Dear Santa,

I've been a good boy this year. I was going to come see you in person to tell you that and give you my wish list, but I have this thing about sitting on the laps of grown men. I'll write it all down instead. I don't want much, and nothing on here is unreasonable. The nice thing about my wishes as well is that most will make more people than just me happy. Anyway, here we go:

For the city of Cleveland I wish a Mangini-free new year. Mike Holmgren's hiring was a step in the right direction, and there are a lot of steps that he can take to get this team moving in the right direction - strting with addressing the quarterback situation. No matter what, though, Holmgren has to get rid of Eric Mangini and start fresh with a new coach. It's not even a question of whether Mangini is a competent coach (though I'm convinced he isn't). This season has been such a mess on so many levels that Holmgren just needs to set a new tone, and you can't do that by keeping the same controversial coach around. Besides, Mangini is an egomaniac, so even if he can get along with Holmgren early on there is almost no chance that it can last for the long term. The team would be infinitely better off with a coach who see things like Holmgren does right from the start.

For the city of Chicago I wish some good luck at last. The Bulls were supposed to be good this year, but they are terrible. The Bears were supposed to be great this year, but they stink. The Cubs were a disappointment. So were the Sox. The city is rabid about their sports, so they deserve some good luck. Really, it all comes down to coaching for them. Lovie Smith consistently finds new ways to prove his incompetence. Vinny Del Negro seemed like a lousy choice when he was hired, and he has been. Lou Piniella is a good coach, but he just doesn't care anymore. I'm happy to see the Bears suffer, and it's fun seeing the Cubs continue to get close and then flounder, but I would be very happy if Santa could wrap up some respectability for the Bulls and put it under the tree.

For Notre Dame I wish more of the same - sad, pathetic struggles. I respect Brian Kelly a whole lot, and I think he is one of the best coaches in the country. That being said, I hope he fails, and fails miserably. The world is a much better place when Notre Dame is terrible. Just think about it - would you rather have Notre Dame getting into the BCS year after year with 10 wins and dull play, or a team that struggles to become bowl eligible every year? The last one seems way more fun, and way more satisfying to me.

For my beloved Michigan Wolverines, I just wish that someone would show us some mercy. It has been absolutely brutal to be a fan of the winningest football team in the country recently. Three years back we had to deal with limping out of the gate with losses to Oregon and, incredibly, Appalachian State. Last year it was the indignity of a 3-9 season, and the realization that about 47,500 people in the stands could play quarterback at least as well as anyone on the roster. This year dawned with hope and dreams of glory, and that was buoyed by a 4-0 start. But then conference play started, and we lost seven of eight. No bowl game, and a dismal future thanks to the total absence of a defense, and the presence of our two best players in the NFL Draft next year. It would be easier to have hope if other things were going well. They aren't. The basketball team showed tremendous hope last year - they even won a tournament game. This year, though, has been awful. They are 6-5, but they have beaten no one, and have looked awful against good teams. The tournament seems like a pipe dream. Well, at least we have our elite hockey team. Oh wait, they suck this year, too. Come on fate, throw Michigan a bone.

I wish for a lasting retirement for Brett Favre. I like watching the guy play and all, but I just can't take it any more. The final straw is this whole Favre-Childress debacle this week. The guy brings way, way too much drama along with him. When he is playing it seemingly makes it impossible for members of the media to write about anything other than him, and that's just boring. Maybe Obama would help you out on this one, Santa - he could make Favre an ambassador to somewhere far away so that he is nowhere near a team when training camp starts. I hear Bhutan is nice - maybe Favre would be happy there.

Finally, Santa, I wish for a Kansas-Kentucky national championship game in early April. There is still a whole lot of basketball to play, and we still don't know everything about the top teams out there. What we do know so far, though, is that Kansas is frighteningly deep, and that top to bottom they are the most talented team in the country. We also know that John Wall is an absolute beast, and that watching him has been the best part of this college season so far. Kansas and Kentucky would make for a classic matchup, and that's not even considering the Calipari-revenge-against-Kansas angle.