This column originally ran in The Standard-Times on Dec. 22, 2006.

By Nick Tavares

I was out with some friends and co-workers recently when a guy whom I hadn't seen since high school asked me when I was going to write about Daisuke Matsuzaka, the pitcher signed to save the Red Sox rotation.

It's a good question, and I'm sure, in some capacity, I will get the opportunity to share my thoughts on the pride of Japan, as well as all of baseball, hockey, football and anything else that may be newsworthy.

But, sadly, it won't be here.

In fact, I'll be keeping just about all of my sports-related thoughts to myself for a while. Something of a Friday staple for the past 2 1/2 years, my column has been splattered across the pages of the Standard-Times sports section, filled with my feelings on pro athletes, uniform styles, trades, fans and, once, an obsession with hats.

And I'm sure you've cut out every single one and clipped it to your fridge, right? Of course you have.

Well, make sure to clip this one and file it right next to the death of Superman and the Beatles' "Abbey Road" because this is my swan song here on the S-T pages, and in a few days, I'll be on a plane heading to the American Southwest with my fiancee for a fresh start and plenty of new adventures.

My first day at the Standard-Times was interesting, if ultimately unremarkable. At 15-years-old, I was sitting in a meeting room across from then-sports editor (now Sunday editor) Steve DeCosta and Buddy Thomas for my "interview," which was really just a flow of questions followed by nervous, one-syllable answers.

"So, you know sports pretty well?"

"Um ... yeah."

For reasons still unknown, I was taken on as an intern to help out with high school calls. And my budding career as a writer was off, meticulously (and quietly) crafting three-paragraph high school game stories.

After a three-year hiatus, I found myself back, working part-time as a stringer in the summer covering American Legion baseball games. From there, I was back on a regular phone shift along with a regular slate of games to cover.

And from there came the gauntlet. Scoreboard pages, copy editing, pagination, a stint with special sections, a full-time gig on the news desk and, of course, a weekly sports column, where I could entertain myself and hopefully a few of you with my own thoughts on the sports world at large.

And it's the column that's led to some of my proudest moments here. Certainly, watching the Red Sox win the World Series while colleagues Steve Britt and Jon Couture went stadium hopping through the playoffs was fun, while the NHL lockout and the Bruins' subsequent trade of Joe Thornton was a low point.

And in between there have been playoff games, fights, fantastic finishes, head-scratching moves, and more than a few (unintentionally) hilarious e-mails along the way. My favorites were from the folks who were convinced that I was a Yankees fan. But I digress.

Today's my last day here at the paper, and this is the last column I'll write for the paper that's been paying me off and on since 1997.

So, this is it. My Pearl Jam records and hockey jerseys are packed. It's an exciting time, but a strange one, too. Including the internship, I've been walking into this building for more than six years.

And, for the last time, I'm running off at the keyboard for the Standard-Times, following countless high school calls, games, columns, e-mails and personal pizzas.

Though stressful at times, it was always interesting, and I'll have stories to tell for the rest of my life.

And now, it's time to hunt for new stories.

Thanks, folks. It's been fun.

Nick Tavares is off to live in the desert. Contact him at nick@staticandfeedback.com

Date of Publication on Page C01