state of daily fantasy sports in New York? LeBron James penned a heartfelt letter to a 19-year-old with a condition that prevents most people from seeing their 20’s. Ohio State and Michigan set one of the biggest rivalries in all of sports aside to bring some holiday cheer to the sick grandson of a coach that beat the Buckeyes 6 times in 12 years. These are the things I want to be reading about, national media. Not how much Todd Gurley costs in DFS this week.

It’s like the last scene of Christmas Vacation where Aunt Bethany sings the National Anthem. Everyone drops what they’re doing, ignores all the events/felonies of the night and comes together to honor the greatest country in the world. Sure, Eddie kidnapped Clark’s boss because he cut Christmas bonuses. And yeah, the Browns do play in Pittsburgh this Sunday in front of, well, our least favorite fan base in the country. But at the end of the day, we’re all just one big group of sports fans standing in our front lawn with the authorities on Christmas Eve. Let’s sing the National Anthem a little more often.