Galen Kusic

Buffalo Bills Super Bowl

What I want for Christmas? To pass all my classes?needless to say, it’s been a rough semester! But on the real, from a sports perspective, I do have a Christmas wish list.

Number one, here it goes. I’m sure I’ll receive plenty of comments about this one? The Buffalo Bills make the playoffs. But that’s not all. The Bills make the playoffs, and win their first game. They win their second game. Then, they beat the Patriots in the AFC championship game in the biggest upset in the history of the NFL. And last but not least, they beat DALLAS in the Super Bowl. But the thing is, they don’t just beat them. They kill them 52-17. Sound familiar?

OK, so that is probably the most far-fetched Christmas wish anyone in his or her right mind could have. But why not? The Bills play the Browns next week, and if they win, it will put them in the driver’s seat to get into the playoffs. I know the Bills haven’t beaten the Patriots since Drew Bledsoe was their quarterback, and both games the two teams have played this season ended in a severe route of the unluckiest team in the league.

But in what has been an up – and – down season for Buffalo, to be at 7-6 and alive in the wild card hunt is promising. It is exciting to see that the team could bounce back from such a devastating way to start the season with the tragic loss of tight end Kevin Everett; to go along with a last – second loss to the Broncos on a Jason Elam field goal.

So why not wish for the craziest ending in the history of the NFL? Why not let the underdog win for once? Why not see the Bills finally win a superbowl after so many years of disappointment. It would be the ultimate revenge to all the trash I’ve had talked to me over the years.

See, no other fan can understand what it is like to be a Bills fan. The constant ridicule, ribbing and disrespect that one receives when you tell someone that the Bills are your team. Especially in Northern California, a place dominated by Raiders and Niners fans. I’m a fan of those teams too, but I’ve been a Bills fan since I can remember, and loyalty has never let me switch. If you stay with a team for four superbowl losses in a row, the one time they do win will make it all that much sweeter.

Forget about other teams in the league that have never won. Forget about the Cubs and formerly the Red Sox. Forget about the Kings, even. The heartbreak that has been involved with being a Bills fan cannot compare to any fans’ – it isn’t humanly possible. To watch four superbowl losses in a row is devastating – but I still haven’t given up hope, and never will – no matter how much trash gets talked to me.

Respectability

Fernando Gallo

Even though we are still a couple of weeks from Christmas, I feel like I have already been given so many gifts this year from the sporting world. Among them: the Mavericks getting bounced in the first round of the playoffs by the Warriors, whose fans remind me of those raucous C-Webb/Bibby/Peja years at Arco (sigh?); watching Sac State’s football team finish with the same record (3-8) as Notre Dame; and of course, seeing Barry Lamar Bonds indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice.

So what more could I ask for in this year that has given me so much? A season-ending injury for Tom Brady? That’s a little vindictive. The A’s actually spending some money instead of trading everybody away? That’s impossible. So my wish for this holiday season is simple: respectability. I want to see respectability return to the Northern California sports scene.

Neither the A’s nor Giants have won a World Series in almost 20 years. The Raiders have been title-less since 1984, and haven’t finished above .500 since 2002. The Niners are still looking for a replacement for Steve Young. The Kings had a great run of eight-straight playoff appearances, but finished with exactly zero trips to the NBA Finals and might not get back to the postseason for a while. The Warriors are fun to watch and can do some damage in the playoffs, but are too unpredictable and undisciplined to win a championship. Somebody also told me there is still a hockey league in this country (who knew?), and that the Sharks don’t have any Stanley Cups either.

So Santa, all I want for Christmas is some bling for our NorCal teams. How about a few more Bay Bridge series so that our baseball teams can get some rings? And a Super Bowl for the Raiders (although I hope Oakland isn’t burned to the ground afterwards). Give the Kings that championship their fans have waited so patiently for and throw one in for the Warriors too (but tell Stephen Jackson NOT to celebrate by shooting a gun in the air). And as a stocking-stuffer, please give Bonds a cellmate named Loco or Bubba when he starts serving his time in the joint. Merry Christmas, NorCal.

A Giant Title

Jordan Guinn

What I want for Christmas…

It’s simple, it’s sincere and I swear in the name of Will Clark that it’s the same thing I ask for every Christmas and birthday for as long as I can remember.

I want the San Francisco Giants to win a World Series before I die. That’s all. There are countless aspects in my personal life that I have complete control over. Where I work, what I eat and not using a blunt object to maim every Dodger fan I see are all good examples. However, I have no control over how the Giants run their business.

It’s not like I haven’t enjoyed all of the torment, anguish and despair the team has caused me. It’s part of being a fan. But this team has a history of torturing its fans so deeply that I could go toe to toe in terms of heartbreak with any Chicago Cubs fan my age.

Bartman? Give me a break. We had a World Series stolen from us in 1989 because quite a few of the opposing players turned out to be known juicers who were shooting up at the time and now the American public defecates on Barry Bonds because his hat size went up. If it is fair to asterisk Barry, then we get the World Series trophy from 1989.

How else has this team stuck a dagger in my heart? In 1993, the Giants won 103 games and lost to the Dodgers on the final day of the season to miss out on the playoffs to division rival, Atlanta. I will repeat that. Atlanta was in the National League West.

There is no need to rehash game six of the 2002 World Series because my editors will come and take my belt and shoelaces away from me.

There have been multiple teams that did not exist before I was born that have won the World Series over the past few years. Being a Giants fan builds character and proves life is not fair.

This year expects to be no different. The Giants are in a “rebuilding” phase, which is fine since I find it exciting to see all the young talent and potential superstars. There just needs to be an end result.

One World Series title before I die. That’s all. I am positive I will ask for the same thing next year.

