Welcome to my first posting on NBC 30's "The Point After". I am excited about the opportunity to give my views and opinions on the wonderful world of sports and also to hear back from you.

Now as a loyal NBC 30 viewer (and I hope that you are!) you may have clicked on this post and wondered, "Who is this Don fellow alongside Kevin Nathan and Persefone Contos?" Good question. My name is Don Laviano and I am the Sports Producer at NBC 30. Next, you probably want to know what that means. Well, to put it simply, I do a little bit of everything behind the scenes in order to help get the sportscasts that you watch at 6:00 and 11:00 pm on the air. I edit video, plan live events, and do a little writing to name a few of my duties. It is a very challenging and at times stressful job, but also it is very fun and rewarding. It is what I always dreamed of as a kid; to get paid to work in the sports industry.

I thought for my first blog, I would just tell you a little bit about myself so you understood where these words were coming from. If you read Kevin's first blog (and I think you should), then you know that he is forever in the 70's. Well, fast forward one decade for me because my friends say I am "stuck in the 80's". I still own a 1989 Firebird; I love "The Karate Kid", Bon Jovi, and Eddie Money; and I think Princess Leia was hot in "Return of the Jedi".

As far as sports go, I am first and foremost a Yankees fan. I will not hide my bias on this blog. So Red Sox fans, if I think that the Yankees need to throw inside on Big Papi, deal with it! Having said that, I am fair. If I think Joe Torre left Carl Pavano (of course let's see if he even makes it out of spring training healthy!) in a game too long, I will call him out on it. Oh yeah, and there are always the Mets to talk about too.

I am also a graduate of the University of Connecticut and lifelong Connecticut resident, so I bleed Husky blue. I remember where I was for "The Shot", "The Perfect Season", and when UConn "shocked the world". If you don't know what events I am talking about, time for you to brush up on your UConn history!

So, to close my first posting on "The Point After", I am looking forward to giving my opinions on the world of sports in Connecticut and more. Hopefully we will all have some fun reading, writing, and sharing as you will also be able to post your opinions with Kevin, Persefone, and myself by posting your own comments about our blogs.

Thanks for reading
Don