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Originally Published: June 24, 2009

My wish list is a mile long

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By Scoop Jackson
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I wish for the return of the truth and political incorrectness; that everyone would stop playing it safe.

I wish there was a late-night sports talk show every night.

I wish soccer was more respected in the United States.

I wish I didn't care where LeBron will be playing in 2010.

I wish for a black TV show/series that isn't run by Tyler Perry and is longer than 30 minutes.

I wish that every athlete who says they want to be like MJ meant Magic Johnson.

I wish Albert Pujols was more marketable.

I wish the president didn't have to handle all these issues at once and could slow down to concentrate on getting one thing done at a time correctly.

I wish I could go back to loving Brett Favre.

I wish the Clippers would leave L.A.

I wish Aaron McGruder took the "Boondocks" cartoon as seriously as he did the comic strip.

I wish there was more diversity in sports radio.

I wish Serena and Venus were better losers.

I wish T.O. could make all the attention we've given him worthwhile; live up to his hype.

I wish every sport had an Etan Thomas.

I wish Sports Illustrated would never change.

I wish Art Cooper (former editor of GQ) was still alive.

I wish there was a "next" Minnie Riperton.

I wish the Red Sox never broke up Manny and Papi.

I wish Manny didn't get caught.

I wish I could go to the World Cup in South Africa.

I wish Kristi Toliver knew who I was.

I wish Tyra Banks cared who I was.

I wish Isiah Thomas could redux the past 10 years of his life.

I wish sports weren't so exploitive.

I wish print media weren't becoming extinct.

I wish man had never invented the gun.

I wish the BCS didn't exist.

I wish athletes weren't allowed to play themselves in video games.

I wish Geno Auriemma and Pat Summitt would just fight.

I wish Muhammad Ali would sincerely apologize to Joe Frazier.

I wish people would stop saying Eminem is the greatest rapper alive.

I wish people would stop thinking MMA is better than boxing.

I wish Toni Braxton hadn't broken up with the Dallas Mavericks.

I wish five seniors would win the NCAA title … and all get drafted in the first round.

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Paul Jasienski/Getty ImagesJunior, who's not suspected of using steroids, might be a more fitting home run king.

I wish the NBA would punish the owners for drafting players under 19, instead of punishing the kids.

I wish Dan Brown would write a sports book.

I wish Ken Griffey Jr. owned the all-time home run record.

I wish the Elvis Costello/Harry Caray glasses weren't back in style.

I wish I could hoop as good and as often as I did 20 years ago.

I wish the NBA had its own John Madden.

I wish Las Vegas had a major league sports team.

I wish every celebrity/superstar I know didn't think he/she was invincible.

I wish Vince Young would humble himself.

I wish we (the media) didn't turn athletes into icons before they even do anything of true significance or importance.

I wish we didn't always judge or evaluate greatness in terms of winning.

I wish more than 500 pairs of Lance Armstrong's Futura 2000 Nike Zoom Air FC ID were in existence.

I wish ESPN would give Ben Stein and Shaq a show.

I wish a hip hop artist was allowed to perform the national anthem at a major event.

I wish high school and college baseball used wooden bats.

I wish golf wasn't so addictive, time-consuming, expensive, and did I say addictive?

I wish I knew who the best player in each of the four major sports was.

I wish entertainers would stop fronting like they care about the sport being played at the sporting events they show up to.

I wish Bill Belichick never cheated.

I wish Pete Rose never came clean.

I wish I could get Billy Mays' voice out of my head.

I wish Manu, Yao, T-Mac, Gilbert and Baron could stay healthy.

I wish Facebook would disappear.

I wish Joe Paterno and Larry Brown would win one more title, then retire.

I wish someone would slap the (blank) out of Spencer Pratt.

I wish I didn't write that I wish Landon Donovan played up to his alleged potential.

I wish Congress didn't have to get involved with baseball (and that MLB could adequately police itself).

I (really) wish Rafael Nadal wasn't injured.

I wish Dwight Howard had Ewing's jump shot and Olajuwon's face-up game.

I wish Ochocinco took football seriously (and stopped being so overtly concerned with "entertaining" the fans).

I wish Allen Iverson and Steve Nash would retire after next season.

I wish boxers knew how to stay retired.

I wish Donte' Stallworth stayed home that night.

I wish professional athletes were more faithful to their wives.

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Jon Kopaloff/Getty ImagesJennifer Aniston's love life is constant fodder for the tabloids.

I wish Jennifer Aniston could find a man.

I wish umps and refs didn't have so much power, and would be forced to acknowledge when they screw up.

I wish coaches would be punished to the same degree as players by the NCAA for transferring schools.

I wish the Iran election would be settled.

I wish everyone would go to see the movie "Precious" when it comes out in October.

I wish Ed McMahon died happier.

I wish I knew why the country cares about Jon and Kate's lives.

I wish we'd stop using athletes' initials as nicknames.

I wish the Floyd Mayweather Jr. versus Manny Pacquiao fight would never happen.

I wish Buck O'Neil and Bernard King and Ken Stabler were in their sports' Hall of Fame.

I wish more athletes had their fathers to thank, instead of just their mothers and grandmothers, for their success.

I wish more young black athletes got "it."

I wish more owners and fans "got" them.

I wish every kid could meet Michael Jordan at least once.

I wish I didn't love sports so much.

Scoop Jackson is a columnist for ESPN.com.