The tradition continues with my 18th Annual Sports Fan’s Letter to Santa Claus.

Dear Santa Claus,

It seems the older I get, the faster these years go by. As old as you are, how do you deal with that? I digress.

I want to begin with a big THANK YOU for bringing the Tulsa Drillers a Texas League Championship. What a fun season to watch! It was the Drillers first title since 1998, and well deserved for a great group of coaches and players. It was even a special gift for the front office staff who have waited so long for this. Dare I ask for back-to-back titles this season? Sure, if you please.

Also, thank you for surprising the New England Patriots with a defeat in the Super Bowl, at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles. I am not an Eagles fan; however, I can’t stand the Patriots one bit (being a Bills fan and all). Speaking of the Bills, I appreciate you allowing them to make the playoffs, finally after 17 seasons, however, you still haven’t made good on my request for an NFL caliber quarterback. Do you realize, Santa, the Bills have started four different players at QB this season? That’s not counting A.J. McCarron, who they released at the start of the season, and thank goodness the Nathan Peterman experiment is over, with his release just a few weeks ago.

Please bring the Dallas Cowboys a nice run in the playoffs and a trip to the Super Bowl. I know the Bills won’t be there, and I’d really like a reason to get excited about the Super Bowl this year.

The injury bug bit my Washington Nationals real hard this season; it was too much for them to overcome, especially among the pitching staff. However, the team has made some real bone-head player moves (i.e.; trading away Dan Murphy and Gio Gonzalez) and have yet to resign their franchise player, Bryce Harper. All this leads me to request that you bring the Nationals a new manager and new general manager. As much as I like Dave Martinez and was rooting for his success, he just isn’t cutting it as a manager.

When it comes to The University of Tulsa Football team, I’m at a loss for words. You probably know the Golden Hurricane had another miserable season. The school has given head coach Philip Montgomery a vote of confidence, at least for one more season, and he’s a nice guy and all, but man, things need to start moving in a positive – winning – direction before too long or else changes will be brewing again at 11th and Harvard. Please bring TU enough wins next season to be bowl eligible.

For the ORU men’s basketball team, well, where do I begin? I realize head coach Paul Mills hasn’t been in that position long enough to totally turn things around, but please  Santa, bring us a sign that the team is going in the right direction. This season is off to a rough start, but a good indication that things are improving would be to give ORU enough wins during the conference schedule to finish in the top five heading in to the Summit League Tournament. Also, please bring some loyalty to the ORU fans. I understand nobody enjoys watching a losing team all the time, but at the very least the thousands of local ORU alumnus should make it to several games each year just to support their alma mater and team. I’m not expecting sellouts in the Mabee Center, but it wasn’t long ago the team drew an average of 4,500 per game, and that should be on the low end.

The Tulsa Oilers are off to a good start this season, please bring the team a trip to the ECHL playoffs and a nice long playoff run. It’s been 25 years since their last title, and that was the first season of the old Central Hockey League (1992-93).

Finally, Santa, I ask that you bring peace to our public political discourse, wisdom to our nation’s leaders and safety to our military members who must celebrate the holidays away from their families. Help us all realize the joy of Christmas and the greatest gift of all, Emmanuel.

Sincerely, your friend,

Jeff Brucculeri