Lasting Impact.

I wrote a book about concussions, a topic I thought was boring and overblown until I started researching it. There's a lot going on, and a lot worth learning, especially for everyday athletes and kids playing sports.

Check out some blurbs that describe what it's all about on NESN.com.

Download the book from Barnes & Noble here, or from Copia or Scribd for other e-formats.

Andy Pettitte

Any Christian or Yankees fan is a huge supporter of pitcher Andy Pettitte, who has been a class act for New York while carrying Christ into the world of Major League Baseball. I interviewed him the last time the Yankees were in Boston. Read the story here.

Awesome sportswriting.

You'd think that if I labeled a post "awesome sportswriting," I'd be pointing you to awesome sportswriting. In this instance, I'm just pointing you to my own writing, so you be the judge.

The NBA postseason was quite the exciting fare, and I led the way by predicting that this would be the year LeBron James may have enough to win it all. When the Heat and the Celtics were in the thick of it, though, I was firmly behind the Celtics -- that is, until they came close to croaking in a game where they just looked run-down. It was all over soon enough, but not without one look at James' long hug with Celtics coach Doc Rivers after it ended, where I mused in one of my better columns that when James helped assemble a Big 3 in Miami in hunt for a championship, maybe what he needed was Rivers.

The vitriol that James tried to shed on his way to his first NBA title coincided well with Tiger Woods' recent return to dominance, so I compared how the much-maligned pair are doing now. Other than that, I mostly left the NBA Finals alone -- except for a shout-out to one of my favorites, Shane Battier.

But the end of the NBA season was just the beginning of NBA drama, as the Ray Allen sweepstakes captivated the Boston area. After the initial shock of hearing Allen may jump to the Heat, most thought he would stay, and I had good reasons why he should stick with KG & Co. When he didn't listen to me, I wrote a headline with "Benedict Arnold" in it and said the Celtics were better off. Then, after realizing management pretty much hung Ray out to dry, I wrote one of my better pieces of the year, wherein I reflected that we all want to be pursued.

And no NBA coverage would be complete without me telling Dwight Howard I am sick of his whining.

I've been paying a good deal of attention to Major League Baseball, too. Want to compare Josh Beckett and Mickey Mantle? You've got it here. How about R.A. Dickey's great year, and how a lost season for the Mets has turned into a year far better than Mets management could have had if it tried? Right here. I also delved into the Carl Crawford mess, as we all want him to just stop playing this year so we don't have to hear about his random injuries.

My best MLB work happened when it came to the New York Yankees, of course. Two pieces centered around Yankees who were decidedly not acting like Yankees. My jest got some people worked up when I suggested that DeWayne Wise shouldn't pretend to catch foul balls that he clearly missed and that Rafael Soriano should stop looking like a bum while spelling Mariano Rivera. But when I stop wasting my time finding dumb stuff to write about the Yankees, I try to make more educated analysis, too. That's where you'll find my piece about the mess the team has with CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte out, and how Phil Hughes is coming back even as another reliever-turned-starter, Daniel Bard, has seen his career implode.

Springtime is also an excellent place for tennis, and I jumped into the fray early, saying Rafael Nadal may have to be considered the greatest ever if he keeps beating two of the best -- Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic -- in a career where he gets the luck of two epic rivalries. Federer and Djokovic's semifinal had me hoping for an incredible match, but when Federer beat Andy Murray to win it all, I was only too happy to say this Federer is dipping deeper into the talent bag than ever. It's going to be a great summer for tennis.

I've also hit some of the big stories of the day, like how Jerry Sandusky managed to ruin sports in a way that steroids and other problems never could. There was also that great Manny Pacquiao boxing match, which not only had an unbelievable decision but also the effect of dismantling Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s golden chance to be the best of his generation. And I had never heard of Ashton Eaton, but after reading about what he did at the U.S. Olympic Trials, I decided the Summer Olympics in London could be worth watching (and not just for awesome women's soccer).

Finally, I wrapped up with some pleading to give Wes Welker a freaking contract, and then jumped into the realm of faith and sports to compare the way Tim Tebow approaches Christianity with how Bryce Harper is spreading Mormonism. I'm sure I'll have more on that topic later, but this is my first foray into the subject.

Good reads

I am a sportswriter now, so I should be advertising my work on my own site, I guess.

Most nights when the Red Sox play, I write a little opinion piece on a quote from the loquacious manager, Bobby Valentine. It turns out his quotes have been pretty boring lately, so I wrote about that tonight. It's quite a change for a man who used to be a chatterbox.

In that section, I've also written about Valentine' reaction to a blown 9-0 lead, to admitting mistakes with pitching and player management, and to finally getting all of the pieces working together and winning. He's also said he thought a player was "trying to kill me," and that the Sox "have a lot of heart" (but not the right kind, I point out).

Most days, I write offbeat stories about interesting angles in the professional sports leagues. Tonight Dwyane Wade chucked an opponent's shoe into the stands, and the Nationals' newest outfield phenom played softball with some locals at the Washington Monument.

Other times, it's been about Eli Manning making people drive their cars slow, Indianapolis bidding Peyton Manning good riddance, Kevin Love's fresh face, Wes Welker as he looked in seventh grade, or a look at the original draft card that had Tom Brady going No. 199.

My favorite are the opinion or think pieces. Tonight I took a look at the Knicks, surmising that this combination ought not to be. I also wrote once about how awesome Derek Jeter is and the state of American tennis.

I also make amazing photo galleries, like of how Bobby Valentine looks like a muppet or the greatest appearances by athletes on Saturday Night Live.

So, feast on it. This is some of the world's best work.