"Let Me Tell You About This Here Xmas"

Torn wrapping paper all over the floor, extended family from the other political party in the room, the refuge of a football or basketball game on TV, Phil Spector on the turntable, Scrooged, The Bishop's Wife, and a Three Stooges marathon, crowded stores and subways in Manhattan, a Catholic church parade down the middle of your Brooklyn street, the still-lingering excitement of getting an Atari when you were 12, or an IPad when you were 35, a few days without having to rush, and best of all, those trees in living-room windows all over your neighborhood—warmth from within.

Merry Xmas to everyone who has made this column or Tennis.com a home in the last year, or just stopped by: It was by far our best 12 months yet (I say that every year, but it's still true). Thanks to the commenters here—the cranky and the not as cranky—as well as to the silent majority of readers who don’t say much, but keep reading anyway. Like Richard Nixon, I know you’re out there.

I’m off until 2012, so I’ll leave you with one more favorite thing from this time of year, Elvis. Whether it was a white Xmas or a blue one, no one could forget the words like the King. Which reminds me of a funny interview I saw a few years ago:

In Nascar-land, the famous driver Richard Petty was also known as the King. In this interview, though, he said he didn't like the nickname, because "there's only one King." You're waiting for him to say, "And that's our Lord Jesus Christ" or something along those lines, but when the interviewer finally asks who it is, Petty looks at him with surprise and says: "Elvis, of course."

See you next year.