I just completed the seventh year of UTK, while I'm at work on the fourth year of my various football reports, and the sundry other things I do (college football, basketball, and European soccer.) I've probably had hundreds of emails asking me some variation on what I call "the Neyer question." I still don't have a good answer, but like Rob, I can say that I have no idea how or why I've been quite so blessed, but knowing that I am gives me a couple quick notes on how I've been able to keep doing this.

The first and most important is that I show up every day. I wrote over 150 columns for BP this year over the course of the 2008 season. The way that baseball moves during the season requires that you can't really take days off. Monday columns are always the worst for me, trying to catch up, which was exacerbated a bit this year by UTK Wrap. I've never had boundless energy and in the first year of the column, I was often delayed by the crippling panic attacks I was dealing with at the time. Still, I knew then just like I know now that my readers expect something every day or nearly every day and miss it when it's not there. Once a week isn't enough

Which leads to the second - by showing up every day, it creates a routine. I have certain tools I use to help me, including a purpose-built program that seeks out information. I make tons of phone calls, tons of emails and texts, and generally check in with my sources regularly. That exchange of information keeps things moving. When I started this, it was hard to get people to take my calls, but eventually, that started to shift. Now the flow of information is about 50/50. I still make my calls, but often, people call me. My readers alert me when something happens on field, which helps.

Another key is building relationships, both within the game and with my readers. I have a compulsion to answer every email and I still do this. SI doesn't put a mail link on my columns and I'll be honest - I don't have the same satisfaction with those as I do, largely because there's no interaction. I *know* my readers at UTK, something I just don't have with football. People inside the game know me as someone who works hard at his job and is willing to learn. I make mistakes (too many) and admit it readily when I do, largely because I find those an opportunity to learn. While I wish I could go to more games, I do make enough contact with team officials and players so that they know who I am and I don't get accused often of dodging. Maybe someday I'll get one of the BBWAA golden tickets, but I'm not counting on it. I'm also an asshole, something I realize. I wish I was a nice guy, but I'm not. I wish I didn't lash out, wish I didn't say stupid things, but just as when I get something right or break a story, I'm going to show up every day and take the blame along with the credit.

Finally, I think a respect for the game is needed. I realized early that I was given an opportunity to tell a story that hadn't been told, the one just behind the scenes. Watching yesterday's Sox-Twins game, TBS' coverage would cut to the normal dugout shot to show Ozzie Guillen standing up, watching his team. Just behind him, sitting on the bench, was Sox Trainer Herm Schneider. I'd venture that most people, even most Sox fans, didn't know who the guy sitting there was. I'm not a doctor. I'm not an Athletic Trainer. I'm certainly not a physical therapist, thank God. Thing is, I'm just a reporter who talks to the people closest to the injuries and tries to translate that to the sports fan. While I rely on my own base of knowledge, I don't rely on *just* my base of knowledge. If I did, my column would be a shell of what it is. Those that try or worse, those that don't even make the effort to talk with sources find themselves missing things far too much, not understanding the human element of the situation.

The trick is to luck into something that you're passionate about, work hard, and never lose the respect for the story or the game. I've been lucky enough to be encouraged along by some of my heroes - Joe Sheehan, Gary Huckabay, Rany Jazayerli, Peter Gammons, Eric Karabell, Jamey Newberg, and Peter King. It was King who said to me in our first meeting that I needed to focus on doing "an honest day's work for an honest day's pay." He didn't realize it at the time, but when we were sitting in Starbucks that February day, I was at one of the lowest points of my career. I'd written about Mark Prior and been blasted in the Chicago media. I've never forgotten that he took the time out of his day to meet me and I've certainly never forgotten the advice he gave me. And I won't.