FROM MIKE HOFFMAN:

Hello, everyone. The holiday season is back again. I'm fortunate enough to be playing so close to home this year (hopefully I'll be spending some of it in southern Cali too), so I will be able to eat some of my mom and aunt's favorite Turkey Day dishes.

It will be nice to get home even for the afternoon because our scheduling is pretty tight these days – we're in the midst of 10 games in 15 days. Teammates Ryan Carter and Brian Salcido will be making the trot down to Scituate with me ... I wish I could take more guys with me but having around 14 cousins and 8 aunts and uncles joining the festivities, I'm not sure my mom and aunts would enjoy cooking for another 10. I'm excited to get home and relax and watch football (how about them Patriots) and show the boys around town ... but I can admit I am not the best table-manored person around. I think Salcido and Carter are in for a treat watching 20 or so eaters going at it because the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

It is the season of thanks and giving right? Well, I have to thank every other NFL, MLB and NBA team out there for giving up on some of the best talent and athleticism they had for the beloved Patriots, Sox and Celtics. I think I have to thank the Minnesota teams the most for there efforts in making such powerhouse teams in the Boston area. David Ortiz for the Sox, Randy Moss for the Patriots. I'm not much of a basketball fan, but wow are the Celtics good and much of the thanks from that goes to Kevin Garnett.

I never got to write about the Red Sox winning the World Series, but wow was that domination. Was probably the biggest "team" effort ever seen in a World Series. You could have named half the guys MVP. Boy, it's gotta be tough to be a New York fan these days.

That brings me to my next topic: Is it OK to be a Yankees-Patriots fan (cough, cough) Eric Weinrich. To me that's like ordering chinese food on Thanksgiving. (Actually did that once playing junior hockey.) I can understand sometimes if you lived half your life in a place and half in another to cheer for different city's teams. New England is a special place and deep down it's wrong in my eyes to route for the Yanks and others.

I want to thank all the fans for their support so far this year and as you can see the team is really bonding these days. There is a real positive attitude in the locker room and even though it's tough to see teammates get traded, the talent we got in return has already helped.

Before I finish I want to list some of the things I am thankful for. I am thankful for a great family, friends, hockey, the people that have coached me along the way, the fans and support, New England seasons, wraps, family guy, holidays, summers off, caring, giving and honest people, and last but not least, a great group of teamates and coaching staff. Have a great Thanksgiving!

-Hoff

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