Praying to sporting gods in 2012

Sorry Santa. This request for a bunch of presents goes to the gods of sport - Winnius, Loseus and the Great Draw.

The hard working team at Sports Grunt don't just want a bunch of gifts on one day. They need to be spread out over the 366 days of 2012.

And, yes, it is a leap year, so there are 24 extra hours of sporting joy to be had.

So you patron saints of the athlete's foot, answer these prayers for a bumper season in the New Year.

Here is our short list of wants.

They aren't too great and we don't expect all to be granted.

But a few would be nice.

Shorter games are just not the same

Shame on you Francesca Schiavone and Svetlana Kuznetsova.

How dare you put us through us through almost five hours of tennis at the Australian Open.

Don't you know that is the not the way sport is played nowadays.

Tense struggles that put athletes through an almost superhuman test of their physical, and mental, powers just isn't the go anymore.

If the administrators of the games we follow continue with current trends those enthralling battles of will and strength will be confined to the archives along with the black-and-white film footage of a bloke called Don Bradman.

Almost every sport around the world is looking for an abridged version of their code.