I love LA

For the first time since I was three years old and living in Latvia, the Dodgers advanced to the National League Championship series.

I guess it was a fitting end to my time in Los Angeles. The Dodgers pulled out three of their finest performances of the season and perhaps the past two decades.

And at the same time, they're not done. Still eight games to be won. An underdog for the entire playoffs, they'll have to do work on the road before they can return home. That's how I feel. I need to do work and hopefully, I'll one day return.

Words are powerful, but these last few days they have escaped me. It's been difficult to put the gratitude I feel into my vocabulary.

"You never know what happens when you leave some place you've been," Joe Torre said after the win.

I'm anxious and excited and at the same time somber. I've shared a lot of laughs and memories recently with a lot of people who mean a lot to me. I've listened to a lot of kind words and received generous going away presents, including a sick Tony Romo jersey.

I'll miss the city, but I'll miss the people in the city more.

I can only hope to do as well at my job as the Dodgers did this week. The way Derek Lowe, Chad Billingsley, and Hiroki Kuroda dazzled their way past the vaunted Cubs lineup.

The Cubs, who led the NL in runs, scored just six runs in the three games.

I can only hope to have the kind of success James Loney had. Loney had six RBIs including the tone setting grand slam in Game 1.

I can only hope to have the kind of fun Manny Ramirez has had since he traded in his Red Sox for Dodger Blue. Manny wasn't too shabby either, hitting .500 with two home runs.

It's been a great ride. Now the next chapter awaits. For the Dodgers, it's the winner of the Phillies/Brewers.

For me, it's a new job at ESPN and a new coast, the East. A new home and a new lifestyle.

It's unchartered territory but the future appears bright.

Here's to both returning home victorious.