I’m sitting here gazing at the Christmas tree that lit up the room for all the gift-giving festivities and annual Dungeness crab feast, and somehow it looks about as worn out as I do.

I’m looking at the tree slumping in its corner, and hoping it survives until the New Year. In some perverse way it seems almost emblematic of what kind of year it’s been for Bay Area sports. Still upright, but something seems to be lacking. It stood tall for a while but now it’s missing some bright lights. Its limbs aren’t as strong as they were. It could use a new star to top it off.

It just seems to be in need of help. Like the Giants, the 49ers and the Warriors.

Buster Posey had a good Christmas. The new Giants’ President of Baseball Operations was handed the keys to the car and was gifted with a brand new Adames SS. A big step up from the Edsels who have been manning the shortstop position since the team turned its back on that Crawford guy.

Now that Posey has unlocked the key to the Giants’ vault, he’s out shopping for an arm or two. Personally, I’m all in favor of looking into an import from Japan.

Kyle Shanahan’s Christmas would have probably been better if he’d just gotten a lump of coal instead of a sick and wounded list that has him asking for volunteers to sacrifice their bodies in protection of his quarterback.

It started with a Super Bowl hangover. It got worse with a preseason of holdouts, injuries, and holes to fill. It began with a bang and ends with a whimper. Changes are needed, and I’m confident will be made.

Special Teams and a solid offensive line have been areas that Shanahan has considered things that take care of themselves. The theory: Great skill position players will make up for any minor deficiencies on offensive or defensive lines. OK, so much for that theory. And special teams? They were considered nothing special. Until now.

The catch for the Niners comes when you consider that they could get back to being as good as they were last year. But, that may not be good enough.

There is a theory — as we discussed last week — that Super Bowl losing teams fall off the following season. The 49ers have been the poster boys for that theory. Twice they’ve missed the playoffs the year following a loss in the ultimate game.

But, winning a Super Bowl? For the Kansas City Chiefs, not much of a regression.

All season long the discussion was that the Chiefs are winning, but doing it with smoke and mirrors. Somehow though, they are 15-1 and are looking to these old and bleary eyes as though they are as good as anyone they may be facing on their way to a Super Bowl trilogy.

And, while we were busy tossing away wrapping paper and thinking about how we were going to return the pickle-flavored toothpaste we were gifted, the NFL quietly turned its attention to the future.

I put the NFL right up there with Elon Musk when it comes to wanting to own the entire world — and knowing how to do it.

Christmas Day’s NFL games were both exclusively on Netflix. The streaming service paid a paltry $150 million for the right to televise two games. To put that in perspective, the entire season of Game of Thrones cost $50 million less.

And here’s what you need to know. Every live sports event of any import will be streaming on Netflix, or Amazon Prime, or Paramount Plus, or any one of a zillion streaming services sometime before Antarctica has beachfront property. That is to say, in the next few years.

Don’t get me wrong here. You’ll still be able to see the Sun Bowl, the Independence Bowl, and the Pop-Tarts Bowl live on over-the-air TV, you might get the first round of the NBA playoffs, the baseball wild-card games, and the PGA’s Heritage Classic; but if your looking for the Super Bowl, the World Series, the NBA Finals or the Masters — best you subscribe to Netflix now.

And, before we leave the subject of free TV, did you catch the Warriors and Lakers on Christmas Day? OK, the good guys lost, but Steph Curry and LeBron James showed just what living up to the moment is all about. Both have had as many off nights as great nights this season, but both thrive in the spotlight and, unfortunately, somebody had to lose. But greatness way outshone the game.

And finally, I just can’t let this year run out without talking about the college football playoffs.

The first round separated the wheat from the chaff. Now we get the best of the rest. But somehow I find the whole thing sad. It’s like rooting for Apple to beat Microsoft; Google to win over Amazon; Walmart to squeak by ExxonMobil. It’s all about who’s got the most — and I don’t necessarily mean talent-wise.

College teams now have general managers to handle incoming and outgoing cash flow. The bigger the flow — the better the team.

High school players have agents. Coaches not only have to recruit players to come and play for them, they have to recruit the players they already have so that they don’t go out seeking a bigger offer elsewhere. The transfer portal has a bigger line than the border crossing in Tijuana. Classrooms are a rumor.

The whole thing is just great if you live and die with Ohio State or Michigan. If you love you some Ducks, or thrive ‘tween the hedges in Georgia. If you truly care about “hook ’em horns,” “roll Tide,” or Touchdown Jesus. If you do, as my mother always said, “Mazel tov.”

If you don’t, come on over and watch my tree droop.

Barry Tompkins is a 40-year network television sportscaster and a San Francisco native. Email him at barrytompkins1@gmail.com.