As another calendar year comes to a close, the 2015-16 basketball season is about to heat up and I wanted to take an opportunity to wish all my loyal readers and rabid Friar fans a Merry Christmas. This has been a banner year for pcbb1917.com. Overall site views are up over 70% from 2014’s total and December 2015 is already the most-viewed month in the site’s history — the first time the site has been viewed over 50,000 times in a month! Over 127,000 unique visitors have made their way to pcbb1917.com in 2015. That’s pretty awesome.

I started pcbb1917.com back on January 22, 2014 with no real idea what I wanted to do with the site. Over the last 20 months the site has grown and so has my enjoyment in running it. This isn’t my full time job and there are definitely times when I struggle to stay motivated enough to keep the content coming but, the well wishes and encouragement I’ve received from many of you keeps me going and keeps me pounding away at the keyboard. I have been given many great opportunities because of this site — like covering the team in the NCAA Tournament in Ohio last March — and there are many people to thank who have been nice to me, even though they didn’t have to be.

I have thoroughly enjoyed this last year especially — both personally and with the site — and I want to thank all of you for reading and emailing and commenting and tweeting. A special shoutout to a few people on this holiday of giving:

Dad,

Your vigilance in being a daily reader — except for those links of the day posts — who now watches every single Friar game so you can call me the next day and we can talk about the post-mortem is very much appreciated. You have always taken an interest in things I have been interested in and I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for just being you.

Mom,

You may not be as vigilant of a reader as dad, but you certainly are committed to me. Your willingness to take the ride out to Columbus last March with me was a great memory that we’ll always have. Even though the outcome on the court wasn’t a positive one, that time spent with you that weekend was great. Thank you.

Lizzie,

You allow my obsession with Providence basketball to persist, and even encourage it at times. The last year with you has been amazing and I look forward to many more Friared up times in our future. Thank you.

I also want to throw a special shoutout to my former roommate and classmate — #Alwaysa10 — who is getting married on New Year’s Eve. Even though you and Bridge were selfish enough to have your wedding DURING a Friar game, I’m looking forward to an awesome night celebrating with both of you.

That’s it for me. Merry Christmas to all and stay tuned for more exciting times in Friartown!

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