San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
CHRISTMAS WISHES
NICK CANEPA
U-T columnist has a lengthy list of presents he would like under his tree.
Sez Me (All I Want For Christmas Edition) …
I want: • The vaccine(s) to work.
• Somebody to take responsibility for anything.
• The eye and heart tests to return and replace foolish analytics.
• The San Diego automobile to again replace the bicycle.
• The public to reverse the polarization of Lebron James.
• Millions of Americans to understand this country was founded by ambitious, fearless, intelligent people, not thoughtless, uncaring idiots.
• Some — a bit — of the money attorneys get for nuisance political lawsuits. • Student loans paid off. • Front-line workers and Dr. Wilma Wooten to be our People of the Year (if not, they’re mine, anyway).
• An eight-team college football playoff.
• Don Coryell and John Lynch in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
• Fernando Tatis Jr. to get better (it’s possible).
• A healthy Padres pitching staff (with new additions).
• One game without Gorilla Glue gloves for prima dona receivers.
• At least one person allowed to see a loved one in a hospital or rest home.
• The NBA to please crapcan rampant carrying the ball over and traveling so I again can watch the game I once so dearly loved.
• Prep sports to safely return so I can watch my granddaughter golf.
• The Judases/l.a. Lodgers sold.
• The Pac-12 to mature and grow figs found in other orchards.
• Many legislators to show their birth certificates — not just to prove they were born in America, but they’re actually human beings.
• Pass interference and balls and strikes to be called correctly (sure).
• Replay people to get it right (ditto).
• Peter Seidler to just once tell me a lie.
• A masked population explosion.
• History to be stressed in classrooms.
• Roger Goodell to crack me up (once). • These names changes to stop. Indians, standing alone — as it has in Cleveland for 105 years — is not racist. Now they’re talking about renaming San Francisco Lincoln High? Where to find those without sin? Babies? Puppies? Kittens? Most are named after somebody, anyway. • All Ham & Eggers to make me a believer by getting together and cutting up their drivers licenses. • My press box chair at the stadium (the one Kevin Acee never cleaned). • The ability to vote without consequence. • To keep the DH out of the
NL.
• There to be one side of the aisle.
• To never see San Diego State play BYU in anything again.
• The media to care more about the good of the sport rather than sexy stuff for them to write and talk about.
• Less campaigning and more governing.
• To be the first male Rockette, but that would make me a Rock, so I still wouldn’t fit.
• To leave the house and not have to look over my shoulder for something that can’t be seen, heard or felt.
• Santa to fly without a mask covered with ashes and soot.
• 2020 to end. Today . ... Rose Bowl may lose a CFB playoff semi. It is The Granddaddy, thus virus-susceptible. …
I can see Brady Hoke being upset with his Aztecs getting removed from the Covidsliced bowl game line. He’s the coach. It’s my alma mater, but hard truth: His team was boring, 4-4, and didn’t deserve a bowl bid. …
Of course, Hawaii deserved one even less, but the Mountain West will Mountain West. …
Hoke, Aztecs winners vs. COVID. One player tested positive. Northwestern led with zero . ...
Sunday’s riveting ESPN “College Football Selection Show” ran four hours. Or, not quite the length of a baseball game, but a fascinating 15 minutes longer than “Ben-hur.” …
USC alums contemplating a switch to Notre Dame . ...
Greatest family men: 1. Ward Cleaver. 2. (tie) Antonio Cromartie/steve Garvey .3. Brian Kelly . ...
Please, don’t tell me Aztecs men’s basketball needed that loss . ...
Former Aztecs receiver Rick Garretson coached Chandler (Ariz.) High to his second straight large school state title and has been named Coach of the Year. Rick’s teams have won 23 in a row and his 2020 edition has 24 players with scholarships to four-year colleges. …
ESPN analyst Louis Riddick is interviewing for multiple NFL general manager jobs. The team that hires him will be smart, but not as smart as he is. …
Justin Herbert now has two fourth-quarter, come-frombehind wins, which puts him ahead of his goal to have three by the end of his career. …
If Anthony Lynn is going to put in a quarterback sneak, maybe he should practice it . ...
Browns fans, if your defense allows 47 points to Baltimore (normally about three weeks’ worth), it stinks. …
Players playing college football are not the problem. Players when they’re not playing are the problem . ...
Letter of Intent: Texas high school ball hound safety CJ Baskerville signs with the Aztecs. …
Non-stink O’ The Week Sezment: MLB has elevated the Negro Leagues to major league status — including stats, as did the NFL and AFL. Now there’s a lovely Christmas present. …
From our No. 1 baseball historian/santa, Bill Swank: Gene Richardson didn’t start until his senior year (1946) at San Diego High, but went 14-1, was SCIF Player of the Year (all of Southern California), and pitched the Cavers to the title with a one-hitter in an 18-0 win over Inglewood in the final at Lane Field. He then pitched for the Negro Leagues’ Kansas City Monarchs . ...
Ex-indians shortstop Omar Visquel is being investigated by MLB for domestic abuse charges brought up by his exwife. NFL wouldn’t bother. This would make him a cinch for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. …
Good Thing Dept.: Tatis signs on with Gatorade. We don’t want him dehydrated . ...
Got an email from Dave “Soupy” Campbell, now an Idahoan who winters here with wife Diane. My favorite baseball analyst. Easy. Learned something every broadcast. …
Unlike so many big-time basketball programs, Gonzaga will play anybody — the Showtime Lakers if it could . ...
Adam Silver is very smart. Starting his NBA season too soon is not . ...
People don’t pay attention to critically important things around them, but they do the NBA preseason? …
The Greek Freak gets $228 mil to hang around Milwaukee. With two choices, he took U.S. money over a lesser offer, majority ownership of Crete. …
Media snobs freak over The Freak staying put instead of going to some super team. This is sports and the reporting of it now. Bad for the NBA? Why does it need more than five teams? …
Another year and Tommy Nettles, among the handful of San Diego’s greatest all-around athletes, is shunned — for reasons unexplained — by Breitbard Hall of Fame. It’s gotten really stupid. Probably too stupid for me to vote anymore. …
From Bill Finley: When Mike Tomlin and Sean Mcdermott were at William & Mary, they played in Walter (founder of Cubic Corp. here) Zable Stadium. …
Gone: Statesmanship . ... Who ever thought strip clubs would be culinary trailblazers? Gypsy Rose Lee could have been Julia Child . ...
Merry Christmas. It’s still Christmas.