The saying goes, “You better watch out, You better not cry, You better not pout, I’m telling you why,” well I am not Santa Claus but I did make a Christmas list for him this year. This list does not have what a typical Christmas list would have. It doesn’t have an Xbox One, a Red Ryder BB Gun, a bike, or even money. My Christmas list has more important wishes than just seemingless objects. In fact, my list is so important to me that I even named it, I named it “The Typical Chicagoland Sports Fan Christmas List”. It’s a long name, I know. I made this list so that Santa could understand the frustration of being a sports fan in the Chicagoland area and maybe, just maybe, this Christmas Santa will grant our wishes and all of our sports teams will be successful and we won’t have to yell at our televisions anymore.

  We will go through the different sports and teams in the area and what their Christmas wish lists. The order will go college football, baseball, football, basketball, and hockey. The teams will include the White Sox, Cubs, Bears, Bulls, Blackhawks, and my beloved Notre Dame Fighting Irish. So let’s walk in this sporting wonderland together shall we?

  College Football: With the Final College Football Playoff Rankings recently coming out it gives people like me to prove my point as to why an 8-team playoff would be better than the 4-team playoff that we have now. Don’t get me wrong, the playoff that we have now is great! It is very exciting and is a lot better than the whole “BCS Championship Series” that we had. But a 4-team playoff does not even give the all “Power 5” Conferences (Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, ACC, Pac 12) to be represented in the playoff. It does give anyone in the playoff an equal chance to win the National Championship. The fourth seed (Ohio State) won the National Championship, after all!

  The 4-team playoff is very exciting; last year’s playoff was fun to watch and with this playoff system, nothing is guaranteed. If a 4-team playoff can cause that much excitement, imagine what an 8-team playoff would do! It would be the college football’s March Madness in a way. If you do not think that this playoff would be more exciting, let me tell you some of the games that would be played just in the first round: #1 Clemson vs #8 Notre Dame. This would be a rematch of the battle the happened earlier in the season in Death Valley during a hurricane where Notre Dame only lost by two points. Then, there is #2 Alabama vs #7 Ohio State. This is a rematch of last years playoff game between these two where Ohio State upset Alabama in New Orleans. You can not tell me that this wouldn’t be an amazing game. The other games would be #3 Michigan State vs #6 Stanford and #4 Oklahoma vs #5 Iowa. These games would be extremely exciting and all 8 of these teams would have a chance to win the National Championship. By the way, yes, I did say an 8-team playoff because Notre Dame would make it in. Deal with it. So Santa and College Football Committee, please make an 8-team playoff for us, please. It would make all of us so very happy, especially me, Iowa, Stanford, Ohio State, and, of course, Notre Dame.

Baseball: Where does one begin with Chicago Baseball? Let’s start on the South Side, the White Sox have A LOT that they want for Christmas. They need a better rotation, better hitting, better fielding, better fan base, better attendance at home games, the list goes on and on as to why the Sox are not a good team. They haven’t been a true competitor in the AL Central since around 2008 when Jim Thome was around. Overall, what the White Sox want is a competitive team. This would involve asking Santa to help them get a big time player this offseason to help change this team for the better. They need a franchise player like a Mike Trout, a Bryce Harper, or a Paul Goldschmidt. The Sox need someone who can impact each game; Chris Sale can only impact every 4th game, if we’re lucky. But the first and easy way to get a better team is to get rid of Robin Ventura–and fast. He is not the right man for the job, he just does not fit in the clubhouse. If the White Sox would just look at their NL neighbor from the North Side they would be able to understand how powerful hiring the right manager can positively affect the whole team and the community around them. The manager is the leader of the team and if the players are not succeeding, then it is the manager’s fault. So in this case, a lot of the reason that the Sox are doing so poorly is due to awful coaching by Robin Ventura. So for Christmas, South Siders should be asking for a new skipper and a franchise position player.

