It is the most wonderful time of the year. If you stroll the downtown streets of Sistersville in the evening, you can’t help but notice the smooth new sidewalks and the snowflake Christmas lights sparkling overhead. A special thank you goes out to Heather and Meghan, the ladies at the city building, for replacing all the strands of lights on the snowflakes guaranteeing their shine through-out the holiday season. The store fronts are decked out with colored lights, festive reindeer, and snow. Now if that is not enough to get you in the Christmas spirit, then you need more time with the kids clamoring to see Santa and less time hanging around with folks like the green Grinch. As for me, everyone at my house and my grandkids’ houses is making out their list for Santa. I have tried really hard to be a good sports fan and sportswriter this past year. So, if I am not on the naughty list, I am hopeful St. Nick can see clear to bring a few of the wishes I will be sending off to the North Pole. He is going to be surprised to hear from me. The last time I contacted him, he was hanging out at the G. C. Murphy’s building in Sistersville downstairs in the toy department.

Dear Santa,

I will start off with a wish everyone can help with. I wish for more fans to attend TCHS sporting events. There’s not a better bargain in town than TCHS home games since admission is free for all Tyler County residents. I promise the action is good, but every team can benefit from the atmosphere of a packed house. So, residents of Tyler County, let’s try hard to attend a game or two. You will have a good time and the kids will really appreciate your support.

I wish for Tiger Woods to get back to golf; the tour needs him. By the time you read this Tiger will have played in the PNC Championship on December 16-19 with his favorite player, his son, Charlie. I take this as a good sign for the golf legend’s future.

I wish for the Pirates to have a good season. Lots of good, hard-working people in our area root for the Bucs, and they deserve to have something go right. The last memorable season was 2015 when the Pirates lost in a wild card battle in front of the biggest crowd in PNC history. It hasn’t been the same since the trade of outfielder Andrew McCutchen. It was an unpopular trade with the fanbase from the beginning. No player was equal to McCutchen when it came to the Pirate’s most recent turnaround.

I’m wishing Ben returns to the steel city and brings another Super Bowl title with him in his final year with the Steelers. Ben still has it and has shown it more than a couple times this year. If you stayed up late last Thursday night, you may have witnessed his second half comeback charge against the Vikings. I know. We didn’t win and our record is not the best right now but just wait; the fat lady is not singing yet. And for some extra sweetness, please let us continue to dominate the Cleveland Browns.

Now for some wishes for our area high school teams. Each are deserving as some of the best and hardest working young people in our communities participate by dedicating their hearts and bodies to the programs.

Please bring the TCHS Silver Knights a Playoff Beth in football.

Please Bring a team and individual state championship to the TCHS Wrestling team. How about delivering a return to glory for Magnolia Football?

An exciting trip to Charleston for the Boys and Girls basketball teams and Volleyball teams at both Tyler, Magnolia, and Paden City High Schools to battle for a state title would be very welcomed.

Santa, we need more kids out for football at Paden City and give both Valley and Hundred winning seasons in all sports.

Please double check your sleigh before leaving and include a sectional Championship for the TCHS Baseball team.

And bring something special for my good friend, Coach Cisar, like a happy and healthy retirement. He deserves the rest along with all the accolades. And while we are talking Magnolia baseball, please supply a good hire for the team so the winning tradition can continue. Whoever lands in the position will have some big shoes to fill.

Help the folks in charge get the targeting penalties under control in the NFL and college football. It seems to me that disqualifying a player for a targeting call is unfair. Plus, the penalized player must sit out the next week for a portion of the game or the entire game. This is a harsh penalty since in the case of hitting a running back, the running back is the one that lowers his head in the first place.

And Santa, can you arrange for Game Day to come back to Morgantown? There is not another venue in the country that will make game day better than the student crowd of WVU and Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. And while we are talking Mountaineers, let’s have a victory for WVU in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl to keep our season above .500. Hopefully a win will send Coach Brown and his team into 2022 with sites set on a Big 12 Championship game appearance.

And a little something just for me. I sure would love the chance to get to play 18 holes with Charles Barkley or an invitation to play Augusta National.

And Santa, this year there is one person I would like to see get a few lumps of coal in their stocking. It is Mike Golic Jr. He is an ESPN announcer that calls several games for ESPN and has a radio talk show. If he mentions one more time how he played at Notre Dame for a National Championship, I’m going to lose my mind. Plus, he never mentions in that game Notre Dame was hammered by Alabama.

And that is a wrap for the wishes this year. I don’t want to be greedy so deliver the ones you think will best serve our local schools and communities. And I can’t forget to say thank you for all the blessings bestowed on my family and community throughout the year of 2021. For these I am incredibly grateful. Merry Christmas, Santa!