Christmastime is upon us, and it sure feels like the holiday season while running around in shorts, doesn’t it?

While it’s hard to get in the Christmas spirit with weather resembling late March, there is plenty to be thankful for this holiday season and plenty of Christmas wishes to make.

While sitting around earlier, I began to think of all the Christmas gifts I’d like to get this Monday, if not later.

Hopefully, I’ll get to cover three or four more state title games over the next six months as our teams progress into winter and spring sports. Huntington boys basketball and ACCS girls basketball seem strong so far, and other teams seem to be finding their identities over the last week or two. Things can only get better from here.

I was looking forward to the chance to see a Trinity-ACCS match-up, and finally, it has arrived. Tonight will see the two rivals go toe-to-toe in varsity action for the first time in a while, and I think that’s something the town should be excited about. That’s one Christmas present before we even get there.

Hopefully, somehow, Mississippi State and Ole Miss will find a way to become competitive again in football. While finding out if that will happen is a long year away, we may get a glimpse if they can find some quality recruits by February.

With LSU taking on the team American’s love to hate in the Sugar Bowl Jan. 3, I think we can all agree we want a huge Tiger win. I think most of us would be OK with running up the score, as well.

The Saints, who seemed to have gone the opposite way every time I try to say how good they are this year, really need to right the ship. A first round bye, which would be a first, to go along with a possible first trip to the NFC title game and first trip to the Super Bowl would not only be something the city of New Orleans needs, it’s also something the fans from across the Southeast who have supported them for years really deserve.

I also hope that ESPN somehow gets a grip. The sports giant has really moved to a place that makes it hard as a serious sports fan to take with more than a grain of salt. Whether it be wall-to-wall discussion of the latest T.O. situation or constant hyping of anything that every goes wrong with the NBA, the talking heads there have gotten out of control. I think any sports fan would yearn for the day when SportsCenter was taken seriously and we didn’t have to listen to over-the-hill columnists shout at each other all day long. The cable news stations could also use a lesson from that playbook.

Lastly, I wish all of you a very Happy Holidays and hope you get everything you want, be it sports-related or not.

Tim Cottrell is the sports editor of The Natchez Democrat. He can be reached by phone at 601-445-3632 or by e-mail at tim.cottrell@natchezdemocrat.com.