I Unplugged. Now I’m Plugging Back In.

I took a bit of time away to recharge and gear up for a busy summer.

Every October, I flip the switch.

The Boston Celtics season tips off, and just like that, I’m locked in. Watching games is always my favorite part of the day. I don’t catch them live (time zones make sure of that), but I’m up at the crack of dawn to get the first watch in the books, usually hours before I have the school run.

Most games, I’ll watch two or three times. Not because I have to — because I want to.

Because I love it.

By the end of the season, I’ve usually racked up hundreds — maybe thousands — of hours breaking down film, learning, reading, listening, watching and keeping up with the storylines and subplots that get thrown our way.

That’s my rhythm. The season starts, and I get to work.

And when it ends, everything slows down.

I give myself a few weeks to breathe. To shake off the mental fatigue, and trust me, the burnout effects are real.

Then I do what I’ve always done — I review. I pull apart everything I created during the year. I look at what hit and what missed. I tally the wins and losses — not the Celtics’, but mine.

And this season? I racked up more losses than wins.

Which, to me, is a sign of progress.

Sometimes, those losses come because I let my anxiety get the best of me. Other times, because I doubted myself a little too much.

And of course, a huge portion of those losses came from trying new things. From stretching my voice, testing formats, and experimenting with structure. Most of it didn’t work. Some of it did. And that’s the point.

Each summer, I follow the same process: decompress, reflect, recalibrate.

And each time, I try my hardest to come back better.

That’s what this offseason is for.

And that’s where I’ve been this past week or so—decompressing, reflecting on a long season, and planning for the summer and beyond. Most importantly, I've accepted that growth is never linear and there’s plenty of work to be done.

I’ve put out the odd YouTube video and social post, but mostly, I unplugged.

So today, I just wanted to break the silence. Get something out there — anything — and let you know I’m back.

And I’m ready to dive headfirst into the offseason.

Give me all the rumors. The trade talks. Draft night chaos. Let’s get to work.

Here’s how the next few days will look:

Friday – Grading the starters
Saturday – Grading the bench
Sunday – Rumor round-up
Monday – Mailbag
Tuesday – TBD (open to suggestions 👀)

Thanks for sticking with me. Let’s make this summer count.