Athletes anxious for Christmas, too
With apologies to Clement Moore 鈥β�
鈥楾was the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
Andrew McCutchen rested, content is his warm bed,
Although his young son fidgeted with thoughts of Christmas morn filling his head;
Andrew was pleased the Phillies saw fit,
To pay him handsomely for using his mitt;
Reds鈥� fans nodded off, with smiles on their faces,
After the big transaction that had Yasiel and Matt trading places;
No more doormats, they thought to themselves,
Glory be and thanks to the GM鈥檚 little elves;
Matt Murray was restless, tossing and turning,
He tried to relax, but his stomach kept churning;
His list didn鈥檛 have pads, mask, glove or skates,
No, young Matt just wanted a healthy month so he could play hockey with his teammates;
Bryan Rust is on a quite the scoring run, so he asked of St. Nick,
For his recent scoring touch to hang around so he could net a hat trick;
Le鈥橵eon, poor Le鈥檝eon, just tossed and turned,
Wondering how many bridges he had burned;聽
The talented back came off as being selfish and greedy,
Not an athlete who was very needy;
His agent emailed owners, looking for millions,
But, if so willing, Le鈥橵eon would take billions;
Steeler fans dreamed, drifting off in sleep with thoughts of Big Ben,
Vivid dreams of the QB calling out, in cadence, to his linemen;
Now, Maurkice! now, Alejandro! Now, B.J and Matt,
On, David! on, Ramon! Keep me from being hit and going splat;
Block away! block away! block away all!
So I have plenty of time to throw the ball;聽
Jordy Mercer dozed off, with the knowledge he has a new uniform,聽
The former Pirate signed with the Tigers, playing shortstop in Detroit to be his new norm;聽
Clint Hurdle relaxed in his easy chair, peeking through sleep-filled eyes,聽
Hoping to espy Santa coming down the chimney with his Christmas surprise;
Santa was dressed in Pirates鈥� colors, Black & Gold from head to feet,
The manager cried out, 鈥淚 hope you brought a long-ball hitter, so the Reds we can beat!鈥�
A bundle of Toys Santa had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.
鈥淟et me look Clint,鈥� Santa said with a wry smile,
He reached into his sack and replied, 鈥淚t鈥檚 the Pitch Back net you wanted as a child,鈥澛�
UCF鈥檚 Josh Heupel penned his Santa letter weeks ago,聽
But the football coach quickly realized the futility of doing so;
He already knew his request for a spot in the Final Four had fallen on deaf ears,
For the CFP committee ignored his plea and the team鈥檚 chance had again disappeared;
So, the winners of 21 games straight,
Apparently didn鈥檛 carry any weight;聽
They weren鈥檛 invited to play in the championship game,
Despite all the support and national acclaim;
Tiger Woods鈥� appeal finally paid off, back to his old swagger,
Hopefully he鈥檒l remain humble and not be a bragger;
Pittsburgh sports fan asked for a happy 2019,
And a lot of victories in their local sports scene;
The Steelers, the Penguins, and especially the Pirates team,聽
Just one of the three reaching that title dream;
Santa flew off into the stars, without any fright,
Exclaiming with excitement, 鈥淗appy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night.鈥�
On behalf of the 缅北禁地 sports staff, hope all have a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and safe and wonderful holiday season.