Author: David Shama

On the subject of journalism, please try to give all the crabby sportswriters and talk show hosts everything they want for Christmas.  I doubt it will help much, but just maybe their spirits will brighten.

A typical day time high in Minneapolis during April is almost 60 degrees.  Please give us at least 50 degrees and no precipitation during the first week of games at Target Field.

Oh, and all Joe Mauer needs for Christmas is a $150 million contract under his tree.  You know that naughty and nice criteria? Well, Joe is the Poster Boy for Minnesota nice sports guys.

Santa, please ask the baseball Hall of Fame selection committee to punch the “admission” tickets for Bert Blyleven and Jack Morris.  Way up at the North Pole you probably heard me groan earlier this year when Jim Rice was inducted.  Help us with Blyleven and Morris.

Could you talk to the Twins or WCCO Radio about playing some old TV or radio tapes of broadcaster Halsey Hall?  Generations don’t even know who he is but Halsey’s baseball storytelling and humor are timeless.  Halsey hasn’t been a Twins broadcaster since the 1970s but we still miss him.  If you get a chance to listen, Santa, he will make your big belly shake from laughter.

Let everyone who can sing or hum “We’re Gonna Win Twins” enjoy at least one visit to Fort Myers to watch the Twins in spring training.  The spring training atmosphere is unlike anything else in sports, plus the Fort Myers area including nearby Sanibel Island is special.

Give us a long, cold winter so kids and adults can enjoy the magic of pond hockey.  (Let me visualize that scene while walking the beaches in south Florida or the Caribbean).

Slip lucky horseshoes into the Christmas stockings of Gophers hockey players and let Minnesota zoom back to the top of college hockey.

I know I am pushing the wish list now, Santa, but could you find the luckiest horseshoes in the world and send them to the Gophers football program?  See the Gophers haven’t won a championship since 1967, way back when you and even the reindeer were a little friskier.  Gophers football fans (the loyal ones and those who pretend they’re not fans but really are) are frustrated and weary after all these years.

Put something extra nice under the tree for Kevin Love this year.  He’s only 21 but his annual coat drive to benefit Minnesota kids sets the right example for other athletes.

Send flattering postcards about our city and state every week to Ricky Rubio in Spain.  (It’s okay to fudge a bit about our weather.)  Tell Ricky he and Love could wake up the NBA fan base here with their passing and unselfish play.

And here’s a final thought, Santa.  If you’re not too busy, write a little book on gratitude and send it to all the sports fans in our town.  You’ll know what to include but here are a few ideas:

Remind folks that TCF Bank Stadium, Williams Arena, Mariucci Arena, Xcel Energy Center and Target Field are really special places and provide great fan experiences.

Encourage fans to be grateful for a fall to remember by the Vikings and a one-for-the-ages summer comeback by the Twins.

For just a moment tell fans not to agonize about favorite players who left town to play for other teams.  Instead appreciate the likes of Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Brett Favre, Adrian Peterson, Jared Allen, Niklas Backstrom, Mikko Koivu, Kevin Love, Al Jefferson, Eric Decker, Blake Hoffarber and Jordan Schroeder.

Let fans know, too, that there’s a lot of fun to be experienced at high school sports events.  The price is right and the environment is priceless.

Mostly remind each of us to be grateful for what we have.

Happy holidays.

No one probably knows whether Brett Favre, 40, will return to play another season with the Vikings next year, but that doesn’t mean Favre and his teammates don’t think about it.

Defensive tackle Pat Williams, 37, told Sports Headliners he and Favre ask each other about coming back for another season.  If either gives a specific answer about playing in 2010, Williams wasn’t saying on Wednesday.

Williams has one year left on his contract and hinted that a Vikings win in the Super Bowl could be his cue to call it a career.  Leave the game “smiling,” he said.

Favre signed a two year contract last summer for the Vikings, so contractually another year is potentially in place.  He hasn’t made a public statement about intentions for 2010 and probably doesn’t know himself if he wants to continue playing.

The Vikings have three regular season games remaining and the playoffs ahead.  Too much time to have a decision yet, but close enough to make next year an interesting subject.

Vikings kicker Ryan Longwell, 35, and Favre are good friends.  The two played together in Green Bay and it’s fortunate for them they are back on the same team together.

Longwell said it’s premature to talk about a Favre return but was asked to make a guess.  “I would honestly say I am 50-50,” he said.  “Split down the middle.  I could totally justify both ways.  I would hope he would come back.  But I can honestly see how he’d had a great year and be done with it. …I just think it’s too early to start talking about that because we’ve got a lot of football to play left.  It may change everything.”

The factor that seemingly would drive Favre into retirement is the punishment of playing football and perhaps a career ending injury.  Longwell said obviously a 40-year- old body doesn’t recover “like it did at 20.”

But Favre loves to play football.  “I know he’s having fun,” Longwell said. “He likes the group (his teammates) and that goes a long way.”

Longwell is enjoying the season, too, and likes his teammates.  He has made 22 of 23 field goals, 95.7 percent, the best percentage of his pro career which began in 1997.

But at 35 he can’t be certain the club will want him back.  He has one year remaining on his contract but said the Vikings (at the franchise’s option) must pay him a bonus in March to lock up his return next season.

Longwell believes he has a “bunch of good years” remaining.  “I certainly don’t feel like I am on the downward swing at all,” he said.