I write about sports and make money doing so. I am living my dream. It's really as simple as that.

For as long as I can remember, I have loved two activities more than any others: writing and sports. So, it only made complete sense that I combine the two and make a living. I have written for five newspapers – including my college paper – and have interviewed hundreds, if not thousands of people. I've met deadlines, won awards, made people laugh, cry and think. I've written about everything from a 90-year-old slow pitch softball legend to a 13-year-old motocross phenom – and I've loved every second of it.

But this past Thursday, I got to do something I had not yet been able to do in the sportswriting industry – meet one of my favorite athletes.

Ryan Gomes, a forward on the Minnesota Timberwolves, participated in a charity event for the New Britain (CT) High School boys basketball team. Gomes, a Waterbury, CT native, put together a "Waterbury Legends" squad to take on Tebucky Jones' – yes, the former New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints and Miami Dolphins safety – N.B. All-Stars. The event featured dozens of talented ball players and it was simply a joy to cover. Here's the link to my article that ran in the New Britain Herald: http://www.newbritainherald.com/articles/2009/05/29/sports/doc4a2099d0dc073560053165.txt

Before Gomes took the court, I got a chance to speak with him for a while about a number of different things. He first did a interview with the local Fox station, then spoke to me one-on-one. I can say, without a single doubt, that Gomes is one of the most genuine, down-to-earth athletes I've had the pleasure of meeting.

He was polite, well-educated and funny – in other words, an interviewer's dream. As we walked back to toward the gym after the interview, I mentioned I was a big T'wolves fan, which he appreciated, certainly coming from a long-time New Yorker and current Connecticut resident. We joked about the lack of creativity in fans' favorite team choices, specifically how everyone in Connecticut is a Yankees or Red Sox fan. But I think what struck me the most was his sincerity. Here's a guy that makes millions playing in the NBA. The last place he had to be was in a dingy high school gym, playing pickup basketball with a dozen or so former high school and/or college stars. Yet, the thought of NOT being there never crossed Gomes' mind. He has stayed true to where he came from and loyal to the people who helped him along the way.

Between the TV interview and my one-on-one with Gomes, I had a lot of leftover material that I didn't get to use in my story. So, I figured I would post it here. Enjoy.

On participating in the charity event: "[New Britain boys basketball coach Stan Glowiak] put all of that together. I just showed up with some players and we're here to play. At the end of the day it's for the kids and it's a benefit to try to raise money for the program so they can go to certain AAU tournaments and pro programs."

On being back home in Connecticut: "They don't get to see me in kind of this light because I'm usually away playing in Minnesota and the Central part of the United States. But it's good to come out and play in this type of game and put some smiles and some people's faces."

On how the 2008 season was for him individually: "Basketball is a game where you have to continue to get better individually each and every year. So I'm in the gym working on things that my coaches said I need to get better at. I started 95% of the games. Individually, I was happy with the way I played, but at the end of the day, I wish we were playing right around now, or at least had a chance to play in the playoffs. That's the ultimate goal."

On what he is focusing on improving this offseason: "Shooting from the outside and shooting off the dribble and making plays off the dribble. I think I improved my jump shot standing still when guys leave me open, but I want to be able to make plays and create more assists and more opportunities for our team, so that's what I'm working on."

On watching the 2009 NBA Playoffs: "I'm a student of the game. I'm a faithful guy who loves what I do and love my job, so I watch and try to pick up things from guys that are playing now. Pick up moves, pick up things that I should work on to help me become a better player. The guys that are playing now, they got there for a reason, the LeBron James', the Kobe's, the Carmelo's, Dwight Howard, those guys are playing at this level because they're extremely talented at their positions, so I try to pick up things from all those guys and add it into my game."