   Now that the Cubs are relevant, they have a chance to make some big noise in the NL Central. And they have had the same one wish they have had the past 100+ years: to win a World Series and break the multiple curses that are on the Cubs. The pieces are there and they have the opportunity to make the team better with the right moves. The Cubs added an above average starting pitcher in John Lackey; they also were able to sign Ben Zobrist who will add depth in almost all positions. Zobrist can play the outfield, middle infield, and 3rd base. Also, Zobrist is a very consistent hitter and will be a very reliable hitter in this Cubs lineup. Even though the Cubs dealt Starlin Castro to Yankees for two players, Zobrist will easily fill that hole at second base. After all, Zobrist is a natural 2nd baseman.The only other issue that the Cubs need to handle would be to either re-sign centerfielder Dexter Fowler or sign center fielder Jason Heyward. Even if the Cubs are not able to sign either one, the Cubs will be a very good team this season and should be a contender for the World Series come October. So the only thing the Cubs need to ask Santa for is luck and a healthy year in hopes to bring the first World Series home to the North Side since 1908.

  Football: The Bears are a lot better than what people thought they would be this year. But being decent this year might actually be a curse because after all, the Bears are not good enough to make it to the playoffs, let alone win a Super Bowl. The Bears need to be focused on getting better for the future, and that means getting as many high draft picks as you can. And when you have those draft picks, make sure you draft the right person. Do not draft a wide receiver who you knew was injury prone and ends up sitting out his whole rookie season *Cough* Kevin White *Cough*. Jay Cutler is having easily his best year as a Bear which is great, but the Bears still need a lot of help defensively. The Bears also might need to think about trading Matt Forte. Yes, he has been very good for us, but he is an aging running back who wants a lot of money–money that the Bears are not able to give. And with the rise or Jeremy Langford, the Bears have a perfect backup in place for Forte. They can use him to get more draft picks so they can upgrade their defense, but they need to choose wisely with their picks. So for Christmas, Da Bears should be asking Da North Pole for lots of high draft picks, a wise Adam Gates to draft the right players to fit the schemes, and a healthy receiving core.

  Basketball: The Bulls have one thing and one thing only that they need for Christmas. It is something that they have been asking for since April of 2012. And that is a healthy Derrick Rose, but not just a healthy Derrick Rose. The Bulls want the MVP Derrick Rose back. Without him, the Bulls do not stand a chance versus the like of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Although the Bulls have a very solid and well-coached team this year, having the “Old” D Rose back would help the Bulls drastically. Defenses would have no idea who to guard, this would open the court up more and make for easier shots for the rest of the team if MVP D-Rose comes back. But for this to even become possible Derrick needs to play a full season without injury. This is something that he has come to struggle with in the past, just when you think he is coming back to the MVP form, boom he gets injured. Just this offseason he broke his nose, the Bulls should just buy Rose a full body suit of armor to protect himself from getting hurt. If Santa was so kind as to give the Bulls MVP Derrick Rose then you could see the Bulls become an NBA Finals contender. But until then, Bulls fans must to whatever they can to be high on the “Nice List” if they wish to have Derrick Rose in MVP shape soon.

  Hockey: And finally, the Chicago Blackhawks, the Hawks own the city of Chicago. They are easily the best and most dominate team Chicago as seen since Michael Jordan’s Bulls. They have won three Stanley Cups in the past six years. If that is not a dynasty, I don’t know what is. And Patrick Kane is on fire this year, Kane is equivalent to what Steph Curry is doing in the NBA. The Hawks in all honesty have nothing to wish for other than continued success and to keep winning games. The Hawks do not have to worry about getting new players because the Hawks front office has done a great job keeping the core of the team together. They also have done a great job drafting great young talent, teaching this talent to reach their full potential, and getting these players to fit their system perfectly. It seems like when the Hawks lose key players like Patrick Sharp, Johnny Oduya, and Brandon Saad they have a more talented young prospects to fill their places. They could ask for another Stanley Cup Championship, but other than that, the Hawks have nothing to ask for from Santa. Hawks fans could ask for lower ticket prices though, those tickets are so expensive. But other than that Hawks fans should just spend this Christmas being thankful for everything they have and what they have received the last 6 years.

  Well, that is my “The Typical Chicagoland Sports Fan Christmas List”. I wish Santa is good to all the Chicago teams this year. Chicago fans deserve to be on the Nice List after how our teams have been doing the past years. So leave extra cookies and milk for Santa and wake up early on Christmas and check your presents under the tree and hopefully, your team gets blessed with a Christmas Miracle for their seasons. And finally, you better watch out for your teams for the latest trades and signs. You better not cry when your team loses and doesn’t make it to the playoffs. You better not pout when your team does not sign the offseason player you wanted or trade your favorite player. Because I’m telling you why, Santa Claus is coming to Chicago.