The Train Daddy is back with sports news, life lessons and politically incorrect talk. All aboard! I am excited for this one, the annual Merry Christmas shout-out! This has become tradition and is without doubt my favorite article of the year.

There are numerous ways to wish someone well during the holidays, but for me it’s always been “Merry Christmas” once December hits. So let’s say it over and over to a wide variety of personalities.

Merry Christmas to the Mayo Family—the family behind the scenes that makes this publication possible, the Editor in Chief Mr. Bracken Mayo and his amazing wife, the Associate Editor and Art Director Sarah Mayo! We can’t forget their two sons; their older one, Bracken Jr., has helped fill a rack or two with fresh copies of the Pulse. Bracken and Sarah run this business with an integrity that is rare, and they truly love what they do. They gave me this platform to write about sports all the way back in 2008, and I cherish it. But, being honest, I cherish even more the lifelong friendship I know I will have with the Mayo family for years to come. That’s enough of this mushy crap!

Merry Christmas to my dude Nick Westbrook-Ikhine! The Titans wide receiver [top] has been a bright spot on a bad team. NWI signed with the Titans as an undrafted free agent in 2020, a dude who flew under the radar but was consistent enough to always have a spot on the 53-man roster. NWI is making noise now, though, with nearly as many touchdowns as receptions. For the first time in his career, fantasy football managers are putting in bids to add the receiver to their rosters. That’s how you know you made it. The national stage now sees Nick, and that scares me because he becomes a free agent after this season. I sure hope Ran Carton finds a way to keep him a Titan.

Merry Christmas to Coach Heupel! If I had to give an award to someone in Tennessee who deserves praise for being a badass, I would give it to Josh Heupel. He has taken the UT program from the dumpster to the top of the best conference in America. It’s exciting times on Rocky Top as we are playoff bound! Whatever happens, I know this team is in good hands and the trajectory is pointing at a National Championship. It’s a new era of college football with NIL and all this money and pros and cons along with it. It’s obvious though that Tennessee athletics, from football to basketball to baseball, all look ready to lead the charge there.

Merry Christmas to President Donald Trump! This past Nov. 5 I turned 40 years old on election night, and my dad was four days healed from just having completed successful prostate removal surgery due to cancer. We grilled some steaks, ate some cake and played games with the family. It was a beautiful evening. But the cherry on top was my birthday wish coming true, with Trump being elected president! Thank goodness we won’t have four years of the insanity that would have been Kamala and Tim Walz. Nobody freaked me out more than Tim’s strange “turn the page” wife. I am thrilled she won’t be around anymore. My 40th birthday was certainly one to remember.

Merry Christmas to women in sports! Regardless of who you voted for and reasons you may or may not like President Trump, at least you know female athletics will be better protected. We have been on a recent pathway of delusion with far-left ideology, where feelings take precedence over common sense. I know it’s hard for some of you to define what a woman is, and I could care less outside of the realm of sports. Thankfully, Trump won’t play those games and has publicly said as much. Biology matters in sports! This topic won’t go away anytime soon, but it’s a step in the right direction for athletics to not allow people born with winkies to play with people not born with winkies. Sounds good to me!

Merry Christmas to my homie Eddie George! The Titans legend may have retired from playing, but he isn’t done with the game, having taken over in 2021 as head coach for Tennessee State University. This season Coach George led the TSU Tigers to their first 9-win season in over a decade, and first place in the Big South–Ohio Valley Conference Football Association. The former Heisman Trophy winner and Titans legend who rushed over 10K yards for the franchise isn’t done achieving greatness.

Merry Christmas to King Henry! I knew it would hurt when we broke up. I knew it would hurt when you had a successful season with the Ravens and continued doing kingly things. I still root for your success even though I root for the Ravens’ destruction. It’s a catch-22, I know. The two best backs in the NFL continue to impress in Henry and Saquon Barkley. The race for this season’s rushing champion will be very close and probably closer to 2,000 yards than we may expect. My hope for King is he continues to dominate for the Ravens these next few years. I also hope the Ravens do not win the Super Bowl. Then when King is done, he comes back home to Tennessee and retires a Titan where he spent his most dominant playing days.

Merry Christmas to the Oakland High School football team! Murfreesboro has its very own super team in the most dominant team in the state, now for a decade running. The Patriots are headed back to the 6A State Championship, where they will face the Houston Mustangs on the big stage in Chattanooga. The Patriots earned state champion honors in ’84, ’98, ’08, ’18, ’20, ’21 and ’22. Will they add ’24 to the impressive resume?

Merry Christmas to Colt Anderson! You might be thinking, “who?” He’s the Tennessee Titans’ first-year special teams coach who certainly puts the “special” in special. Someone needs to intervene if Coach Callahan can’t say bye-bye to his buddy from Cincinnati. His special teams units are historically bad! The numbers speak for themselves and aren’t worth breaking down. Fire Colt Anderson because he sucks as a Titans football coach, but I do wish him a Merry Christmas all the same.

Merry Christmas to Big Willy Levis! Keep fighting, Levis. The passion is obvious, and I see the potential. It’s there! Levis has been improving and you can see it clearly. I am not sold yet on him being a franchise QB, but he may give them enough of a reason to justify another season of building around him. His situational awareness is a problem. It’s possible he has a jelly bean for a brain, but watching Titans football lately, Levis hasn’t really been the problem—the offensive line has been. Once this season wraps up there will be some very interesting debates on what direction this team should go in the off-season as we gear up towards another high draft pick.

Merry Christmas to Tony Vitello! There is no better college baseball coach in America and the Vols are fortunate to have Tony V. The culture is a little wild at times, but it’s amazing and it’s a winning formula. Coming off a national championship season for the Vols in Omaha, the future is bright for the team and their young coach. Back-to-back nattys incoming.

Merry Christmas to Rick Barnes! Tennessee basketball has been at the top of the game since Barnes came to Knoxville, and that’s saying a lot given the dysfunction prior to his arrival. Rick Barnes was already a well-established brain of the game and what he is doing here clearly is working. On the heels of making an Elite 8 run last season, this team is hungry. It’s early in the season, but as of right now this team looks like a contender with some stars returning and some great new additions from the portal. Tennessee basketball is a team to watch as we creep towards March.

Merry Christmas to you, the reader! I wish you and your family a wonderful December. I know that I tend to say ridiculous things in these articles but, being genuine, I do it because I know somewhere out there somebody may learn something or, better yet, may get a proper laugh from something goofy I said. I don’t have any journalistic rules that I live by. I just say what is on my mind with little thought to whom it may upset. I say the world could use more of that rather than everyone walking on eggshells, overly concerned with hurting someone’s feelings. So thanks for reading.

That’s all I have for you on this issue; the Train is rolling into the station! It’s the perfect time of the year to live life following my motto, the 5 F’s–Faith, Family, Football, Food and Friends! Live life following that motto and it will be a satisfying life full of smiles and rewards.

Choo-choo!