I've been working in baseball for six years now. The days run together, the hours begin to add up, you appear in so many different cities that you sometimes forget where you are and you eventually get to a point in the middle of August where you begin to wonder if the snow is ever going to come back and if the cool air is going to chap your lips again. 

That sounds very strange, I know. Trust me, when you work in baseball, you become the opposite of what you were when you were growing up. As a kid, I dreaded late August, because that meant my summer vacation was over and I had to go back to school again.

Now, it's totally different. In a couple of weeks, I'll return to normal business hours, I'll see my family and friends more frequently, and best of all ... my eyes can fall in love with the television on Saturdays and Sundays again. 

There is nothing greater than Saturdays and Sundays in the fall. You can take your cookouts in the 90-degree heat, the graduation parties, the outdoor concerts, the fireworks, the long walks on the beach and the county or state festivals. I'd gladly trade all of those in for weekends in September through December. Nothing makes me happier than sharing a case or six of beer, a huge television, football and some good old fashioned fellowship and camaraderie with my good buddies. 

I picked this week to write this article, because this weekend is the first weekend of football. While many of you are watching Clemson vs. Alabama or Michigan State vs. California at 8 p.m. Saturday, I'll be calling the third to last game of the regular season for the West Virginia Power. That's not to say I won't be checking the scores constantly through the broadcast.

In just a few days, college campuses will be full of tailgaters, alumni, recruits, bigwigs and the like. They'll all be celebrating the greatest time of the year. Football has a way of bringing people together, the appetite for this sport is at an all-time high right now and I cannot wait for the start of this season.

It really seems like this offseason has taken forever. If you're like me, it feels like the Giants' triumphant victory over Tom Montana and the Patriots occurred back in 1982, and last year's national championship game isn't far behind.

It's time for football once again. It's time for us to sit back, listen to the band, savor the smell of the brats on the grill before the game and slug the beers that help us relish in a victory or drown our sorrows as we bury a defeat. It's time for us all to celebrate the greatest time of the year. If you're like me, then you understand that this weekend can't come soon enough.

Here's to another fantastic fall, and enjoying the greatest time of the year.