A Christmas cadence
Twas Christmas morn, and all through the land
Shrieks of joy and laughter echoed, as children said, 鈥淚sn鈥檛 this grand?鈥�;
The presents were arranged around the tree with great care,
waiting for anxious youngsters to go on a tear;聽
Beleaguered, bleary-eyed moms and dads, with coffee cups filled to the brim,
Grabbed a seat and relaxed, cameras at the ready, as the unwrapping was about to begin;聽
The dog knew better, so did the cat,
as the family pets hid away to their soft bedding mat;
While kids, eyes awonder, take to unwrapping their gifts,
Athletes, big kids at heart, also take to the swift;
Tiger Woods proclaimed he鈥檚 back, so what could be under his tree?
The gift is small, he said, wonder what it could be?
He delicately takes off the paper, doing so with ease,
Then he sees a book title, by Arnold Palmer, 鈥淎 Life Well Played: My Stories,鈥�
The attached card said, 鈥淭ake this to heart,鈥�
鈥淭he knowledge 鈥楾he King鈥� did impart;鈥�
Meanwhile, Big Ben sees a gift with his name perched on spent wrapping paper,
He wonders aloud, 鈥淚 hope it鈥檚 not another ice scraper;鈥�
Big Ben chuckles at his 鈥渇unny鈥� as he tears at the wrapping,
As his family takes notice and takes to clapping;
Wire-rimmed glasses and a silk cloth appear,
His children say, 鈥淚t鈥檚 Harry Potter鈥檚 invisibility cloak so you can disappear!鈥�
They exclaimed, 鈥淧ut it on in the huddle before each play,
鈥淎nd the Raven defense won鈥檛 see you, you鈥檒l stay out their way!鈥�
Down south, Andrew McCutchen wonders what he received,聽
As he delicately picks up the box and gives it a squeeze,
The gift was simple and right to the matter,
A team and pitching staff worthy of such a grand batter.
As it would be, Christmas was underway at the house of Gerrit Cole,
The fire-balling pitcher was eating cereal, so he set down his bowl,
He picked up the closest gift, wrapped in Pirate Black and Gold,
Gerrit became 10 again as grasped the paper with a good hold;
What鈥檚 this, he said with a query,
The attached card said, 鈥淏e not weary,鈥�
鈥淜eep throwing those strikes, and don鈥檛 lose your edge,
鈥淎nd, this to you, I will pledge,
鈥淭he wins will come as the fans cheer louder,
鈥淎nd you鈥檙e fiery-nature will make you ever so prouder.鈥�
Jaromir Jagr is on his porch, lounging in the sun,
Taking a holiday break from NHL games and his fun;
He has a box in hand, carefully marked 鈥淗andle with care,鈥�
Curious, Jaromir daintily pulled away the paper as he said a prayer;
A small bottle, what could this be?
He spun the glass so the label he could see,
鈥淧once de Leon鈥檚 Fountain of Youth,鈥� he read to himself,
鈥淥h, that Santa, what a grand elf!鈥�
Instructions read, 鈥淭ake one teaspoon a day and you鈥檒l be so frisky,
鈥淵ou will keep playing hockey until you reach 50!鈥�
Back at home near the Three Rivers,
Anxious Steeler fans are all a-quiver,
Some received cards, others an envelope,
Saying with a laugh, 鈥淲ell, at least it鈥檚 not a cantaloupe!鈥�
Shouts of glee fill the room when the contents are espied,
Steeler tickets, is it true?, I鈥檓 going to die!
For those lucky fans and all the others,
Just one simple wish for the dads and moms and sisters and brothers,
At Heinz Field, the Steelers鈥� home and haven,
Where they鈥檒l meet the dreaded Ravens,
To show the team from Baltimore an un-Christmaslike time,
And bring home a win, so the AFC North title bells will chime,
For a victory means another title and playoff appearance,
And a long ride home for the Ravens, good riddance!
Whatever this wonderful (snow-free day) may hold for you and your families and friends, on behalf of the 缅北禁地 sports department staff, I鈥檇 like to wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and great holiday season. GO STEELERS!!!!