Sports Bites
Dear Santa
By Val Porter

My name is Valerie Porter. I think that I have been a very good girl this year. So, I am sending you my list of Christmas wishes and hope that you can help me out.

First on my list… I wish you would bring me a winning season for the Pirates. Or if you could resurrect Roberto Clemente, Honus Wagner and Willie Stargell, that would be even better. In fact, if you could restore lots of guys to their Pirates prime, that would be the ultimate for me. Yeah, guys like Bill Mazeroski and Kent Tekulve to start with. Oh Santa, you would make this the best Christmas ever if you would bring me that! I know that's asking a lot so if you can't do that, maybe you could bring a new owner for the Pirates. And make it one that will spend money to put a better team on the field. Thanks Santa.

I would also like another Super Bowl win for the Steelers. Is that being greedy? I know we already have six and some don't have any, but the city just comes alive when the Steelers win the Super Bowl. All is right in the world. The sky is blue in winter. Enemies become friends if it's in the name of the Steelers. So I'd also like that Santa.

Um, okay, I'm gonna be greedy again. Do you think maybe, please, you could bring another Stanley Cup Championship for the Penguins, Santa? And if it was another win in the finals against the Detroit Red Wings that would make it such an awesome gift. And like a Steelers Super Bowl win, it wouldn't be a gift just for me. It would be a gift for the entire city and beyond!

Well Santa, let's move on to Pitt. How about a big bowl game win for the Panthers football team? Dave Wannstadt and his coaches and players have worked really hard and they're ranked pretty high. But to win a big bowl would make it worth all those tough practices, and all those people who doubted them would have to eat their words.

And please bring a national championship for Jamie Dixon and his Panthers basketball team. He just got a big coaching award, but for them to be the best team in all of college basketball? That would turn some heads and make people happy.

But hopefully those really happy people celebrating all those wins for our teams won't burn junk in Oakland or the South Side because that would put them on your naughty list, huh Santa? But not me! If you think I've been a good enough girl this year to get those gifts, thanks. I'll share them with everyone!