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SPORTS BY GRAHAM TAYLOR Christmas wish list is hot off keyboard THIS ISN’T THE ordinary pre-Christmas column the sports-writing guy whips up weeks, even months, in advance so he can play the role of a Oscar Madison and feast on pizza and beer knowing his newspaper piece has already landed in his editor’s lap. You know the kind of column I’m speaking of. It usually begins with a “Dear Santa Claus” heading and goes on and on telling the big guy with the white whiskers and red suit things he should deliver to coaches, athletes and friends. None of that stuff for me. How should I know what Hanover College football coach Wayne Perry wants from Santa? Who am I to say that Shawe Memorial High School’s Tim Armstrong would like to return to the ranks of coaching the Hilltoppers again. And, I’m not about to tell Santa Claus that I want more space in The Madison Courier’s sports section to handle longer On Sports efforts. No way is this pre-holiday season column going to focus on the material things Santa should deliver next Monday night and early Tuesday morning. And, unlike Oscar Madison, that “Odd Couple” sports writer, I won’t spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day unshaven and in my pajamas patting myself on the back for delivering my column well within the deadline range. This is new stuff, folks. The words, sentences and paragraphs were all cooked up yesterday afternoon — the day before the sports pages were designed, the day before the presses rolled, the day before your newspaper delivery person dropped off your copy at home. The is freshly cooked stuff. Read it. It’s still warm! Let somebody else tell you that Bob Knight is asking Dr. Santa for a temper-control prescription after his recent outburst following Texas Tech’s basketball game at Houston. Your “big city” columnist is better equipped to invite Rudolph and Donder (some write it as “Donner’) to grant New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner his wish for a new ballpark. And, who am I to tell journalist John Feinstein that ESPN’s version of his “Season on the Brink” will never appear on Santa’s “Best Seller” list let alone TV’s list of most watched movies. With all that in mind, here are my thoughts on things Santa can forget about when he loads up his sleigh at the North Pole this year: DONNA CHEATHAM ISN’T asking Santa to bring her a half-dozen or so basketball victories at Southwestern High School. Cheatham already is within striking distance of overtaking Rushville’s Cinda Brown as Indiana’s winningest high school coach in girls basketball. Cheatham likes to do things her way and I feel certain she would rather see her Rebels turn in outstanding performances in their upcoming regular-season games than have “Mr. Ho-Ho-Ho” deliver them without a free throw, layup or three-pointer taken. CARROLL COUNTY superintendent Carroll Yager and high school basketball coach Randy Mefford celebrated a “Merry Christmas” of sorts last month when the Kentucky school paid tribute to members of the 1971-72 “Sweet Sixteen” team at a 30th anniversary reunion in Carrollton. A great evening was had by all. Even Santa couldn’t have provided a better celebration. MISS MADISON’S Bob Hughes and Tony Steinhardt had their Christmas wishes come true last July when the community-owned Miss Madison, running as Oh Boy! Oberto, captured the Indiana Governor’s Cup Race championship on the Ohio River. The triumph didn’t come without many, many hours of sweat and tears, but Steve David gave the city of Madison its second “biggest day” in unlimited hydroplane racing. The 1971 Miss Madison win with Jim McCormick driving was the other. MADISON BASEBALL player Chris Bass will have a happy Christmas at home after spending the summer in Hickory, N.C., as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. Bass moved up from the Rookie League at the start of the 2001 season and he didn’t have to write to Santa to get the promotion. SHAWE HIGH SCHOOL’S baseball and soccer teams provided fans of the Hilltoppers with many happy moments during the past season. The baseball team advanced to the state finals at Victory Field in Indianapolis before bowing out, and the soccer ‘Toppers won a sectional championship. Baseball coach Tim Armstrong