Christmas gifts are a funny thing.

For example, let’s think about this. In order to get what you really want, you have to tell people what you really want. But then, of course, you know what you are getting. So then you sit down on Christmas Day, or Christmas Eve, or whenever your family decides it’s proper to open gifts, and sure it’s fun to rip open the presents, but there’s not a whole lot of joy when you’re not surprised.

In fact, there’s always a moment during the holidays, a moment when I’m feeling very Scrooge-like, when I have this thought: What if, instead of buying gifts for other people, we all just took all that money and bought stuff for ourselves? You know, you would get exactly what you wanted.

But of course, that kind of defeats the whole purpose of the holidays. And I’m very glad we don’t do it like that.

And that’s why I think the best gifts are the one’s that we don’t see coming. You might not have exactly wished for that runner’s pull-over from T.J. Maxx, but then pretty soon you realize that you’re wearing it everyday, and well, something pretty simple turned into quite a gift.

Where did all this gift talk come from? Well, I was thinking about gifts the other day when I was thinking about Bill Self and Jeff Withey.

As you probably know, Withey is a 7-foot freshman from Arizona who announced that he would be transferring to Kansas right before Christmas. It was a pretty nice Christmas gift for Self, whose squad had just been steamrolled by Arizona on Dec. 23.

The tale of Jeff Withey isn’t particularly grandiose or exciting, but it’s interesting nonetheless.

Withey, a native of San Diego, has been through quite the odyssey trying to find a basketball home.

He visited Kansas as a junior in high school, but soon fell off the Kansas radar. He verbally committed to Louisville, before deciding to stay closer to home.

Then, of course, a bomb dropped this offseason when former Arizona coach Lute Olson announced he would retire for good. Just like that, all the coaches that recruited Withey to Arizona were gone. And Withey’s mom, who had moved to Tucson, Ariz., to teach grade school, was teaching her students in a college town that her son didn’t exactly want to stay in.

Now Withey is at Kansas. He’ll take classes this semester and practice with the team, and he’ll be eligible in December 2009, after the conclusion of first semester classes. On the brightside, Withey never played at Arizona, so he’ll be considered a freshman when he finally suits up for the Jayhawks.

Yes, I know what you are wondering. Does the kid have game? Well, he was rated the No. 36 overall player in the Class of 2008 by Rivals.com, he’s 7 feet tall and Self says he needs to put on some weight.

But right now, that doesn’t really matter. The kid has 12 months to work out and prepare for next season. Self got a 7-foot Christmas gift, and most importantly, hopefully Withey finds a home in Lawrence.

Thursday YouTube Sesh

We all have our favorite sports movies. Maybe you’re a “Hoosiers” and “Rudy” type of person, or maybe you’re more into “BASEketball” or “Mighty Ducks.”

Whatever you’re into, there’s a new sports movie coming to local theaters this month that looks like it could be an all-timer.

I am, of course, talking about “The Wrestler.” Ironically, it stars washed-up movie star Mickey Rourke playing a gritty, washed-up professionally wrestler. We’ll save the full review for when the Morning Brew actually has time to see the full feature, but for right now, go to YouTube.com and check out the trailer.

Bruce Springsteen wrote a new song for the movie — it’s featured in the trailer — and if it doesn’t make you a little emotional, well, then you’re probably not as much of a sap as I am. Secondly, be on the lookout for some of the most cheesy movie lines since the speech in Rocky IV. You know, the one where Rocky ends communism. Type “The Wrestler trailer” into your YouTube search and enjoy.