It’s been a few years, but Santa Claus used to pay me a yearly visit to ask for assistance on who's been naughty and who's been nice in sports. He told me he tried to save some time by going online to TMZ Sports to figure it out, but he wasn't too impressed with their reporting or graphics. Whatever... But Monday night the jolliest of jolly dudes came swinging by the Grossman Estate looking for some advice on who gets a gift and who gets a lump of coal. So of course, I obliged. I always start with the “good”, so here's what I told him: • JONATHON TOEWS: The Chicago Blackhawks' captain is the model of consistency, work-ethic, and leadership. The Hawks have won the Cup twice since 2010, came up an overtime goal short of getting back there last year, and are the pride of the NHL again this season. • ANDREW LUCK: The quarterback of the Colts has them back in the playoffs by wrapping up another division title Sunday. And he's done it by praising his teammates and accepting blame for his mistakes. He's not perfect but he's perfect for the Colts. • THEO EPSTEIN: The man in charge of player personnel for the Cubs finally got the go-ahead from Cubs ownership to start trying to win again, and Epstein got the ball rolling by signing the best free agent pitcher on the market, Jon Lester. Now Cubs fans will spend Christmas Eve with visions of championships dancing in their heads. • DAMARCUS BEASLEY: The Fort Wayne native announced Monday that he was retiring from international competition. He's the first American to play in four World Cups, and made the 'beautiful game' a big deal in Indiana's second biggest city. He's only 32, so expect him to be an active ambassador for the sport. • AND LAUREN HILL: The women's college basketball player reminded us all of the power of the human spirit last month when she played in her first college basketball game after being diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor. Hill started the game, and scored in what was supposed to be her only game. But she has played since, wearing dark glasses to help with her sensitivity to light. But there were plenty of “bad” people in sports too: • RAY RICE: Rice was caught on video beating the woman who would become his wife. He hit her SO hard that she was completely knocked out. He recently was cleared by a judge to play in the NFL again ... but so far no takers. • JAY CUTLER: Seriously, the Bears quarterback makes this list not because of the way he plays (which has been bad), but because of how he looks when he plays. I mean, if he throws an interception or a touchdown ... we can't tell the difference! Cutler is what you get when you cross Jeff George and Eeyore. • DONALD STERLING: The former Clippers owner lost his team because of his racist views recorded and made public by his girlfriend (who also gets an honorable mention place on our list for recording her boyfriend and then releasing it to the public). • AND JOHNNY MANZIEL: The brash rookie quarterback of the Cleveland Browns got his first start Sunday. He inspired the Browns to 107 yards of total offense (that's for the whole game), and got mocked by the Bengals when he was sacked. Manziel should have spent more time watching game film that signing autographs in college. Santa was grateful, as always, for my help. He asked me what he could get me for Christmas, and I told him “Listen, I have the best job, a great wife and daughter who support me being gone covering games all fall and winter, and co-workers at Lake City Radio who I love very much...I'm good.” He nodded to me as he crawled back into his sleigh, thanked me again for my advice and took off for the North Pole to put the finishing touches on his list. And I heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight, “Merry Christmas to all and don't count on Tony Romo in the playoffs!!!”