On realizing his dream of playing in the NBA: "I think back to when I was playing high school, I didn't dream that I would be in this position that I'm in today. I wanted to take it one step at a time, which was first to play high school, then college, then NBA. But as I got older, I believed that I had a chance to make it to this level. It didn't happen until I was a junior at Providence that I realized that I had an opportunity to make it to the next level. I'm just blessed and thankful that I'm here and playing in the NBA and hopefully I can have a long career."

On the trade that brought him to Minnesota from Boston: "Individually, I think it helped me out a lot. It showcased what I can do more. If I was on that team, it would have been great to win a championship. There are some guys on the team that are young that got their opportunity to win a championship young in their career, such as, for example, Rondo. But for me, hopefully like I said I have a long career in this league, and whether it's my seventh, eighth, ninth, 10th year, hopefully I have an opportunity to play in the Finals and get a chance to win. You look at the guys that are older on the team, such as Ray Allen, Paul and Garnett, they're in their 10th, 11th year and that was their first time getting one. You know, it would have been nice to get one early in my career, but it's something to strive for."

On his current contract status: "I signed a five-year deal but there are some options in there. This year is guaranteed. Next year it'll be on them to see if they want to pick up the option or I could become a free agent. So every year you're still playing to showcase what you can do and what you got better at because your organization is watching and the other 29 teams are watching too."

On his Waterbury team: "A lot of the guys I'm playing with tonight, I've got some high schoolers, about four high schoolers on the team, that played for Connecticut Select AAU program that played for Wayne Simone. Then I brought some kids that I played against in high school. William Saunders went to Sacred Heart, Dale Saunders went to Kaynor Tech. Devon Parker, he's kind of the veteran of the group, he went to Wilby way before our time. Mike Sanders went to Sacred Heart also, so I've got a good group. The thing is, we all play against each other. If it wasn't here, we'll play in the [Hartford] Pro-Am against each other, or the Osgood [Shootout] against each other."

On the emergence of New Britain and Waterbury as basketball hot spots: "They have a lot of players out of New Britain, and we have a lot of players out of Waterbury that are good too, so it's good to see that these kids are striving to be good players. I think it's left behind from the trail we've left. Some of the players I have here, I looked up to some of these players that are here now. At that time, they were at the highest level, so you always want to reach the top. It was good to see that kids from these AAU programs in certain cities are doing well."

On what his offseason schedule is like: "I left Minnesota last week and I'll be here for two weeks and then I'm going back to Minnesota to work out. So, it's kind of just a feel thing, we have some players that come in to MInnesota, two or three of us, four of us, we'll go out there and workout for a week, Monday through Friday and then go home for the weekend. It's not a mandatory thing that you have to be there, but it's nice to go ahead and peek your head into the organization that you're playing with. Sebastian Telfair, he lives in New York, me and him are close friends, so I workout with him some of the times. And when I go out to MInnesota, he comes out. That's the only local guy. Randy Foye's from New Jersey, a little bit further down. But here and New York City is where you can get a lot of good run and a lot of good workouts, so when I'm back in Connecticut, that's where I go."

On how the charity went: "I think it was a great game. Like I said, it was for the people who came out to watch. But as you can see, towards the last five minutes it got pretty intense. It got competitive, but I'm glad Waterbury was able to represent. I'm tell the people that we're going to do it again and probably have Hartford and New Haven involved next time, so come out and join us. It's a benefit for the kids and we're here to help them out." Note: Gomes scored 27 points in a 115-103 Waterbury win.

On meeting Symone Roberts, New Britain High School's all-time leading scorer who has committed to Providence, Gomes' alma mater: "I'm happy. Especially being from Connecticut, now that means that they're recruiting out in this area and getting girls that can play and hopefully help our program. And the head coach, Phil Seymore. He coached me before he took the women's job. I told her, 'I know him real, real good, so if he gives you any problems, call me up.'"

I hope you all enjoy this. Gomes is a stand-up guy. And he's also excited about the T'wolves' three first-round picks in the upcoming NBA Draft (as am I). As I did with the NFL Draft, I will post a few mock drafts leading up to the actual draft, so look for the first one this week.