A message from the creator:

Far From the Show might be a "rinky-dink" start-up site, but it's my labor of love, and my first venture on my own, and there are several people I have to thank for helping to get me here, so you will have to bear with me:

First, thank you to my friends Alex Lauritson-Lada and Carlos Escobar: Your tireless effort and long hours for the past year designing, and re-designing this site (all the while putting up with me) made this a reality.

And thank you to my writers Nick Cammarota, Josiah Bonsey, Christopher Hadorn, and Rob Terranova, for the blood, sweat, and tears you put into your writing despite no promise of any financial returns.

Thank you Matt DeAlmeida, for putting together an amazing amount of cover artwork at an inhuman pace while under the gun: You ‘da man Matty!

Thank you Jim Hickey for all of your tech support, and for being available at the drop of a hat, and Carl Liss, for hours upon hours editing our stories.

Thank you to Frank Shorr and the late Jack Falla for introducing me to the field of sports journalism. And Phil Kaisecki, my first ever managing editor, for taking a chance on a kid without much of a resume and teaching him the ropes: Phil, without your mentoring I would probably still be babbling incoherently on chat sites.

Speaking of which, thank you to the loyal posters in the America East section of basketballforums.com (formerly basketballboards.net), your passion for teams playing far from the limelight is heartwarming, and you were truly my first audience (even if you don't all like my writing, you at least read it, and I appreciate that… even you, UVM Hoop Cat).

Thank you to a certain minor league for giving me one day in the sun

Thank you to Dan Shaughnessy, Bob Ryan, and Steve Buckley, for taking the time to encourage a young writer.

Thank you to Paul Deruzzo, Steve Peterson, and the University Wine Shop crew for giving me back a small part of my dad.

Thank you Ms. Walter, for unearthing my passion for writing, and Lloyd Schwartz and Joyce Peseroff for encouraging and refining it, and Mr. Desimone for helping me to see the world in a more nuanced, and shades of gray, way.

Thank you Frank Thomas for going your own way and playing the game cleanly when no one else would.

Thank you to all the coaches and staff of America East men's basketball for always making yourselves available to a young writer finding his footing in the business.

A special thank you to all of the athletes for opening up and trusting a young kid to tell their stories: A special thanks to Trevor Gaines, Otis Hill, Antonio Reynolds-Dean, Matt Turner, Andy Abad, Judson Wallace, Stijn Dhondt, Nick Billings, and Juan Diaz.

Thank you to Arlington High School (AHS) for giving me the chance to have an impact on the lives of adolescents. Thank you Meg Lim and the staff of the CTDS program for showing me that there still are people dedicated to making a difference in the world. Thank you to some of the students I encountered at AHS for inspiring me to overcome life's obstacles, and to the Spy Ponders baseball team for reminding me of all that is still pure and good about sports.

A special thank you to Paul Forte, Al Berman, Bobby Martin, and Wayne Alpert, along with coaches Randy Monroe, Dan Leibovitz, Steve Pikiell, Bill Herrion, Will Brown, and John Gallagher for helping fill at least a small portion of the void left in my life by the loss of my dad.

Thank you to my mother, Marcie: Mom, despite all your neuroses, you're the best mom I could ever ask for. You have gone so far above and beyond the call of duty, especially over the past five years; without you none of this would have been possible.

Thank you to my beautiful and wonderful fiancée Diana; without you I would not be here today. Period. Thank you for changing my life, and for putting up with me (god knows it hasn't been easy). You are the most remarkable person I have ever known: Thank you, I love you.

Thank you to my brother Noah, for serving as an inspiration over the past few years, and for motivating me to get back up from the mat and to dust myself off again. Without you this site would never have had the funding to be anything more than a pipe dream. Thanks for being my brother.

Thanks to the friends, teammates, colleagues, co-workers, students, and others who have left an impression on me throughout the years.

Thank you to my best friend Oliver. To paraphrase Forest Gump, best friends don't come along everyday, and you were once in a lifetime: My heart, my soul, my brother.

And thank you to my father, my dad, "muy hombre," Jack: The single most influential man in my life. What you meant to me goes beyond words, beyond love. You were only in my life for nineteen years, but imparted a lifetime of wisdom upon me. Thank you for teaching me everything I know about life, love, sports, and being a man. I miss our trash talk, the ground balls you hit, and the batting practice you threw until your arm was hanging off, the ribbing you gave me about never making it to 5'10", the fact that no matter how long I jabbered on about god-knows-what, you always listened. But most of all, I miss your mere presence.

And now, thank you to the readers; I hope this site doesn't disappoint.

The site is dedicated to every player toiling in obscurity while playing for the love of the game. And to the memories of my best friend Oliver and my dad Jack: I hope that one day I'll get to see both of you again.

Sam Perkins
Founder, Editor-in-chief
Far From the Show Sports