In the coming weeks, many of us, in one way or another, will exchange gifts with friends and family. When we think of the words "gifts" and "presents" most of us probably get the image in our heads of elegantly wrapped boxes, with big red bows on top that make the faces of our loved ones light up like, well ... Christmas trees.

When it comes to sports, gift giving is a year long affair, and every year we see it going on in every facet of the industry. Presents in the sports industry don't come with big red bows or wrapping paper, but there was still plenty of gift giving this year.

BCS computers presented Oklahoma with the chance to play in the Sugar Bowl for college football's greatest prize, despite a 35-7 thrashing at the hands of Kansas State. I decided to send each representative of BCS computers a gift of my own — a sledgehammer.

Lennox Lewis' defeat of Vitali Klitschko in June was a gift from the referee. I'm no boxing expert, but I saw the fight and Klitschko wanted to keep going, even with the cut above his eye. The referee stopped the fight anyway. Had that match gone on, Lewis would be at home sipping tea in his retirement chair and licking his wounds right now.

When Chicago Bulls GM John Paxson fired Bill Cartwright last month, new coach Scott Skiles came bearing a special gift — a new offense. Skiles scrapped the Bermuda triangle offense and implemented a new offense that better utilizes the Bulls' quickness and youth. Now, all Paxson has to do is give Skiles the gift at the top of the new coach's wish list — a proven scorer.

Speaking of Chicago teams, the Cubs played the role of that friend in grade school who always got the biggest and best gifts. First, San Francisco Giants GM Brian Sabean handed Dusty Baker over to the Cubs. Then the Pittsburgh Pirates gave them a power-hitting third baseman (Aramis Ramirez), a consistent left-handed bat (Randall Simon) and a veteran leader who played a mean center field (Kenny Lofton). Then last month the Cubs exchanged gifts with the Florida Marlins, sending Hee Seop Choi (who some called "Big Choi" but I called "Big Bust") to the fish for Derrick Lee. Wow.

Then there was Tiger Woods, who simply gave his peers a chance at the majors. For the first time since 1998, Woods failed to win a grand slam tournament. Some said it was a slump. All Woods did was finish second on the money list, win five tournaments and the PGA Player of the Year award — a season most guys on the tour can only dream of.

Fourteen-year-old phenom Freddy Adu gave American soccer fans the gift of hope. Forget for a second that few of us have actually seen Adu play and don't know exactly what the kid can do. When he skipped out on Europe and signed with MLS, it was a big story. Nobody noticed when Landon Donovan and Frankie Hejduk returned from Germany. People noticed when Adu signed his contract, though, and we haven't even seen him play yet.

NBC Sports, which continually gives sports fans nothing but ice skating and Notre Dame home football games during the fall and winter months since it lost both the NBA and the NFL, gave sports fans a couple of outstanding gifts this year. You guessed it, ice skating and Notre Dame home football games. I've got a gift suggestion for NBC Sports for next year. Soccer fans would love some type of European soccer on American network television. Why not take a chance, NBC? It would be a relatively cheap option, and maybe, just maybe, people would watch. It couldn't be any worse than the XFL was.

Not to bang the soccer drum too hard, but Manchester United gave American soccer fans the gift of sight. The Red Devils toured the United States last summer, and many Americans witnessed how truly beautiful the game can be. Man-U will return next summer and will play at Soldier Field. I can't wait.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention Ilya Kovalchuk, who gave hockey its next star. What's scary about Kovalchuk is that he just keeps improving. He is on pace to score 51 goals this season, and he's only 20. When is this guy going to level off? Nobody knows the answer to the question, but if it doesn't happen soon this guy will be The Great One, Part II. He's that good.

Lastly, I would like to thank you for your gift to me: your eyes for five minutes every Friday. Without people like you, who held out until the end of this column, I wouldn't be able to do this. Thanks, again. I'll catch you in 2004.

Mike Szwaja is a junior in communications. He can be reached at sports@dailyillini.com

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