announced his retirement, but it’s a safe bet he will miss being on the field with his team when spring rolls around. Santa can’t do anything about that. HALL OF FAME baseball coach Gary O’Neal wasn’t at the helm of Madison’s Cubs during the 2001 season, citing a lack of enthusiasm and energy for retiring following the previous season. O’Neal didn’t write to Santa for a delivery of “energy” so he could return to the post he held for 27 years. He simply relaxed a bit and the enthusiasm and energy returned. As a result, Gary O’Neal will be back in 2002 with his trademark whistle and a sparkling 580-256 record. So, we need not ask Santa to re-deliver Madison’s Mr. Cub for next season. MADISON FOOTBALL Coach Larry Getts could request a couple of players to replace senior quarterback Mike Watson and All-State senior receiver Danny Gibson for the 2002 season, but Santa’s sleigh wouldn’t begin to hold a 215-pounder like Watson and a 170-pound guy like Gibson. Instead, Getts will handle the task himself and remind every member of his team once again, “We have to come to play every week.” I’ll add a couple of words to that: “And hope we don’t have to face Seymour two games in a row like we did this season.” PURDUE BASKETBALL Coach Gene Keady doesn’t need Santa’s help in reaching the 500 victory mark. Keady was honored and presented a crystal vase by the university Monday night when the Boilermakers defeated the University of Illinois-Chicago at Mackey Arena. However, there is a bit of tarnish involved there - Purdue was forced to forfeit 19 of those victories that Keady claims as a penalty for recruiting violations. Santa says he’s sorry, Gene, he can’t deliver any tarnish remover to West Lafayette. His entire load will be dropped off in South Bend, where some guy fantasized on his resume. OTHERS WHO HAVE the best of everything include: — Hanover College with Lou Knoble working hard to deliver sports information to the media and anybody who asks. The Hanover athletic teams get more coverage these days than ever before, thanks to the former Madison High School cross country master. Lou’s simply the best in everything he tackles. — The Miss Budweiser Racing Team is the biggest reason unlimited hydroplane racing continues to be on the Motorsports calendar. Owner Bernie Little annually produces more publicity for the sport than all of the other teams combined. Little has just a single weakness; his Christmas cards, depicting Bernie and his wife, Jane, aboard a Miss Budweiser sleigh loaded with a Christmas tree and lots of gifts, is something to behold. Bernie, wearing a Santa hat and holding the 2001 World Championship trophy, sings, “... Oh what fun it is to ride in a 3,000 horse open sleigh!” — Tom and Sandy Howley didn’t ask Santa for help in obtaining the signatures of each and every Mr. Basketball and Miss Basketball in the state of Indiana. But the Howleys got ‘em! What a feat! Their latest effort, to sign-up all 26 girls who were named Miss Basketball, was completed on July 30, 2001. The ball featuring those autographs will go up for auction at Triton Central High School in Fairland, Ind., on Saturday, March 16, 2002. The Indiana Mr. Basketball auction, held March 3, 2001, was sold for $17,000 to Oliver Skrivanie of Two Rivers, Wis. SANTA CLAUS IS great at answering wishes and delivering the goods. His time at this time of the year is valuable and shouldn’t be used for the trivial things some sportswriters request. People in sports like Donna Cheatham, Gary O’Neal, Paoli’s Mike Brown, Hanover’s Wayne Perry and Mike Bietzel, Kentucky’s Tubby Smith, Indiana’s Mike Davis, Louisville’s Rick Pitino, Bernie Little, former Madison coach Larry Bullington, Lou Knoble, Hanover’s Dick Naylor, Madison Cubs and IU fans Louie DeCar and Bob May, Cubs historian Harold “Pee Wee” Lakeman, and lots and lots of others I know, manage to get the job done without calling on Santa. That’s fine with me. After all, Santa doesn’t have 3,000 horsepower to guide his sleigh like Bernie Little. Rudolph and the other tiny reindeer do all right in reaching all the good little boys and girls on Christmas Eve. That’s the way it’s supposed to be. And, my wishes to you: Have a very Merry Christmas and may God Bless America. Copyright © The
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