Dear JW

I haven't written a letter to Santa in years. Too many years. The exact number is not to be uttered. But the letter was memorable. I listed dozens of things I wanted. I remember having catalogs open all over my bedroom floor, too many dog-eared pages for my parents' taste, I'm sure. And I bet on Christmas morning I forgot much of what I had thought I wanted and reveled in my brand new fishing pole, the same as each of my brothers, which was so cool. So simple.

This year I am getting back to simplicity. The problem with simplicity is that it's often difficult to achieve - we seem to always want to complicate things. Take those who are six degrees or less from Donovan McNabb. Let's start with TO. 'Nuff said. (How's that for simplicity?) Then there's J. Whyatt Mondesire, the president of the Philadelphia chapter of the NAACP. If you haven't heard because you've been buried under wrapping paper, he wrote a very curious article in a newspaper of which he happens to be the Publisher. The Publisher, not the Sports Editor. He basically said Donovan doesn't run the football because he doesn't want to be viewed as a black quarterback. (Among other notions that are so ridiculous I will not give them further energy here.) I think it would take a lot more than not running the football to make it so Donovan is not viewed, by himself or others, as a black quarterback.

Um, hey JW, news flash...Donovan knows he's black. Swear. I'd bet my fishing pole on it. You know what else Donovan knows JW? He knows that if he doesn't have a solid passing game and instead relies on his feet to win games, he will be battered, bruised and still black. And the Lombardi trophy will be shining in someone else's locker room.

If JW got on my simplicity bandwagon he would stick to his day job and not fuel a fire when we don't need any more heat. Us fans don't think much, if at all, about Donovan's skin color. We think more about his ability to enable his team to win games. And we think about what it feels like to not be going to the post season. We wonder about Donovan's sports hernia, his accuracy as a passer, his relationships with his teammates and his ability to climb the ladder and win the big game. Isn't that enough? Now you want us to think about whether or not Donovan is wrestling with racial demons while he is waiting...and waiting...for Coach Reid to call a play in from the sidelines?

Not gonna do it JW. I'm getting back to the basics of being a sports fan. I'm interested in what happens on the field, how the athletes and coaches prepare for the game or the race, and how far down into their gut they reach to pull out a victory for themselves and for me, their fan. They could dress in drag on their off day and I wouldn't give it a second thought.

Now, my special holiday edition of IT HAS TO BE SAID: Network News Programs: See that enormous dark shadow inching ever so closely on your super-duper Doppler radar? It's the Grim Ratings Reaper. He's here to tell you that if you spend half your broadcast patting yourself on the back with "heard here first" and the other half saying, "exclusively brought to you live" while showing me another house fire, car accident or corrupt politician (we know they're corrupt - it's not news) the only eyeballs watching will be those in the control room, while they are simultaneously surfing the web for real news.

Happy Playoffs!
Carol