Getting Revenge

Alicia de la Garza

Christmas is supposed to be a time of giving and happiness and peace with others. I say who cares. For Christmas all I want is revenge.

Revenge on the athlete who made me feel bad for not being able to run a three-minute mile. Revenge on the athlete who made me feel bad for not hitting home runs at every bat.

That’s right Marion and Barry. I’m talking to you.

Well to be honest, my Christmas list contains three items, number one being that Barry Zito returns to the Oakland A’s.

For one thing, Zito is extremely attractive, but we’ll stop right there and stop making it obvious that I’m the only girl in the sports department.

Zito really did pitch his best games wearing the green and gold, and Oakland is where he received his Cy Young Award.

During his season in San Francisco, I’m not going to say many people were too proud of him. Now back to what I really want for Christmas, and that is revenge.

Marion Jones was found guilty of lying about steroid use. That just sucks. I hate hearing about athletes who were probably good enough before steroids.

Now Jones is being told she needs to return medals and prize money she was awarded. What Jones should be doing is using that money and donating it to charity instead. What are the sporting event directors going to do with it that could be better than that?

I think it is a little weird that Jones is being forced to give the money back, but she should at least be allowed to give it to the underprivileged.

Now on to Barry Bonds. I don’t even know what to say about this guy. His testimony has flip-flopped so much, he might as well be a pancake.

For Christmas, I want Bonds to tell the truth. The whole truth and nothing but the truth. Considering that he went from super skinny and fit, to a huge muscle man in a short matter of time, I find his “innocence” a little far fetched.

If Bonds is found guilty, I want his punishment to happen after he loses all that muscle he gained from the steroids. Then I would like to see him hit all those home runs all over again.

Some of you might think this is mean, but hey, he could have stolen records from plenty of other players who used good old American muscle to swing the bat.

Christmas list item number 1 and a half? Zito is invited to my Christmas party.

Starting Pitching

Andrew Eggers

I hope to unwrap my Christmas present before Dec. 25. Being that I bleed “Dodger blue,” I want to get a top-notch pitcher to sure up our starting rotation. I hope the Dodgers get one of the pitchers on my wish list; either the Oakland A’s Dan Haren or the Baltimore Orioles’ Erik Bedard.

In order to get Haren or Bedard, it is likely that the Dodgers would have to trade outfielder Matt Kemp. The 23-year-old Kemp is a solid player; he has a career batting average of .312 and plays above-average defense. With the recent signing of Andruw Jones, the Dodgers have a surplus of outfielders, making Kemp the logical choice to be involved in a trade.

According to an article on the Dodgers official website, General Manager Ned Colleti is trying to sign Japanese pitcher Hiroki Kuroda who is supposedly a stud. I do not know much about the 32-year-old Kuroda, but you can never be too sure that he will make it in the major leagues. That is why I want to see the Dodgers go out and get Haren or Bedard.

Right-handed Haren would be my first choice over left-handed Bedard, but either one would bolster the starting rotation. Haren was 15-9 last season with an ERA of 3.07, by far his best season as a pro. Bedard finished last season with a record of 13-5 with an ERA of 3.16 to go along with his 221 strikeouts. You can see how either player would improve any team’s starting rotation, let alone the Dodgers, who already have Brad Penny, Derek Lowe, Chad Billingsley and former San Francisco Giant Jason Schmidt.

Another scenario that could improve the ball club would be to trade Kemp for a proven third baseman like St. Louis Cardinals Scott Rolen. I think this would be a dumb move though to get a guy like Rolen who is getting up there in years and seems to be on the disabled list a lot the past few seasons. I think Nomar Garciaparra should play third base and James Loney should play first base, but we will see what Joe Torre decides to do.

The Dodgers should go out and get Haren or Bedard so I can get my Christmas present a little early this year.

Failures from the elite

Victor Nieto

For the many faithful fans of Northern California sports, 2007 has been a year to forget amidst off-field controversies, indictments, unfulfilled expectations and uneventful quality of play. We fans have endured the past year in a purgatory between love and hate. I should wish for Christmas that a change of fortune beholds our teams, and that we once again get to relive the glory days of such teams as the ’80s and ’90s 49er squads, or the early 2000s Kings or Giants teams. Then again I ask myself the question, why? Besides the past great 49er ball-clubs, was there really anything special about the other teams? Why waste another year watching or rooting for these ball clubs, hoping and wishing for some sort of miracle that will propel our team to the top, when at best they have proven time and time again that they are only capable of getting so close to that next level only to disappointedly fall short when it counts? Be it in the 1989 World Series (A’s fans don’t count), the 1995 NFC championship game, the 2001 NBA Western Finals, or the 2001 World series, our teams are destined to disappoint and fill us with false hope. The whole root-for-the-home-team notion is out this year, so for Christmas I wish for every fan out there to feel the heartache and sorrow of the Northern California sports fan.

I wish for Tom Brady and the Patriots to reach the Super Bowl, only to lose it on a last-second field goal to Green Bay, whose quarterback shockingly retires after the celebration. I wish for Kobe to get traded to Toronto and that newly acquired centerfielder for the Dodgers, Andruw Jones, shows his $18 million-a-year worth by batting a .195 with 25 errors and sets a new mark in strikeouts and that Angel outfielder Tori Hunter follows in his crosstown rival’s footsteps.

I wish for the Cubs to continue losing and that T.O. decides to go irate on Tony Romo during the playoffs because the quarterback once again batches a snap during a crucial moment and the Red Sox go on another 86-year dry spell from the World Series.

Basically, I wish for every good team to fail miserably and every horrible team to keep their status quo. Maybe only then would Northern California teams be relevant again and I could use my Christmas wish on something that involves body-shots, fiesta hats and nights I won’t even remember. You know, the more traditional Christmas gifts. The State Hornet staff can be reached at [email protected].