Rank... Christmas Edition

In the spirit of the holidays we'll do a special edition of Rank, counting down what Pittsburgh sports fans are wanting for Christmas.

10. Prince to the Pirates

When you're assembling your Christmas list you always make the first thing on the list a little outrageous. That makes everything else seem more realistic and gettable. So the thing that would make every Pirates fan happy would be bringing Prince Fielder to Pittsburgh. We all know there is very little chance, if any, of this happening. It is the holidays so we might as well dream. 

9. The Patriots Lose

In order for the Steelers to get home field advantage through the playoffs a few tumblers need to fall into place. One of those is the Patriots losing to the Bills. This is not as unlikely as it seems. The Bills already beat the Pats this year, the Bills are flying high after their blowout win over the Broncos, and the 

Pats struggled to beat the Dolphins last week. 

8. The NBA Season Never Starts

Its no secret that the city of Pittsburgh does not care about NBA basketball. In fact most Pittsburghers hate it. It distracts media attention away from hockey and football. So were all annoyed by it, and would be much happier without the NBA.

7. Paul Chryst Lives up to the Hype 

Pitt recently replaced former head coach Todd Graham (coward) with Wisconsin assistant Paul Chryst. Every Pitt fan is excited about the new hire. He seems to be very smart and committed to his players. That is all you can really ask of a college coach anymore. Were all hoping he can handle being a head coach.

6. Pitt Basketball is not this Bad

Pitt's basketball team is not looking very good this year. They already have two pathetic losses to La Salle and Wagner, and they have not even started Big East play yet. Hopefully they can get their act together and be as good of a team as we know they should be. 

5. The Pirates do something Positive

We have all come accustomed to the Pirates doing absolutely nothing during the winter. So for Christmas Pirates fans just want them to do something positive for the team. It doesn't have to be a big move, just something that makes the team a little bit better. The Nate Mclouth signing was not it. 

4. Giroux is not this Good

Last year at this time I said that Claude Giroux was someone we would have to worry about. However, I never thought he would be this good so soon. He is leading the league in scoring and is an all around great player. Penguins' fans don't want him to be this good for two reasons: 1) He is a Flyer 2) He is keeping Malkin from winning the scoring title. Nobody is happy when the Flyers are good.

3. Ben’s Ankle is Healed

We all know for the Steelers to win a Super Bowl they need Ben to be healthy.  Last Monday night he played with his sprained ankle and looked terrible. So coach Tomlin chose to start Charlie batch on Saturday. Now Ben seems to have a 50/50 chance of starting against the Browns. They probably do not need him to win that game, but they definitely will need him at 100% to win a playoff game.

2. The Ravens Lose

The best thing that could happen for the Steelers would be the Ravens losing to Bengals. The only way the Steelers can win the division, get a first round bye, and have home field advantage throughout is for a Raven's loss. In order for Ben, Pouncey, and Woodley to get healthy they need that bye week.

1. Sidney Crosby is Healthy

So far the Penguins have played 35 games this season. Sidney Crosby has been in the lineup for eight games, after missing the whole second half of last season. When healthy, Crosby has proven he is the best player in the world and the Penguins are the best team in the league. Neither of those things are possible when Sid is out of the lineup with a concussion. He has got every Pens fan praying for his health.