Santana is No. 1 on this wish list; But somehow keep Ellsbury.

• Position: SPORTS

Byline: Paul Jarvey

COLUMN: PAUL JARVEY

The problem with compiling a Christmas wish list is that the good ones have been taken, mostly by Miss America contestants.

So, instead of world peace and a better tomorrow, I'm left with wishes that Jonathan Papelbon's dog would talk and Curt Schilling would shut up.

Those toothy pageant hopefuls might have cornered the market on the more altruistic wishes, but I still have sports to mine for my holiday list. Listening, Santa?

I wish that the Red Sox could trade for Johan Santana without giving up Jacoby Ellsbury. Santana would make the Sox big favorites to repeat as world champions, so giving up three top prospects, including the dynamic rookie center fielder makes perfect sense. I just don't want them to trade Ellsbury. (And I sense that a certain demographic within Red Sox Nation would be heartbroken if he were shipped out, not that Theo Epstein should concern himself with that aspect, but still ...)

I get the vibe that the Red Sox don't want to trade him, either, and would be quite happy to see Santana dealt to the National League, anywhere but to the Yankees.

I wish Worcester officials were less giddy about being 53rd on some list of best minor league markets and more concerned with making the city more livable with a network of bike paths and top-rate facilities for recreational sports. Anyway, the ranking still puts Worcester behind Providence, Portland and Manchester, so how proud should city leaders be about that standing?

I wish more people would catch on that the best deal going is $8 to see Division 1 men's basketball at Holy Cross. You can sit as close to the action as anywhere in college basketball, watch a team that believes it can defend anyone in the nation and still be home by 9. The hoops is pretty good, too. The Crusaders have seven home games left, but you've already missed an appearance by Hofstra's Antoine Agudio, the leading scorer in the country. He dropped 28 points on HC in a losing effort last month. The Crusaders are riding a 22-game winning streak at the Hart Center, the longest since the building opened in 1975.

I wish the top college hoop teams in the region still played each other every winter. UConn, Holy Cross, UMass and Boston College played in the Colonial Classic at Boston Garden in the late 1970s, and it was a big deal. Being No. 1 in New England was important.

Why can't this happen again?

Because those four schools have headed off to separate leagues, and BC...